If you’re a hard-core, content-only Kindle reader, you may want to skip this. But if you’ve ever peeked under the jacket of a book to see how it was bound, admired a foil-stamped embossed title, or wondered what a frontispiece is, we’ve got something for you. If a stack of dusty old books doesn’t send you into Marie Kondo fits but, rather, whets your desire to read and sends you running for a cup of tea, please join us for some hands-on book lovers’ delight.
We’re excited to welcome Lee Steiner of Domestic Papers to the Cathedral for two consecutive Sunday evening workshops. Lee teaches bookbinding at local museums and at her East End studio. She grew up in a creative family of handmakers and antique collectors who were always on the hunt for inspiration. The name of her studio reflects her love of everything paper and of traveling to faraway places in search of unique materials for her art. Her travel always holds the promise of returning home to domestic bliss, where she turns her treasures into custom map-covered travel journals, sketchbooks from vintage books, and one-of-a kind writing journals.
On September 8, she will teach us how to understand a book’s true value. We know not to judge a book by its cover, but what factors do go into determining its worth? Do we value a book the same way others do? Lee will explain the elements that give books value in our lives—monetary, cultural, and personal—and show examples of books that may be worth a fortune to one person but are considered trash by another. She will provide a fresh appreciation of the treasures that lie on our own bookshelves, and she will share how she finds books for her antiquarian bookstore and creates beautiful journals and art from books that may initially seem worthless.
Then on September 15, she will lead us in a hands-on workshop to make a longstitch travel journal, a process that can be used to create journals of many sizes and functions. The longstitch binding allows the wide spine to lay flat for easy sketching and writing and creates plenty of room to add photos, maps, and mementos. She will provide all the materials—from paper to awls to a wide variety of map covers—and guide the group through each step. At the end of the evening you’ll have a beautiful, handmade journal to document your next adventure or to give to a friend as a bon voyage gift.
Yes, we know books are magical. But when did you last take time to really consider the vessels that hold the stories? A well-designed book furthers the impact of the words that lie between the covers. Exploring the book arts with Lee will allow you to look at your library with inspired new eyes, unleash your inner book-binder, and provide you some unbound bookish fun.
Valuing Vintage Volumes
Sunday, September 8
Jeffers Room, Latham Hall. 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Creating Longstitch Journals
Sunday, September 15
Jeffers Room, Latham Hall. 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
(Materials are included for the journal workshop so registration is limited. Please email lchambers@christchurchcathedral.org to register or get more information about either workshop.)
And please join us before the workshops for The Well, a contemplative Celtic Eucharist in the Cathedral at 5 p.m., and for tea and toast in Latham Hall at 5:45 p.m!
The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.
~Carl Jung