We will be learning the art of gilding (applying gold) and decorative painting by copying medieval samples. These finely-detailed medieval illuminations allow us to practice multiple skills: raised gilding, flat gilding, color washes, highlighting, outlining, and more.

We will be using modern gilding size (glue), paints, and paper. Modern materials are not just time saving and easier to source but also less dangerous, which enables you to easily transfer these medieval skills to your modern artwork. Medieval materials and differences will be discussed for those who want to delve deeper into history.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to Bring:
None

About the Instructor:
Katie Leavens is a freelance illustrator & calligrapher here in San Francisco with a degree in Design. Her art explores the relationships between tradition & modernism through techniques, mediums, & subject matters. She has been studying calligraphy since 2015 and teaching since 2020. Katie is a member of IAMPETH and on the Friends of Calligraphy council. In 2025, Katie received the Certificate of Proficiency from IAMPETH in Illumination & Borders.

Reduction printing is a multi-layered printing process that uses a single block to create a multi-colored image. The process involves carving and printing, removing portions of the block after each layer is printed, usually working from lightest to darkest colors.

Students will carve their own small, two color design and learn the basic principles of reduction carving: what to carve and when. They will finish the class with a small edition of their two color design and usable stamp (single color design) to take home.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to Bring:
Students should bring a few different ideas or sketches for a simple image measuring 2 3/4” x 3 3/4” that could be separated and printed in two colors. The instructor will help you decide what will work best in class.

About the Instructor:
Nathalie Roland (she/her) is a San Francisco-based printmaker and painter who has been creating woodcut prints since 1991. Working from her Sunset district garage studio known as Sunset Paperworks, she specializes in woodcut reduction prints using pine or mulberry wood blocks that transform through multiple stages of carving and printing. She has studied relief printing under Zarina Hashmi, screen printing at Ape Do Good, worked as a bookbinder at the Arion Press and was formerly the in-house Riso printer for Yellow Owl workshop. 

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

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.

This class will cover the basics of papermaking, including sheet forming, couching, and drying. Students will learn to use a household blender to make pulp from paper scraps and then form new sheets using a traditional mold and deckle. The class will also experiment with “botanical inclusions” (flower petals and other organic materials) to add color and texture to the paper. Students will complete the class with a stack of newly couched paper and the knowledge required to make their own paper at home.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to Bring:
All tools and materials will be provided

About the Instructor:
As a composer and visual artist, Gino Robair (he/him) uses handmade paper and letterpress printing to create unique musical scores. He has an MA and MFA from Mills College and is currently working towards a PhD in Performance Studies at the University of California, Davis, developing performative models for improvised papermaking.

In this informal monthly session, we'll engage in unconventional exercises to spark fresh approaches to drawing.

If you're hungry for a challenge, or want to try new techniques, or if you simply want to draw in the company of others, join us on the third Thursday of the month. 

Please note, the featured photo is student work from a previous session; the exercises will change each month and it may not represent the techniques used in class.

Since each session is different, you may wish to sign up for multiple dates. No drop-ins, please.

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to Bring:
Bring your preferred drawing materials and an open mind. Paper and basic tools will be provided.

About the Instructor:
Tim Svenonius (he/him) is a mixed-media artist whose work explores the intersections of history, memory and myth. A voracious reader and an avid researcher, his work is shaped by deep investigations into arcane knowledge and lore. He has worked for two decades in the museum field, as a designer, writer, and producer of digital media. In 2015 he self-published a monograph, A Book of Lost Latitudes, which explores the role of the whale in mythology and literature, through evocative drawings and found texts.