Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Workshops

Hi! I don't have any pictures to post today. I taught three workshops over the weekend, and my camera's batteries were dead. !!! Friday evening was "Paper and Mixed Media Dolls" at Ink About It in Westford, MA. As usual, we had a blast. Everyone made a unique and highly expressive doll - and you'll have to take my word for it unless anybody can send me a photo of their doll. You just can't go wrong with paper dolls. Saturday's workshop was "Unbinding the Visual Journal", again, a wonderful group; Sunday's workshop was at The Scrapbook Cupboard in E. Bridgewater, MA. Mostly new faces there, except for the Jane Junkies, Marissa and Elyce, who came to all three workshops! We made boxes and then filled them with collage note cards. Bev, the owner, served us lunch and was altogether helpful and accommodating. I'll be teaching there again in September, as well as at Colorful Creations in Hyannis on the Cape. I promise to post again soon with pictures. Thanks to everybody who made the workshops so much fun!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Handmade Book Workshops

Well, I FINISHED MY BOOK!!!! last Monday. A few days ahead of schedule, which NEVER happens. I sent it off to the publisher - all 3.5 pounds of it (print out plus five disks) - and then collapsed for the rest of the week. So now the focus is back on teaching and making new pieces. I am teaching two intro level handmade book workshops in Manchester, VT on May 1 and May 8.


The first is:
Hardcover Pamphlet Book
In this workshop we will make a multi-signature (lots of pages), hard-cover book, using the basic pamphlet stitch. This method of book binding is accessible to the novice, and yet produces as substantial, sturdy book that will last a lifetime. Use it as a journal, a sketchbook, or photo album, or give it as a very special personalized gift.
The second workshop is:
The Accordion Fold Book and Beyond
The accordion is probably the most widely used structure for a fold book. And it is no wonder. This technique is easy, endlessly variable, and can be easily combined with other book structures. We will learn the basics of the accordion book, with several variations, and then begin to work on a special type of accordion called a “panel book”. At the end of the workshop you will have several accordion books, as well as several pages of your panel book.

I finished my panel book (as you can see)so I can show my workshop students. It is not as pristine as Elissa's, of course, but it was so fun to do, and I hope to make more of them.