Sewn Boards Binding with Hugging Spine Wrapper and Panel Boards

Artist Teacher: Karen Hanmer

Day & Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Times: Pacific time, 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m., with classroom doors open at 8:45 AM

Venue: SDBA Zoom, with recording access to registrants for 30 days following class

Skill Level: This is a fast-paced, intermediate-level workshop. Students should be making books regularly and independently, outside a workshop setting.

Class Description: The Sewn Boards binding is Gary Frost’s elegant, modern adaptation of an ancient method of board attachment. Stiffened outer folios sewn along with the text block function as the book’s boards. The book opens flat. It can be dressed up or down with a variety of spine treatments, board-covering materials, and edge decoration techniques. It can be constructed quickly, lends itself to edition work, and can be made in a sparsely equipped home studio.

This workshop highlights the versatility of the Sewn Boards structure by presenting two alternatives to the “classic” quarter cloth with breakaway spine.

• Hugging spine wrapper which does not break away from the spine. Rather when the book is opened the wrapper goes concave, conforming to the spine, providing support without restricting opening. This option is a great solution when the “classic” sewn boards break-away spine is inconvenient for display, function, or aesthetic reasons.
• Dimensional panel boards: the card stiffeners are moved from their usual position inside the outermost cardstock folios to the very front and rear of the structure and covered with decorative paper before being attached to the binding. This sewn boards variation resembles a Bradel or simplified binding.

Class Fees: Members only Early Enrollment Plan: $120, Member: $150, Nonmember: $225

Material Fee: None. Registrant provides their own tools and supplies.

EEP Deadline: September 21, 2023

Registration Deadline: September 26, 2023

Artist Bio: Karen Hanmer’s artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format. Hanmer’s work is included in collections ranging from The British Library and the Library of Congress to Stanford University and Graceland. She has served on the editorial board of The Bonefolder, as Exhibitions Chair for the Guild of Book Workers, and twice as a presenter at the Guild’s annual Standards of Excellence conference. She offers workshops and private instruction focusing on a solid foundation in traditional binding skills. www.karenhanmer.com