Yeşil Hafta / Green Week – A paper art workshop with Inci Kansu and Ismet Tatar at AB Bilgi Centre Nicosia

By Heidi Trautmann

On the occasion of the International Green Week, AB Bilgi Centre invited the Cyprus Paper Artists Association to hold a workshop in their premises to show to an interested group of adults and children from the age of 6 years and teens, the making of objects using waste paper such as old newspaper in this case. The well-known artists Inci Kansu and Ismet Tatar have led the workshop of three hours, I counted 23 participants.

Also present were the host Ms Derya Tangül, AB Bilgi Public Space and Information Officer, some co-workers and also Mr Nehat Arter from a friend association the Cyprus Green Action Centre. Details on the two associations can be found on their websites http://www.abbilgi.eu/en/project.html  and http://www.yesilbaris.eu/amac.htm

The Cyprus Paper Artists Association has been founded 1 ½ years ago and two of its founders, Inci Kansu and Ismet Tatar, have on many occasions distributed the knowledge of paper making to students in local universities and have – as members of IAPMA – International Association of Paper Making Artists – visited international symposia and workshops worldwide. It is a fascinating form of art combined with the idea of respect for environment. Read about their activities and the history that goes along with it.

http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=5654231783#.WUZPoet96Uk

http://cyprusscene.com/2016/11/14/symposium-and-exhibition-the-touch-of-paper-at-ismet-vehit-guney-art-centre-nicosia/

With joined forces the old newspapers which had been soaked overnight in big containers were torn into tiny pieces, all emptied into a container full of water and using a big mixer shredded into what looked like grey soup. Passed through a sieve the wet lump of material was distributed to many eager hands again and patiently kneaded into paper pulp, a sort of dough. Now the Master Paper Artists showed the audience what can be done with the paper dough; from their baskets they got many different tubes, glasses containing mixtures which they allotted to the various dough bowls and we all got the impression to be in a witch’s kitchen. In the end we had various differently coloured lumps of paper dough. The task of the day was to form a beautiful big stone, smooth, rough, with inclusions and we could see how the students became creative and I am sure they were seeing themselves on a beach collecting stones; a separate demonstration was the creation of a bowl from paper pulp.  It was a pleasure to see people’s imagination blossom doing this simple art work. I myself do remember of having used paper pulp for forming landscapes for our mini trains and toy villages. As a binder we then used simple household flour.

It is may be an important impulse to further develop the idea on a bigger scale to create simple household tools such as bowls, plates, containers which could be used instead of plastic or Styrofoam, or to create fascinating alternative and artistic jewellery, elements of decoration, paintings.  Paper is the carrier of time and culture, it is true, isn’t it?