Listening to Drew Matott’s story of how the Peace Paper Project was developed over time and eventually partnered with art therapists to bring social connection, healing, and transformation to veterans and other trauma survivors was astoundingly wonderful. Drew and other paper makers use large, expensive pulping machines, called hollander beaters to process textiles into the tiny fibers that are then pressed into paper (Peace Paper Project, 2020). Clothes we wear, such as veteran’s uniforms, seem to hold infinite transcendent symbolic meaning, which is amplified even further through the transformation of these textiles into fibrous sheets that hold ink markings, that can even be bound to form books.
At varying levels of severity, many of us have gone through trauma and experience symptoms of complex trauma, and less commonly, PTSD. Adolescents with trauma or stressor related disorders have often experienced severe trauma at a young age, which can be especially difficult to process during such a tumultuous period of development and rapid growth. Learning that paper making can be an accessible skill, way to socialize and connect with friends, and provide a platform for creative expression, offers a uniquely rewarding experience for young people. The process includes powerful sensory elements, especially if the client chooses to manipulate the wet paper pulp with their hands, but the inherent step by step and goal oriented structure of creating a finished paper product, establishes safety. While it is possible to pulp cloth made from plant-based fibers, such as cotton, linen, or hemp for paper making, it is quite challenging and painstaking to do by hand without access to a hollander beater. At home, I used the electric hand mixer from my kitchen, an item that may also be accessible to clients if they are at home and making paper together, virtually.
The hand mixer would not successfully pulverize tightly woven clothing like a cotton t-shirt, but can be used to pulverize paper that has been softened after soaking in a bowl of water.
I used paper making to process a slightly stressful and uncertain experience I had, taking a pregnancy test. I used the paper instructions that came in the box, as well as brown paper and other different colored scrap paper, beat them to a pulp, and pressed into round plastic lids to dry. I found this very basic, introductory paper making process to be highly satisfying. Afterwards, I glued the round mini papers, collage style, into my journal and then wrote a reflection about the challenges of sexual health for women. I also wrote a note on another piece as a letter/gift to a friend. There may be personal paper documents that adolescent clients have in their possession that they would like to transform through the paper making process, such as letters, old school work, a report card, old drawing or writing, mail, paper instructions, or scrap paper.
Small objects or pieces of fabric that hold meaning for them may also be embedded in the paper, creating a beautiful textured surface. Depending on the client’s stage of healing and recovery, I think it is important to introduce the paper making process without requiring that the client provide any of their own personal materials.
References
Peace Paper Project. (2020). Peace paper project. http://www.peacepaperproject.org/activities.html
Wolf, D. (2020). Class 2 papermaking [Lecture Slides]. Blackboard Learn. https://learn.dcollege.net/ultra/institution-page
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