Monique in Ann Arbor and Telluride

Director Monique Lallier is in her fourth week of teaching, having taught for one week in Cheerio, NC, then two weeks in Ann Arbor, and now two weeks in Telluride. What a busy schedule! Her two week class in Ann Arbor, Fundamentals of Bookbinding, was outstanding. Her is a photo of Monique with her students.

This week in Telluride she is teaching Fine Box Making, and next week she'll teach New Oriental Bindings. Talk about diverse! That's our incredible director! Stay tuned for more photos.

OLD STONE BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Many of you know that the Old Stone Building is getting a complete remodel. Yeah! The roof was completely taken off and is getting redone, the drywall downstairs was pulled off to expose the stone from 1900, and stairs will be relocated and an accessible bathroom will be put in downstairs. Here are a few photos to see what is happening. The building should be ready by April 1, 2010, just in time for Spring classes.

Buffalo Skins from France

We ordered some beautiful Buffalo Skins from Remy Carriat. Don and students are cutting the skins into quarters. There are lots of colors to choose from, and the skins are excellent quality...very few nicks and dings.

DON GLAISTER: What was the Alternatives Class really about?

Don Glaister's class that ended on Friday, Introduction to Alternative Techniques, was fabulous. It was everything the description said it would be: learning really cool decorative techniques and concentrating on how to implement these techniques into a design binding. Students explored all sorts of neat techniques that Don has developed and perfected. Students were also challenged to think about how to incorporate these new techniques in a design for a leather binding....that was the hard part! I personally think the design part of leather bookbinding is the most interesting, and can be the most creative. I could feel the intense thinking going on in the studio each day, as participants used their imaginations to come up with visual imagines that related their books. Some of the techniques that Don demonstrated were: drawing on leather, using an airbrush, feathered onlay, board forming, leather molding, blind tooling, and different techniques for paring and sanding. They also made some custom brass tools. Enjoy the photos!

IT SNOWED!

On the weekend between Don Glaister's Intermediate Fine Binding class and his Introduction to Alternative Techniques class, the students who stayed over took an excursion up to the top of Imogene Pass. This is a pass over 13,000 feet that is just above the Telluride valley. Daniel Tucker was the tour guide, and at one point, everyone had to get out and push the Suburban up the hill through some snow!

Don's "Alternative Class" started this week. Students are busy thinking about how to design their covers using interesting techniques that Don has developed and perfected. This class will be offered in San Francisco at the San Francisco Center for the Book next March, so I'll post more photos the in the next few days to give you an idea of what you could be learning.

2010 Schedule Now ONLINE!!!

Our 2010 schedule of classes is now available on our updated website:

http://www.ahhaa.org/academy-bookbinding/

What isn't posted there yet are two classes at satellite locations: Boston at the North Bennet Street School, and San Francisco at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Here is a short description of those two classes:


SATELLITE CLASSES: San Francisco and Boston
The American Academy of Bookbinding is partnering with the San Francisco Center for the Book, the Hand Bookbinders of California and the North Bennet Street School to offer specialty classes with AAB faculty members. By expanding some of AAB’s offerings to the east and west coasts, students will have an opportunity to study with AAB faculty and not have to travel to Telluride or Ann Arbor.

San Francisco, California
March 22-26, 2010, five days
Donald Glaister, “Introduction to Alternative Techniques”
Course Fee: $800

Boston, Massachusetts
June 2010, dates TBA, five days
Monique Lallier, “New Oriental Bindings”
Course Fee: $800

For more information and to register, please contact Judy Kohin, aab@ahhaa.org, 970-728-8649.

Photos from Don Glaister's Class

Don Glaister's two week class, "Intermediate Fine Binding" is wrapping up. What a wonderful two weeks it has been. With the Old Stone Building being remodeled, classes were held in the Depot. I was nervous about the temporary space, but it worked out just fine. We had only one board shear, and with eight students it was not a problem (hey, maybe we don't need three board shears after all!)

Students traveled from Vancouver, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Wyoming.

Don will teach "Introduction to Alternative Techniques" next week. Stay tuned to find out what that is all about!

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.