How quickly do our recycle bins fill up with paper? LEX@R learning extension students think they will reconsider before throwing away paper, after the work it took to make their own!
Our Medieval unit is entitled “Light from Dark”. In our topic on Illuminated Manuscripts, students discovered what was involved in making paper. Though we didn’t use calf or lambskin to make vellum, students shredded used paper, soaked it, and turned it into pulp in the blender. Using a paper-making screen, students dipped into the pulp to make sheets of paper, using weights and a clothes line to press and dry them. Though there was some trial and error, on the whole we were pleased with the results.
Calligraphy is a written art form, and students spent two sessions attempting various types of fonts with different pen nibs. While it took some practice, students enjoyed the time to devote to this relaxing art. The final product was a manuscript using the calligraphy font they had learned. Mrs Vivian and Mr Farr tried their hand at some Gothic and Italic script as well.
The time it took to produce these manuscripts gave us all a new appreciation for the effort and artistic talent of the medieval manuscript-makers of the past.
