Workshops
Spring/Summer 2013
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 today by phone: 269/373-4938 (please have credit card ready), email: linda@kalbookarts.org, or mail by enclosing a check with this printable enrollment form. To view our entire summer schedule with info on exhibits and poetry readings follow this link.
Members receive a discount of 10% on enrollment fees. Learn more on the Membership section of our Support pages.
Spring/Summer Workshops
Go to sections:
Kids and Family Workshops | One Day Workshops | Extended Workshops
Our Faculty
Lorrie Grainger Abdo has taught papermaking, surface design, and bookbinding classes for all ages. 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.
Mary Brodbeck learned Japanese woodblock printmaking in Tokyo with Yoshisuke Funasaka in 1998. Mary’s prints are now in collections throughout the world including her Sleeping Bear Dunes series at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She is currently working on a documentary film about the Japanese woodblock printmaking process.
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 Frostic School of Art for many years and now teaches for Battle Creek Public Schools.
Elizabeth King is a mixed media artist and designer who studied creativity coaching with Eric Maisel, the author of numerous books including Fearless Creating and The Van Gogh Blues. She believes creativity is a natural extension of living and makes the whole journey a lot more fun.
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.
Kids and Teens Workshops (Parents Welcome!)
Sound Books
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $25
Fri., June 21, 1 to 3 p.m.
Construct books with small electronic recording devices that make sound when you open them. Surprise your friends with these clever talking books!
Japanese Books
(Ages 8 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Mon., June 24, 1 to 3 p.m.
Make decorative wax-resist paper to use as the covers for Japanese stitched books. We’ll even have time to make an origami crane!
Papermaking Play!
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Fri., June 28, 1 to 3 p.m.
Come play in our papermaking studio! We will experiment with colorful pulp painting. Use the paper for scrapbooks, cards, or works of art.
Accordion Books
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Mon., July 8, 1 to 3 p.m.
In this class we will make accordion books with colorful covers that can be used for sketchbooks or journals.
Pocket Journals
(Ages 8 and up)
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $25
Fri., July 12, 1 to 3 p.m.
Pocket journals are just like regular hardback books, only miniature! Make your own small journal with a decorative cover; a place to keep your drawings, doodles, and secret notes.
Foam Printing
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Mon., July 15, 1 to 3 p.m.
Have fun creating easy block prints from drawings made on foam plates that are inked and pressed on colorful paper. Use these prints to decorate your room
Flag Books
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $25
Fri., July 19, 1 to 3 p.m.
Flag books have pages that move back-and-forth like flags. Make a pop-up book that waves when you open it!
Tunnel Books
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Mon., July 22, 1 to 3 p.m.
Create a tunnel pop-up book that contains a three-dimensional diorama. Make a magical landscape or a porthole to outer space! Follow your imagination through a tunnel book.
Star Books
(Ages 6 and up)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee: $25
Fri., July 26, 1 to 3 p.m.
Create unique star-shaped pop-up books that contain colorful three-dimensional dioramas. These amazing books will send your imagination off to far-away places.
Shaving Cream Marbled Paper
(Ages 8 and up)
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $25
Mon., July 29, 1 to 3 p.m.
Make beautiful marbled paper, with colorful swirling patterns, using shaving cream and food coloring. Come play in the foamy suds and watch the colors emerge.
Book Camp for Young Artists
(Ages 8 and up)
Instructors: Jeff Abshear / Fee $50
Fri., August 2 & Sat. August 3, 1 to 3 p.m.
In this intensive class we will spend two days creating handmade hard cover books. Learn the simple techniques of bookbinding, and make your own book with a customized cover.
One-Day Workshops
Posters on the Vandercook
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
Sat., May 18, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
This year we acquired a new collection of large wooden type and we want to use it on our largest Vandercook letterpress. Spent a day with us, piecing the letters together to make posters. Decorate your room or advertise your next event!
Make a Drypoint—Scratch a Print!
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
Sat., June 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Drypoint is a simple and direct printing process in which images are drawn directly onto plexiglass plates. Students will learn to develop ideas, ink the plate, and operate the printing press to create multiple images.
Decorative Boxes
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
Sat. June 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
In this class we will use binder board, bookcloth, and decorative paper to create special boxes with fitted lids. Use these boxes as a to store photos and jewelry, or give as a gift to a friend.
Two Ancient Book Forms
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $65
Sat., June 29, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Participants will use handmade paper to sew the two oldest forms of bookbinding: Japanese stab binding and Egyptian Coptic stitch binding. These fun books with beautiful stitching can be used as sketchbooks or journals.
Large Sheet Papermaking
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $65
Sat., July 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
This class is for artists who want to make their own paper. We will use large molds to create sheets of paper that can be used for drawing, painting, and printmaking. Imagine working on paper you’ve made yourself!
The Art of Paste Painting
Instructor: Lorrie Grainger Abdo / Fee $35
Sat., July 13, 9 a.m. to noon
Paste painting is a surface design technique using tools to move colored paste and create beautiful decorative paper. Students are encouraged to bring combs, chunky rubber stamps, or any other mark making objects. Come experiment with us!
Spectacular Spiral Paper Quilts
Instructor: Lorrie Grainger Abdo / Fee $35
Sat., July 13, 1 to 4 p.m.
In this class students will make spiral quilt blocks from paper. Each block uses a spiraling pattern and for different papers to create beautiful three-dimensional visual effects. Several varieties of decorative paper will be provided, or better yet take the Paste Painting class in the morning and use some of the papers from that class!
Extended Workshops
Metal, Paper & Light
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee: $195
With guest instructor: Martin Detwiler, Creative Metal Arts www.sparksmetalarts.com
Sat., May 18, 25, & June 1, & 8, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Blend sculpture, functionality, metal and paper to create a one of a kind lamp. Students will learn to weld a metal armature, make paper to cover and embellish the lamp, and install electrical components. Creative uses for both metal and paper will be explored and participants will leave with a completed unique lamp that is ready to enjoy.
The Basics of Papermaking
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee $165
Mon., June 3, 10, 17, 24, 6:30 to 9:30pm
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 create a sewn book form and folio from paper created in previous weeks. Both experienced papermakers and beginners are encouraged to enroll.
Book Arts for Poets
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee: $165
Thurs., July 11, 18, 25, & Aug. 1, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
This is a class for poets, or the friends of poets, who want to create limited-edition handmade books of original poetry. We will work with both letterpress and digital printing, do some hand papermaking, include simple relief prints, and bind the books by hand. Each participant will conclude the workshop with a small edition of poetry books they created by hand.
Letterpress Printing
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $165
Wed., June 19, 26, & July 3, 10, & 17, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
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.
Japanese Woodblock Printmaking
Instructor: Mary Brodbeck / Fee $285
Sat. July 20 & Sun. July 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with lunch break
Japanese woodblock prints have a timeless, delicate beauty, a range of textures and values, and a low-tech simplicity that endures. In this intensive weekend workshop you will learn the basic methods of traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking. Participants will be given instructions on woodcarving, the use of brushed-on watercolor paints, color registration, and hand pressed printing. All experience levels welcome. Participants will need their own carving tools (recommend item #44D1005, Lee Valley, www.leevalley.com).
Beginning Bookbinding and Foil Stamping
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $95
With guest instructor: Mark Lambert, Plough & Shear Bindery
Sat., July 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Sun. July 28, noon to 3 p.m.
In this two-day class we will make a hardcover book and then decorate it with foil stamping. On Saturday learn to bind a book by hand using traditional materials and book cloth. Come back on Sunday use foil stamping machines to decorate the cover of your book. Instruction will be given in stamping on different materials including paper and leather.
Creativity Campfire
Instructor: Elizabeth King / Fee $45
Thurs., Aug. 8, 15, & 22, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
What fuels our inspiration and creativity? What gives us energy and what blocks our way? Investigate the creative inner life during a three-week discussion group designed for creators from any discipline. Each session explores a stage in the creative process through relaxed guided exercises and short readings. Join a group of like-minded seekers “around the campfire” to share stories and get fresh insights into your own creative process.