Sense-Making--A Two Part Introductory Workshop to Cellulose Nanofiber in Santa Cruz

An Introductory Workshop to Cellulose Nanofiber (CNF) with Augusta Sparks Two-Part Workshop Thursdays; 10/29 & 11/5, 5:30-8:30 PM What happens when we approach a material without already knowing what it could become? Sense-Making is a two-part introduction to cellulose nanofiber (CNF)—a material that invites experimentation, curiosity, and discovery. Working with teaching artist Augusta Sparks, participants will work with CNF as an art material. Rather than working toward a prescribed finished object, the workshop encourages observation, experimentation, problem-solving, and following what emerges through the making process. The two-session format allows for drying time, and to respond to what happened. WHAT IS CNF? Cellulose nanofiber, or CNF, describes a process. The University of Maine places cellulose in water, this can be softwood from Northern Maine, or any plant material that is being tested for research, for example eucalyptus, or hemp. This is then ground down into a nanosize particle. This pulp can be shaped, layered, coated, combined with other materials, and manipulated in unexpected ways. As it dries, it becomes lightweight and remarkably strong—and often changes in ways that become part of the creative process. A BEGINNING, NOT A ONE-TIME WORKSHOP Augusta describes working with CNF as a collaboration with the material. She invites participants to be artistic researchers, and play with a material that has no art history, no definition of right or wrong. Sense-Making is the required introduction for future CNF programming at Tumbleweed Found. After completing this introductory workshop, participants will be eligible for upcoming opportunities including CNF exploratory workshops focused on particular processes, materials, questions, and creative directions, as well as a communal CNF open studio for those who want time and space to continue experimenting independently.