EDUCATOR
Many years ago I once stood at the door to a long classroom at Barcroft Elementary School, files in hand. I knocked on the open door. A woman sat near the windows at the far end, her back to me.
“Yes?” she said, without turning.
“I’d like to apply to teach here during intersession,” I said.
She turned. She was Asian. “You’re on!” she said.
”I am?” I was surprised.
”Yes!” She got up and started to walk up to me.
”How?” I asked.
”Nobody who looks like you has ever wanted to teach here.” She said, looking at me with a smile.
Check out my Projects, & Classes and Workshops below.
PROJECTS
Above: Three generations at Asian Heritage Month family bookmaking event with Sushmita, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Photo by Sandra Vuong.
Family Memory Storybooks
Dates: 2008-2015
Client: Smithsonian Learning, Washington DC
Videos, instructions sheets, and books made by kids!
A few years ago I created many bookmaking activities for families for the Smithsonian’s Heritage Month programs. The idea was to get families talking, creating, and sharing stories on so many subjects. Click on the link in the title and see the videos, download the instruction sheets, and upload your own books to the website—a wonderful resource for families, teachers, and communities.
Check out some wonderful photos from our Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2011 Bookmaking activity “Kitchen Stories” here.
Above: A Family Story by a student of Mt Vernon Elementary School, Alexandria, VA
Family Legends of Alexandria
Dates: 2011-2019
Client: Living Legends of Alexandria, Alexandria VA
When Nina Tisara, founder of Living Legends of Alexandria, and I were speaking to graduates of EWI‘s Entrepreneurship Training for Success program, we talked about collaborations. Nina came up with an example of how she and I could work together. Right after, we did talk about just such a collaboration! Living Legends documents stories of community “legends” through photos and interviews, and I work with children encouraging them to interview family members and find “legends” in their families and make the story into a handmade book.
Read all about our 2015 Family Legends of Alexandria summer project with 240 ACPS students, here!
You can also see a video about the project here.
Above: My Handmade Storybook Mangli The Very Special Goat gets some Spanish translation for a bilingual workshop with students and their caregivers, Raymond Elementary, Washington DC
Author-Book Artist Visits
Dates: 2013-2017
Client: Turning the Page, Washington DC
In a unique collaboration, Washington DC-based organization Turning the Page commissioned me to make copies of my Handmade Storybooks which would be given to families at author visits. I made 150 copies of one, 75 of another and taught the students’ caregivers to make them too and write their own stories in them. “Because you should never have to say you don’t have a book to read to your child,” I said, and they all agreed. Over the years I worked in so many of the schools they partnered with it was amazing for me to learn about school-family-org communities.
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Check out my 2023 classes below and stay creative!
Artful Mind, Tranquil Mind
Via Zoom, through Smithsonian Associates
Color Stories Journal
Via Zoom, through Smithsonian Associates
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Tuesday, January 24, 2023 - 5:00 p.m.to Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - 6:30 p.m. ET
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Let’s Tell Our Tales! - Personal Storybooks
At Studio PAUSE, Arlington, VA
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Dates: Thursdays Jan 19, 26 and Feb 2.
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Max 6.
Created to celebrate 15 years of my project Handmade Storybooks, I created Let’s Tell Our Tales so participants can tell their stories as they fill three unique handmade books with original art and writing. Each book, inspired by one of mine, presents an opportunity to work with different techniques and media, from paper-cutting and 3-D structures to color pencils on pastel paper; Chinese ink and brush; and collage. Weekly themes for book forms and writings include inspiring structures, single words that suggest a story, and creating a container for memories. All levels of bookmaking, paper arts, and writing experience are welcome.
Supply list available on registering.
Hand, Paper, Go!
A Creative Exploration of Bookmaking
Arts Enterprise Institute, Arlington Arts:
Dates: May 4 & May 11, 2021
Time: Two - 2-hour workshops. - 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location: Online
Book artist Sushmita Mazumdar guides students in an exploration of the many creative ways to work with paper and make fun personal storybooks by hand while learning some history from around the world and listening to stories of what inspired her to create. No experience necessary and good for artists and those who don’t think they are artists too.
Artful Mind - Explore Creativity & Celebrate Community
Arts Enterprise Institute, Arlington Arts:
Dates: Thu, April 1, 14, 21, 28, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Location: Online
Artists throughout the world and the centuries have developed practices that allow them to center themselves and prepare for making art. The same techniques can be helpful in everyday life as well, offering calm and the joy from playful artmaking. Combining exercises from her art and bookmaking practice, instructor Sushmita Mazumdar will guide students in this lunch time pause exploring mark-making with lines and swirls and playing with various kinds of paper. No experience with art making is necessary! You may pick one session that catches your fancy or join us for all four sessions. No matter which one you attend you will leave with techniques that will help you find a spot of calm anywhere, anytime.
Community Engagement for Artists
Arts Enterprise Institute, Arlington Arts:
Dates: March 2, 2021
Time: 11:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET
Location: Online
Community Engagement for Artists
In this workshop, artists and arts organizations receive an overview of ways to engage with the community they serve. Instructor Sushmita Mazumdar will share her experiences with community art projects she has facilitated and observed, so participants can learn how to use art to achieve long-term outcomes, try our new processes, and build relationships.
Handmade Storybooks
Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts Class:
Dates: Fri, Jan 22 and 29, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Location: Online
This new version of my popular day-long workshop is now a 2-session daytime class.
Let me take you on a journey of exploration of the many creative ways to work with paper and make personal storybooks by hand. In the first session, I introduce the class to bookmaking styles from around the world, with an emphasis on Islamic, Japanese, and Himalayan traditions. Participants build and bind several books using standard bookmaking papers and thread as well as unusual materials such as manila folders and matchboxes.
The newly created books serve as inspiration for a second session of creative writing and art-making using calligraphy, collage, and other techniques. No previous experience needed!
Book Arts: Standards & Creative Variations
Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts Class:
Dates: Thu, Mar 11, 18, and 25, 2021
Time: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET
Location: Online
Learn the rules of bookmaking… then get creative and break them! Each week, we make different kinds of books, including an accordion book, a Japanese stab bound journal, and a one-page book— a travel journal with sewn in pages. Once you know the basics, learn a variety of techniques to personalize your handmade books to tell your own story.
Artful Mind, Tranquil Mind
Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts Class:
Dates: Mon, Mar 1-22, 2021
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Online
Artists throughout the world and the centuries have developed practices that allow them to center themselves, find calm, and prepare for making art. The same techniques can be helpful in everyday life as well, offering both a quiet escape and a spark for your imagination. Combining exercises from her art and bookmaking practice, instructor Sushmita Mazumdar will guide students in exploring mark-making with lines, swirls, and puddles, and use paper to experiment with folding and tearing. No experience with art making is necessary, just bring an open mind and a curious heart.
*Students may use supplies found around the home in combination with a kit ($10) to be ordered from me. Please view the Supply List details on the Smithsonian Associates website for ordering information.