The Book Arts Workshop is located in Baker Library, Room 21-23 (west entrance, lower level, around the corner from the Orozco murals)

Letterpress Studio

The Letterpress Studio is open each Monday and Tuesday nights during the Spring term from 6-9pm. No previous experience is necessary, all materials and equipment are provided. Bob Metzler and Peter Mittenthal, instructors.

Letterpress instruction is offered each Tuesday during the first hour (6-7pm.) Instruction is available Monday for drop-ins as time permits.

Bindery Studio

The Bindery Studio is staffed with Book Arts instructors each Tuesday night from 6-9pm. No previous experience is necessary, all materials and equipment are provided. Those interested in bookbinding may attend any of the free workshops offered during the term or drop by for an Open Bindery night. Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff, instructors.

Workshops are limited to 8 participants and registration is required. To register blitz the appropriate instructor with the date and name of the workshop. Dartmouth College students receive priority for class sign-up.

Bindery Studio Schedule

April 7 -- Paste Paper with Stephanie Wolff
In this session we will paint paper with colored paste and make decorative marks. Once dry these sheets can be used for book covers, end sheets, collage, and other projects. Feel free to bring your own machine-made papers to work on, though we will have paper you can use. Canson Mi Tientes is a good weight for soft cover books and comes in colors, while paper to cover a book board would be an 80 lb. text weight. You can also just experiment with whatever we have on hand! While we do have aprons, expect to get a bit messy.

April 14 -- Candy Box with Deborah Howe
Back by popular demand! When opened this delightful box structure displays fancy accordion sides and a useful compartment for storing treasures. Using colorful papers adds flair to this structure, and the techniques used in its creation will provide the building blocks for other box construction.

April 28 -- Tunnel Books with Deborah Howe
We will create a tunnel book, like the dioramas that many of us made in school, but housed in a book structure. Many layers of imagery can be set up in a three-dimensional way to tell a visual story. This structure could be used with text as well.

May 12 -- Drum Binding with Deborah Howe
In this workshop we will investigate a rigid-page book structure. Using single folios we will create a codex of unlimited length with easy-to-turn pages. This structure is useful for putting imagery or text across the gutter of the book without interruption, and is often used for children's board books. This book structure has other possibilities for book artists, which we will explore.

May 19 -- Single Sheet Books and Cheap Editions with Stephanie Wolff
We will explore the single sheet book in this workshop. A great possibility for letterpress printers as one can print one side of a large sheet and then fold it up into a book! These structures also have great applications both in the classroom for educational purposes and in creating zines and other cheap publications. We’ll look at a variety of different structures, and talk about how to use the copier and other technology, including letterpress, in producing multiples copies.

May 26 -- Bindery Closed for Memorial Day

Open Bindery Nights

These sessions allow participants to work on their own projects with the Book Arts instructors available for guidance. Please blitz Deborah Howe if you plan to attend.

Open Bindery Nights for Spring Term, 2009
April 21
May 5
June 2

Questions?
Contact Barb Sagraves or any of the instructors.