Teaching Artist

In Resonant Residence (1)

January 11, 2018 By Debra Disman

In Resonant Residence (1)

I formally began Studio Residency at the Camera Obscura Art Lab

in Santa Monica Wednesday January 10th. I share the sunlit space, located within the beautiful Mid-century building overlooking Palisades Park, Santa Monica Beach and the blue Pacific with textile artist and fellow Studio Artist-in-Residence Huong Nguyen.

We will both teach weekly public workshops on Saturdays as a key component of our 14 week residencies.

I will be teaching “Flag Books and Found Writing” Saturday January 13th as my first workshop…looking forward to this.

At 1450 Ocean, I was greeted by glass doors and gleaming floors…

and gorgeous views of rainy park and sea. Getting ready here to set up shop.

Handmade papers may find their way into something.

Resonant materials. The power of cloth. Texture. The tactile. Textiles. The haptic.

Haptic “sketchbook”…planning to complete its pages during the Residency.

I begin two pieces with watercolor paper, canvas, book board and wood, cont series of works that progressively investigate the emotional, sensory and evocative aspects of texture, textiles, cloth, fiber, cord and string in book format. Through these works i aim to the very nature of the book as object, communicative tool and form of expression.

Accordion spine of watercolor paper, and book board.

Experimenting with Baltic Birch plywood covers.

“The Sheltering Book‘, about to transform into “The Big Beach Book”…this metamorphosis to be enacted in part by workshop participants!

Grateful, honored and thrilled to be part of this process…moving forward.

“We Right The Book” VI

January 3, 2018 By Debra Disman

“We Right The Book” VI

I was honored to serve as Artist in Residence at Verdugo Hill High School in Tujunga, CA (Los Angeles) for a group of 41 Senior English class Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) students.

Our project , “We Right the Book” was supported by an Artist in Residence grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. I worked with the students on a series of bookmaking projects during weekly workshops held right in the classroom from September – December, 2017.

The students’ completed book works were exhibited at the Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library on December 13, 2017.
Accordion fold books, flag books, tunnel books, scrolls, and side bound books…the results were stunning.
Below is a digital tour through the show.

Each student’s works were displayed together, except the scrolls, which were hung on the walls.

Students created extraordinary Tunnel Books with whimsical, innovative and imaginative use of materials.

They made Flag Books…with “Found” (collected from existing print media) Writing.

and Accordion Fold Books…

with elaborate pop-ups.

The students completed their final projects for the class in their side bound books…the theme: IDENTITY…Who they are…Where they want to go…How they see themselves.

A Junior VAPA English student peruses the side bound books. She looked at each and every one.

I would love to work with her next year!

Fingers Crossed for next year’s Residency!
Thank you, LA DCA.

“We Right The Book” I

October 25, 2017 By Debra Disman

“We Right The Book” I

I am honored to serve as Artist in Residence at Verdugo Hill High School in Tujunga, CA (Los Angeles) for a group of 42 Senior English class Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) students.

Our project is entitled, “We Right the Book“, and is supported by an Artist in residence grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. I am working with the students on a series of bookmaking projects during weekly workshops held right in the classroom from September – December, 2017. The students are also assisting with bookmaking workshops held for the community at-large in the Sunland-Tujunga Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

The project is designed to offer participating students an outlet for feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams related to their upcoming transition out of high school, and into the next epoch of their lives.

We started with the basics: Accordion Fold Books, created from folding equidistant sections of material. We used “bright tagboard” for the folded pages, and assorted posterboard and railroad board for the covers.

An industrious maker adds tiny butterflies to the cover of her book.

A writer!

Tiny pieces of text work together to form the title…the piece is held closed with hemp cord.

Choosing a length of cord to enhance book.

Angelica layers materials into her folded page.

We have a wonderful group of boys in the class…talented and detailed makers!

Two girls work together (upper left of image) making the most of materials, space and each other!

Working with letters, and seeing/absorbing their visual quality.

He is able to let others into his world through the book.

Paper world…

Our wonderful VAPA English classroom teacher, Amy Leserman.

Now that we have learned the basics of accordion folding, it is time to move into the fun and versatile Flag Book structure!
Stay tuned for “We Right The Book” II

On-Site: Neighborhood Partnerships with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

October 4, 2017 By Debra Disman

On-Site: Neighborhood Partnerships with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Please enjoy reading a wonderful post written by Karen Satzman, Director of Youth & Family Programs at LACMA, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art…

I was honored to serve as teaching artist for a series of onsite LACMA art making workshops on “People Street“, in North Hollywood, in the NoHo Arts District.

Join us for these upcoming NoHo LACMA art workshops :

Make a Flag Book
2 pm | Sat, October 14, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

Make a Tunnel Book
2 pm | Sat, November 18, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

Make an Accordion Book
2 pm | Sat, December 9, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

The Sheltering Book Chapter 3

May 20, 2017 By Debra Disman

The Sheltering Book Chapter 3

I am honored to have been one of 17 artists who received an inaugural ‘The WORD Grant 2016: The Bruce Geller Memorial Prize” from the Institute for Jewish Creativity, a project of American Jewish University, to create, “The Sheltering Book“.

“The Sheltering Book will be a life-sized book structure which will become the backdrop for community bookmaking workshops drawing parallels between the meaning and architecture of the book, and that of the Sukkah. The project also explores the relationship between the public sphere and private space, whether that space be our personal creativity, where we create, or what we create.” —Debra Disman

“The WORD Grant, a project of American Jewish University’s Institute for Jewish Creativity, supports artists creating projects that explore Jewish ideas, themes, tradition, history, and identity. We believe in supporting a contemporary, vibrant, Jewish cultural landscape in Los Angeles.” —The Institute for Jewish Creativity

Made of corrugated cardboard, primed, base-painted, and treated with layers of transparent color, the Sheltering Book becomes a Sukkah With the addition of dyed netting stenciled with ferns, the “s’chach“, roof of the Sukkah.

The Sheltering Book at The Braid Theatre Gallery, Home of the Jewish Women’s Theatre

Our first community bookmaking workshop was held at the lovely Braid Theatre Gallery.

The Sheltering Book onstage, becomes a theatrical backdrop, a set, and a theater in and of itself, as participants create their books nearby,

using brilliant and beautiful materials.

Mother and daughter work side by side.

Participants focus on”building”, then developing their flag books.

Documenting while doing.

Putting together word and image,

color,

text and texture,

themes.

and adding titles.

Then we shared….in the safety of The Sheltering Book.

Was it a fluke that black was the predominant clothing color that day? Creating a striking contrast between Book and Bookmaker.

Glorious…and sublime.

…to be continued…

The Sheltering Book Chapter 5

April 28, 2017 By Debra Disman

The Sheltering Book Chapter 5

Open to the world.

A “Sheltering Book” program was held at the , of the Santa Monica Public Library. The program was attended by participants from preschool to post school who created books, and shared them in the shelter of The Sheltering Book.

This kind patron helped Montana Branch Library Manager Stephanie Archer and I carry The Sheltering Book into the Community Room.

Covers and pages were prepped, and participants bound them together into a single signature book which they then added to with writing, drawing and collage materials.

A whole wonderful family of three generations…grandma, mom, and four fantastic, talented and creative daughters!

Reveling in materials.

Creative use of papert strips too create waving grasses, behind which cat’s eyes glimmer…

Sharing with little sis looking on…

Use of magazine images.

She has a beautiful sense of design.

Grandma gets into the act!

Creating with Grandma…pretty in Pink!

Sharing…

A children’s book illustrator…

shares her creation…lovely color choices!

This wonderful teaching artist claimed the time to create a piece about her own identity…

employing buttons, collage, mixed media,

to great effect… and sharing.

Beautiful use of leaves…

outside,

and inside, her book!

She strolled into the Community Room during a break, and jumped right in!

A natural presenter!

This lovely couple go right into the expressive spirit…

creating about music,

and other visions.

Photogenic too!

This maker truly committed…

using inspiration from the natural

and the man-made worlds…

and fully developing ideas

within her book.

Sharing…

This spirited artist used to be a casting agent…

and she has truly found a new medium within which to epxress herself…and vision.

The Sheltering Book becomes a synergistic process and experience for the community at-large, offering shelter, safe space, and creative inspiration for all who engage with it.

Let us hold the vision!