Sequential Artists Workshop

As a comic book author you will put hours/days/weeks into creating your comic. Once you know different book forms you can judge how their design might add to your offering. Specific book structures may suggest story forms because of their unique sequencing, repetition, duration or juxtaposition of pages. But unique forms are harder to print because they are unique. Like every part of making a comic, you have to judge the tradeoff between labor and effect. You can make bind and/or embellish editions of a few hundred by hand - it just takes time. 

In this class Jill will show you all kinds of book forms - variations of simple pamphlet form using pop-ups, pockets, envelopes and different papers; easy origami; accordion books; and how a specific shape can augment your story. 

No previous experience required, everyone welcome!

Required Materials:

This course hopes to bring attention to the different ways you can use everyday objects from around the house. paper, string, a stapler, copy  paper, scissors, etc. Jill will send out a detailed list with recommendations - just know nothing is expensive - to everyone who signs up.

Access to the internet is required. 

About the instructor: 

Jill Littlewood studied art history at the University of Chicago and got her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Graduating with a degree in drawing, she illustrated  science fiction for the Del Rey imprint. In the following decade she worked as a calligrapher for the County of Los Angeles, an illustrator for National Geographic and the L. A. Natural History Museum, and taught at the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles. 

Leaving Los Angeles for the Sierra Mountains, Jill studied hand papermaking, eventually becoming the president of the North American Hand Papermakers. Her room size installation of hand made paper, “Death and Other Lives,” toured America from 2005 to 2009. 

From her studio in Santa Barbara, CA, Jill teaches and practices social practice art. She works collaboratively with book and textile artists all over the globe. You will find her most recent project, “Big Bad Beautiful Brown,” on her website https://www.littlewoodart.com/. Instagram: littlewoodart.

General Workshop Schedule:

Friday July 23

7:30-9:00 Meet and greet. In Jill's words, “I will dazzle you with an array of artists’ books, tell you how &  when & why this world was born, and where the apostrophe goes - artist’s or artists’?”

Saturday, July 24

9:30-10  Breakfast together

10-12 Session 1. From Jill, “let’s make books! We’ll develop a library of models.We’ll touch briefly on pop-ups, pockets, envelopes, simple origami and map folds, and scale - big and miniature.”

12-2 Lunch Break

2-4 Session 2. Jill says, “Accordions oh my. How does changing the sequencing add/change/alter the story? Lots of variations.”

4-7:30 Informal time for work, dinner, breaks

Sunday, July 25

9:30-10 Breakfast together

10-12 Session 3. Jill says, “You can make a gazillion different kinds of books by cutting a single page in different ways. Not only does it change the story as you change the cuts but it is cheap to print an edition.”

12-2 Lunch Break

2-4 Session 4. From Jill, “Flip books, altered books, scrapbooks/journals/notebooks. And sharing!”

4-5:30 Final session

Cost:

This course is offered on a sliding scale, pay what you can based on your income starting at $129.