Workshops & Events

View past Book Arts Program workshops.

View our signup and refund policy.

Relicensure points for educators are available from the Utah State Board of Education for all workshops. For more information: Email or call 801-585-6019. 

 

Scholarship Opportunities

image of tools on a cutting mat

Utah K–12 Educators and University of Utah Students!

The Book Arts Program is pleased to offer a limited number of community workshop scholarships to currently enrolled University of Utah students and Utah K–12 educators. Two scholarships are available for each workshop, one for each type of recipient. Applicants who have not already been awarded a Book Arts Program community workshop scholarship for the current academic year are eligible to apply, and can submit additional applications for more than one workshop. If you are a K–12 educator in Utah or an enrolled University of Utah student, you are eligible to apply!

Applications must be completed in full by eligible applicants and are accepted on a rolling basis up to one month before the workshop. Recipients will be chosen at random from the pool of eligible applicants for each category of recipient. Book Arts Program staff will inform recipients at least three weeks in advance of the workshop. Recipients are responsible for any costs related to materials and tools outside of the workshop fee.

Scholarship Application
 

2025 In-Person Workshops

March

image of earth pigments

Ochre Pigments:
Drawing Color from the Earth

Elpitha Tsoutsounakis

Saturday, March 29
 10am–5pm

$90

Sold out

Please email bookartsprogram@utah.edu to join our waitlist.

Are you curious about natural pigments and how to engage with them for creative purposes? Join us for this hands-on workshop to experiment with ochre earth pigments, or iron oxides, and how they might be applied to works on paper. Participants grind and process ochres from multiple Field Studio Geontological Survey (FSGS) research sites and learn how these pigments can be integrated with various binders and media. Think ochre is yellow? Think again. Participants walk away with sample swatches in various hues as well as the basic knowledge to pursue further inquiry and practice.

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Elpitha Tsoutsounakis (she/her) is a Cretan-American designer, printer, and educator based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an assistant professor and founding faculty in the Division of Multi-disciplinary Design at the University of Utah where she teaches design studios, research methods, and visual strategy. Her design research practice with Field Studio Geontological Survey (FSGS) engages archives, geologies, and Ochre in sites of extraction to study relations between human and inhuman, life and nonlife. unknownprospect.org

 

MaY

risograph printed image

Intro to Risograph

Saturday, May 17
1–4pm

$40

REGISTER

What is a Risograph duplicator, and why is it all the rage? The Riso is a Japanese stencil duplicator that blends the functionality of photocopying with the artistry of screen-printing. The training covers requisite skills and best practices for Risograph printing, as well as Book Arts Studio expectations for future use. After completing the training, participants are invited to apply for independent studio use to produce individual projects. Approved independent users have access to the machine during open studio hours and pay a fee of $10/hour plus $0.25/master.


June

image of plaquettes: gold tooling on leather

Fundamentals of Blind & Gold Tooling
on Leather

Samuel Feinstein

Friday & Saturday
June 27 & 28
10am–5pm

$230

REGISTER

In this two-day class, students learn the fundamentals of blind tooling and gold tooling on leather, focusing on straight lines and using shellac glaire to affix the gold.  Line-work is one of the most important, fundamental, and versatile decorative techniques used on tooled bindings, and is used in both traditional and contemporary designs.  Students also have time to explore the use of decorative tools within a limited scope. Each participant leaves with a final plaquette using the techniques covered.

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Samuel Feinstein began bookbinding after a traumatic brain injury left him with constant pain and unable to continue his other pursuits. While the pain remains, he found that binding books by hand was a possibility for him. He trained at the North Bennet Street School in the two-year full-time bookbinding program under Jeff Altepeter, full-time instructor, and Martha Kearsley, part-time instructor. He strives to make his dedication and passion evident in his work, with a particular focus on craftsmanship. He currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.

 

July

image of blue and white accordion book

Book Arts for K–12 Educators

Allison Chapman

Wednesday & Thursday
July 30–31
10am–5pm

REGISTER

This workshop is free and reserved for K–12 Utah educators.

Don’t identify as an artist, but interested in bringing book arts into elementary or secondary classrooms? Join us for this two-day intensive with guest educator, Allison Chapman, and discover how book arts are inherently multi-disciplinary. No previous experience is necessary, but all skill levels are welcome to create both folded and sewn book structures. Emphasis is placed on age-appropriate tools and techniques so that all students are successful in creating books that are bound to be loved. Project samples incorporate science, social studies, English and math lessons and are designed with ease of preparation in mind so that teachers and students can get to the fun part!

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Allison Chapman has been printing since she was young, taught by her grandfather in his hobby printshop. As a college student, she interned with Stan Nelson in the Graphic Arts Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. She then spent over a decade teaching at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, honing her letterpress craft, and running the K–12 outreach program. After inheriting her grandad's nineteenth-century platen press and collection of vintage images, metal type, Allison founded Igloo Letterpress in Minnesota in 1996. In 2008, she moved to Ohio and found a home in Old Worthington, where the one press grew to ten, outfitting a retail shop, print studio, bookbindery, and hub for creativity. Allison closed the retail shop in 2021, and Igloo is again a home-based business offering custom letterpress printing and hand bookbinding.


  

Your Place, Your Pace: Bookmaking Sessions

Join us for Your Place, Your Pace, a selection of pre-recorded workshops designed with your convenience in mind. Enjoy bookmaking from the comfort and privacy of your own home. Each session focuses on a different bookmaking technique and can be completed in one sitting or at your own pace. Take one, or take them all! Participants receive recording links and a materials kit, and are invited to ask questions via email. Availability is limited—don’t miss out!

All workshops are pre-recorded, virtual workshops. Participants receive recording links and materials kit. (Shipping included - an additional $25 will be billed for international shipping.)

 

image of flat-back case bindings

Flat-Back Case Binding 
Emily Tipps

$50

Out of Stock

Most of the hard-cover books we see at the library, bookstore, or on our shelves at home are casebound. This means that the textblock and cover are created separately then adhered together. In this workshop, participants learn the basics of case binding: sewing a textblock with the French web pattern, lining the spine, building a cloth-covered case, and finally “casing in.” The workshop provides solid ground for exploring different variations; case bindings can be thick or thin, rounded or flat-spined, and covered in cloth, paper, leather, or a combination of materials. These durable bindings make excellent journals, sketchbooks, or housing for longer content. List of Required Tools

 

image of secret belgian bound books

Secret Belgian Binding 
Amy Thompson

 $50

Purchase

This binding, developed by Belgian binder Anne Goy in the 1980s, uses primary and secondary sewing to construct the cover and attach the textblock. The book opens flat when complete, and has a distinctive visible sewing pattern that crosses over the spine and onto the boards. List of Required Tools

 

image of Japanese stab albums

Japanese Stab Binding
Jazmin Gallegos

$45

 Purchase

Fabric offers an attractive and durable solution for covering boxes and book covers, but ready-made bookcloth presents a limited palette of mostly solid colors and humdrum textures. Don't get hemmed in by run-of-the-mill choices! Instead, back textiles with Japanese paper for use as bookcloth. Want to cover an artist's book with calico from grandma's apron? Think art-deco-printed percale would make a swell cover for a blank journal? Would sleek silk be an elegant solution for that photo album? In this workshop, participants expand their ability to tailor bookwork by learning to back natural-fiber fabric with simple materials and easy-to-access tools. List of Required Tools

 

image of fabric turned into bookcloth

Customized Bookcloth: Backing Fabric
Emily Tipps

$55

Purchase

Looking for a simple way to bind single sheets or folios? This workshop presents the perfect solution: the perfect binding! Using a modified approach based on machine binding processes for commercial paperbacks, the instructor guides participants through the construction of a perfect-bound book. A materials kit is provided for a single book and participants are advised on tools to gather or purchase. Leave with a perfect book and the ability to continue the practice. List of Required Tools

 

image of perfect bound books

The Perfect Binding
 Amy Thompson

$45

Purchase

Developed and perfected by Timothy C. Ely, the drum-leaf binding offers an elegant solution for joining single folios. This simple, ingenious book form allows the artist to work freely with single sheets, unencumbered by imposition concerns until the pages are bound. Because the book opens completely flat, content won’t get hung up in the gutter. Leave with a book bound in quarter cloth and paper covered boards. List of Required Tools

 

image of drum leaf bound book

Content Round-Up: The Drum-Leaf Binding
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$45

Purchase

Developed and perfected by Timothy C. Ely, the drum-leaf binding offers an elegant solution for joining single folios. This simple, ingenious book form allows the artist to work freely with single sheets, unencumbered by imposition concerns until the pages are bound. Because the book opens completely flat, content won’t get hung up in the gutter. Leave with a book bound in quarter cloth and paper covered boards. List of Required Tools

 

 

image of accordion books

Accordion Variations, Session 1
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$35

Purchase

The first session begins with two basic accordions, introduces a hinged-panel accordion composed of pairs of boards, and then concludes with Hedi Kyle’s beloved flag book. This video sequence covers basic tips to building well-aligned accordions, which can be trickier than the simple-looking form suggests.  Developed and perfected by Timothy C. Ely, the drum-leaf binding offers an elegant solution for joining single folios. This simple, ingenious book form allows the artist to work freely with single sheets, unencumbered by imposition concerns until the pages are bound. Because the book opens completely flat, content won’t get hung up in the gutter. Leave with a book bound in quarter cloth and paper covered boards. List of Required Tools

 

The first session begins with two basic accordions, introduces a hinged-panel accordion composed of pairs of boards, and then concludes with Hedi Kyle’s beloved flag book. This video sequence covers basic tips to building well-aligned accordions, which can be trickier than the simple-looking form suggests. List of required tools.


Accordion Variations, session 2
Marnie Powers-Torrey

$35

Purchase

The accordion is a basic book form that can be adapted in many creative ways. The second session explores some options: a concertina with pockets, the retreating accordion, a three-tiered accordion, and a paper slipcase to house the set of books. The slipcase is flexible and can accommodate books from both sessions, if desired. List of Required Tools

 

image of various enbands

Endbands: Recipes and Techniques
Emily Tipps 

$40 

Purchase

Do you want your books to be a little more gourmet? Endbands contribute to the structure and visual presentation of a book. In this workshop, participants learn to make a variety of these sewn (and stuck-on) beauties. The BAP provides the ingredients and recipes; participants just need a taste for the details and the desire to sample something new! This session covers six endband styles, which participants sew onto instructional “recipe cards” for easy future reference. List of Required Tools

 

image of clamshell box

The Clamshell Box: A Safe Place for Books
Emily Tipps 

$65

Purchase

When not being read, a book really just wants to be left alone in a safe place. The clamshell box is an ideal enclosure to keep books protected from dust, water, and light damage, as well as the general wear and tear of life on the shelf. Each participant in this workshop constructs a model clamshell box of a set size. Instruction includes basic strategies for measuring objects and cutting materials for future custom boxes. List of Required Tools

 

 

image of coptic bound books

Coptic Binding
Amy Thompson

$45

Purchase

 

In ancient Egypt, the Copts used this binding technique for hundreds of years. Notable for the chain links across the spine and sewn-on boards, the binding is very flexible and can open to 360º for display. List of Required Tools

 

image of longstitch

Long-Stitch with Leather
Amy Thompson

$50

Purchase

 

The elegant long-stitch has been used for inventive artists’ books and beautiful journals, but don’t be fooled by the apparent complexity of this exposed-sewing binding. Participants receive one set of materials, and the instructor shares examples with an assortment of thread, buttons, covers, and closures to ensure that the long-stitch never gets old. List of Required Tools