I’m taking my office outside today. They’re predicting rain later, but right now the sky is a glorious blue and there are no clouds in site. This morning I worked in my studio; one side of my art table holds a drying watercolour print, part of the demo I’ll be doing with CreAte Cafe members tomorrow night. The other side holds various remnants from my recent trip to Snow Farm, MA and the Books in the Woods art retreat hosted by Ali Manning and the team of Vintage Page Designs. I’ve been a member of the Handmade Book Club for 4 years now, and was beyond excited to participate in this art retreat!
Imagine! 5 days of creative fun with 60 women from all over the country, one even as far away as South Africa! Everything about this – teachers, classes, food, the experience as a whole – was fabulous and went beyond my expectations. I think the highlight for me was meeting people face-to-face; those I’d only seen on Zoom calls over the years or exchanged messages with on Facebook and Instagram.
I learned so much, made new friendships and have great memories of our time together. Would I do this again? Yes please!!
I’ve organized retreats in the past and know firsthand the amount of work that goes into making these events successful. Part of what made this extra special was the attention to detail, and celebrating the community, creativity and connection that is what the Handmade Book Club is all about.
These are the workshops I took:
‘Wear Your Story’ Wearable Book with Leslie Marsh
I’ve admired Leslie’s wearable books for years and jumped at the chance to take her class. With only minimal jewelry making skills, I was a bit worried about keeping up, but Leslie’s clear instructions made this a non-issue. Plus, several friends helped when symptoms of a bug (picked up on the plane and turned out to be RSV) started to appear. Handmade paper was used for the signature wraps and a double-needle coptic binding holds together the 8 tiny signatures. I love, love, LOVE and treasure my wearable book!
Buried Fabric Meditation Journal with Emma Freeman
We were given a bundle of various fabric pieces and invited to stitch them into pages, slowing down to listen to what the fabric wanted to do. Emma showed us examples of her fabric books, and invited us to practice and play with various stitches before leading us outside for a meditative walk. Pages were pounded with rocks, rubbed against trees, stained with plant material, buried overnight in the woods, unearthed and smoked over an open fire; I even burned an edge of my last page! I enjoyed this process far more than anticipated. Since returning home, I completed my stitching and have now buried my book for 30 days under a patch of sweetgrass growing in the yard…letting the earth work her magic.
The Magic of Papermaking with Sheryl Jaffe
Oh what a rabbit-hole this could be! There truly is something magical about making your own handmade papers. Sheryl was an excellent instructor: showing us examples of her own works and encouraging us to experiment with different fibres and inclusions. We used kozo, flax, cedar bark, denim, abaca and more to create 20-30 handmade papers each. They were pressed overnight and ready for pickup the following day. Here’s a couple of books Sheryl recommends if you’re interested in making your own papers: Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft by Dard Hunter and The Papermaker’s Companion by Helen Hiebert
Art camp for women – what fun!! So happy to have been among this amazing community of creatives. My heart is full.
