Bountiful Bookful of Personal Patterns

Dear Everyone ~

Creating patterns & making marks is a lovely way to sit and draw without the pressure of What do I draw? It’s calming, it’s meditative, it’s a gradual warm-up to watercolour and paper. I continue to find drawing with a brush both liberating and soothing. The brush is a very versatile tool, allowing for playfulness and endless exploration with colour and medium. Often, such pieces and patterns become integrated into—and even the centerpiece of—the composition itself. Despite not being 3-D, they are decorative, doodly, and bearers of delight.

Bountiful Bookful of Personal Patterns is my fifth Bookful collaboration with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett, and it will debut in less than two weeks on Saturday, October 30! (And wrap up the weekend before Thanksgiving.)

The Bookful workshops began a little over a year ago, and some students have attended two or three series, and 10-ish students have taken all four series! This calls for a bountiful bit of appreciation! We will be offering our “all-Bookish all-stars” (meaning the students who’ve taken all four series with us) a 15% discount on the upcoming series.

The book structure you will make is a classic accordion book with two separate hard covers. The papers I’ve chosen for the covers are by Cambridge Imprint, and the kit of materials is doubly-deluxe, because it includes the materials to make two books, one in Workshop #1 and one later on your own. So, you will receive two pairs of patterned papers, two sets of book boards for your covers, two rolls (3 pieces 6 x 43") of Stonehenge drawing papers, and 10 hinging strips (extra 6 for good measure). Recently, so many students have requested extra kits that I have decided to expand the workshop kit.

The Bookful workshops have become a haven of calm and creativity for students in many time zones. If you are outside the US, I will ship your materials this Wednesday, October 20, but cannot guarantee their timely arrival—in which case, you will have the pleasure of everyone’s company during Workshop #1, and the video to guide you in making your book in time for Workshop #2.

As always, Cat & I like to emphasize, especially if you are a newcomer, absolutely no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace and camaraderie is quiet and comfortable. We look forward to seeing you via Zoom very soon!

Bountiful Bookful of Personal Patterns

Bookfully, Bari