The fellowship was created in honor of Colleen Cavin. Colleen was a fine book artist and scribe, a Fellow of the Society of Scribes & Illuminators, a teacher for over thirty years, and a long time part of the Conference planning team. She was a talented yet modest artist, giving generously her wisdom, humor and kindness.
2024 Fellowship Recipients
Each of the 2024 Fellowship recipients bring different experiences and perspectives to this year’s conference. Be sure to introduce yourself during the conference. In the meantime, look at their Instagram, websites and FOBA social media channels for more of their stories.
Kyleen Greene
Kyleen Greene grew up in the Midwest, always having a love for art, and getting into commercial and retail printing out of college. She received a BFA in Photography from Wright State University and has since been engaged in various artistic endeavors through both work and outside opportunities.
She moved to Phoenix in 2019 and has continued to pursue artistic knowledge, mostly in bookbinding and leatherwork, taking classes/workshops as time allows. She also volunteers with local Phoenix non-profit Art groups and hopes to share her bookbinding and printing knowledge with fellow artists and youth in the area. Her focus this year is refining her skills and working on more engaging content for her binding projects.
In her spare time she hikes, hangs out with her husband and dogs, and works on her art practice daily.
Instagram: @kgreeneart33
Lyn Patterson
Lyn Patterson is a storyteller and book art MFA graduate who lives in Oakland, CA. Lyn is specifically inspired to share stories of Black diaspora and those who have been systematically marginalized in society as a means of empowering future generations with their stories.
As a book artist, Patterson is concerned with highlighting the ways that archives allow communities to uncover hidden histories and develop their own historical narratives. For Patterson, storytelling is a sacred ancestral endeavor which can be used as a tool for paying homage and building future communities. She often uses visual mediums to encapsulate her words and elevate the ways in which texts exist in conversation with one another.
Her artist’s books and letterpress work have been featured in exhibitions at Mills College, SOMArts Cultural Center, and the Good Mother Gallery.
Instagram: @poetryntings
Tik Tok : @poetryntings
website: Lynpattersonpoetry.wixsite.com
Jamila Rafuro
Jamila Rufaro is a native New Yorker with roots in Jamaica, WI. She joined Bay Area Book Artists in 2012, and making books has been her obsession ever since. Her creations are often sculptural rather than literary and many are designed to hold other mixed media artworks or convey a visual message. Her work is often about reuse and upcycling, sometimes in absurd ways. Juxtaposition that provokes a smile, or even better a laugh, is her favorite.
She has exhibited at numerous galleries including Marin Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Abecedarian Gallery in Denver, CO, Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center and San Francisco Center for the Book. She is also a regular exhibitor at the Book Arts Jam, an annual jamboree for the book arts held in the Bay Area every October.
She can quote from every episode of Seinfeld. Her heroes are Rosa Parks and Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. She currently lives and works in Palo Alto, CA, teaches book art classes and is a member of Bay Area Book Artists.
website:jamilarufaro.com, and BayAreaBookArtists.org
This year’s fellows will be immersed in the wonderful community of artists that come together for our conference, be exposed to some of the national names in Book Arts and provided with an opportunity for high level instruction. In addition, some the mysteries of how a conference is put on and the work involved in making it successful will be revealed with hands-on clarity.
You will see this year’s fellows around campus as they work with our Day Manager in activities such as the following:
- Assist the Workshop Coordinator with classroom set-up and delivery of instructor materials.
- Walk the campus to visit classes in progress and take photos.
- Deliver equipment or materials to various locations on campus.
- Welcome and direct conference attendees in the registration area.
- Greet, host and coordinate set-up and clean-up of evening activities (with others).
- Assist with set up and maintenance of the Fellowship fundraising activities.
- Give short breaks to our staff and Trade Show vendors.
Our fellows work at the conference in exchange for two days of classes and lodging and meals on campus during the conference.
If you are interested in our Fellowship program for a future conference, you can send your questions to our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@focusonbookarts.org