Student Work

Latinx Heritage Celebrated

October 12, 2018 By Debra Disman

In our recent program at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, participants created accordion fold (also known as “concertina”…continuing with the musical instrument metaphor-) books.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, they added images of Latinx art and architecture, including murals, street art, works shown in museums, and storefronts.

Participants spanned young children to seniors, with everyone becoming immediately absorbed in creating their books, and developing them with varied fascinating and colorful images of works created by an integral population of Los Angeles past, present and future.

The Virgin of Guadalupe was an inspiration.

Mother and son work together.

Participants transformed images by adding to and subtracting from them, and putting them together in new ways.

The focus of all ages…

Makers often choose to work with colors that reflect the colors they are wearing!

Pink, never gets old.

This workshop was part of my Artist in Residency project: “We Write the Book“, supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles. Gratitudes!

National Hispanic Heritage Month: A Bookish Celebration

October 4, 2018 By Debra Disman

In our recent program at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, 23 participants created “folded fan” books, comprised of an accordion spine, front and back covers, and fan pages. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, they added their own “Picado Papel“, decoratively cut and punched papers, which added a special touch to their creations.

Families turned out, and parents worked closely with children to achieve their artistic visions! Especially heartwarming was the number of Dads who devoted themselves to supporting their sons and daughters through the process, while creating beautiful works themselves. And let’s not forget the Moms! It is wonderful to see adults give themselves over to the creative process. Parents, and all people, so need this time.

This workshop was part of my artist residency project: “We Write the Book“, supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles. Gratitudes!

Children’s Librarian extraordinaire, Alice Schock, engages with a young patron, artist and participant.

Like Mother, like Daughter…

The work of our hands…and creative ways of using shaped hole punchers to create Picado Papel!

Sisters and friends work together.

This young teen, age 13, took off with a Halloween theme.

Through careful work, discerning choices, and elegant handicraft, she designed a book that we hope she will keep forever!

This young maker transformed images of a noted Los Angeles mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and used the beautiful colors as a surface to create a repeated design with a butterfly-shaped hole puncher.

Piper and her Dad attended an earlier workshop, and were back again creating happily together.

Father and daughter work closely on her book. her Mom said that though she herself loves scrapbooking, she could never get Dad to do it. Now, maybe he might, after seeing how much fun cutting, pasting and arranging are!

Here is Mom at work on her own masterpiece, along with older daughter.

Sebastian and his Dad work side by side. spending precious time together.

Yellow blossoms drift across a luminous pink ground, floating in a world of warm colors. Washi tape is used to good effect as a framing device on the covers.

Benny and Mom have fun. Who says one has to sit on chairs?

These two friends had a blast, and worked with very different color schemes in their projects.

This is Greer’s second workshop. She loves to work with her hands, and even contributed some extra Washi tape to the cause!

Our scrapbooking Mom works on a mini-masterpiece. What patience it takes to punch out all those butterflies, then arrange and glue them to the cover!

But how worth is it was…here is her magnum opus…a treat for the eyes, heart and soul.

Thank You All.

Creating in Compton

August 31, 2018 By Debra Disman

It was wonderful to work with families to create books at the Compton Library.

Participants worked together to create the fun and versatile “flag book” structure.

Community members got to know each other in the library, through the work of their hands.

Siblings and Moms created in community.

Even the Staff got into the creative act.

Creating together brought smiles…

perhaps the greatest gift of all.

LACMA LOVE: The Art of the Book 3: The Flag Book

August 21, 2018 By Debra Disman

We started off our Family Bookmaking Workshop series at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art with the Accordion Fold Book, then moved onto “The Folded Fan” book (my own nomenclature) which also employed the accordion/concertina fold to great effect.

We completed our series with The Flag Book, a fun, versatile and quite kinetic structure “invented” by German-born and noted book artist Hedi Kyle.

We visited the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (“BCAM“), and looked at artist Barbara Kruger‘s monumental elevator piece, “Shafted“.

Students chose what view they wished to draw (or, sketch). then returned to the Park View Studio to look at our drawings, learn the Flag Book structure, create our books, then develop and embellish them! (This last the reward, some might say, of the effort that went before).

Participants were encouraged to use text to develop their books, and see how this “found writing” technique could be read in different ways up and down and across their books. They had been able to observe the power of graphical text first hand viewing the Kruger piece.

Mother and daughter working together.

She came to our workshop with her grandmother…not pictured!

Summer teacher (all the way from Chicago!) and student, taking advantage of LACMA‘s educational offerings!

This wonderful duo attended all three workshops!

The grown-ups need an art-making break too!

Such a lovely group to work with.

We love you, LACMA!

LACMA LOVE: The Art of the Book 2: The Folded Fan Book

August 8, 2018 By Debra Disman

We visited the B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden, and viewed Chris Burden‘s master work, “Urban Light“, observed and drew perspective, “layers” and distance (“things being behind and in front of other things” ) then returned to the Park View Studio to look at our drawings, learn the “folded fan” book structure, create our books, then develop and embellish them! (This last the reward, some might say, of the effort that went before).

Side by side…

Peer to Peer support, children AND parents!

The support team.

It’s creation time!

Dynamic duo.

Co-creative-conspirators.

Working together.

Mom as assistant!

Show and tell…she was too shy, so Dad did it!

Sharing time on the stage.

Everyone wins..such a beautiful time had by parents and children working together, side-by-side, cheering each other on.

What could be better?

LACMA LOVE: The Art of the Book 1: The Accordion Book

August 3, 2018 By Debra Disman

We started off our Family Bookmaking Workshop series at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art with Accordion Fold/Concertina Fold Books, a basic yet complex structure, as regards to the amount of surfaces makers had to work on and develop.

We visited Chris Burden‘s master work, “Metropolis II“, observed and drew movement, then returned to the Park View Studio to look at our drawings, learn the accordion fold book structure, create our books, then develop and embellish them!

Mom and son work together.