In what ways can paper art and crafts provide creative outlets for caregivers?

Paper is possibly one of the most accessible and basic art materials, yet, when I pick up a piece I sense many possibilities.

This artwork is my creative response to my research project with young carers in which we created individual and collaborative artworks that explored the versatility of paper.

Like the research participants, I am also a carer. During our workshops I became interested in the participants’ responses to creating art with paper and how our roles as carers were reflected in the activities we enjoyed the most, which were origami, watercolours and ink. Origami is a very structured and organised way of making, similar to our day-to-day routines as carers. Whereas watercolours and ink provided us with the liberty to mix colours and explore the unpredictable nature of these materials with a freedom that is not often afforded to carers.

Inspired by my research findings, my exhibit celebrates the simplicity and the complexity of folding, twisting, and manipulating a simple piece of paper and transforming the mundane into something of value, beauty and magnitude. “You don’t need fancy materials to make art…” (Perry, G. 2022). *

Using paper allows me to demonstrate versatility, playfulness, fragility and strength, and celebrate being a carer, qualities shared by the lotus flower – a symbol of beauty emerging from the toughest conditions. I invite you to reflect on the juxtaposition between the light-weight of paper and the heavy-weight of being a carer.

*Perry, G. (2022) Grayson’s Art Club [Television] Channel 4: Crombie, N.