On-Site: Neighborhood Partnerships with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

On-Site: Neighborhood Partnerships with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Please enjoy reading a wonderful post written by Karen Satzman, Director of Youth & Family Programs at LACMA, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art…

I was honored to serve as teaching artist for a series of onsite LACMA art making workshops on “People Street“, in North Hollywood, in the NoHo Arts District.

Upcoming NoHo LACMA art workshops include:

Make a Flag Book 2 pm
2 pm | Sat, October 14, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

Make a Tunnel Book
2 pm | Sat, November 18, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

Make an Accordion Book
2 pm | Sat, December 9, 2017
Participate in a free artist-led workshop and create your own artwork in response to works in LACMA’s collection.
North Hollywood | Valley Plaza Branch Library
Free and open to the public
Note: This program takes place off-site on 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
This project is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.

 JOIN US!

 

The Sheltering Book Chapter 6

The Sheltering Book Chapter 6

I was honored to be one of 17 artists to receive 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 Sheltering Book is composed of an accordion spine, front and back covers, and two movable pages on each side which open away from the center, creating a space for shelter, presentation, performance and sharing.

To create a Sukkah shelter, dyed and stenciled netting was spread over the top of the Book, held in place by pins.

The Sheltering Book was constructed out of corrugated cardboard, primed, base painted, and transformed with layers of semi-sheer paint applications in harvest colors, which played across the surface.

Participants gathered in front of The Sheltering Book to create their own books,

and then share them, using The Sheltering Book as a backdrop, stage set, and human-sized performance space.

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.

The Sheltering Book Chapter 5

The Sheltering Book Chapter 5

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“.

Open to the world.

“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

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!

The Sheltering Book Chapter 4

The Sheltering Book Chapter 4

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

A “Sheltering Book” workshop was held at 430 Pico in Santa Monica, a building owned by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM), who rents out apartments to families and others, and provides a range of programming to them. Our workshop was part of that programming, and was attended by families with children from preschool to high school. A group of volunteers provided a lovely buffet and supported the participants, who created books,  and shared them in the shelter of The Sheltering Book.

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!

I taught the pamphlet stitch, but this young maker jumped right in, and wrote his book before it was bound!

Working with images cut from magazines…

Adding letters to create words…

Developing the interior…

Creating meaning…

Using the drawing materials…

A future “Women in the Arts”…

Sharing our books in the shelter of The Sheltering Book.

Room for creative work here!

He worked long and hard with a devoted volunteer to spell out his name in letters culled from magazines.

Celebration! Showing our books within the pages and open “walls” of The Sheltering Book”…supported within its loving “arms”.

The participants become the content and the characters of The Sheltering Book. Through their presence and their creations they people its pages, add meaning to its presence, and add life to its structure.Their story becomes its story, and vice versa.

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!

The Sheltering Book Chapter 3

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 2

The Sheltering Book Chapter 2

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.

The Sheltering Book at The Braid Theatre Gallery, Home of the Jewish Women’s Theatre

“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

For my project, “The Sheltering Book“, I constructed a “life-sized” book, to become the backdrop and inspiration point for bookmaking workshops! The book also draws parallels to the “Sukkah”, a small temporary  shelter used in ancient times for those harvesting to eat and sleep in during harvest season (part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot which falls in October).

 

Please join us this coming Saturday at The Montana Branch Library to make books and explore The Sheltering Book in community!

Saturday October 22nd 10 AM – 1 PM  The Montana Branch Library/Santa Monica Public Library  1704 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403

I will also be there with The Sheltering Book from 2 – 5 PM that afternoon for more exploration, bookmaking and sharing!

 

The Sheltering Book Chapter 1

The Sheltering Book Chapter 1

I am honored to have been one of 17 artists who received an inaugural ‘Word Grant 2016: The Bruce Geller Memorial Prize” from the Institute for Jewish Creativity, a project of American Jewish University.

“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

For my project, “The Sheltering Book“, I am constructing a “life-sized” book, to become the backdrop and inspiration point for bookmaking workshops! The book also draws parallels to the “Sukkah”, a small temporary  shelter used in ancient times for those harvesting to eat and sleep in during harvest season (part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot which falls in October).

Here is The Sheltering Book in process in the studio:

The book is made of corrugated cardboard, primed, base-painted and layered with paint washed, a paint effect, or decorative painting technique. Here boards are waiting to be painted, while the accordion spine

is readied to receive its wash treatment on the work table.

The base colors are Fine Paints of Europe primary colors, the paint version of the Pantone Color System.

Accordion spine made in two parts, with overlapped center.  Extra pieces added to the top to add height.

Because the spine was made of moving boxes, there were slits cut on either end. The end that became the bottom of the book was folded over and glued to create extra strength. (Not pictured here.)

The slits and resulting gaps in the top were covered with board prepared in the same manner as the primed, painted and treated surface. The diamonds cover the last bit of gap, and became a design element.

Cover board before border added.

Cover boards with borders, glued and stitched to accordion spine.

Stitching cover board to spine. Interior view.

Cover board attached to inside of spine. Left side exterior  view.

Cover board stitching. Right side exterior view.

Left side pages glued to spine.

Ready to glue left side pages.

Harvest colors: red-russet  covers, golden-yellow pages (complimentary purple on reverse- not pictured.)

The process: holes punched with awl, spaced with handmade cardboard template. Sewn with 48lb / 21.7kg natural hemp cord.

Please join us for one of the public bookmaking workshops!

• Sunday October 16th 10 AM – 12:30 PM   The Braid Theater Gallery, Home of the Jewish Women’s Theater / 2912 Colorado Ave #102 Santa Monica, CA 90404

• Thursday October 20th 7 – 9 PM, 430 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405, A  Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM) Affordable Housing Bldg. (This one is just for building residents and CCSM Staff).

• Saturday October 22nd 10 AM – 1 PM  The Montana Branch Library/Santa Monica Public Library  1704 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403 I will also be there with The Sheltering Book from 2 – 5 PM that afternoon!                                        
  

 

                                      

                                        

Flags and Found Fun at the Fowler

Flags and Found Fun at the Fowler

It was a joy to teach a “Flag Books and Found Writing” workshop at the Fowler Museum at UCLA last Saturday.

Participants created the Flag Book structure (invented by master Hedi Kyle),

after perusing plenty of samples,

experimenting with color, and expressing their own sensibilities.

Then filled their books  with “found” writing, and images,

garnered from myriad scrap, recycled and repurposed print media. assorted papers, drawing and writing materials, and their own creativity.

They played with pattern, texture, shape, font, similarities and contrasts.

There were many surfaces of each book to consider adding content to.

Each student displayed an individual approach to color, collage, layering, placement of images, and use of text and image in their books.

Indeed.

This student cut letters out of paper patterned with…letters. (words),

integrating color, pattern, text and imagery.

They were focused!

This artist used the program from the museum about the current José Montoya show…re-purposing it for her book!

We used beautiful wooden tools designed for ceramics work, as our “bone folders“, to make our folds crisp, and “smooth” the process along (!).

This adventurous student even took off with the accordion folding technique, creating a second accordion fold book.

I was thrilled to hear what some of the participants felt about our workshop…

“….I really feel I have learned something useful. Thank you for offering the workshop.”

 “I enjoyed the flag bookmaking class very much. ….each of us produced something totally individual yet with the same format…. More, please!”

Yes, more indeed!

That Ribbon of…3

That Ribbon of…3

It is fascinating to explore ways of integrating ribbon and tying mechanisms into book structures. An integrated tie mechanism encourages the user to engage with the object…opening and closing, tying and untying.

In an ongoing process of attempting to meld bookmaking, decorative painting, conceptual, and “fine” art into the mysterious form of the “artist’s book“, I am exploring the use of tissue paper and the like combined with adhesives to create a textured, tactile surface, and incorporating the ribbon or tie as an integral part of the piece.

Simple cardboard is covered with crinkled tissue once used to separate sheets of metallic leaf. This tissue, for lack of a better term, is thin, fine, ultra flexible, crushable, porous, adherable and absorbent. Perfect for texturing, and when combined with adhesive, becomes almost like a glue itself. The textured surface can create a compelling, intriguing, and in some instances, incredibly satisfying object to gaze upon, to touch, to hold, and to use.

Here the actual packing of the metallic leaf become folded book pages, each one unfolded, then refolded into a signature, (technically a “section”).  These signatures are then sewn together with hemp cord using  the pamphlet stitch  to create a “multi-signature” binding.  Half of the first and last pages are then glued to the inside of the front and back covers so that the pages unfold.

Thus each folded page opens up into four two-sided sections. many possibilities here…both for developing the book by adding content to the pages, and for user engagement with the pages…unfolding and folding them.

The pages can become sculptural and create different shapes. One of the magical things about the form of “the book”, is that it can be nearly flat or two-dimensional, or three-dimensional. Books are transformational…in many ways.

The exposed points of contact where the signatures are sewn together become the spine of the book.

Eventually, I integrated this brilliant orange ribbon into the design of the book. it adds a bit of shimmer, dimension, and contrasting texture, and a tone-on-tone quality that I find irresistible.

I will have to get some images of the finished piece. It is fun to play with, opening and closing the book,  folding and unfolding the pages, seeing how many shapes can be created. The user has to engage with this book, if they don’t want to miss out!

 

 

 

 

That Ribbon of…2

That Ribbon of…2It is fascinating to explore ways of integrating ribbon and tying mechanisms into book structures. An integrated tie mechanism encourages the user to engage with the object…opening and closing, tying and untying.

In an ongoing process of attempting to meld bookmaking, decorative painting, conceptual, and “fine” art into the mysterious form of the “artist’s book“, I am exploring the use of tissue paper and the like combined with adhesives to create a textured, tactile surface, and incorporating the ribbon or tie as an integral part of the piece. Simple cardboard is covered with crinkled tissue once used to separate sheets of metallic leaf.

This tissue, for lack of a better term, is thin, fine, ultra flexible, crushable, porous, adherable and absorbent. Perfect for texturing, and when combined with adhesive, becomes almost like a glue itself.

The textured surface combined with the ribbon or tie, can create a compelling, intriguing, and in some instances, incredibly satisfying object to gaze upon, to touch, to hold, and to use. Here the brown gauze ribbon and found object sewn to the front cover complete the piece.

The ribbon is slipped under the signature stitches, and one of a line of stitches keeping the strip of cloth (in this case brown felt) to which the signatures are sewn, in place.

The polka-dotted ribbon adds an element of pattern and lightness and creates a striped effect when laid down next to the brown felt.

Oranges and browns are set off by the brilliant, saturated colors of the pages.

  The ribbon add sensuality and languidness, and has a life of its own. Depending on how it lays, the completed book can look demure, like an attentive, obedient student,

  or, even like a Buddha.

 We have to turn each page…in turn…if we don’t want to miss the in-between. Which might be the most interesting part of the story…

T.B.C.