Dear Everyone ~
Cat Bennett & I & our students have recently completed our sixteenth bookful adventure, which is how Cat refers to our co-teaching. The theme for this four-session workshop was Japanese Art Inspirations.
Since last autumn, our other bookful themes have been Wordy Stories, Wordless Stories, and Travel. We begin each workshop by making a book under my tutelage (occasionally, we’ve made a trio of booklets instead). In the next three sessions, Cat leads everyone in various drawing & painting exercises, sharing her creative process and inspiring us all to fluidly & fun-ly fill our books in the theme we are exploring.
Cat recently reflected on the evolution of our Bookfuls:
“I love how far-reaching our explorations have become, and that they are preserved in a personal library to dip into whenever we’d like to create a special book. So many new ideas emerge when we just give ourselves that quiet space to explore without preconceived notions. When we keep our hands moving, inspiration always comes to us. All we need to do is follow it even if we don’t know exactly where it will take us. This is really what we do in our Bookful classes. We gather and look at art together then try to explore in ways we might not have before, using pencils, crayons, and paint.”
This summer, in honour of our sweet sixteenth Bookful collaboration, we’ve decided to make our 16 full-length live recordings available all summer, complete with their sumptuous kits of materials. Each recording is 12-ish hours-ful. As always, If you’d like to purchase an additional set of materials, you certainly can. I am also offering my standard discount on any tools you order at the same time as your Bookful purchase.
I’d like to share a handful of my recent favourite emails from Bookful students. All four of them are Bookful All-timers, so their personal Bookful libraries are rich to the point of overflowing with the fruits of their inspirations.
Lorraine D. in BC, Canada: I thought this class was wonderful—from the precut materials to all the brave ways to paint directly into the books and Cat’s amazing enthusiasm and kindness. Plus all the good ideas about filling our books to the brim!
Carla J. in Virginia: A huge thanks for choosing such a wonderful subject for Bookful 16. You present us with just enough of a springboard to take off on our own. I love your choice of Basho haikus. Always simple yet filled with sensory images.
Gabriele B. in Austria: I just want to mention again how grateful I am to have found you and your workshops and the Bookfuls with Cat. A treasure trove of ideas and methods. Pure inspiration.
Jane H. in Michigan: I am so looking forward to ‘Wordy Stories’. I just heard something on the radio yesterday about learning something new each day. Makes me so glad to have you in my life…I love making books…and giving them away.
If you’d like to purchase more than one Bookful recording, you will receive a 16% discount ($47.20!) on your second recording, and third, and so on & so fourth. The full range of Bookful recordings will be available for purchase until Labor Day, and the recordings will be yours to use for as long as you need.
Bookfuls
Bound for Bookfuls, Bari