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A meandering book is the fun result of some paper engineering that looks tricky, but really isn't.
The idea to use this tricky paper engineering to create a collaborative piece came to me when a lovely follower approached me about hosting a private workshop for her and her friends to celebrate her 50th birthday. That sounded like the coolest idea to me, and we quickly settled on an Easy Peace one day workshop.
I love teaching this workshop, and wanted to add in something to give the occassion a sense of ceremony in honour of the birthday girl. I outlined this plan to the group as we began, and through the course of the morning, each of her friends added their own touches and special messages to a sheet of paper, which was then cut, folded and glued to create a special memento for the birthday girl to keep - a little piece of each of her friends hearts.
You can do this for your gathering too! Here's how:
Pop a large sheet (A2 size is great) of watercolour paper somewhere central, where everyone can easily add some marks to it during your gathering. Alongside, offer a mix of art supplies: inks, oil pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, paint pens, acrylic paint—whatever you have on hand. The idea is to encourage everyone to make some marks, add some colour, patterns, textures and special messages, covering the paper with their collective creativity.
Once the sheet is filled, it’s time for the paper engineering.
Begin by folding the sheet into halves, then quarters, along the long and short sides.
Next, cut along the long folds like this:
Now for the engineering part. Start folding concertina folds (alternating directions) from one corner segment of the paper, reversing the direction of each fold as you come to it, and folding 'around the corners' concertina fashion as you go.
Glue the unpainted sides of the pages of the book together to create your book. The resulting meandering book will 'wander' like this:
You can call it DONE here, or go ahead and add more—drawing, writing, collaging, and embellishing the book however you like. The final result is a unique book, about A6 in size, that serves as a beautiful memento of your time together.
This idea could work for so many occasions—girlfriends’ weekends, retirement parties, baby showers, milestone birthdays, even life transitions like divorce or saying goodbye to a loved one. It’s a meaningful way to capture the energy and essence of everyone gathered, folding their presence into something truly special.
Are you curious about organising your own private workshop event? It's probably easier than you think! Get in touch with me here to find out.
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