Artist Book Intensive 2018 (Salt Lake City, UT)

August 3: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Gelatin Prints with Abbie Read

Gelatin printing is a “kitchen table” type printmaking technique whereby you can make monoprints using the surface of gelatin. The gelatin can be Knox gelatin (from the grocery store), commercial grade gelatin, or even a commercial rubber plate that simulates the gelatin surface. The beauty of the gelatin print results from thin layers of ink that function as glazes; by making patterns and marks in the ink on the surface of the plate and layering the glazes, you can create very rich abstract images. We will use pressed leaves and other flat natural shapes in addition to paper cutouts to create our imprints in the ink. These transfer as delicate replicas of the objects you are using. We will then use the gelatin prints as
decorative papers for the covers and/or pages of a book.

August 3: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Stab Bindings with Sandy Weisman

Stab Bindings are one category in the formal Japanese book binding
tradition. They can be used for hard or soft covered books. The bindings have traditional names, such as Kangxi, tortoise-shell, or hemp-leaf, but each is distinguished by a stitching pattern along the edge of the spine. We will explore a few of these traditional stab bindings, including the four-hole technique, the tortoise-shell binding, and the hemp-leaf binding. Students can also invent their own bindings.

Post-workshop opportunity: Cindy McGuirl will be here from 4–6 pm to show students how to prepare materials and stations for paper marbling, which she will teach on Saturday. She will be mixing up methyl cellulose and water for the marbling trays. To prepare the paper, she will dissolve the mordant alum in water and sponge it onto the papers. You are invited to watch, help, and work with her to get our paper marbling workshop set up.

August 4: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Paper Marbling with Cynthia McGuirl

Create your own marbled papers that can be used in handmade books or other paper arts. The marbling process includes working on methyl-cellulose thickened water with acrylic paints. Paper will be pretreated with a mordant so you can get right to work. Paint can be applied in a variety of ways: with different-sized eye droppers, brushes, or bundled broom straw. Patterns are manipulated with skewers, rakes, straws, and combs. Laying the paper on properly is the trickiest part, but you should be able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. We will use Texoprint, a waterproof sulphite paper with latex that stands up well as a cover for books. There also will
be other papers to try, including Japanese masa.

August 4: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Coptic Binding with Abbie Read

The Coptic binding is an ancient way of sewing book pages together so that the sewn binding is decorative and visible. One of the beauties of this binding is the pages lie flat when the book is open, making it ideal for journaling, painting, and writing. Using your gelatin prints as both the pages for your book and the decorative covers, you will assemble the prints into signatures to be bound together. Alternately, you may use other papers provided to create a blank
book using your gelatin prints only for cover and end pages.
Students work at different speeds, and we will stay by your side until you complete your Coptic-bound book!

August 6: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Hardbound Binding with Cynthia McGuirl

Learn how to create your own hardbound books! Precut parts and papers will be provided, but you can also use papers that you made in earlier workshops or on your own. To create the text block for your book, you will learn signature sewing. The pages, made from 250 gsm Lenox rag paper, are first folded and stacked. Holes are made on the folds with a fine saw. The pages are then assembled into signatures and sewn together with waxed linen thread. The spine edge is strengthened with glue, headbands, Japanese paper, and mull.
To make the cover, you will glue papers around precut book board parts. You will learn glueing and mitered corner techniques, as well as formulas for the spine width and the groove (the space between the cover and the spine). Options include making an inset on the cover for an image to be added later and adding book cloth to reinforce the spine. After drying and weighting, the cover and text block are brought together with endpapers. Each student will go home with a 44-page, 6 3/4“ x 8 1/4“ hardcover sketchbook.

More Options for the Afternoon

Making more books!
For those who have completed their Coptic bound, stab bound, and hard bound books, there will be supplies available to begin new books. You can begin to assemble one or more books to be completed at home; you might have additional gel prints or marbled paper to use as cover materials. Or you might want to create a shaped stab-bound book or brainstorm about a book design idea you have.

If you have not completed one or more of the previous days’ books, we will be able to assist you in getting that done. We hope that everyone who attends the entire Artist Book Intensive will leave with at least three completed books in different bindings!!

We’ll end our weekend with a celebration and display of everyone’s
completed books.

Location/Venue: 26 Split Rock Cove
Original website page: https://tinyurl.com/yc9ys3mo
Cost/Fee: 125/day $325 for all three days.
Material/Studio fee: Materials $15/day

Instructors:

Cynthia McGuirl works with fiber, metal, and paper using the techniques of stitching, hammering, and bookbinding, discovering a back and forth exchange between creating narrative images and creating objects. Cindy states: *“I try to work in an intuitive way when creating books. One image or word leads to another, and when I feel it has come together completely, the book is done. I hope people find the narrative informative and entertaining, but that it also inspires them to think about their own stories." CynthiaMotianMcGirl.com

Abbie Read works in collage, book arts, and mixed media sculpture, which usually incorporates old and discarded books as well as found objects. She has taught art in high school and college; she now teaches workshops relating to Book Arts in the mid-coast Maine area. She lives and works in Appleton, in her studio on Appleton Ridge. AbbieReadArtist.com

Sandy Weisman is a poet and visual artist, creating artist books and
collages that use both word and image. Her poetry has been included in two anthologies and several other journals, including *Off the Coast,* the *Aurorean*, and *Muddy River Review.* Her artist books and mixed media collages have been exhibited in the Boston area and in Maine.