Simply Marble-us

Tis the time of year when the family sits down and marinates on what everyone wants to teach at Maker Faire Detroit. Our focus was on something we've always wanted to do- glass and microwavable kiln work. After going over the logistics and "play acting" out the project and user experience, a bank of 15 microwaves and lots of melty glass was something we couldn't pull off safely out at our beloved Henry Ford.

As many of you may or may not know, being advocates for literacy, traditional historical craft, and projects that not only have a solid connection to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) but enable all participants to #TransferTheir Skills is our core mission each and every time we teach. When we teach at the Henry Ford, the project of the year must in some way connect to the incredible and rich history housed in the museum. This isn't to pander to the venue, it is to make sure that each participant not only sees their place on the timeline of history but, realizes how using and transferring the skills they have learned affect generations they may never meet. 

This year, being our eldest son's 12th year teaching at Maker Faires across the country (and last one before heading off to college), requested an outdoor project worth writing about. He is an avid writer and lover of ink and substrates. Our project, "Simply Marble-us," will be one for the books. The Art of Paper Marbling has a long and rich history. Many of our favorite exhibits at The Henry Ford over the years have showcased handwritten books and ledgers with fantastic marbled end papers that made whatever was written between those pages feel more important and special. Whether the marbling looked like ribbons or felt like galaxies beyond our imaginations where we'd like to "Boldly Go" (waving to all the Trekkies equally geeked about the new exhibit ;)), the idea of floating ink on a surface just long enough to capture in on paper is a magical experince we would love the opportunity to share. 

Simply Marble-us