Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!
- When and how did you first discover ABAC?
I first discovered ABAC through the website. I was looking to move somewhere new in the fall of 2016 and the Austin area was one place I was considering. Seeing that there was a book arts center here was one of the factors that decided me on eventually moving here!
- What classes have you taken at the center?
I’ve taken a mix of classes – letterpress intensive, coptic binding, hand-developing polymer plates, and holiday card printing – and there are so many more that I would like to take!
- What volunteer work do you do at ABAC?
Lately, I’ve been volunteering whenever an extra hand is needed. Recently I’ve helped with the move, with printing the moving announcement postcards, and at the open house in February.
- Can you think of a certain experience at ABAC that best exemplifies what you like most about the center?
I had a great time at the open house in February. The mix of people that the informal events like that (and the holiday card printing class in December) bring is really wonderful! Whether it’s people new to ABAC or existing members, it’s great to hear about what people are working on or now that they know about ABAC how people plan to adapt what they’ve learned or take a class to learn more!
- What do you think is special about book and paper-based art that separates it from other art forms?
I like the broad horizons of book and paper arts, from the practical side of making a blank journal or letterpress printing some invitations all the way to the fantastical side of art books and design bindings! I like that a book can be a bit of art that you carry around with you. Most of all, in a time when a lot of printed things are going digital (which DRM aside, I’m all for), I like the physicality of book and paper arts. Question: why should I own a copy of Frankenstein when I can grab it off of Project Gutenberg or get it from the library? Answer: the design binding class ABAC did last fall for Frankenstein – they were all amazing and really added something special. When, like me, you move a lot and live in small-ish apartments, it makes you particular about what you own and therefore eventually have to move (and books weigh a lot), and any of those Frankenstein bindings would be worth owning.
- What are you working on now?
I’m a beginning book artist, so not much yet! I am so, so, slowly working on a binding for a version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story, and eventually I’d like to print some postcards of bats and a version of the game skull & roses.