BOOKMAKING WORKSHOP

Community Bookmaking Workshop at the Brentwood Art Center!

May 19, 2019 By Debra Disman

Join us to create the fun, innovative and versatile flag book structure and learn “found writing” techniques to take the anxiety out of the writing process.

Learn to fold an accordion spine, attach covers, and add multiple flag book pages which create a pattern and move and groove when the book is opened and shut. Discover the artist, writer, designer and collagist within and learn essential bookmaking skills at the same time.

Open to all ages. Children under six should be accompanied by an adult. Register now!

Getting Lit: Making Matchbox Books at the Granada Hills Public Library

March 22, 2019 By Debra Disman

It has been exciting to lead programs at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, as part of my Artist Residency there: “We Write the Book“, supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I led a workshop on how to create mini “matchbox books”. Open to the whole community, participants included families, seniors, children, adults and youth. Participants used actual matchboxes as the container or “cover of their books, and folded accordion pages to place inside them. I had appropriately-sized images of the work of five amazing women artists, who the makers learned about, and used in and on their pieces.

Faith Ringgold of New York City, Yayoi Kusama of Japan, Liza Lou of Los Angeles, Frida Kahlo of Mexico, and Georgia O’Keeffe of New Mexico were featured, nd participants incorporated images of their work and the artists themselves into their projects, hopefully learning about them and being inspired in the process

Families work together.

Honored members of the Friends of the Library joined us.

Mother and daughter work side by side.

I couldn’t agree more!

Purple and pink…perennial favorites.

Kusama’s polka dots rule….

Kahlo graces the cover…

Our fearless, peerless teen librarian, Kristin Peers, joins the fun!

It is such an honor to serve this community as Artist in Residence, and get to know the families and individuals who frequent the Branch, as well as its awesome Staff.

Gratitudes!

Seeing Double Vision: Double Flower Bookmaking

February 13, 2019 By Debra Disman

In honor of Chinese New Year, community members participated in creating “Double Flower” books (also known as “Exploding Books”).

Both adults and children learned to fold and “pop-out” the basic structure. They then made several and glued them together to create a long or short book of repeated folded forms that flatten into a single square. Finally, they had a blast adding covers and a tie if they wished, and embellishing their creations with all manner of materials.

Sisters with their folded up books: books closed..

Books open!

Taking the materials in another direction…

Mom gets into the act making her own Double Flower creation.

I also taught the “Turkish Map Fold”, (but that is another story…), and this intrepid maker was able to create one on her own!

Dad gets a gift from daughter…

The work of our hands…

Celebrating the beauty of the holiday, in community, creating together.

Freedom of Expression and More…

January 30, 2019 By Debra Disman

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and freedom in all its forms, participants created “single signature” sewn and glued books, and then used their Freedom of Expression to develop and embellish the covers. A “signature” is a gathering of folded sheets that create pages for a book. Single signature bookbinding refers to a group of sheets (usually paper) folded in the middle and bound together through sewing through their folds.

Although our program was originally planned for teens and “tweens”, several families attended including a number of dads with children. We had a wonderful time!

Sister and brother enjoy the delight of adding to their books after working step by step sewing and gluing to create them.

The glory of patterns. This young participant is age 3!

She attended with her mother.

In the background, mom and dad look on, taking a well-deserved break and enjoying the fun from the sidelines as their children worked and played.

Father offers support and presence to his son.

Our fearless leader, Branch Manager Pam, enjoys some creative “play” time, adding washi (decorative paper) tape to her book.

There is something very satisfying about hand-sewing a book together. It feels real…permanent. The work of our hands on a whole other level.
Hopefully, these books will continue to be developed at home, and most importantly, used!

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!