Dear Everyone ~
Cat Bennett and I have been co-teaching our Bookful workshop series via Zoom since September of 2020. We began with Bookful of Art. Every year since, we've presented three 4-session workshops with a different theme, from Bookful of Illustrated Notes to Self (No. 6) to Bookful for the Arrival of Winter (No.9). In Boxful of Summer (No. 10), students made a drop-spine box to hold their hand-folded envelopes and notecards that they illustrated with fruits & flora of the season, complete with a slim compartment for the pencils they covered in Cambridge Imprint papers.
In a Bookful workshop, we begin by making a book—learning a different style of binding or structure each time—under my tutelage. In the next three sessions, Cat leads a never-ending variety of drawing & painting exercises, sharing her creative process and inspiring everyone to easily & joyfully fill their books. Here is one of my favourite post-Bookful posts showcasing everyone’s finished oeuvres and their general delight.
We usually take a Bookful break during the summer months. This year, as we conclude our 13th (a binder’s dozen!) Bookful, we’ve decided to make our full-length live recordings of workshops Nos. 1–12 available all summer. Each recording (12-ish hours-ful) comes with the same kit of sumptuous materials as the original workshop (barring the occasional palette refreshment or replacement), plus my standard discount on any tools you order at the same time.
Here are a few of Cat’s Bookful reflections:
“ I’m always trying to think of interesting themes for our books that will motivate us to grow our art making. There are endless ways to make art from the same subject matter. At the beginning of each class, I often do a slideshow with examples from other artists giving us ideas about how we might work. This is how I work as an artist too. I’m always looking at art to see what sparks an idea for me. Sometimes it’s a color or the way someone wields a brush with a bit of swagger or a pen with delicate sensitivity. Even when we take inspiration from other artists, the work always turns into our own. In Bookful, we explore drawing and making art in many ways to grow our own art.
As a teacher, I hope to encourage everyone to work with imagination and try things out. Even to go to the edge of their abilities and ideas. That’s where we really discover things and make creative leaps. I’m always excited to see the beautiful work our students do and think the books we make and fill are real treasures. ”
If you’d like to purchase more than one Bookful recording, we are offering this enticement: a 15% discount ($44.25!) on your second recording, likewise on your third, and so on & so fourth. The collected Bookful recordings will be available for purchase until Labor Day, and the recordings will be yours to use for as long as you need.
Bookfuls
Calm, cool, collected, Bari