Bookbinding with Emily

Emily Howe teaching at the Green River High School

Bookbinding @ Green River High
“The first class started with a presentation of my own work, followed by examples of different book structures and artistic interpretations of the book. Students were given a handout in the form of an unfolded book. They were then led through the process of folding the single page structure and introduced to basic bookbinding terminology. The remainder of the class was spent instructing and making the accordion structure. The second day focused on sewn structures. Students prepped their papers, and were taught the sewing technique for a 5-hole pamphlet stitch. The second half introduced the Japanese sewing technique of the stab binding. There was some amount of confusion on this, and additional assistance was necessary for some students. The workshop was very well received by the faculty and majority of the students. All successfully completed all four structures, with nice creative finishing touches. One student was very excited about the process and was given some additional instruction on more complicated sewing techniques to do in her own time. I left the teacher, Burke Simmons, with additional copies of the handout after he mentioned that he would be teaching some of these techniques to his seventh grade class later in the day.”

Stats: Hours of Prep: 5 ; Hours of Class Time: 50 min class (x4); Participants: 12—15, plus one faculty member; Grades: Junior/Senior, Freshmen; Supplies: Used paper from the high school, one dowel rod, Emily’s tools, tabloid-sized handout was printed at Epicenter.

Bookbinding @ Epicenter: An evening community skills workshop open to the public.
“I introduced some basic bookbinding terms and concepts, then instructed the group on how to do the pamphlet stitch. Some participants came with their own papers they were inspired to work with. A variety of books were created, some participants even made multiples and drew the content of their book during the workshop. Since completing the session, individuals have reported the desire to continue making books on their own.”

Stats:6 participants; 1 hour work time; 45 min prep time; Materials provided by Epicenter and Emily Howe

We love making books! It was a great honor to host Emily Howe in Green River. She is a true renaissance woman. Emily has taught us, as well as some lucky high school students, a nifty new craft that we will be sure to continue. It was exciting to see this artistic knowledge passed along to the young adults. So, come back and visit whenever you want, Emily!