2024 Workshops

We are currently offering both online and in-person instruction. Please check back for updates to this page, including additional workshop offerings and any necessary cancellations.

View past Book Arts Program workshops.

View our signup and refund policy.

Relicensure points for educators are available from the Utah State Board of Education for all workshops. For more information: Email or call 801-585-6019.   

In-Person Workshops

Papermaking: Fiber + Formation
Emily Tipps & Jazmin Gallegos 

May 21–June 18
Tuesdays, 4:30—7:30pm
$275
REGISTER
(through LifeLong Learning)

Venture into the fundamentals of hand papermaking in this fast-paced, five-week course. Topics include fiber selection and processing, western-style sheet formation, and experimental techniques ranging from pulp painting to sculptural applications using overbeaten fibers. Participants leave with a sample book of handmade sheets and an array of papers to be used for printing, bookmaking, collage, letter-writing or other creative applications.

 

Colors From Nature: Paper Dyeing
Amy Childress

June 22
Saturday, 10am–5pm

$80
REGISTER
 
This workshop introduces paper dyeing with natural pigments for hand papermaking. Participants will learn how to prepare natural dyes from weld, lac and walnut to dye paper fiber and how to apply natural dye to already made sheets of paper. Using the dyed paper fiber, the group will learn the basic techniques of Western papermaking, including sheet formation, pressing, and drying. Participants will leave the workshop with handmade sheets of paper for use in bookbinding, printing, collage or other creative applications.  

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Amy Childress is a book artist, writer, and arts administrator residing next to the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2021, she completed her MFA at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. She has studied European, Eastern and Indo-Islamic papermaking techniques. She has taught book arts workshops at various libraries in Iowa and Utah, as well as for the Morgan Paper Conservatory. Her work explores the parallel between the subtle moments that happen in nature and in interpersonal relationships. 

 

Risograph Training
Sara Luz Jensen & Amy Thompson

August 10
Saturday, 1–4pm
$15
REGISTER

October 26
Saturday, 10am–1pm
$15
REGISTER
 
What is a Risograph duplicator, and why is it all the rage? The Riso is a Japanese stencil duplicator that blends the functionality of photocopying with the artistry of screenprinting. In this training, participants learn the requisite skills and best practices for Risograph printing, as well as the Book Arts Studio norms. After completing the training, participants are invited to apply for independent studio use to produce individual projects. Approved independent users have access to the machine during open studio hours and pay a fee of $10/hour plus materials. Approved applicants are eligible to use the Risograph for their own projects.

 

Family Bookmaking: Gather & Connect
Jazmin Gallegos

October 5
Saturday, 10am–12 pm

$40 (per pair) 
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Back by popular demand, the Book Arts Program will host a second round of Family Bookmaking: Gather & Connect. Children six to eighteen years-old are welcome to bring an adult friend or family member to explore bookmaking through the lens of a naturalist. Each participant creates a folded book form with pockets for found materials, a sewn book made of recycled materials to document findings in the wild, and an enclosure to house the books together. After the workshop, head outside to observe, collect, and connect with the natural world that awaits!

Your Place, Your Pace:
Bookmaking Sessions

Join us for Your Place, Your Pace, a selection of pre-recorded workshops designed with your convenience in mind. Enjoy bookmaking from the comfort and privacy of your own home. Each session focuses on a different bookmaking technique and can be completed in one sitting or at your own pace. Take one, or take them all! Participants receive recording links and a materials kit, and are invited to ask questions via email. Availability is limited—don’t miss out!

All workshops are pre-recorded, virtual workshops. Participants receive recording links and materials kit. (An additional $25 will be billed for international shipping.)

 

Flat-Back Case Binding 
Emily Tipps

$50, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

Most of the hard-cover books we see at the library, bookstore, or on our shelves at home are casebound. This means that the textblock and cover are created separately then adhered together. In this workshop, participants learn the basics of case binding: sewing a textblock with the French web pattern, lining the spine, building a cloth-covered case, and finally “casing in.” The workshop provides solid ground for exploring different variations; case bindings can be thick or thin, rounded or flat-spined, and covered in cloth, paper, leather, or a combination of materials. These durable bindings make excellent journals, sketchbooks, or housing for longer content. List of required tools. 

 

Secret Belgian Binding 
Amy Thompson

$50, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

This binding, developed by Belgian binder Anne Goy in the 1980s, uses primary and secondary sewing to construct the cover and attach the textblock. The book opens flat when complete, and has a distinctive visible sewing pattern that crosses over the spine and onto the boards. List of required tools. 

 

Japanese Stab Binding  
Jazmin Gallegos

$45, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

As opposed to the stiffness of western paper, traditional Japanese paper allows this side-stitched book to open readily. This workshop presents three sewing patterns, providing participants with the skills to explore dozens of additional patterns in the future. List of required tools.

 

Customized Bookcloth: Backing Fabric
Emily Tipps

$55
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Fabric offers an attractive and durable solution for covering boxes and book covers, but ready-made bookcloth presents a limited palette of mostly solid colors and humdrum textures. Don't get hemmed in by run-of-the-mill choices! Instead, back textiles with Japanese paper for use as bookcloth. Want to cover an artist's book with calico from grandma's apron? Think art-deco-printed percale would make a swell cover for a blank journal? Would sleek silk be an elegant solution for that photo album? In this workshop, participants expand their ability to tailor bookwork by learning to back natural-fiber fabric with simple materials and easy-to-access tools. List of required tools.

 

The Perfect Binding
Amy Thompson

$45
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Looking for a simple way to bind single sheets or folios? This workshop presents the perfect solution: the perfect binding! Using a modified approach based on machine binding processes for commercial paperbacks, the instructor guides participants through the construction of a perfect-bound book. A materials kit is provided for a single book and participants are advised on tools to gather or purchase. Leave with a perfect book and the ability to continue the practice. List of required tools.

 

Content Round-Up: The Drum-Leaf Binding
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$45
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Developed and perfected by Timothy C. Ely, the drum-leaf binding offers an elegant solution for joining single folios. This simple, ingenious book form allows the artist to work freely with single sheets, unencumbered by imposition concerns until the pages are bound. Because the book opens completely flat, content won’t get hung up in the gutter. Leave with a book bound in quarter cloth and paper covered boards. List of required tools.

 

Accordion Variations, session 1
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$35, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

The first session begins with two basic accordions, introduces a hinged-panel accordion composed of pairs of boards, and then concludes with Hedi Kyle’s beloved flag book. This video sequence covers basic tips to building well-aligned accordions, which can be trickier than the simple-looking form suggests. List of required tools.

Accordion Variations, session 2
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$35, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

The accordion is a basic book form that can be adapted in many creative ways. The second session explores some options: a concertina with pockets, the retreating accordion, a three-tiered accordion, and a paper slipcase to house the set of books. The slipcase is flexible and can accommodate books from both sessions, if desired. List of required tools.

 

 

Endbands: Recipes and Techniques
Emily Tipps 

$40 materials kit & shipping included
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Do you want your books to be a little more gourmet? Endbands contribute to the structure and visual presentation of a book. In this workshop, participants learn to make a variety of these sewn (and stuck-on) beauties. The BAP provides the ingredients and recipes; participants just need a taste for the details and the desire to sample something new! This session covers six endband styles, which participants sew onto instructional “recipe cards” for easy future reference. List of required tools.

 

The Clamshell Box: A Safe Place for Books
Emily Tipps 

$65, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

When not being read, a book really just wants to be left alone in a safe place. The clamshell box is an ideal enclosure to keep books protected from dust, water, and light damage, as well as the general wear and tear of life on the shelf. Each participant in this workshop constructs a model clamshell box of a set size. Instruction includes basic strategies for measuring objects and cutting materials for future custom boxes. List of required tools.

 

Coptic Binding
Amy Thompson

$45, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

In ancient Egypt, the Copts used this binding technique for hundreds of years. Notable for the chain links across the spine and sewn-on boards, the binding is very flexible and can open to 360º for display. List of required tools.

 

Long-Stitch with Leather
Amy Thompson

$50, materials kit & shipping included
REGISTER

The elegant long-stitch has been used for inventive artists’ books and beautiful journals, but don’t be fooled by the apparent complexity of this exposed-sewing binding. Participants receive one set of materials, and the instructor shares examples with an assortment of thread, buttons, covers, and closures to ensure that the long-stitch never gets old. List of required tools. 

Special Events

Print Appreciation

December 13
Friday, 5–8pm

Celebrate letterpress printing with the Book Arts Program! With a variety of printing plates and type locked-up on the presses, guest printers (that’s you!) will create cards from modular elements overprinted to match individual taste. We invite the public to drop in and print as many cards as time or wallet allow at $5/card or 3 cards for $10.00