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by Mary Erickson, Ph.D.
with Arizona art teacher Karla Primosch

The Lifecycle of Paper is an abbreviated unit plan with suggested activities designed in conjunction with the Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts.

Preview the Biennial: Paper exhibition PowerPoint

Themes

• Theme in Life: We all share one planet and need to take care of it.
• Theme in Art: Art can recycle and be recycled.

Where does paper come from and where does it go? (Natural Environment)

How do artists use paper? (Technical Qualities and Processes)

Community Connection
As in every United States’ city, the residents of Tempe use and discard vast amounts of paper every day. The Lifecycle of Paper focuses on sources, qualities and transformations of some of that paper.

Activities
Pre-Visit Activity: Paper, Paper Everywhere
TCA Activity: Exploring the Paper Biennial
Post-Visit Activity: Paper Strip Still Life
Extension Activity: Paper Making

Resources
Paper, Paper, Everywhere PowerPoint
Exploring Paper at the Tempe Center for the Arts (pdf)
Paper Strip Still Life PowerPoint
Paper Making PowerPoint

Credits
Karla Primosch teaches art and technology at Fountain Hills High School. She is grateful to Jim Garrison, her instructor at Mesa Community College, for the idea for her paper strip still life lesson. Primosch’s Fountain Hills’ art students created the paper sculptures and drawings. Primosch led a paper making workshop for middle school students to provide student samples. Photography by Primosch, Mary Erickson and Michelle Nichols Dock.

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