MAKE! with SCRAP

At these drop-in workshops for visitors of all ages, SCRAP educators will help participants transform ordinary materials into extraordinary make-and-take art projects. The workshops use supplies from SCRAP’s creative reuse center and are inspired by Ruth Asawa’s dedication to arts education and her exploration of common materials.

Program Schedule

June 1: Brown Paper Bag Flowers

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to transform the basic brown paper grocery bag into a lovely spider mum flower through a series of simple cuts, rolls, and folds. Love your flower so much you want to wear it? No problem, we can turn your flower into a corsage using a recycled button pin!
 
June 8: while there will not be a MAKE! with Scrap program on June 8, you can enjoy other family-friendly programs and free museum admission that day as part of Family Free Day.
 
June 15: Postcard Collage

Transform old postcards with images from magazines! By bringing two images together, what kind of new image can you make? Send it in the mail to a friend or pass it on as a gift. These small and quick collages pack a big visual punch and are fun for all ages. Get in touch with your inner child while exploring the wonder of print media from different moments in history.
 
June 22: T-shirt, Towels + Textile Stuffies

Have an old T-shirt that you don’t wear anymore? Turn it into a stuffie! The best part? No sewing experience is required. Learn how to use simple knot tying, stapling, and even hot glue to bring your whimsical creations to life. Stuffies depicted in the image at top were created either with rubber bands, knot tying, hot glue, or a stapler.
 
June 29: Ojo de Dios Pins

Directly influenced by Ruth Asawa’s early childhood lessons teaching fine motor skills, God’s Eyes, or Ojo de Dios, are an easy-yet-satisfying craft rooted in Mexican folk-art traditions. In this SCRAP rendition, we experiment with using everyday materials like markers and skewers for the base. When made small, these pieces can turn into little God’s Eye corsages with the help of a glue gun and button pins.
 
July 6: Year of the Snake Paper Plates

It’s the Year of the Snake! Learn to make a very CUTE paper snake! This activity will introduce participants to textures and patterns. Participants will have a hands-on crafting session where they paint, cut, and assemble their own slithery snakes out of paper plates with googly eyes and ribbon tongues.
 
July 13: Illustration in Color

July 20: Postcard Collage

July 27: T-shirt, Towels + Textile Stuffies

August 3: Ojo de Dios Pins

August 10: Illustration in Color

August 17: Brown Paper Bag Flowers

August 24: Postcard Collage

August 31: T-shirt, Towels + Textile Stuffie

About SCRAP

Founded in 1976 by Anne Marie Theilen and based in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, SCRAP works at the intersection of the arts, arts education, and the environment. Its mission is to make the materials and methods of art-making accessible to everyone, helping people transform everyday objects into creative projects that fuel the human spirit, support community vibrancy, and reinforce environmental awareness. At the time of SCRAP’s founding, Theilen oversaw a program that placed professional artists in schools. Unfortunately, there was no budget for materials, so the artists struggled to find supplies. Meanwhile, many local businesses were filling landfills with perfectly usable materials like paper with incorrect logos, fabric samples, industrial discards, and product overruns. Recognizing an opportunity to solve two problems with one solution, Theilen founded SCRAP in 1976. She teamed up with Ruth Asawa, who became the organization’s first board president. Each year, SCRAP’s programs serve over 33,000 people — all while diverting over 200 tons of waste from landfills.
 

Programming for Ruth Asawa: Retrospective is made possible with support from Google.org.