Instructors: Cat Bennett + Bari Zaki

This Bookful workshop, and its eleven Bookful brethren, was originally presented to a Zoom audience of students from far & wide. We’ve decided to make our full-length live recordings of each of these workshops available for purchase this summer. (The themes of the twelve workshops will never be repeated or reprised, as Cat Bennett & Bari Zaki will keep thinking of new subjects.)

Every recording (12-ish hours-ful) comes with the same kit of sumptuous materials as the original workshop, barring the occasional palette refreshment or replacement. Also included is my sincere invitation to contact me if you have questions or anxious moments whilst watching and making. Enticement: a 15% discount ($44.25!) on your second Bookful purchase, likewise on your third, and so on & so fourth.

This four-Saturday workshop was the second collaboration between Cat Bennett and Bari Zaki. We thought briefly about naming it “Accordion Trio,” because you will make three accordion books, but, in the end, we decided we had to have the word bookful in the workshop name, because we love it.

What you’ll make: A trio of 5" x 5" accordion books with 18 pages (nine 2-sided panels). In each book, you’ll draw in different ways: with marker pen, coloured pencils, and with a brush for watercolours, gouache, or acrylics. Each book stands up on its own when closed; it fans open to be about a yard long, and will stand gracefully without support.

Workshop #1 (4-ish hours) – You will fold the accordion pages for your three books and make their covers. Ingeniously, the only tools you will need are: a bonefolder, a glue stick, and a pair of sharp scissors. The crescent board (for your covers) serves as your straight edge for measuring and folding your paper cover panels. You will wrap your covers, but keep them detached from your accordion structure (until after Workshop #3). The operative word is interlocking—you’ll see! A spine is optional, and your kit of materials will include a piece specifically for this, should you choose to make a spine.

Workshops #2 and #3 (each is 3-ish hours) – Cat will lead you in drawing and painting on your accordions. You will fill your first book with illustrations of things you love at home (indoors): your cozy chair, plants, books, art supplies, and a favourite teacup. You will add a few words, a title, or a “set direction” about the daily rituals these objects embody. Before Workshop #3, you will go on a nature walk (outdoors), collecting samples of plants, sprigs, twigs, pods, etc. to bring home and draw in your second book.

Workshop #4 (3-ish hours) – Cat will lead you in drawing the faces of guests at an imaginary gathering of your favourite artists. If we can’t meet in person, we can meet on paper! You’ll add notations as to how each artist inspires you. For the finale, Bari will demo two alternate styles of hinging for your future accordion-making adventures. 

Class fee includes the materials (but not the tools) we use to make a trio of accordion books:

15 sheets of Stonehenge, Bari’s personal favourite (5" x 20")

6 pieces of crescent board (5" x 5")

12 sheets of Fabriano Tiziano for your covers: 4 sheets x 3 colours (5" x 10"); 3 sheets (5" x 3").

The three palettes as shown here (left to right) are Siena, Santa Fe, and Napa Valley. Please order from the dropdown menu below. If you’d like to purchase an additional set of materials, you certainly can. However, you cannot accomplish this in the dropdown menu (because one set of materials is included with the workshop fee). It’s $125 per additional set, with no shipping fee if you order at the same time as your workshop purchase. To order, please e me and I will be in touch extremely promptly. And I will be sure that you don’t receive duplicate sets for making your trio of accordions (unless you want to).

Tools needed: Bonfeolder, gluestick.

Ancillary tools needed: Cutting mat, scissors or X-acto knife, ruler, triangle ruler. 

Cat and I look forward to sharing our love of paper, bookbinding, drawing, painting & nature with you in this 4-session (12-ish hours-ful) live-recorded workshop!

About Cat: In her former life, she was a commercial illustrator for 25 years. All three of her wonderful books are available in our shop & online: The Confident Creative, Making Art a Practice, and The Drawing Club of Improbable Dreams. 

“I believe that drawing and painting create happiness. I love teaching because I get to see people discover their own creative genius!” – Cat Bennett