After spending an entire week’s worth of snow days inside to avoid the freezing temperature and icy roads I was going stir-crazy. The last thing I wanted to do was watch more TV or scroll on Instagram Reels. Searching for an alternative, I visited the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in the Plaza for their Teen-Led Saturday: Scraps & Stickers event to make a scrapbook.
The Kemper Teen Council holds events for anyone ages 13-18 once a month. One of their most recent events was Scraps & Stickers, held on Jan. 11 from 1-3 p.m.. It was a unique experience for teenagers and gave me the chance to take a break from the monotony of winter and be creative.
Entering the event room, about 20 teens filled the tables talking and laughing, all while cutting into pieces of decade-old Vogue magazines and writing in paint pens on their colorful scrapbooks.
The cozy craft room had a circle of tables where participants created their scrapbooks. Two couches were nestled in the corner of the room and two tables sitting at the back of the room were covered in crafting supplies. Calming music played in the background and free popcorn bags and Pringles cans were provided, along with cans of sparkling water which only added more to the welcoming, laid-back atmosphere.
After finding a place to sit in the crowded room with a group of friends, I went straight to the line of tables at the back of the room to grab one of the scrapbooks provided by the museum. Then I dug into the endless supply of crafting materials.
The table of supplies lining the back wall had everything imaginable from the necessities — scissors, glue and pencils — to supplies to add to the scrapbook. This included stacks of magazines and colorful cardstock, and a bin that stood almost as tall as me was overflowing with an assortment of scraps of paper. There were pages of colorful letters, paint swatches, printouts of flowers and scraps of old art projects and paintings.
If not for the two-hour window of craft time, I could’ve spent the whole day digging through that bin of scraps gasping with excitement at every newly uncovered gem.
But there were more supplies than just paper. There were also adhesive rhinestones and even a Polaroid camera to take pictures with — a cute addition for any friend groups participating in the activity. The assortment of materials available ensured that everyone was able to make their own scrapbook with whatever vision they had in mind.
After gathering a few supplies I was at a loss of what to create. I had no plan going into my scrapbooking excursion, but soon I began finding words and pictures from a fashion magazine and started gluing teal and maroon paint swatches to the front of my scrapbook.
I stayed for the entire event, and two hours was plenty of time to gather supplies and make progress in my new scrapbook, as well as talk with friends over each of our individual masterpieces.
After I finished adorning the cover with my paint swatches and sheet music, I signed my name with a gold cursive paint pen in the middle. On the inside, I continued my theme of colorful collages and added cutouts of magazines that I loved as well as fun textures I found in the scrap bin.
On the way out I couldn't help but tuck a few extra scraps of paper into my book to add later. And the scrapbooking didn’t stop when I left the museum. Right when I got home I found myself digging through my room to find old cards, polaroids and gum wrapper hearts to add to my book.
Thankfully, this isn’t the first nor last teen event hosted by the Kemper. They have monthly events like art therapy and an upcoming block party on May 10. The next time I find myself stressed or bored you will most likely find me at the next Kemper Teens event.
Teenagers spend so much time on school work and the majority of free time is spent on social media or sleeping that it's difficult to take time to create something just for the fun of it.
The mere act of sitting down and taking the time to create something out of my own free will was surprisingly relaxing.
So, thank you to the Kemper Teens and the Teen-Led Saturday: Scraps & Stickers event for giving me a breath of fresh air.
Related
Leave a Reply