Amate bark paper is produced almost exclusively in the small Mexican village of San Pablito. The laborious process involves collecting the bark from the Amate tree, boiling it, and separating the fibers by hand. This task has been performed for centuries. The dried paper is used by artists of the region, who paint images inspired by Mexican folklore.
For this assignment, students used brown paper to collect tree rubbings, then crumpled the paper and soaked it in water, in order to replicate the distinctive tone and texture of Amate paper. While looking at traditional Mexican folk images, students created their own images using oil pastels. These pastels reflect the vibrant colors of their source imagery.
