Workshops

BOOKBINDING FOR BEGINNERS

Ralph Lewis Bindery, Writing NSW, Rozelle

19-20 January 2023
4-5 February 2023
4-5 March 2023
27-28 April 2023
6-7 May 2023
1-2 June 2023
1-2 July 2023
5-6 August 2023
7-8 October 2023
4-5 November 2023

This is the official introductory course of the NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders. It is held at the Guild’s professionally equipped Ralph Lewis Bindery in Garry Owen House, Writing NSW, Callan Park, Rozelle.

In this course you will learn key bookbinding terminology and the core skills of accurate measuring and cutting, paper handling, folding, glueing and stitching. You will be introduced to specialist tools as well as simpler homemade devices. You just need bring your creativity, curiosity and passion.

Please note, for this workshop students require good hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor skills and the capability and confidence to use sharp knives for cutting. Basic numeracy is required to facilitate accurate measurements and calculations. You should be able to follow verbal instructions and understand health and safety information.

Bookings are available through Sydney Community College.

I also teach several other classes at the NSW Guild, including: Box making; Coptic binding; Sketchbook; and Level 2: Flat back case binding. More information can be found here.

GRAMPIANS TEXTURE 2023

Halls Gap Victoria 
18-23 March 2023

Compendia: Form and content

Albums, sketchbooks, daybooks, journals and portfolios are essential tools of the creative trade. We will focus on three beautiful, functional structures: an album with removable pages, a versatile book suitable for drawing or writing, and a portfolio. We’ll make different coverings for the two books, and we’ll fill the portfolio with multiples we create and swap, in any medium, simple or complex, based around the theme of the Grampians landscape.

​Information and bookings here.

DRUM LEAF BINDING

Firestation Print Studio
MELBOURNE 14 May 2023
Primrose Paper Arts
SYDNEY 28 May 2023

Drum leaf binding is an adhesive book structure made up of single folded folios. Pages are ‘drummed’ at the spine and foredge, then the spine and cover are attached. Only one side of each folio is visible when the book is bound, making it a great structure for binding prints, drawings and the like, when only one side of the paper has been used. Because this is a book with no stitching, it allows for full page spreads uninterrupted by rows of thread in the centre folds. It can be made from a wide range of paper types, it lies quite flat, and is fairly easy to construct. While this book structure is great for binding existing artwork, you can also use blank pages. In this one-day workshop, suitable for all levels, we will aim to make two books, each using a different spine attachment technique.

EXPERIMENTAL/SCULPTURAL: BOOKMAKING BEYOND THE CODEX

Firestation Print Studio
MELBOURNE 12-13 MAY 2023

Many artists are familiar with bookmaking, primarily the codex form. However, the world of books is vast and varied, embracing a cornucopia of experimental and sculptural book structures. In this workshop we will focus on non-codex structures, employing paperfolding techniques to produce books that present work in new ways and are works of art in themselves. We will play with structures like the flower fold, Turkish map fold, flag books, some of the many and varied permutations of the humble concertina, and more. It’s a great opportunity to inject life into offcuts, test prints, or prints you might not want to include in editions or bound portfolios. Of course you can create imagery especially, or use paper from other sources, but the beauty of experimental and sculptural books is the freedom to create in a different way.

FOLDED / STITCHED

JERVIS BAY ARTS MUSTER
VINCENTIA 19-20 AUGUST 2023

Many artists are familiar with bookmaking, primarily the codex form. However, the world of books is vast and varied, embracing a cornucopia of experimental and sculptural book structures. In this two-day hands-on workshop we will focus on simple but effective paperfolding and stitching techniques to produce books that present work in new ways and are works of art in themselves. On the first day we will play with folded structures like the Columbus cube, various zine folds, the flower fold, Turkish map fold and some of the many permutations of the humble concertina. On the second day we will work primarily with sewn books. It’s a great opportunity to inject new life into old drawings and prints, or re-use paper from other sources like discarded books and maps. We can also create new text and imagery for our bookworks, and the seascape, landscape, white sandy beaches, birdlife and history of the Jervis Bay region offers plenty of inspirational creative fodder.

More information here.

BOOKMAKING: A SENSE OF PLACE

GEELONG FIBRE FORUM
GEELONG 23-30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Books as works of art are so appealing because of their versatility and intrinsic intimacy. We will make bookworks from start to finish: develop ideas; plan content; plot pages; use imagery, words or both to tell a story or convey meaning; and bind the book (or books). While the book structures we make will be quite simple, and suitable for all levels, we will use good bookbinding technique, with an understanding and awareness of the characteristics of paper and how a book functions.

The theme of ‘sense of place’ is a great inspirational starting point. ‘Place’ can be many things – a physical location, a place in our heart, a place we have never been or a place we long for, the landscape, even the immediacy of the room we are in. Geelong and the Bellarine offer plenty of creative fodder – the waterfront of Port Phillip Bay, the Barwon River, the You Yangs, and the associated industries of ropemaking, wool and textiles.

We will form our pages using paper, but almost any medium – drawing materials, collage, photographs, stitching, anything you like to use to make marks – can be incorporated to make your work unique and personal.

Bookings and information here.

BOOK ARTS IN COBARGO

COBARGO SCHOOL OF ARTS
28-29 OCTOBER 2023

Details coming soon.