Arts

Arts workshops at the San Francisco Center for the Book are the creative heart of bookmaking –  where concept, materials, form and content come together. You'll find courses on varying approaches for creating an artist's book, the many art processes to capture your vision, and structures to spark your imagination.

Workshops: Arts
Type Title Instructor Summary Status
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, June 3, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Saturday, June 3, 2023, 5:30 PM
Pietro Accardi

In this introductory class, student will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools, and styles of European marbling.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Saturday, June 3, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 2:15 PM
Shawn Sheehy

It’s a pop-up in a box! Learn this paper-engineered structure that moves with the opening of a box rather than a card.

Wait-list
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 5:30 PM
Pietro Accardi

This marbling lab takes the art of traditional paper marbling to a new level by introducing metallics to the pigments normally used and experimenting with over-marbling techniques.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 6:00 PM
End: Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 7:30 PM
Tim Svenonius

Join us for a monthly community drawing meetup with new exercises each session.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, June 10, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Saturday, June 10, 2023, 4:00 PM
Nikki Thompson

This book structure is a dynamic concertina that will wow the viewer. Combining the concertina with ribbons and pamphlets allows for an expanding and collapsing book unlike no other.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Saturday, June 10, 2023, 1:00 PM
End: Saturday, June 17, 2023, 5:00 PM
Ellen Sheffield

This workshop is for artists and/or writers who want to expand their visual and literary practices by exploring text in the book format.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, June 11, 2023, 1:00 PM
End: Sunday, June 11, 2023, 5:00 PM
Taun Relihan

This class will present a brief history of Surrealism and discuss the principles and techniques of the Surrealist methods as a “way of working” that can “crossover” and be applied to your own arts projects.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Sunday, June 11, 2023, 1:00 PM
End: Sunday, June 18, 2023, 5:00 PM
Tim Svenonius

Imagine a personal history made up of maps and charts. What stories would yours tell? In this workshop you'll create a suite of maps, charts, and graphs to make your own autobiographical atlas.

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Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Sunday, June 18, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Sunday, June 25, 2023, 11:30 PM
Kathryn Brunet

This is an introductory level workshop for those interested in studying historical handwriting or doing primary source research with European documents from the medieval and Early Modern periods.

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Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, June 24, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Saturday, June 24, 2023, 4:00 PM
Jody Alexander

Learn Japanese and French mending techniques and then turn your sampler into a Needle Book!

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Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, June 24, 2023, 12:00 PM
End: Saturday, June 24, 2023, 4:00 PM
Rea de Guzman

Step up your mixed media techniques with this introductory course to image transfers.

Wait-list
Binding, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, June 25, 2023, 12:30 PM
End: Sunday, June 25, 2023, 5:00 PM
Judy Serebrin

Create sophisticated little pamphlets with interesting stitches based on the work of Keith Smith. Two stitching patterns will be taught with a single and a double-section pamphlet.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, July 1, 2023, 1:00 PM
End: Saturday, July 1, 2023, 5:00 PM
Tim Svenonius

Learn to make multi-part stencils for illustration and design.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, July 2, 2023, 11:00 AM
End: Sunday, July 2, 2023, 5:00 PM
Stephanie Jucker

Discover how to create trace monotypes, a form of printing without a press, and then use the resulting prints to design a one of a kind pop-up accordion book.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 3
Start: Wednesday, July 5, 2023, 6:30 PM
End: Wednesday, July 19, 2023, 9:30 PM
Billy Ola Hutchinson

Hand lettering for all, even those with the shakiest of handwriting! Ease into the art of calligraphy with this beginning class in penmanship, letter formation, layout techniques, and calligraphic processes and materials.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Sunday, July 9, 2023, 2:15 PM
Shawn Sheehy

Second session added to meet demand!

It’s a pop-up in a box! Learn this paper-engineered structure that moves with the opening of a box rather than a card.

Open
Printing, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, July 9, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, July 9, 2023, 5:30 PM
Meri Brin

This class introduces Monotype, the only printmaking technique where the end result is a single unique print. Students will experiment and explore this technique while printing on a Vandercook press.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 6:00 PM
End: Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 7:30 PM
Tim Svenonius

Join us for a monthly community drawing meetup with new exercises each session.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, July 22, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Saturday, July 22, 2023, 5:30 PM
Pietro Accardi

This extension of our popular Introduction to Western Marbling workshop will help students take their marbling skills to the next level as they learn to marble on fabric that can be used for covering books and boxes.

Open
Binding, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, July 23, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, July 23, 2023, 5:30 PM
Pietro Accardi

Straight out of a 1970s Italian phone booth, this 360-degree flexible binding offers many advantages because it bends and does not break.

Open
Printing, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, July 23, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Sunday, July 23, 2023, 4:00 PM
Bettina Pauly

Is your pasta machine taking up too much space in the kitchen? Move it to your studio instead and learn how to use it for printing small dry-point prints.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 6:00 PM
End: Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 9:00 PM
Trina Robinson

Use a blender to process recycled pulp and make your own sheets of paper!

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, July 29, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Saturday, July 29, 2023, 4:00 PM
Nikki Thompson

Captivate readers with this dynamic structure. A seemingly simple codex – which is actually two accordions attached together – opens delightfully to reveal three hidden rooms when the center page is pulled open.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 1:00 PM
End: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 5:00 PM
Taun Relihan

Alchemy is more than just turning lead into gold. Trace the history of the process, learn about its applications and identify ways that you can use alchemical influences in your own art.

Open
Binding, Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Saturday, August 12, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, August 13, 2023, 5:30 PM
Michael Burke

Explore the joys of making your own historical decorated papers, then experiment with contemporary designs and inventive techniques.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, August 13, 2023, 9:00 AM
End: Sunday, August 13, 2023, 1:00 PM
Latifat Apatira

In this unique mixed-media workshop, students will learn a printmaking technique that combines botanical printing and hand coloring to create charming, hand-pressed compositions.

Open
Binding, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, August 20, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, August 20, 2023, 5:30 PM
Bettina Pauly

Learn another use for the accordion fold: create an in-depth scene using postcards and photographs to make a lovely, layered, 3-dimensional book.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 5
Start: Monday, August 21, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Friday, August 25, 2023, 5:30 PM
Pietro Accardi

During this comprehensive marbling class, students will gain an overview of western marbling techniques creating works on paper and textiles with an eye to patterns and color theory.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Saturday, August 26, 2023, 9:00 AM
End: Saturday, August 26, 2023, 4:00 PM
Steph Rue

In this introductory workshop, we will explore the many possibilities of paper mulberry, a strong fiber that is used primarily in East Asian papermaking.

Open
Arts
Sessions: 2
Start: Saturday, August 26, 2023, 9:30 AM
End: Sunday, August 27, 2023, 4:30 PM
Dorothy Yuki

Explore the possibilities of making prints from flowers, plants, and other materials found in nature in this two-day workshop.

Wait-list
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Sunday, August 27, 2023, 10:00 AM
End: Sunday, August 27, 2023, 4:00 PM
Steph Rue

In this class we will piece together paper scraps to create a patchwork of art based on traditional Korean wrapping cloths called "bojagi."

Wait-list
Binding, Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Monday, August 28, 2023, 6:00 PM
End: Monday, August 28, 2023, 9:00 PM
Madison Gordon

You’ve made your memories, now make a book where you can house them. This screw-post album is a fun and flexible book structure ideal for photographs and scrapbooking. No previous experience necessary!

Open
Arts
Sessions: 1
Start: Wednesday, August 30, 2023, 6:00 PM
End: Wednesday, August 30, 2023, 9:00 PM
Gino Robair

Use a blender to process recycled pulp and make your own sheets of paper!

Open