Workshops at Scrapbooks Galore and More

This past weekend I had the privilege of teaching two bookbinding workshops at Scrapbooks Galore and More in Midland, MI.  The first two hour class was about Japanese Stab Binding. I had seven eager students, and one indifferent feline assistant.  (That is the store mascot Scrapper, enjoying the sunbeam in the middle of our workspace.)

I started by showing the class how to sew a book using the most basic form of Japanese stab binding.  For the second and third books, we adjusted the number and location of the holes punched.  I let the students figure out some of the sewing on their own, and helped walk them through the difficult parts.  Everyone had a great time learning about bookbinding, despite the sore fingers!  (I need to remember pliers next time.  Pulling the needle through gets a little tough...)

The second two hour class of the day was a Case Bound Book class.  This book structure is a little trickier than the Japanese stab binding, so each student only made one book instead of three.  This time I had nine students, several of which had taken the earlier class as well.  The students learned how to fold signatures, sew together a text block, and glue the text block into a decorative case.  Overall it was a great day of teaching, and I am looking forward to teaching again in March at Small Studio in the Cleveland area.

Envelope Book Workshop- Books 58-60

Over the weekend I taught a workshop about Envelope Books.  During the course of the day we made 2 types of envelope books.  One with a collapsible spine and 6x9 inch envelopes, and the second with a closed spine and 5x7 inch envelopes.  I demonstrated the books along the way, and ended up with 3 completed books by the end of the day (books 58-60 of my 365 challenge.)  Instead of describing the whole day, I'll leave you with photos from the workshop and of my sample books.

Bookbinding with High Schoolers

 

Today I had the opportunity to teach high school students bookbinding as part of a larger art project.  The school received a grant to do an artistic exchange program with a school in Montreal.  The project theme is "Equity and Diversity."  The students started by going to the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation and learning how to make paper.

 

A few weeks later (that's today!) I delivered the handmade paper to the students, and walked them through a simple book structure.  The covers are cardboard from recycled boxes, with book cloth for the spine, and a single signature of handmade paper sewn to the book cloth.  The class periods were short, so I left step-by-step sewing instructions drawn on the whiteboard for next week.  After the books are completely assembled, the students are going to add content relating to the theme and send them to the students in Montreal.

During our bookbinding session, a reporter from the News Herald came by to write an article about the project and put together a video for their website.  Check out the article and the video here!