Instructors: Cat Bennett & Bari Zaki

Saturdays, May 18, 25, June 1, (No session on June 8) & 15 from 10am–1pm (Chicago time)

This four-session workshop is the thirteenth Bookful collaboration between Cat Bennett and Bari Zaki. Our inspiration for this series is to tell a wordless story of what we encounter on our spring walks. We will be playful and use our imagination, making things up as we go along. 

What you’ll make: A trio of single-signature stitched booklets with a window on the front cover, a triangular pocket inside the back cover, and a companion trio of hand-folded envelopes. The booklets measure 6 x 7⅝ x ¼ and envelopes measure 6½ x 8. We will fold & stitch the booklets using the Bookful twist stitch with complementary waxed-linen thread. We will make one ensemble (booklet + hand-folded envelope) in the workshop, and you will make the second & third ensembles on your own, with the recording for reference (and company!).

Workshop #1 – We begin with a brief introduction about paper grain and a review of workshop tools. Next, you will fold three 8-page signatures (16 serendipitous sides). We will measure, score, fold, and slice a pre-cut piece of Canson Mi-teintes to create our first cover. Then we will stitch the booklet using the Bookful twist. We will take a mini-break, and then you will learn to hand-fold an envelope (first using a sheet of practice paper) without a template. 

Nota bene: As always, Bari will record all four lessons as they are happening, and the recordings will be available for you, with no interruptions or delay, almost immediately after each session.

Workshops #2, #3 & #4 – In the next three sessions, Cat will lead the class in painting & drawing exercises using a variety of mediums including watercolour, gouache, coloured pencils, pens and markers. We’ll also explore making decorative collage papers by painting on tissue and mulberry papers. Cat will also share her ideas of how to tell delightful short wordless stories with surprise endings. As always, there will be a slideshow of various artists’ work for inspiration at the beginning of each lesson.

Workshop fee includes all materials (but not the tools) you’ll need to make three single-signature stitched booklets & three hand-folded envelopes. 

6 different colours of Canson Mi-teintes cover paper (12½ x 19½)

6 sheets of Stonehenge (11 x 15-ish) 

3 pre-cut pieces of Cat’s favourite drawing paper for your title pages (7⅝ x 11¼)

6 lengths of 4-ply waxed-linen threads so that you can mix & match

1 glassine sleeveful of BZS Exquisite Scraps, suitable for collaging, massaging, admiring, and kaleidoscopic contemplation.

Tools needed: bonefolder, shipping clerk’s knife, triangle ruler, metal ruler, Xacto knife, lightweight awl, bookbinding needle. I offer a 20% discount on any tools ordered for the workshop (via refund after your workshop purchase). You can purchase these tools individually here.

Ancillary tools needed: cutting mat.

The materials we’ve selected for the kit are a colourful array of Canson Mi-teintes cover weight papers with complementary waxed-linen threads. The two palette options shown here (left to right) are: Delaunay and Bloomsbury. Please order from the dropdown menu below. If you’d like to purchase an additional set of materials, you certainly can. However, you cannot accomplish this in the dropdown menu (because one set of materials is included with the workshop fee). So, please e me, and I will be in touch extremely promptly. It’s $125 per additional set. Shipping is gratis if you order at the same time as your workshop registration.

Cat and I look forward to sharing our love of bookbinding, hand-folding envelopes, drawing, painting, and collage with you in this four-week live Zoom workshop!

About Cat: In her former life, she was a commercial illustrator for 25 years. All three of her wonderful books are available in our shop &  online: The Confident Creative, Making Art a Practice, and The Drawing Club of Improbable Dreams.

“I believe that drawing and painting create happiness. I love teaching because I get to see people discover their own creative genius!” – Cat Bennett