Shawn Sheehy – A Satisfaction of Movable

Workshop Description:

Think back to the last time you picked up a movable card. You moved the mechanism back and forth, soothed and satisfied by the movement. You wished there was a collective noun for movable cards. Well, there is! Join seasoned paper engineer Shawn Sheehy in building A SATISFACTION of movable mechanisms that demonstrate a wide range of movement possibilities. All you need is a simple set of hand tools, an interest in engaging with paper mechanics, and occasional inspiration to transform a mechanical structure into an animated illustration. And to dial up the satisfaction quotient, you’ll bind your collection into a tidy sample book. This virtual workshop will be technical, and very, very… satisfying. All skill levels welcome. (Would you like to explore further applications for these structures? Take the “Movable Magic” workshop as well!) See the structure in motion: 

Materials/equipment to be provided by students:

• xacto knife with extra blades
• bone folder
• awl
• binding needle
• microspatula
• tweezers
• scissors
• ruler
• cutting mat
• pencil
• japanese screw punch (optional)

See Materials Glossary for detailed descriptions.

Materials/equipment to be provided by instructor:

($15 Material fee included in the price above) 

Per person:

• 12 sheets white cardstock
• 6 sheets of color 8.5” x 11” 80 lb cover stock
• 1 sheet 10 3/4” x 6 1/4” 140 lb cover stock
• 24” 18/3 unwaxed linen thread (or other heavy thread)
• glue cup w/ lid
• 13 pp printed patterns
• Per group:
• 8 oz pva
• one roll low-tack painter’s tape
• two rolls 1/4” 415 tape

Instructor Biography:

Shawn Sheehy has been teaching book arts courses and workshops on the national level for nearly 20 years, including stops at the Center for Book Arts, Penland, Arrowmont, FOBA, Pyramid Atlantic, San Francisco Center for the Book, Minneapolis Center for the Book, PBI, and many others. His broadsides and artist book editions have been collected by such prestigious institutions as Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago, Library of Congress, UCLA, and Harvard. He has created two trade pop-up books: Welcome to the Neighborhood (2015) and Beyond the Sixth Extinction (2018). Both were originally produced as artist books, both were published by Candlewick Press, and both won numerous awards. His pop-ups have been featured twice in both Hand Papermaking magazine and Vintage magazine. He has served as director of the Movable Book Society since 2018. He holds an MFA in the Book Arts from Columbia College Chicago.

Web page: shawnsheehy.com