In my last post, I pondered the topic of ephemera. The notion came to mind as I was knee-deep in the studio—sorting and purging.

Mid-task, I had an epiphany about the asserted worth of ephemera as ‘not junk’. If I consciously retained it, then the material still held value and appeal—even if I was unable to articulate it.

Around the same time, a calligraphy guild invited me to teach. Would I suggest a topic, they asked. It had to be fun. Synchronicity is a mysterious thing. And thus, the seed was sown for a workshop.

On Saturday, students gathered with arm loads of raw material culled from their stash—precious scraps from previous projects, practice on pricey paper, beloved bits from concepts gone awry, and components from deconstructed experiments. A suitcase wheeled past me into the classroom. Ah, a student with lots of raw material!

I invited participants to contribute to a ‘communal scrap heap’—a sharing of treasures!

Students experimented with various techniques to transform material into formats worthy of their creativity. My gratitude to each student for embracing uncertainty to re-imagine their ephemera.