UPcycling with Sara Mai
Upcycling waste paper is a rewarding skill for all ages. We will be weaving Paper for Baskets and Origami Balls. We will also be upcycling Tetrapaks into Tetra-Purses and Tetra-Balls
Upcycling is the transformation of a resource, with low energy input, to prolong the life of the material. Paper Weaving creates useful containers from waste printed matter. The more ethical the printed matter the better the weave.
Paperweaving starts with making strips, the strips can be woven together to simply to make a square basket or a slightly more complex round one. Techniques for joining strips, to make larger baskets or square basket walls are used. No other materials are used. It requires a degree of accuracy. Lighter paper is better than heavy paper and the China clay finish paper from weekend colour supplements is very smooth to work with.
Square Weaving Skill Sets cover: making paper strips, square tray weaving, trim finishing, square box weaving, making closed loops, joining strips, handle insetting. A small square tray takes about half an hour to learn to make.
A Tetrapak transformed into a purse will last at least two years. The transformation takes about fifteen minutes with a pair of scissors.
