FALL CLASSES STARTED!

Don Etherington working with Student Marta Gomez from Madison, WI.

Don Etherington with Students in Ann Arbor, Fall 2009.

Eric Alstrom in the front of class at Hollander's.

The master, Don Etherington.

The fall session of the American Academy of Bookbinding started in Ann Arbor and Telluride. Don Etherington is teaching a combined class, Treatments of Textblocks and Sewing, and Finishing, in Ann Arbor. From what I hear the class is going well, Don is in top form, and students are loving it!

In Telluride, Don Glaister is teaching Intermediate Fine Binding. With the Stone Building under construction, classes are being held at the Depot, and though the studio is a little smaller, the location next to the San Miguel River is charming. Students are out sanding on the patio next to the river. Fall colors here in Telluride are about to peak.

Check out a few photos with more to come in the following days.

Our 2010 Schedule of classes is now posted on our updated website, www.ahhaa.org. Click on American Academy of Bookbinding. The site still needs some work, but basic information is available. Please call or email if you would like more information or if you want to register for any 2010 classes. They should fill fast!

Spring Session Over!

Don's Forwarding Class in Ann Arbor

Hélène's class at Barbara and Fred Voltmer's Havilah Press in Emeryville.

Sialia reading from her book that she wrote and was now binding in
leather during Monique's Fine Binding class.

Hélène titling in Ann Arbor

Monique and students at the Telluride Studio in June

It has been several weeks since I've updated this BLOG. Sorry about that! The past three weeks I have been boxing everything up and moving the entire studio and building contents to storage and setting up a new office for the next nine months. Construction will begin on the Stone Building next week, with a new roof and handicapped accessible bathroom being the main reasons for the remodel. The space and building will get a face lift. When you come back next spring you will be amazed at the difference! The building is great as it is, but as an historic building (built in 1901) there are a few things that need to be repaired.

Hélène taught her final class in the States last week at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA, then watched the fireworks on July 4th and headed back to France on Sunday. Her classes were absolutely fantastic! I only heard rave reveiws. And she had a grand time too! She had only been here once before (last year, to Telluride) so visiting some of our best cities was a treat for her.

I am attaching just a few photos from the classes. If you have more you would like to add, send them my way! I don't have any photos yet from Boston.....if any of you took some, I would love to post them.

We still have room in all of our fall classes and we have some great ones coming up: New Oriental Binding with Monique Lallier, Alternative Techniques with Don Glaister, and Treatments of Textblocks and Sewing with Don Etherington, among others. Check out our website for a complete listing.

Have a great rest of the summer! I'll periodically make posts here to update you on AAB happenings.

Final Week of the Telluride Spring Session

Sadly for me, this is the last week of bookbinding classes in Telluride for the spring semester. Classes are still continuing in Ann Arbor for a few more weeks, and Hélène Jolis will be in San Francisco and Boston for a few weeks after that. This week Monique Lallier is teaching Intermediate/Advanced Fine Binding, and students are here for one week only. So things are very busy in the studio! Some students have worked very late into the night. The bindings and techniques covered this week are very diverse, with students at varying levels of study, so it is a pleasure to see such different and creative approaches to fine binding. Once again I am blown away by the quality of the student work and the enthusiasm students have for their projects.

More Photos From Hélène Jolis' Class in Contemporary Decortive Techniques

Great work in the Contemporary Decorative Technique Class! Check out the students' fabulous plaquettes. It was a blast to have Monique Lallier in the class with us, learning this wonderful inlay/onlay technique developed by the incomparable Hélène Jolis.

Hélène's Classes

Hélène Jolis' classes have been terrific. This week students are learning more complicated steps in her Contemporary Decorative Techniques class, after studying with Hélène last year in the Level 1 class. This is the only class that is being offered to students who attended the Level 1 class last year, and building on the inlay techniques they learned, they are working on plaquettes with a slightly more complicated design. "I love this technique!", I overheard a student say. And another,"this is so much fun!" Practical, innovative onlay and inlay techniques that can be used on the covers of fine bindings to executive designs. Hélène will be in Ann Arbor next, teaching Titling and Contemporary Decorative Techniques, Level 1. There is still room in both classes so drop me line if you want to join either of these technique classes.

Ann Arbor Classes Going Well!

Yumiko, Marcie, Karen, Nerida, Marilyn, Don, Ruth, Jean, and Rose;
on the floor: Lara, John, and Lindsay

Lara and her very complex and challenging box structure.

Don explaining something or other.....

Marilyn covering a tray

Don Etherington is in Ann Arbor teaching a few classes at our Michigan campus at Hollander's. Reports from various sources say that the Box Making class was fabulous, and this week's Forwarding and Covering class is off to a good start. Don's Box class was full with a waiting list, proving that his workshops are as popular as ever. Students attended the workshop from all across the country: Rhode Island, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Michigan and Canada. Here are a few photos from the Box Making class. We miss you in Telluride, Don!!

Photos from Taylor's 60th Birthday Party

A few snapshots from Taylor's party....I thought I would post these for the world to see. We had dinner at La Cocina de Luz (thank you Taylor!) and then Lesa handed Taylor a handmade box with an accordian sheet that had the "60 Steps to Bind a Book in Telluride" that Tini wrote for the AAB t-shirts (only we changed a few of the steps for the 60 year old.) The box also contained the well wishes from students and teachers across the country. It was a lot of fun.

TAYLOR CROSBY TURNS 60! Lesa Dowd celebrates her 44th!

Lesa and Hélène

Taylor with his elaborate cake sent by wife Elise. YUM!

Lesa and Taylor have birthdays today.........what fun! We celebrate Lesa's today, and we'll celebrate Taylor's tomorrow (sort of a big deal....turning 60 and all). Tonight we'll have a BBQ, eat cake and enjoy this lovely spring weather. Tomorrow, Taylor has invited us all to La Cocina de Luz for dinner where we'll eat yummy Mexican food and have flan for dessert. Does anyone remember the party we threw for Tini Miura on her 60th? That was fun....when was that? Happy Birthday to Lesa and Taylor from all of your bookbinding friends!

Don Glaister's Class....FANTASTIC!! Hélène Jolis Arrives!

Hélène with Titling students.

John works on his hinges.


Lisa from Calgary practices her titles using ink on paper.


Don pointing out subtle details with Garie from Ohio and Jill from Texas.

Don Glaister's Fundamentals of Bookbinding class was absolutely fantastic. Though students tended to work in the studio long after class was over, Don was there too, giving advice, teaching, reviewing the day's techniques. This was Don's first year teaching for the Academy, and every student had rave reviews of him and the course. Almost all of the students have signed up to take Don's Intermediate Fine Binding course in the fall, which is the next course in the series. I can't say enough great things about Don.......he is kind, patient, funny, creative and very generous with his knowledge and time. We look forward to many more years of having him in Telluride. Thank you Don!!

And our honored visiting artist, Hélène Jolis, arrived from Paris last week. Her first class, "Titling for Fine Binding and Conservation," started this week. In the students' words: "This class is amazing! It's just what I needed. I've taken Titling before, but Hélène is teaching how to apply the titles in a very systematic, structured way. I love that there are concrete, clear ways and rules of doing this." And another, "Excellent. Fantastic!! I am learning so much!!" Thank you Hélène. We are so honored and happy to have you here.

Hélène will be in the U.S. teaching for a total of six weeks—2 weeks in Telluride, 2 weeks in Ann Arbor, one week each in San Francisco and Boston. There is still room in some of the upcoming classes, so let me know if you are interested in attending. You don't want to miss this incredible opportunity! More news and photos to follow.....

Don Glaister—Fundamentals of Bookbinding

Don and Taylor looking through the paper drawers.

Don demonstrates how to sand the spine.

A student sewing the signatures to make a textblock.

We are very honored to have Don Glaister here teaching for us for the first time. What a wonderful and generous teacher, and a great guy, too! Don trained in Paris but thinks of his bindings as truly American. His is an innovator and over the thirty some years he has been binding, he has developed simple, clear, no-nonsense techniques for binding books. And his design bindings are spectacular! So imginative! He has a concept for an image and finds unusual materials to realize his designs. Check out his website at the link on the right.

The two-week class that started this week is titled "Fundamentals of Bookbinding." Students are learning how to make case bindings using brand new textblocks, then sewing them, rounding and backing them, making headbands, etc. The students will make one half-leather and one full-leather binding. It's a process that takes the student through every step of the binding. We have some students who have never made a book before, and we have a student that has been taking various binding classes in Telluride since 1996, so the range is very broad. Even experienced binders can learn something by studying a new way of doing things. How refreshing!