Workshops
Winter 2012
JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH
Explore the art of creating handmade paper, prints and books – take a workshop at KBAC. Our studios on the first floor of the Park Trades Center offer a wide array of workshops for all ages. Experience inspired instruction and enjoy a creative experience in the book arts.
Enroll now in courses for Kids and Teens or One Day, Two Day and Extended Workshops for youth and adults. You can download a copy of our Winter Catalog here. You can register by mail with the Winter Registration Form or by phone at 269/373-4938.
Members receive a discount of 10% on enrollment fees. Learn more on the Membership section of our Support page.
Winter Workshops
Go to sections:
Kids and Family Workshops | One Day Workshops | Two Day Workshops | Extended Workshops
Our Faculty
LORRIE GRAINGER ABDO has taught papermaking, surface design, and bookbinding classes for all ages, and is an active member of the Handmade Paper Guild of Southwest Michigan. Her colorful artwork can be found in galleries in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
JEFF ABSHEAR, the Director of the KBAC, was a Fulbright Research Scholar to Venice, Italy, where he worked at the Accademia di Belle Arti and studied the history of Italian printing, bookbinding, and papermaking. He also teaches book arts each summer to children in Sardinia, Italy.
KIM HOSKEN EBERSTEIN received her MFA in painting from Western Michigan University, where she was trained in papermaking by KBAC cofounder Paul Robbert. She taught in the School of Art at WMU for many years and now teaches for Battle Creek Public Schools.
KATIE PLATTE is a graduate of the Studio Art program at Grand Valley State University. She completed an internship at the Women’s Studio Workshop, an arts organization specializing in printmaking and book arts in Rosendale, New York.
EVE REID retired from teaching art at Western Michigan University. She is the founder and former President of the Handmade Paper Guild of Southwest Michigan. Reid divides her time between teaching, traveling, and exhibiting nationally and internationally.
Kids and Family Workshops
Shaving Cream Marbled Paper (Ages 8 and up)
Sat., Feb. 11, Noon to 3:00 p.m.
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $25
In this class we will make beautiful marbled paper, with colorful swirling patterns, using shaving cream and food coloring. Then we will use the paper to create the cover for a decorative box. Come play in the foamy suds and watch the colors emerge.
Teen Prints (Ages 12 and up)
Sat., Mar. 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $45
The beauty of prints is you can give them away as gifts, and yet still keep a copy! This workshop is for teens that want to learn how to make multiple prints of their drawings. We will work with the process of drypoint etching, a simple technique that produces beautiful images for framing.
Spring Star Books (Ages 8 and up)
Sat., March 31, Noon to 3 p.m.
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Tired of the winter blues? In this class we will create unique star-shaped pop-up books that contain three-dimensional dioramas welcoming the arrival of spring! Make a garden of flowers that jump off the page, or bluebirds that soar across the sky with these fun books!
One-Day Workshops
The Art of Paste Painting
Sat., Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to noon
Instructor: Lorrie Grainger Abdo / Fee $35
Paste painting is a surface design technique made by brushing colored paste onto a sheet of paper and using various tools to move the paste and create graphic images. Students are encouraged to bring combs, chunky rubber stamps, brayers, or any other mark making
objects. The instructor will also have tools available for use. Come experiment with us!
Decorative Stitches
Sat., Jan. 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
In this class we will explore techniques of bookbinding that leave beautiful patterned stitching on the outside cover. We will create two projects: a stab-bound album with a decorative hard cover, and a pamphlet using a long-stitch binding. Come learn how to create books where the decorative stitches show!
Valentine’s Day Eye Candy
Sat., Feb. 4, 9 a.m. to noon
Instructor: Lorrie Grainger Abdo / Fee $35
This is not your average Valentine. In this class we will use a variety of painting techniques to create beautiful papers of various colors. Valentines are nice in pink but they don’t have to be. Then the papers come together using an inwardly spiraling pattern technique called iris-folding. At the end of class you’ll have several very cool heart-shaped valentines to use in cards or as wall art.
Beginning Bookbinding
Sat., Mar. 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $65
Making a hardcover book is a lot easier than you think. Learn to sew and bind one by hand! Participants will use traditional materials and book cloth to create a handmade journal.
Unlock the Mystery of Handmade Paper
Sat., March 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Eve Reid / Fee $65
Try hand papermaking and discover how the sheet is made, of what, how it’s pigmented and how the layers bond. Then, experiment with how the designs remain on the surface, how to create relief impressions, how to add inclusions and more! Expand your creativity and take home answers with examples.
Two-Day Workshops
These two introductory classes are designed for people who want to explore the processes of printmaking. Each class can be taken separately for a fee of $65 or combined for a discounted fee of $120.
Printmaking I
Sat. Feb. 18, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
In this class we will explore a simple relief printing process using Styrofoam plates, and the intaglio technique of drypoint on Plexiglass. Both of these are very easy for beginners and don’t require a lot of drawing skills to get beautiful results. Color will be added to the prints using chine-collé and top rolling. Learn a new way to make art!
Printmaking II
Sat., Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $65
With this class we will go further into relief printing, using carving tools in linoleum to create images. We will also explore a simple lithographic process on a polymer film that allows you to make a print from a laser-jet image or a Sharpie marker drawing.
THE ABOVE TWO CLASSES CAN BE COMBINED FOR A DISCOUNT / Fee $120
Extended Workshops
Let There Be Light!—Making Paper Lamps
Mon., Jan. 16, 23, 30, & Feb. 6, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee $150
Blending sculpture and functionality you can create a one-of-a-kind lamp using a wooden base, twigs, metal rings, and handmade paper. No previous experience is needed for this creative 3D art class. Students will learn to build a sculptural framework, make handmade paper to cover it, add decorative enhancements, and install the electrical components. The end result will be a unique, sculptural lamp that is ready to plug in and enjoy.
The Basics of Making Paper
Wed., Jan. 18, 25 & Feb. 1 & 8, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee $120
During this four-week workshop we will use the papermaking process to create unique, expressive art. We will use colored pulp, fibers, and collage elements to make works suitable for framing. During the last session we will explore the printmaking area of the KBAC and use our handmade paper for printing. Both experienced papermakers and beginners are encouraged to enroll. It’s an easy process—come have fun with us!
Letterpress Printing
Wed., Feb. 15, 22, 29 & Mar. 7 & 14; 6 to 9 p.m.
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $150
For more than 500 years—before the invention of the computer—books were produced from metal type, set, and printed by hand. In this five-week workshop we will explore these traditional techniques handed down from Gutenberg. Please bring a poem or short piece of text to the first session.
