Arts @ Wells College

Summer Institute at Wells College Book Arts Center is just around the corner…

Lake Cayuga reflects the icy blue sky of winter—while it’s officially spring, winter seems to linger here. Trees are bare, snow dusts the ground, and the thermometer stubbornly hovers at a low 27 degrees. This will be my second winter in upstate New York and I will confess that although the weather can be cold, it has a special kind of beauty.

For me, winter has a distinct tone. Cold afternoons turn quickly to dusk. The perfect meal includes homemade soup, a cup of hot tea, and freshly baked bread. Progress is made on craft projects, while sitting on the couch wrapped in an afghan. And just when the winter starts to feel unbearable, thoughts drift to the possibility of summer.

The details of the Summer Institute have been finalized, making my daydreams of summer seem closer to reality, regardless of the cold weather that persists. The Summer Institute promises two weeks of inspiring courses in binding, calligraphy, and letterpress printing. Anyone who has attended the Summer Institute will tell you that the studios are filled day and night with the energy of people making amazing things. Although long summer days spent in the studio are filled with work, there is plenty of time for play. Days are livened with morning coffee at picnic tables under the shade of trees, afternoon swims in Lake Cayuga, and evening bonfires with roasted marshmallows and stargazing.

Summer Institute 2013 offers the following courses:

Session 1, July 7 – 13
Poets and the Press, Katie Baldwin
One new focus of our Summer Institute has been to develop a letterpress course for writers. The course Poets at the Press is an opportunity for poets to turn a short manuscript into a chap-book.

A Box is an Invitation, Sarah Bryant
If you are interested in learning how to design and build beautiful enclosures, Sarah Bryant (former Victor Hammer Fellow), can teach you all the secrets. Not only is Sarah incredibly knowledgeable—she is so much fun!

Mixed Media Neuland, Nancy Culmone
Nancy will teach calligraphy through both structured and experimental exercises in calligraphy. Students will explore the letterform of Neuland using various papers, ink, paints, and colored pencils.

Working with the Iron Press, Tricia Treacy
We are firing up Victor Hammer’s Iron Hand Press! However, Tricia is going to be mixing the old with the new. Antique wood type, digital methods, experimentation and hand printing will result in a collaborative, conceptual typographic artist’s book.

Session 2, July 14 – 20

Woodblock Printing, Katie Baldwin
In this course, I will be teaching the traditional methods of Japanese woodblock printing. Learn how to print multiple colors with perfect registration using a carved woodblock image!

Love that Leather, Margot Ecke
Come sew text blocks, learn to cut and pare leather, and binding books, showcasing several traditional leather bindings. Students will create one full leather and two quarter leather bound books.

Typecasting and Monotype Composition, Michael Bixler
If you love handset letterpress, then perhaps learning the monotype process from one of the last letterfoundries in North America will interest you! Students will learn keying text to casting type at Bixler’s press and Letterfoundry.

Embracing Chance, Robin Price
Robin will be working with students to create letterpress artist books, through methods of chance. Surprise yourself by embracing new creative pathways in developing text and image in a hand bound book.

Last summer, I attended the Summer Institute at Wells Book Arts Center as both a student and an instructor—and I had a truly fantastic time. I had the opportunity to work alongside many wonderful people and their momentum in the studio was catching: the Summer Institute left me inspired! Today, as the days continue to get longer, I am looking forward to the morning coffee, swimming, bonfires, marshmallows, stargazing and inspiration that 2013 Summer Institute at the Wells Book Arts Center guarantees.

Please contact us at: 315-364-3420. You can find information on the Summer Institute or download a PDF of the brochure at www.wellsbookartscenter.org (or visit us on Facebook!).

Katie Baldwin
Victor Hammer Fellow in Book Arts
Wells Book Arts Center