Drew Luan Matott and Margaret Elizabeth Mahan, founders of the "Peace Paper Project," Saranac Lake, N.Y., bring their program to Cedar Crest College, Allentown, for three days of talks and workshops that includes a display of examples of art from the workshops and a talk and reception at the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley.

The events are free and open to the public.

The concept of the "Peace Paper Project" is to use "the ancient tradition of hand papermaking as a vehicle for personal expression and cultural change."

The theme of the "Peace Paper Project" is "Renewal."

Activities at Cedar Crest include paper making from invasive plants. A stationary bicycle will be set up for participants to power a machine that breaks down fiber to turn paper into pulp before it's placed on screens to dry and embellish.

"As an artist who uses papermaking in my studio practice, I have known about the 'Peace Paper Project' for a number of years," says Jill Odegaard, Art Professor and Chair of Cedar Crest's Art Department.

"Hosting this project is an excellent outreach initiative as we invite the community at large to campus for hands-on studio experiences that lend themselves to image making, dialogue and creative reflection as we create images based on the theme of 'Renewal,'" Odegaard says.

Cedar Crest College has an undergraduate Art Therapy major and a masters in Art Therapy. The workshop is sponsored by the Cedar Crest College Art Department and Psychology Department.

"This collaboration with Cedar Crest College and the 'Peace Paper Project' is part of our ongoing effort to partner with the many institutions of higher learning in the Lehigh Valley," says Julia Marsh, Curator of Community Engagement at the Art Museum.

Matott helps with workshops and assists with the strategy and vision. Mahan is an artist who uses papermaking to work with children to overcome bullying.

"One of the first projects I ran was an edition of artists books that I made using material left behind by my father who was killed in a car accident," says Matott.

"The books commemorated my father and his short life. I was able to give one of the books to each of my siblings and my father's siblings."

"After I finished my undergraduate studies in Buffalo, I set up a papermaking studio and started teaching papermaking workshops for the community."

"Drew and I co-founded 'Peace Paper Project' in 2011 and made it one of our goals to share the process as a form of trauma therapy in collaboration with art therapists," says Mahan.

"We also wanted to train art therapists, hospitals, universities, art centers, and community activists. We were interested in using hand papermaking as a public form of social engagement," Mahan says.

The "Peace Paper Project" schedule is:

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 2 - 5 p.m. March 24, 25: Papermaking workshops, Hartzel Hall, Cedar Crest College;

Noon March 24: Talk by Drew Luan Matott and Margaret Elizabeth Mahan, Alcove C, Tompkins College Center, Cedar Crest College;

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 2 - 4 p.m. March 26: Papermaking workshops, Hartzel Hall, Cedar Crest College; and

6:30 p.m. March 26: Exhibition, artists' talk by Drew Luan Matott and Margaret Elizabeth Mahan, reception, Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley, Fifth and Linden streets, Allentown.