Lunch & Learn: Papermaking

For Alyssa Sacora, paper is one of many ways that she incorporates a creative connection with plants as materials in her artwork. In this Lunch and Learn session, Alyssa will tell the story of how her love of plants is infused in her daily life and into her work as an artist and educator. She’ll briefly share about the plants she grows and uses in her natural dyeing, basketry, and papermaking practice. Then she will walk you through her papermaking process with a hands-on demo using locally sourced materials. Plenty of samples will be on hand for you to explore. If you are curious about local art materials, creating art with plants in your garden, and learning how folks approach ecological reciprocity through art and gardening, join Alyssa for this talk. She has a unique approach and she loves to share it with others. Alyssa will be teaching Papermaking with Invasive Species at the Arboretum on September 21st.

Alyssa Sacora is a crafts person exploring plant-based mediums in the form of papermaking, book arts, basketry and natural dyes. She finds inspiration by observing relationships in the wider world. To reduce her human footprint and encourage creative thinking, she primarily works with locally available and repurposed natural materials. Leaves, vines and bark from iris, daylily, kudzu, okra, tulip poplar and willow leaves are often combined with salvaged cotton fabrics to create her palette. Her artistic pursuits are directly related to her lifestyle choices with reciprocity and mindfulness as a guiding force.​ In addition to and in support of her craft, she tends a 3-acre homestead in Western North Carolina with her husband, Adam. They grow fruits and vegetables, medicinal herbs, and art plants. They use solar electric and solar thermal systems for electricity and heating, collect rain water and continuously look to design their space with sustainability in mind.​ Alyssa has taught for a variety of organizations in WNC and often utilizes an outside setting to help her students make the connection that we are nature and that our lives are intertwined with the plants, the soil, and the air around us.

Host or Publisher The NC Arboretum Adult Education Programs