Debra Disman

Artist

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Making Books By Hand

Friday Bookmakers Inspiration! We Stand (Sit?!) Together, Making Books! (3)

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I have been honored to work with a wonderful group of “older adults” at the Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles, offering a series of workshops teaching bookmaking techniques, and providing a forum for creativity, imagination, sharing and story.

The series, “Crafting Our Stories By Hand” has had to be postponed due covid19.

Therefore, I have started an email newsletter to keep our community going, offering tips, images and sharing the work these makers are doing at home while “sheltering in place”.

Sharing these newsletters as a blog post makes their contents available for any and all. It inspiring to see what these makers have done and are doing during these crazy times.

Dear Bookmakers,

I am happy to bring you images, tips, inspiration and learning for your bookmaking journey.

I hope you are all well, staying safe, and creating!

Today I will share with you:
  • More wondrous works by Sandra and Vicki
  • Samples of a “Poetry Flag Book” project in honor of April, National Poetry Month
  • A link to a  special book  “Books and Their Artists”, on sale right now through the Getty shared by CORNELIA…thank you Cornelia! I actually own this book and it  is amazing, detailed, informative and informational. See right below!
“Book in a Box” created by Vicki for her Granddaughter

Vicki says about the vertical accordion book below:
 “My dearest friend was moved deeply by this W.H. Auden poem after the death of her husband.”

Vicki says, “Hope everyone is having as much fun as I am!”

Sandra says of the next two amazing books she made:
“I am now mining materials around the house for my book making.  
So inspired by Jeannine’s (Jeannine Stein…whose books I shared in last week’s newsletter) entry using a game board, I made my first book – an acknowledgment to our collective situation.”
“For the second book I (Sandra) dismantled a photography exhibition catalog and using the packing tape transfer technique Marsha taught us in class and a little collage work, I reassembled my version of the catalog.” (Brilliant!)
Please see below some images of a “Poetry Flag Book” that a student of mine from 2012 made after our workshop at the West Hollywood Library, and gifted me with! It contains another W.H. Auden poem! which the maker used both in full, and also cut up and rearranged on the Flag pages!

Something you can try at home, to celebrate April, National Poetry Month.

Remember, you can use the online resources of the Los Angeles Public Library any time during this time.

The Public Library is THERE FOR US ALL!

Check out their LIBRARY AT HOME resources.

Well that is it for this week dear Craft Contemporary Bookmakers!

If you are able, and so inclined, email us all back and share something book-related, or plaything you wish, of interest,

Stay safe, stay strong, stay well

STAY CREATIVE!

In peace and hope and truth and beauty,
debra

Friday Bookmakers Inspiration! We Stand (Sit?!) Together, Making Books! (2)

By

I have been honored to work with a wonderful group of “older adults” at the Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles, offering a series of workshops teaching bookmaking techniques, and providing a forum for creativity, imagination, sharing and story.

The series, “Crafting Our Stories By Hand” has had to be postponed due covid19.

Therefore, I have started an email newsletter to keep our community going, offering tips, images and sharing the work these makers are doing at home while “sheltering in place”.

Sharing these newsletters as a blog post makes their contents available for any and all. It inspiring to see what these makers have done and are doing during these crazy times.

Dear Bookmakers,

I am happy to bring you images, tips, inspiration and learning for your bookmaking journey.

I hope you are all well, staying safe, and creating!

Today I will share with you:

  • Exciting new works and beautiful works begun in our class by Joan Fujita, by Sandra Ow-Wing, and Martha Watson. Very cool. 
  • Introduction to one of my mentors, Jeannine Stein, writer, bookmaker and teacher! Two wonderful books that could enhance your creativity and sheltering in place during this trying time:

    Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials

    Adventures in Bookbinding: Handcrafting Mixed-Media Books

     
     
  • I have put our first bookmakers newsletter into the form of a blog post. If you missed it, please click here.
I have attached images of Joan’s, Sandra’s, and Martha’s beautiful and unique books below, but you can also see them here:
Joan’s layered and textural Single Signature books, working beautifully with textiles:
Sandra’s unique accordion fold book with pockets:
 
 
Sandra’s amazing side bound book inspired by the artist John Baldasarri’s “dots on faces” work:

 

Emotional and evocative Flag Book by Martha:

Well that is it for this week dear Craft Contemporary Bookmakers!

If you are able, and so inclined, email us all back and share something book-related, or plaything you wish, of interest,

Stay safe, stay strong, stay well

STAY CREATIVE!

In peace and hope and truth and beauty,
debra

 

Friday Bookmakers Inspiration! We Stand (Sit?!) Together, Making Books! (1)

By

I have been honored to work with a wonderful group of “older adults” at the Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles, offering a series of workshops teaching bookmaking techniques, and providing a forum for creativity, imagination, sharing and story.

The series, “Crafting Our Stories By Hand” has had to be postponed due covid19.

Therefore, I have started an email newsletter to keep our community going, offering tips, images and sharing the work these makers are doing at home while “sheltering in place”.

Sharing these newsletters as a blog post makes their contents available for any and all. It inspiring to see what these makers have done and are doing during these crazy times.

Enjoy!

Dear Bookmakers,

I am happy to bring you images, tips, inspiration and learning for your bookmaking journey.

I hope you are all well, staying safe, and creating!

Today I will share with you:

  • A simple “pocketed” accordion book structure, into which you can keep recipes, poems, notes to yourself, keepsakes, photos,
  • Inspiration for creating “altered books”, for yourself or fun with the whole family, 
  • Images shared by some of our students of amazing books they have created at home!

Joan also sent some beautiful images of exquisite books she has completed at home, and I hope she gives me permission to share them!

To create a simple accordion fold book with pockets, simply add another fold!


Fold the accordion as you did in class in creating your accordion fold books, then unfold, and fold the pocket up from the bottom.

You will have to really sharpen those folds to make the accordion open and close easily. Then just add your covers, and you are ready to fill your pockets!

Take a look at these “altered books” I photographed while visiting the Long Beach Museum of Art!

 

School children added paint, drawing, writing and collage to existing books, to create their own stories! Great project to do on your own, or suggest to the families and children in your lives! Use an old, discarded or out of date textbook, or replaceable paperback you have already read. Fun!

Finally, please enjoy these wonderful books created by three of our illustrious bookmakers:

Well that is it for this week dear Craft Contemporary Bookmakers!

If you are able, and so inclined, email us all back and share something book-related, or plaything you wish, of interest,

Stay safe, stay strong, stay well

STAY CREATIVE!

In peace and hope and truth and beauty,
debra

Hanging in Hawthorne

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I was honored to conduct a bookmaking program for children and families at the
 Hawthorne Library

We made flag books.
Numerous families joined us, and a grand time was had by all…


What will this maker say, with their work, letters, design?


Mothers, grandmothers, friends, and daughters.


Lovely lady line-up!


Sons and Brothers


Families and friends worked together.


Proud maker.


Mother and Daughter.

The devotion and commitment of these families of makers, in their family, friendships and making was just stunning.

Family Bookmaking Workshops at LACMA

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Family Bookmaking Workshops at LACMA

A series of one day Family Bookmaking Workshops at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art!
Join us 10AM – 1PM Saturdays, July 21, 28, August 4, 11 and 18.

Learn how to create fun book structures including The Flag Book, The Folded Fan Book, The Accordion Fold/Concertina Book, and The Tunnel Book.

Each project will include an exploration of a special artwork at the Museum which relates to our bookmaking project for that workshop.

All materials included.