In her work The Shadow of the House Was Also Broken, Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero reflects on the idea of culture as a home we have inside us—a haven that has survived despite the challenges and changes we might have faced growing up, while moving to new places, and when leaving old ones behind.

How would it feel to leave your home behind, having only your experiences, traditions, and memories to hold on to? How do you carry “home” within you? What represents “home” to you? What ideas or traditions might you want to carry with you? And how might you use those memories to make a new home in a new place?

Explore these ideas by creating a papel picado (perforated paper) sculpture. This is a Mexican artform with roots in Aztec traditions involving making and decorating a rough paper called amatl.

Download the full lesson plan here.