Paper Knot Animals is the result of a desperate, innovative elementary art teacher who wanted to help a first grade class learn to tie a simple knot. Using a tan strip of paper left on the floor by a previous art class, a simple paper knot was formed and trimmed to become the basic unit for a menagerie of unique paper knot animals - real and imaginative. Whether just for fun, instruction or for decorative purposes, the first time craftsman will be instructed to creatively construct a host of charming paper knot figures. With simple tools and readily available materials, getting started is quick and easy. Using the simple concept of a paper knot, the imagination is challenged to create all of your favorite animals. Create your own greeting cards, decorate your room, or make paper jewelry. Making paper knot animals is a creative way to use your leisure time. Paper Knot Animals will appeal to students young and old, parents, teachers and home schoolers, as well as talented artists - and will assist in making a fascinating collection of paper knot animals. "To Be or Knot to Be?"...That is the question.

Jon Duane Smith was born February 3, 1942 i n South Bend, Indiana and was country-raised near Akron, Indiana where he graduated from high school in 1960. After attending Manchester College, he returned to his high school for a total of thirty-five years, teaching various grade levels of elementary, junior high and high school art. One interim year, 1969-70, he taught at Manchester High School, North Manchester, Indiana for a teaching career of thirty-six years. In 1973, he received a Masters Degree in Art Education from Saint Francis College, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Smith retired from active teaching in May 2000.