Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z0piGVYXVc

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv8fsF4ZVPg

Asheville BookWorks Gallery is seeking work for an upcoming show of prints with the theme, Beyond Language.

It is only natural that after all of these years printmaking still carries the torch for it’s greatest partner and eternal love – Letters. A letter can, with ease, deliver to us striking form, content, and even context; usually these fine things are strung tightly with an understanding and usage of language. Within the bounds of art and design this need not be the only use for these uniquely versatile characters in the world of mark making. Beyond Language is to be an exhibition of printed works that find themselves made using these building blocks of communication, all of them structured deliberately not to be read as text, but rather understood as compositions. DOWNLOAD PDF / CALL FOR ENTRIES / Beyond Language

Exhibition Dates: March 6 – May 5, 2012

Juror: Bryan Baker. Stukenborg Press, Bryan Christopher Baker’s letterpress studio, has spent the last year exploring the astronomical number of variations possible while utilizing a limited set of variables; six-sided dice. After years of printing with traditional hand-set type, he has begun a series of limited edition prints that are composed and printed solely from dice. Each composition is arranged on the bed of an antique printing press, and inked impressions are pulled directly off the face of the array. These prints touch on notions of order, disorder, fate, and chance; but, also can bring to mind cellular structures, and systems of computation. From within Bryan’s “fields of situations” patterns emerge that shift between textile design and depictions of microscopic forces.

Bryan spent the last three years in Brooklyn, NY where he split his time between teaching printmaking around the city and working in his studio. His studio practice as a printmaker had a chance to develop under a very unique canopy, after graduate school he became a full-time designer and printer at Yee-Haw Industries, 2002-2008. There he made custom hand-printed letterpress ephemera for record labels, music venues, museums, and more. Through the years he spent at Yee-Haw two bodies of work took shape; one out of the purely functional side of print, and another which has much less to do with practical applications and is more concerned with cognition and experience. These two modes and manners of approach now often overlap and influence Bryan’s current work.

A recent move finds Stukenborg Press setting up a letterpress facility in Detroit. This new location will function as both a studio for Bryan’s ongoing projects, and a printshop that is accessible to the local community. stukenborgpress.com

February 10-12, 2012
Fri 6-9, Sat 9-5, Sun 9-12

Instructor: Bridget Elmer
$221 – includes fee for shared supplies.

• Strong paper for codex pages (Mohawk superfine available for purchase at BookWorks)
• Decorative papers for end-sheets and paste-downs
• Book cloth (available for purchase from Instructor)
• Book board (available for purchase at BookWorks)
• Linen book binding thread (available for purchase from Instructor)
• Awl
• Mallet or small hammer
• Bone folder
• Pencil
• White eraser
• Glue brush, round with non-synthetic bristles
• Ruler with inch/millimeter measurements (best if measures to edge)
• Small steel triangle and L-square (available from MicroMark at http://www.micromark.com/)
• Paper knife (clay fettling knife or non-serrated table knife)
• Scissors (must cut to tip)
• Olfa or X-acto knife with blades
• Self-healing mat
• Wax paper
• Apron

Shared Materials (included in class fee)

• PVA (poly-vinyl acetate)
• Methyl cellulose

May 2, 2012
Wednesday, 10 – 5pm

Instructor: Steve Pittelkow
Cost: $151 (includes materials fee)

Description: Working with leather can be daunting but it doesn’t have to be. In this one day class, students will learn to pare leather for the spine of a notebook that will last years and years. In addition, we’ll work with snaps, clasps and grommets to add embellishments to our project. Students will also learn about paring knives and how to keep them sharp. This is a good introduction to leather for all levels. All materials provided. Students may use their own decorative paper or may use marbled paper provided by the instructor.

May 3, 2012
Thursday, 10 – 5pm

Instructor: Steve Pittelkow
Cost: $146 (includes materials fee)

Description: This one day class continues a survey of Keith Smith bindings and also includes a slip case. These are a new group of different bindings than the last Keith Smith bindings class that Steve taught last year. Students will sew 6 different books, all the same size, then construct a slip case to hold them all. We’ll start with two section bindings, then move to a couple 3 section books. These decorative, exposed spine bindings are perfect to adapt for small run printed editions. All levels and all materials provided.

Asheville BookWorks will host the 2012 Wood Engravers Network (WEN) Workshop, June 4 – 8, 2012.

The Wood Engravers’ Network is excited to host its first juried exhibition of relief engraving. Bringing wood engraving to a broader audience to promote and encourage a passion for the tradition and contemporary experimentation of relief engraving.

For reference, here is the prospectus for the 2012 WEN 2012 Relief Engraving Exhibit. The exhibit will have its premier in the BookWorks Gallery during the months of June and July, 2012, coinciding with the dates of the Annual WEN Workshop.

If you’re interested in learning the art of wood engraving, WEN founder Jim Horton, will be leading a class at BookWorks, prior to the WEN Workshop. This class will instruct in the drawing and engraving on wood, and the techniques of proofing on a press. No previous experience is necessary.