Bookbinding Core Certificate Program

The San Francisco Center for the Book celebrates the craft and art of bookbinding. Our Bookbinding Core Certificate Program introduces students to four different binding models, leading them through the history and evolution of bookmaking. It provides students a comprehensive foundation to delve into the practice of binding and qualifies them to rent studio time in our bindery. Core classes must be taken in order, 1 through 4.

Click here to learn more about the Bookbinding Core Certificate Program and how to receive a discount!

Bookbinding Core 1: Coptic Binding

This class introduces students to the craft with the Coptic stitch, one of the earliest structures in binding. Students will spend the morning making their own decorative pastepapers, then use them in the afternoon when binding their book.

In addition to coming away with a finished book made by hand, students will also be introduced to the tools and terms of bookbinding. Basic practices and equipment will be discussed as students familiarize themselves with both skills and safety measures needed for working in a bindery.

SFCB's Windgate Scholarship Fund is dedicated to providing need-based financial support to individuals interested in learning bookbinding, letterpress printing, and related book arts. Click here to apply.

Prerequisite:
None. Beginners are welcome. 

Materials to bring:
None. All tools and materials will be provided.

About the Instructor:
Madison Halaby Gordon (she/they) is a bookbinder and conservator-in-training living in Oakland, CA, currently working at Zukor Art Conservation and the Walt Disney Family Museum. She is fascinated by paper, and loves making and repairing practical, fun, accessible, and well-made structures for the use and enjoyment of everyday people. Madison is also trained in letterpress printing and has worked previously with the Key Printing & Binding (Oakland, CA) and Small Editions (Brooklyn, NY).

The artistic possibilities found in nature are endless. In this course students will explore different organic techniques like onion and iron solutions to turn found pieces of flora into prints on paper. Each technique will have different results and with instructor guidance students will study the use of mordants, baths, steaming and simmering with lots of leaves, flowers, and other plant parts.

At the end of the first day, each student will have created a stack of eco prints full of artistic potential. Leaving the prints to dry overnight, on the second day the instructor will demonstrate how to use these prints to create simple books, boxes, cards and other paper art. Students will leave with a useful handout and numerous eco-printed goodies to share with family and friends.

Prerequisite:
None

Tools/Materials to bring:
Fresh or pressed plants/botanicals. The instructor will send an email a week before class with instructions.

About the Instructor:
Dorothy Yuki (she/her) studied to be something other than an artist. She began as a fashion designer immediately after college but soon she became a partner of a manufacturing company, In Good Company, from 1965-1976. She designed and manufactured kitchen soft goods and linens. Later, as a production and design consultant, she worked with many identity and music production companies, as well as new startups.

Now in her 80s and living in San Francisco, she is engaged in many volunteer activities, Ruth’s Table, Artseed, SCRAP-SF, San Francisco Center for the Book, and FabMo. She also mentored at Bay High School in their Senior Program. She was past President of Friends of Calligraphy and has been a Master Educator for the Macy’s Fashion Incubator San Francisco.

She still has the time to do ‘art’ and has worked on projects for MMOCA, Flax Art and Design, Kalligraphia, Ruth’s Table, FabMo and SCRAP-SF. She is a recipient of Honorable Mentions for her artwork at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art Altered Book Show 2014 and 2015. To find out more about Dorothy's work, visit her blog www.dotsrainbow.com

If you’ve taken either the Introduction to Digital or Analog Risograph Printing class and are looking to rent the Riso machine independently, this is the next step. 

The Risograph Certification class will reinforce proper usage and care of the machine through two projects, covering both analog and digital techniques.  We’ll reacquaint ourselves with the machine and troubleshoot when printing our first project from the glass. Then we will take a look at Spectrolite software, which can be used to prep digital files before printing or review files in desired color combinations. We will use Spectrolite to send files directly to the Riso for the second project. 

Each student will be required to switch drums, confidential a master and execute other basic functions. This class will be a fast-paced assessment of a student’s skills rather than a time for experimentation.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Risograph Certification class, you will be able to rent the Riso at SFCB to work independently on your posters, zines, or other printed matter! 

Prerequisite:
Introduction to Digital Risograph Printing OR Introduction to Analog Risograph Printing OR previous Riso printing experience. If your experience is from outside SFCB, please contact us before registering to request a skills review. 

Materials to bring:
Students will complete two separate projects, two colors each. Come prepared with designs ready to print. Both projects will be printed on 11” x 17” paper, they must have margins and images must not be larger than 10” x 16”.

One project should be ready to print from the glass of the machine (remember that two colors means two separate layers!). The second project should be digital files on a thumb drive, or digital storage that can be accessed from a shared laptop. Ideally you’ll work with one or more color photographs for this project, .jpg or pdf, please. The studio will supply paper for printing.

We suggest you download Spectrolite in the weeks before class to familiarize yourself with the software.

About the Instructor:
Meri Brin (she/her) has been teaching Printmaking around the Bay Area since 2007. Besides teaching at SFCB, she has taught Silkscreen at Mission Grafica, and was full-time faculty at Academy of Art University for a decade. Her prints have been exhibited in local, as well as national shows. She has a print in the Library of Congress, and also exhibits as Fixated Press at San Francisco Zine Fest. Her artwork examines the complexity and visual noise of the everyday world, or she just wants to show you some cats.

Meri is a member of the California Society of Printmakers, and is the Printmedia Studio Manager at California College of the Arts.

The Drum Leaf binding is a simple and elegant adhesive binding ideal for presenting artwork in a book format. It opens flat and allows the artwork to be presented as a two-page spread flowing across the gutter without the interruption of sewing thread. Each signature is made from a single sheet of thickish paper folded in half and drummed to the adjacent signatures. Primarily used to bind existing artwork into a book format, the substantial pages and lay flat structure also make an excellent multi-media sketch book.  

In this class we will make a blank book with a drum leaf binding, a leather spine and decorative paper covers. This is an opportunity to get a very simplified sneak peek into working with leather. Students will be introduced to different material and decorative techniques, as we discuss different ways to finish and decorate this structure.

Prerequisite:
None

Tools/Materials to Bring:
None, all tools and materials are provided. Students are welcome to bring their own bookbinding tools.

About the Instructor:
Beth Redmond (she/her) was first introduced to making books in the photography program at San Jose State. She loves binding books for their perfect marriage of functionality and creativity.  After learning the basics of a well-made book at SFCB she went on to study fine binding at the American Academy of Bookbinding in Telluride CO. She works primarily with leather to create bindings for public and private collections. Her work can be seen at bredmond.weebly.com.

If you have heard about letterpress but are not really sure what it is or how it works, this class will allow you to peer inside the rich history and engaging techniques of letterpress printing.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press. Participants will learn the basics of setting type using SFCB’s vast collection of lead type and decorative ornaments as well as inking, locking up and pulling a print.

SFCB's Windgate Scholarship Fund is dedicated to providing need-based financial support to individuals interested in learning bookbinding, letterpress printing, and related book arts. Click here to apply.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to bring:
None

About the Instructor:
Brian Lieske (he/him) wandered into SFCB many years ago and continues to haunt the place. He completed both the bookbinding and letterpress cores as well as several of the summer historic structure classes. He enjoys making fully hand-sewn books and still fights to not over-tighten his kettle stitches. He’s lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years having arrived shortly after completing an MFA at the University of Texas at Austin.

Sometimes you want to make a cyanotype print in San Francisco, and the sun just won't cooperate.

This simple and fun class leads students through the process of creating their own cyanotype prints using a plate-making exposure unit.

Participants will learn how to use the exposure unit to create multiple small prints using a variety of items with interesting shapes as the the "film". Emphasis will be on play and experimentation with various techniques, with lots of "don'ts" on display for inspiration. Upon completion of the workshop, students will be qualified to rent time on SFCB's platemaker exposure unit.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to bring:
Photographs, small flat objects (leaves, keys), anything flattish with an interesting shape or range of transparency (lace, chain, flowers).

About the Instructor:
Brian Ferrett (he/him) has a printing degree from MATC and worked in offset web and screen printing. In 2008 he joined M&H Type as a typecasting apprentice under Lewis Mitchell. These days he manages M&H's daily operations, maintains the historic casting machines and presses, casts type, and prints for the various Arion Press publications. Brian is a member of the Northern California chapter of the American Printing History Association, the American Typecaster Fellowship, and volunteers with San Francisco Public Library's annual Valentine’s Day broadside event. In his spare time he plays around with his Vandercook 219AB, C&P New Style 10x15, and his two Kelseys.

We are excited to welcome visiting instructor Myungah Hyon for two workshops on innovative book structures.

Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring the waterfall flip book, an engaging book structure that transforms a sequence of images into movement through touch. This workshop welcomes beginners, artists, designers, and book enthusiasts interested in interactive book forms. It provides a unique opportunity to discover how simple paper structures can convert still images into dynamic visual experiences.

Participants will learn the mechanics of the waterfall structure and how images unfold in rhythmic sequences. Through guided demonstrations and individual experimentation, each participant will design and construct a flip book using drawings, photographs, patterns, or abstract imagery.

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a fully functioning interactive artist’s book and new ideas for incorporating movement and sequence into future book projects.

SFCB's Windgate Scholarship Fund is dedicated to providing need-based financial support to individuals interested in learning bookbinding, letterpress printing, and related book arts. Click here to apply.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to bring:
Feel free to bring images you would like to work with—prints, photographs, drawings, or patterned papers are all great options and will help you create a book that feels personal and unique. Students are also welcome to bring any of their own favorite bookbinding tools.

About the Instructor:
Myungah Hyon is an artist and educator specializing in interactive book forms and sculptural paper structures. Currently a faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she authored Book Book to provide an essential guide to binding techniques, and Kaleido_Book to explore the world of experimental paper engineering. Her practice merges precise construction with the mechanical possibilities of paper to create dynamic, non-linear stories.

We are excited to welcome visiting instructor Myungah Hyon for two workshops on innovative book structures.

This workshop presents playful and innovative book forms that change shape through movement and interaction. Emphasizing the Never-Ending Book and Kaleidocycles, the session examines how simple paper techniques transform flat pages into interactive three-dimensional objects. Participants will engage in hands-on activities to observe how images shift, reappear, and evolve.

Based on Myungah Hyon’s original publication, Kaleido_Book, this artist-led workshop introduces folding and assembly methods developed through her practice. Participants will explore pattern, repetition, and personal imagery as they work with templates from the book and adapt them into their own unique forms. Participants will leave the workshop with several finished book forms and a fresh approach to making artists’ books that combine creativity, play, and structure.

SFCB's Windgate Scholarship Fund is dedicated to providing need-based financial support to individuals interested in learning bookbinding, letterpress printing, and related book arts. Click here to apply.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to bring:
Feel free to bring images you would like to work with—prints, photographs, drawings, or patterned papers are all great options and will help you create a book that feels personal and unique. Students are also welcome to bring any of their own favorite bookbinding tools.

About the Instructor:
Myungah Hyon is an artist and educator specializing in interactive book forms and sculptural paper structures. Currently a faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she authored Book Book to provide an essential guide to binding techniques, and Kaleido_Book to explore the world of experimental paper engineering. Her practice merges precise construction with the mechanical possibilities of paper to create dynamic, non-linear stories.