| Title | Information |
| Instructor | Karyn Murphy |
| Skill Level | Intermediate Bookmakers |
| Session/Dates | Session 2: Thursday, June 17, through Saturday, June 19, 2027 |
| Cost | $475 Workshop Fee + $40 Materials Fee = $515 (This price includes buffet lunch for two days) |
| 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
Practice precision cutting and folding as you create two hexagonal books covered in hand-tanned Alaska salmon skin, plus a Circle in a Box book with circular pages nested in a box formed from overlapping ovals. All open into unique three-dimensional display structures.
Detailed Description
In this workshop students will build skills in precision cutting, folding, and assembly as they create three-dimensional books from hexagons, circles, and other geometric shapes that open into artistic display structures.
We’ll begin with a series of small folded structures to practice the techniques needed for the geometric books. Students will then make two hexagonal books, each with its own folding technique and cutting template, covered in hand-tanned Alaska salmon skin prepared by the instructor. These books demand accuracy in cutting unusual shapes, folding, and aligning pages. The structures are scalable, and the instructor will share tips for adapting them to future projects.
Next, students will create a Circle in a Box book, with circular pages that fit inside a square box made from four overlapping ovals. This structure requires careful measuring, planning, and construction. Before class, students should consider content ideas such as months of the year or phases of the moon, since their theme will determine the number of pages. Time permitting, students can begin designing and decorating their pages.
Skill Level: Intermediate Bookmakers
Required Tools & Materials Supplied by Student
- Cutting mat (optimum size 18 x 24”)
- Set of 9” steel graduated measuring rules
- Teflon bone folder
- Acrylic “bumper” (some also available from Northwoods Book Arts Guild)
- Olfa 9mm stainless steel utility knife (SVR-1)
- Heavy-duty knife, such as a Sheffield knife (with extra blades)
- Fine-line mechanical pencil
- White lead mechanical pencil
- Sharp, pointed scissors
- Glue brushes
- PVA glue (at least ¾ cup)
- Glass jars with lids for water and glue
- Scrap paper (to use while gluing)
- Small weights
- Corner tool
- Fine-point metallic marker (gold or silver)
Tools & Materials Supplied by Instructor
- Art paper for book pages (some will be Cave Paper)
- Acrylic hexagon templates
- Circle cutters
- Hand-tanned Alaska salmon skin for cover decoration
- Epoxy
- Elastic
- Shells and bio-ephemera for cover decoration
Instructor Bio
Karyn Murphy is a multi-disciplinary creative in Homer, Alaska, transitioning from working as a scientist and naturalist to full-time artist. She incorporates her knowledge of the life and geology of Kachemak Bay with natural materials into her unique book structures, miniature calligraphy, pigment creation, and papermaking. Through her art, she shares the joy and wonder of the often-unseen treasures of our natural world.
Recent awards include: 2025 Rasmuson Individual Artist Award, 2025/2026 In a Time of Change: Coastal Transitions (UAF and EPSCoR collaboration); selected as one of 12 artists for the two-year art/science collaboration, 2023 Connie Boochever Fellowship, 2022 Bunnell Street Arts Center CSA (Community Supported Art) Artist, Homer, AK; selected as one of six artists included in the annual CSA box, creating 30 handbound books for the project. Website: birchbarkstudio.com Instagram: @staycuriouskarynart Email: karyn@birchbarkstudio.com
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