I had the chance to present my paper cut art craft to a couple of high schoolers at Takoma Academy in Takoma Park, Maryland at the end of December. The class, Careers in the Visual Arts and their Practical Application is taught by Lonnie Woods, my cousin's husband.
The course teaches students about the broad range of career options available in the art and design industry while they learn skills and techniques that are necessary to obtain specific careers. The class is structured around in the class lectures and discussions, studio projects, fields trips, and guest speakers - this is where I come in.
I was nervous, cause high schoolers get bored easily and I am not great at making presentations. I had 45 minutes to speak about my experience in paper cutting, how I built my business, the skills I need for my craft and a demo of techniques for paper cutting.
I created a simple slideshow using Google slides and wrote out the key points I wanted to talk about. Since I transitioned into paper cutting art from fashion design I shared my start in fashion and the companies that I worked for first. Then, I gave a brief introduction to how I got into paper cutting - it was through fashion, afterwards I talked about the history of paper cutting, and lastly running my Etsy shop. All in all, it was a great presentation, the students were engaged, asked questions, like my art and seemed to enjoy my demo. My demo consisted of showing them how to cut straight lines, curved lines, text and I gave them templates of diamonds, snowflakes, and a Star Wars snowflake template I found online.
See slide show here
Pictures courtsey of Lonnie Woods
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