The Twenty-seventh Annual Letters of Joy Calligraphy Conference takes place on May 1 & 2, at Edmonds Community College, in Lynnwood, WA. This is always a fun conference and Judy and I have taught classes at lots of previous LOJ’s.

This year, Lisa Englebrecht, internationally acclaimed artist, calligrapher and instructor, will deliver the keynote lecture and teach classes. Lisa’s an amazing lettering artist, and I’ve had the privilege of seeing her vibrant work and her students’ work at various conferences over the past decade or so. She is the author of ‘Modern Mark Making – From Classic Calligraphy to Hip Hand Lettering’ and is the featured artist on a DVD titled ‘Hand Lettering on Fabric’. More info on her website.

When you sign up for the 2009 LOJ conference, your all-event package includes admittance to the trade show, slide lecture and reception Friday evening, and three 2-hr classes on Saturday plus lunch! Click Write On Calligraphers for details about LOJ.

Even if you don’t sign up for classes, you can attend the trade show, lecture and reception on Friday night for $5!

I’ll be teaching the following classes on Saturday:

TRIANGLE BOOK • 9-11 am

LETTER BOOK • 12:30 – 2:30 pm, and again from 3 – 5 pm.

Think about it - in just two hours you'll make fabulous LETTER BOOKS like these, from a pattern I provide. They're fast 'n easy, and you can send them through the mail in their own wrap-around covers.

TRIANGLE BOOKS are almost magical in the way they open and reveal and hide text. You can make them in any size, with multiple inserts, and house them in elegant (or funky!) paper portfolios. Don't be square - make TRIANGLE BOOKS in my 2-hr class!

I often design projects specifically for a workshop. I enjoy the whole process – concept, sketches, rough models and finally, making the finished samples. I explore the project in different sizes and proportions, and the possibility of hinging multiple structures together or combining units in unusual ways.

Generally, the class projects come about from playing around with materials, or from a self-imposed assignment to create a new class. My goal is to design open-ended projects with lots of possibilities. But the bottom line is that the project was basically designed for a class.

TELESCOPE BOOK class samples are visible on the Scor-it Board on the left and a tiny telescope, part of my miniature book titled 'Galileo - A Telescopic View', is displayed on the right. I made all the projects in the background quickly and accurately with my Scor-it Board.

Sometimes, often months or years later, a class project will inspire a full-blown book structure with text. Such is the case with TELESCOPE BOOK. I’d been teaching this class for some time, and one day – BINGO – I knew the telescope class project was perfect for a book structure I wanted to create.

The class project was the inspiration for a miniature book titled ‘Galileo, a Telescopic View’, in an edition of 100. The telescope is one of four components of the book structure and it’s a variation of the class project – it has four sections as opposed to three, and I’ve added a folding easel to the back so it can stand up.

Artists Jenn Pang (left) and Patricia McGovern with completed TELESCOPE BOOKS, ready for embellishment

I taught  my 3-hour TELESCOPE BOOK CLASS last Sunday as part of the Seattle Center for Book Arts series titled ‘Books that Pop, Move, and Go BOOM!’.

SCBA Mission Statement:

Our mission is to provide educational, technical, and creative resources for individuals in the pursuit of book arts. Our vision is to foster appreciation, understanding, and acceptance of the book as a contemporary art form and medium for self-expression. Our ultimate aim is to establish a facility specifically designed and equipped for bookmaking and all related art forms.

(Heads-up: Karen Vance Chickadel will teach FLAG BOOK on March 1, and Chandler O’Leary will teach JACOB’S LADDER on March 8 as part of the series).

Artists Patricia and Jenn using Scor-it boads to construct sleeves for their Telescope Books

Art Instructor Amanda Wood (left) and High School Senior Sarah Anderson with her Flexagon Card models. In this photo the cards are closed.

I’ve been teaching paper and book arts classes for sixteen years, mostly to adults, and it’s always a special privilege when I receive an invitation to teach younger artists.

On the morning of February 10th, with Lyle Lovett tunes emanating from the CD player in my PT Cruiser, I left Seattle and drove 16 miles to Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, Washington. As I walked through the door to the main entrance to the school at 7:15 am, I was greeted with a wonderful display of art work – beautiful prints on paper and tiled plaques, created by students in classes taught by Art Instructors Amanda Wood and D’arcie Beytebiere. Seeing this vibrant artwork made me happy and even more excited to meet my students. I logged in, received my visitor’s pass, and proceeded to Amanda Wood’s classroom.

This photo shows the same Flexagon cards opened.

Art Instructor Amanda Wood had received a Book Arts Grant to have me teach four classes – ‘Flexagon Cards’ and ‘Envelope Book’ to students and adults at Meadowdale High School, and ‘Fold’n Cut Books’ to two classes at Meadowdale Middle School (You can see some of the samples I made for these classes below).

Meadowdale HS artists work on Flexagon Cards in Amanda's elective art class titled 'Art Books 9-12' as Michael adjusts overhead projector in preparation for next step (photo courtesy Amanda Wood)

High school students, teachers and parents observe basic techniques at the beginning of 'Envelope Books', taught as part of Amanda's once-a-week after school Art Club class (photo courtesy Amanda Wood)

I met Amanda for the first time when I walked into her classroom to set up, and reconnected with D’arcie, who teaches right next door (we met in the mid-90’s at a workshop I taught at Coupeville Art Center). As I walked around the two art rooms, I got inspired by ceramic sculptures that light up and lots of sculptural bookworks made by Meadowdale High School students – yet another visual (and tactile!) treat!

Michael operates Alex Tindall's flexagon heart card while Julia Higbee reads the next step in her Flexagon Cards handout (photo courtesy Amanda Wood)

Meadowdale Middle School artists made several 'Fold 'n Cut Books' in the cozy art room while snow fell outside (photo courtesy Amanda Wood)

Thank you, Amanda, for having me teach at the Meadowdale schools (and for being so totally organized!). It was exciting to experience your passion for book arts and to see that making hand-made books plays such a big part in your teaching curriculum!

Michael's samples for 'Flexagon Cards' Class

Michael's samples for 'Fold 'n Cut Books' Class

One of Michael's samples for 'Envelope Books' class

My ‘Telescope Book’ Class is the first in a series titled ‘Books that Pop, Move, and Go BOOM!’, offered by Seattle Center for Book Arts (SCBA). The three classes, including Flag Book with Karen Vance Chickadeleach and Jacob’s Ladder with Chandler O’Leary, take place on consecutive Sunday evenings from 4-7 pm, starting with my class on Feb 22 (Click here then click on Yvonne Jenks & Evelyn Finley to read what two artists say about their Telescope Books).

Click SCBA for information on all three classes in the ‘Books that Pop, Move, and Go BOOM!’ series, instructor bios, registration details, additional classes, resources and more.

Art 'n Soul Rubber Stamp Store in Lacey, Washington

WIRE-EDGE BINDINGS is my newest 1-day class, and consists of two book projects bound on the edges with wire. This versatile binding style was developed by Daniel Kelm, and can be readily adapted to create simple and complex book structures and articulated sculptural objects. When Daniel lectured to the Washington Book Arts Guild in 2000, I was completely blown away with his wire-edge objects. Some were quite ‘book-like’ and others were mind boggling interactive sculptures. I examined them closely and didn’t have a clue as to how they were constructed! My hat is off to Daniel for a most intriguing binding style.

I taught my WIRE-EDGE BINDINGS class yesterday at Art ‘n Soul. One of the two book structures has four pockets with removable pop-ups, and the other book has French doors and holds a tiny pamphlet-stitched book in a cavity on the inside. Both books are bound with a super simple version of wire-edge binding.

The artists pictured below proudly display their wire-edge books.

Judy Daugherty

Top view of one of Judy's books

Julie Shannon

Store owner Susie Tracy made these wire-edge books and portfolio

Artist Nancy Brones also made two wire-edge books yesterday. The photo below, however, shows us with the fabulous gift she presented to me at the beginning of the class. She learned to make Piano Hinge Books in a previous class at Art ‘n Soul, and constructed this one outside of class from vintage printed piano ephemera. Click on the photo to view a larger image and read the two-page spread just above the band with the word ‘piano’ on it. This spread IS one of the folios in the bookblock!! Nancy cleverly incorporated the printed pieces throughout the entire structure, including piano keys along the foredges. Thank you, Nancy, for this treasured gift!