Fall 2019

November 25, 2019

On Saturday, November 16th, 7 women gathered for round 2 of the Bookmaking Bonanza! I hosted my first Bonanza this spring and had such a great time, we added a fall version to wrap ou my workshop series at the Floyd Center for the Arts located in gorgeous Floyd, VA

We made 5 books is 5 hours including the Flower Fold Mini Book, the Accordion Mini Book, the Smash Book, the Photo Album Accordion Fold and the Japanese Stab Binding. These ladies nailed it…even the very challenging folds that make the Photo Album.

Group Picture of all the wonderful Bookmaking Artists holding their favorite book

Learning how to create smooth covers for our Accordion Folds

We use glue sticks (a dry glue) for our mini books. The glue stays where we put it!

Gwynne taking detailed notes on how to build the books

The Smash Book…a unique variation of the Flower Fold

Ann running her bone folder along the edge to get a clean, straight finish

Valli carefully placing her Smash Book pages

The final products of the Bookmaking Bonanza!

Are you interested in learning how to make a mini book of your own? My next bookmaking bonanza will take place on Saturday, December 14th in Blacksburg, VA.

{ Ecoprinting & Natural Dyes } : Workshop in Review : Day One // Floyd, VA

October 31, 2019

In Saturday, October 19th, 10 wonderful women gathered together to learn how to use local (and not so local!) foliage, kitchen waste (onion skins, red cabbage, etc.) to create dynamic prints on silk and wool.

A group shot of all the workshop participants with their favorite textile

We learned about choosing the best fabrics for printing, how to prep our fabrics by scouring and mordanting, how to roll bundles and the importance of contact to execute successful printing.

Here are some of the results of our fabric bundles with loads more images to come…and this was just Day One. We still have printing on paper and making natural inks to explore!

{ Designing Artist Books : Workshop in Review } : Floyd, VA //

September 24, 2019

This past weekend, seven women gathered at the Floyd Center for the Arts for the Designing Artist Books workshop.

Group photo! All the amazing ladies that designed Artist Books with me this weekend!

Plus Grace, who had to leave early for the opera!

We explored many background paper techniques using wet-on-wet and dry processes. The end product was less important than the process. We learned to not judge what was made since the paper would be used as a piece and not as a whole. This can be a challenging concept for many people!

Using watercolors and rubbing alcohol to create unexpected results on paper

We made as many papers in 4 hours as we could. The participants could use any technique that they learned that day to make their cover paper.

MaryJo exploring art and science while creating her background papers

Spray inks are always a huge success! Being highly pigmented make them very attractive to students of all ages.

Penny and Suzanne exploring spray inks…the possibilities are endless!

Using everyday items found easily, on the cheap or around the home make pattern easy to create.

MaryJo using handmade stamps on black and Kraft cardstock paper

Our books are 6 x 6” while our papers are much larger. Participants cut down their papers to he desired size. This leaves them with loads of handprinted scrap paper to use as collage within their books.

Pat using scraps of her handprinted papers to collage her pages

We had an AMAZING time creating in community. The great thing about these books are that you can add, takeaway, make pages in any size, put int ages, envelopes, pockets and fold out pages. This is a book that is never done…making it organic and endless.

{ Designing Artist Books : September 21-22, 2019 } // Floyd, VA

September 11, 2019

I will be hosting ‘Designing Artist Books’ at the Floyd Center for the Arts. If you want to learn how to make super funky papers…(or what to do with all those papers taking up space that are too beautiful to throw away), this weekend workshop is for you! In addition to making a TON of vibrant, handprinted papers, we will learn how to use everyday household items as stamps, using our handwriting as pattern, easy collage techniques that make a big impact and more!

{ Afterschool Arts : Registration Opens Monday, August 19th } : Fall Session //

August 18, 2019

An Afterschool Artist works on decorating her Smash Book

Riv proudly displays her decorated Smash Book

An Afterschool Artist explores color and pattern as she makes the cover for her sketchbook

An Afterschool Artist diligently folds her pages for Mini Photo Accordion Book

In Afterschool Arts, young Artists ages 6 years and up explore a variety of mixed media supplies and techniques including book arts, printmaking, fiber/textiles, 3D design/assemblage and more! This September begins my third session of Afterschool Arts and it is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. If you have a Creative Child in your life that loves to work with non-traditional art supplies and mediums and wants to explore techniques in a fun and supportive environment, this class series is for them!