Learning from historical traditions, we will focus on a modern and creative approach to paper cutting and create delicate, intricate, or even bold silhouette images and designs. Participants will create paper images and acquire basic tools for producing editions. Specific skills for making cutouts will be learned as well as techniques for stenciling and pochoir. Basic pop ups and 3D papercutting will be introduced. Tips, tricks and resources will be provided.

Broadsides can have an urgency, making them a great vehicle for protest or for quick publication. Since the inception of printing, the broadside form has allowed printers to side-step conventional publishing norms, moving the editorial control to the presses and printers themselves. In this class we will print broadsides using the studio letterpresses. For inspiration we will explore work from the 20th century European and Soviet avant garde, the 1970s, and contemporary broadsides. We will work with metal and wood type, photopolymer plates, and linoleum, and try various simple experimental printing techniques. Each student will design and print a broadside using the Vandercook press, and the class will produce a collaborative work on the platen press. Techniques for editions will be considered. The class is suitable for all levels of students; no previous letterpress experience is necessary. Students should prepare a poem or other text, or come with ideas for the content of their broadsides.

For both beginners and for book artists who wish to improve their skills, this introductory bookbinding class will cover the fundamentals – selection of materials, paper grain, hand tools, adhesives – and, of course, technique and structure. Beginning with a basic pamphlet binding, students will continue with more challenging projects including multi-sectioned case bindings with flat and round backs, a basic album structure, and, if time permits, a slipcase.