[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          GRAND OPENING OF THE GUILD OF AMERICAN PAPERCUTTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 2010

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Grand 
Opening celebration of the Guild of American Papercutters National 
Museum which will take place on March 20, 2010 in Somerset, 
Pennsylvania.
  The twenty-two year old guild has partnered with Laurel Arts at the 
home of the Philip Dressler Center for the Arts, and will bring to the 
area the ancient art form of papercutting, which dates back to Fifth 
Century China. The Guild of American Papercutters (GAP) museum will 
feature a number of exhibits and artwork created by past and present 
guild members as well as the international community. Such exhibits 
will feature artwork from Polish, Dutch, German, Swiss, Mexican, and 
Israeli artists.
  The Guild currently retains over four hundred members, in which every 
state in the United States is represented. Before the new two hundred 
sixteen square foot gallery was completed, the GAP held traveling 
exhibits in a number of locations throughout the country, beginning 
with its 1989 debut at the Hershey Museum of American Life in Hershey, 
Pennsylvania. In their new gallery, the GAP plans to hold regularly 
scheduled hands-on workshops and guest presentations to further 
introduce this artistic technique to the ninth district of 
Pennsylvania.
  I ask my fellow colleagues in the House to join me in celebrating 
this achievement of the Guild of American Papercutters, and wish them 
the best of luck and continued success in their new National Museum. 
May it be a creative outlet for generations of artists to come.

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