KBAC Fall 2010 classes
Our studios on the first floor of the Park Trades Center offer a wide array of equipment and inspired instruction for a creative experience in the book arts.
Check out our courses and enroll now. Members receive a discount of 10% on enrollment fees. Learn more on the Members page. Details>
VISITING ARTISTS WORKSHOP
Peter and Donna Thomas
Exploring Miniature Books: Alternative Structures
SECOND SECTION ADDED:
Friday, Sept.24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break / Fee $75
To enroll call 269/373-4938 or email info@kalbookarts.org with your name and where you can be contacted.
In this workshop we will make two small format books. The first will be an accordion book with a unique “nested pop up accordion fold” structure. The second will be a scrolling case bound book, featuring a wooden framework holding a scroll housed in a paper-covered binding. All materials are provided, but bring additional decorative paper, collage elements, paints, watercolors, pens, rubberstamps, etc. to illustrate and add text to your books. All levels welcome; limit 12 students.
They will be here with their Gypsy Wagon bookmobile and present a lecture at the Kalamazoo Public Library. Details>
FALL WORKSHOPS
Kids and Teens Workshops
Make a Drypoint—Scratch a Print! (Ages: 12-16)
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $45
Saturday, Oct. 23, 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.
Halloween Star Books
(Ages 8-12)
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $25
Saturday, October 30, 1 to 4 p.m.
In this class we will create unique star-shaped pop-up books that contain spooky three-dimensional dioramas. Make a graveyard or a haunted castle spring off the page, or a witch fly across the moon with these fun books!
Adult and Teen
Workshops
Paper Plunge
Instructor: Eve Reid / Fee $45
Saturday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Enjoy the sensation of creating handmade paper sheets almost instantly. Then, work with pigmented pulps on the new sheets, learning techniques to create lines, shapes and textures. In the afternoon there will be time to create a miniature book with supplied handmade paper for the book covers. Bring ideas, take home solutions, enjoy success.
Beginning Bookbinding
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $45
Saturday, Oct. 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
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.
Two Ancient Book Forms
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee $45
Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
Participants will learn 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.
Extended Workshops
The Basics of Making Paper
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee $120
Wednesday., Oct. 6, 13, 20, & 27, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
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
Instructor: Jeff Abshear / Fee $120
Tuesday, Oct. 12, 19, 26, & Nov. 9, 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 four-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.
Let There Be Light!—Making Paper Lamps
Instructor: Kim Hosken Eberstein / Fee: $150
Wednesday, Nov. 3, 10, 17, & Dec. 1, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
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.
Letterpress CD Covers for Musicians
Instructor: Katie Platte / Fee: $90
Thursday, Nov. 4, 11, 18, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
This class is for members of bands that want to create a hand-designed cover for a collection of music. We will create one carved relief print for the cover image and set type for the title and information about the group. We will talk about design, and about getting the most impact possible with 2 colors of ink. Each participant will create an edition of 20 CD covers. These will make great gifts!
Holiday Card Workshop
Instructors: Jeff Abshear & Katie Platte / Fee: $90
Saturday, Nov. 13 & 20, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch break
In this fun workshop we will make handmade holiday cards. The first day will be devoted to papermaking and the second to simple letterpress printing. Come make unique handmade holiday greetings for your family and friends!
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.
The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center is funded in part by grants from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
