Professors indulge in some interesting hobbies in their spare time.
Between grading papers, teaching classes, assisting students, and filing paperwork, professors keep themselves busy on the job.
Brooke Hessler, English professor, makes paper from scratch.
She was inspired years ago, but last summer she took a class on how to make paper from leaves. Now, she is remodeling her home to install a work area for her crafting.
Hessler boils mulberry leaves and pounds the mixture to make a slurry that can be shifted into thin sheets of paper.
She said you can incorporate different things into your paper, like bits of other paper or leaves.
Hessler has a special relationship with books. Her interest in papermaking was a natural result of her love of literature.
“It gives me a sense of what writing meant when paper was precious and why it was such an art form,” Hessler said.
Eventually Hessler said she hopes to teach a class on the history of the book and incorporate her papermaking hobby.
Marie Hooper, history professor, has a pair of interesting hobbies. She trains dogs and also makes stained and fused glass.
She started the dog obedience training 13 years ago with her first dog.
Hooper teaches at the Oklahoma City Obedience Training Club, 3504 N.W. 16th St., to help other dog owners learn how to train their dogs. Hooper trains her own dogs in French.
Hooper said that French commands help create more sound variety so the dogs are less confused.
While dogs and glass may seem like a strange combination, Hooper said they go together quite nicely.
“Dogs taught me patience, and you have to have patience to do glass,” Hooper said.
Tracy Floreani, English professor, is in MAW, an all-woman acoustic band.
MAW is a mountain-style band based out of Lawrence, Kan.
Because of the distance, the band sends mp3s through Dropbox to share their music with the other members. Floreani drives to Kansas once a month to practice.
“We laugh a lot…it’s actually hard to get practice in,” Floreani said.
Floreani sings and plays rhythm guitar in the band. She has played in a band previously, and played wind instruments in school.
Floreani taught herself how to play guitar by ear. Only MAW’s fiddle player can read music.
“If all of us are sort of mediocre together, we’re really rockin’,” Floreani said.
MAW has played in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Nebraska. You can find their ReverbNation page, www.reverbnation.com, to hear their music and see upcoming performance dates, or like them on Facebook.
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