Dear Everyone ~
Introduction to Bookbinding is a new group workshop I’m offering via Zoom. It debuts two weeks from today, on Saturday March 27. This two-ish-plus hour workshop has been inspired by the Bookful workshops that I have co-taught with artist-teacher-author Cat Bennett. These group workshops have been a great accomplishment for both Cat and me, as Zooming has allowed us to include students from all over, and to teach a large group. Ah, technology!
Introduction to Bookbinding will be my first solo-teaching group Zoom workshop, and I am excited & energized. During the Bookful workshops, I had noticed some students encountering difficulty with certain steps and, therefore, becoming challenged to keep up. It occurred to me that a pre-Bookful bookbinding workshop focused on a handful of basics could sharpen students’ hand-eye-brain skills for making a first book.
In the two weeks since I announced Introduction to Bookbinding, it has attracted students who have already made books with me, both in-studio and, more recently, via Zoom. I am beyond delighted & inspired by this response. I’ve realized that this workshop can indeed serve as a refresher as well as an introduction.
One of my favourite aspects of a group workshop is assembling the kits of materials and tools. In typical Bari Zaki fashion, I love to offer several palettes of papers. From folding & trimming the papers to size, to organizing them in stacks, and photographing them all lined up on the center table, and, finally, enveloping them for posting. Happiness.
A special element in the Introduction to Bookbinding kit is the Binder’s Dozen Paper Sampler. This charmola set of thirteen different papers (held together with a tiny you-can-imagine-what) will help students at the beginning of the workshop to become acquainted with various paper types, weights, textures...and grain direction!
If you’ve been curious about paper & bookbinding, or if you feel your skills have taken a staycation, I encourage you to join us for this introduction to bookbinding & lovely papers.
Introduction to Bookbinding
Zoomderfully, Bari