| Title | Information |
| Instructor | Susan Collard |
| Skill Level | Intermediate Bookmakers |
| Session/Dates | Session 2: Thursday, June 17, through Saturday, June 19, 2027 (This price includes buffet lunch for two days) |
| Cost | $475 Workshop Fee + $35 Materials Fee = $510 |
| Times | 1:30 pm–4:30 pm Thursday 9 am–12 noon and 1:30 pm–4:30 pm Friday and Saturday |
| Buffet Lunch | 12 noon–1 pm Friday and Saturday |
Summary Description
Make a book with wood pages! Build a book with precut plywood pages joined by muslin hinges, framing the pages to hold found objects, assemblage, and other three-dimensional elements. Using simple hand tools, you’ll explore cutting, drilling, collage, woodburning, mirrors, and wire and metal attachments. No woodworking experience required.
Detailed Description
Using precut birch plywood panels joined with sized muslin hinges, you’ll construct a small (3½ x 5”), sturdy book that celebrates its boxiness. Framed pages with mitered or butt-joint corners add depth for found objects, assemblage, and other three-dimensional surprises, while the wood itself offers an inviting, easily worked surface for collage. The book will include at least one framed page ¾” deep. You can build it as an accordion fold, a codex, or a hybrid, and you decide the page count and the order of framed and mirrored pages.
The flexible workshop structure lets you work at your own pace and follow your own interests. Some students will sample many techniques; others will focus on refined collage, assemblage, or structural innovation.
Using simple hand tools, you’ll cut, drill, sand, and layer as you devise sequences, create openings, and combine materials in unexpected ways. Techniques include:
- Mitered or butt-joint frames
- A mirrored page, with the silver scraped away to reveal image and text behind the glass
- Woodburning
- Wire and metal attachments
- Collage and assemblage
Skill Level: Intermediate Bookmakers
No woodworking experience is required.
Required Tools & Materials Supplied by Student
- Pencil, eraser, and sharpener
- X-Acto knife and blades
- Cutting mat
- Metal ruler (6–18”) or small quilting rulers
- Bone folder
- Glue brushes
- Favorite brushes, pens, or small tools
- A small stash of collage and assemblage materials. The books we are making are small, just six or eight 3½ x 5” pages. The ideal trove of printed matter would be a modest packet with just a few well-chosen sources. It’s great to include material you’re excited about, but not everything has to be the star of the show. Any found objects such as shells, sticks, feathers, bones, scrap metal, or old hardware should fit within a 2½ x 4” box, ¾” deep.
Optional Recommended Tools & Materials
Good to bring if you can do so easily:
- Jars for PVA and water, glue sheets
- Awl
- Etching tool
- Small needle-nose pliers
- Lightweight clamps
- Chisels (X-Acto #17 or the wider #18 blades are fine for this class)
- Sliding carpenter’s square (if you happen to have one)
Tools & Materials Supplied by Instructor
- Wood
- Muslin
- Collage materials
- Compass and circle templates
- Acrylic gel medium
- Saws and miter boxes
- PVA
- Titebond II wood glue
- Glue jars
- Clamps
- Sandpaper
- Paper towels
- Large rubber bands for miter frames
- Drills and bits
- Woodburning tools
- Metal scraps, wire mesh, screws, washers, copper wire, annealed steel wire, and brass rods
- Pliers
- Tin snips, hacksaw, and small miter box
- Shaping tools
- Wood scraps
Instructor Bio
Susan Collard is a book artist, architect, and writer who lives in Portland, Oregon. She has made one-of-a-kind artist’s books for more than 30 years, deploying a range of materials and adapted forms. Susan’s books have been shown widely in juried and invitational exhibitions, and many are housed in library collections. A self-employed architect who focuses on residential remodeling, she enjoys the versatility of wood for projects large and small. https://susancollard.com/
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