Soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are known to have high levels of adjustment problems and emotional stress, trauma, including posttraumatic stress syndrome. Many have difficulty relating their experience to others.
Soldiers participate in making Combat Papers, a printmaking program in which veterans transform their old utility uniforms into paper. Here a veteran cuts up his uniform into hundreds of pieces.The pieces of the uniform are fed into a beater where they are mulched. Then they are pulled out and placed on a frame called a deckle and sifted out into sheets. The finished paper is separated and dried. Here a veteran used the finished piece of paper to draw a picture.
“These young people come home from the war and disappear into society. Often they don’t have anyone to talk to who really speaks their language and shares their experiences,” said Teaneck resident Walter Nygard, a Vietnam War veteran and one of the organizers of the Wednesday afternoon peace vigils in front of the Teaneck Armory.
Read More – http://www.northjersey.com/news/137649763_Vets_turn_old_uniforms_into_art_for_healing.html