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.

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 introductory class, students will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools and styles of European marbling.

Students will get hands-on experience of all aspects of Western marbling techniques from paper priming and preparatory mixing of water medium and paints, to the creation of classical patterns. Specific attention will be given to learning how to obtain particular designs using a diverse array of rakes and combs. Students will have ample time for experimentation with guidance from the instructor and will leave with a sampling of papers they've marbled themselves.  

*Please note that paper marbling is a wet process and papers made in the workshop may not be dry at the end of class. Students may return to SFCB after the workshop to retrieve any papers left to dry at the of the day or request mailed returns. 

Prerequisite:
None

Materials to bring:
All tools and materials will be provided. Please wear comfortable shoes for standing that you don't mind getting wet.

About the Instructor:
Pietro Accardi (he/him) owned a Bookbindery in Turin (Italy) for 12 years. He worked for Turin’s main Library, Municipal Archives, and University Libraries restoring and binding documents and books. He also runs his own paper marbling and decorative box making business. Now he lives near Lake Tahoe with wife, cats and a studio. He is currently working for the library of special collections of University of Reno doing restoration work and teaches workshops.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every beginning book artist should know!

Students will learn five staple structures of the bookbinding world: pamphlet stitch, two versions of one-sheet wonders, accordion folding, and a Japanese stab binding. If you’ve been curious about book arts basics, this is a great starter class; in three hours, you’ll gain the know-how to start making books of your own.

Students also learn about local resources, bookbinding tools, and SFCB’s Bookbinding Core Program, as well as protocol for studio rental. 

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: All tools and materials will be provided.

About the Instructor: Mimi Zycherman (she/her) is a Book Conservator at a Bay Area Institution. She graduated from the North Bennet Street School’s Bookbinding program in 2023. She also received a BA in Art and Materials Conservation from Columbia College Chicago. In addition to a fellowship at the Boston Athenæum, she has interned in conservation labs at Dartmouth, Harvard, and New York City’s Municipal Archives. She specializes in fine design bindings that have been exhibited throughout the U.S. Mimi is also a member of the Guild of Bookworkers and the Hand Bookbinders of California.

Working from pre-cut materials, students will learn three simple enclosures: Folded Paper Portfolio, Phased Box, & Slipcase. Students will be guided through the various design, construction, applications, pros, cons, and special options for each structure.  

Critical skills covered include:

Scaling from object to enclosure

Box Construction and Covering

Scoring and Folding Paper

Options for combining and augmenting these basic structures 

Prerequisite: None

Tools/Materials to Bring: None. Students are welcome to bring any of their own favorite bookbinding tools.

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, and now teaches SFCBs Box Making Core 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.

The term “Hussif” is short for “huswif” or “housewife”, and is a word used to describe these historical travel sewing kits. In the 18th and 19th centuries, sewists, sailors, and soldiers alike carried a hussif.

In this workshop, students will create their own hand stitched hussif that contains three pockets for stashing threads, small scissors or snips, thimble, fabric scraps, etc. There is also an area at the bottom for pins, needles and safety pins. The huswif is designed to be rolled up, tied, and easily carried in a pocket, bag, or luggage, and keeps your supplies neat and tidy during your travels, while attending a workshop, or around the house.

This is a perfect project to use up fabric scraps since the pocket sizes are relatively small and the backing can be pieced together. Finished product is 4 ½ x 15" unrolled.

Prerequisite: None

Materials to bring:

Students will supply their own materials and some tools. Please bring:

- the equivalent of about 1/2 yard of fabric. Historically, the Hussif was made out of scraps of fabric pieced together. The largest piece is the backing which will be 5 x 16", but it can be pieced together. The other pieces range from 5 x 7" to5 x 3.5". Reuse is encouraged!

- 1 piece of fabric (20 x 2.5") or ribbon or twill tape (20") - this is for the tie.

- 1 or 2 pieces of felt or wool (about 3 x 3") for needles. It can also be a piece of regular woven fabric

- thread (sashiko, machine thread, purl cotton, embroidery thread, etc., bring a variety

Tools: sharp scissors or rotary cutter, needles to fit your threads, pins, thread snips. SFCB has cutting mats for your use.

About the Instructor: Jody Alexander (she/her) is a mixed media artist who lives and works in Santa Cruz and Penn Valley, California. She combines textiles, paper, found items and imagery to create books, objects, wall pieces, garments, and installations. Her current work is inspired by the art of repair, reuse, and imagery and stories encountered in her travels and everyday.

Her work appears in a number of publications including Masters: Book Arts: Major Works by Leading Artist, 500 Handmade Books, and 1000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art. Jody was an artist in residence at the Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility in 2019, and is the 2015 recipient of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from U.C.L.A., and a Master’s degree in Library Science from Simmons College, Boston, MA.

Jody teaches and exhibits nationally and internationally.

Discover how to dampen paper, use bearers, and finesse rubber-and oil-based inks on Cylinder and Jobbing Platen Presses for better ink coverage and control.

Learn the secrets to better printing through proper inking techniques. This workshop is an in-depth review of how to apply and manipulate ink on Cylinder and Jobbing Platen presses, providing tips that will help students at all levels to become more successful printers. 

The instructor will provide tips on the use of rubber- and- oil-based inks on various papers. Students will learn why and how to dampen paper for better ink coverage, why allowing ink to set gives better results, and how to use bearers for better ink control. Students will also learn how to mix ink and what kind of ink additives give more control.

This is less of a hands-on class, more of a deep dive into best practices. Be prepared to take notes!

Prerequisite: None

Materials to bring: All tools and materials will be provided.

About the Instructor: Alan Hillesheim (he/him) has been wrenching around printing presses for 35 years. Printing presses need to be moved, oiled, inked, cleaned, and maintained, in short they need attention like a six year old. Maintenance is a dirty business, but a necessary one for beautifully printed anything. Alan has a passion for the mechanics of the print studio and enjoys encouraging others to roll up their sleeves and grab a wrench. His 35 years in the letterpress business and “all-ten-fingers” count speak for themselves. Join him and wear old clothes.

Oh, and once the press is in fine order, Alan has a few secrets to divulge about perfect inking and stellar printing.

Learn how to print on the Risograph, a machine that combines the ease of a photocopier with the stencil concept of silkscreen. A Risograph creates a stencil for each layer, printing a single color at a time. Inks are semi-opaque, so when layered two colors can create a third overlay.

Students will explore the process of digital Risograph printing through hands-on practice. They'll learn the basics of preparing digital files and using the equipment. Color separations & resizing of images will be discussed using Photoshop. By the end of the session, they'll have a small stack of Risograph prints to take home.

This workshop focuses on the digital approach to printing with a Risograph. The Introduction to Analog Risograph Printing workshop focuses on printing from paper substrates laid on the glass (like a photocopier). Either class will suffice as the prerequisite for the Risograph Certification workshop, though students are welcome to take both. Successful completion of the certification allows students to rent time on SFCB's Risograph.

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

Tools/Materials to bring:

• REQUIRED: Laptop computer, ideally Mac (not an iPad), with Spectrolite software downloaded; Photoshop is not required but will be discussed. If you don't have a laptop, please sign up for the Analog workshop instead.
• A digital file you’d like to print, it does not have to be color separated. Print size will be 8.5 X 11" or 11 x 17". 

About the Instructor: Yasmeen Abedifard is an Iranian-American artist born in the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently based in Oakland. She holds an MFA from Cornell University. Her work is centered around storytelling mediums, including comics, illustrations, and animation.

She is currently teaching in the Comics program at The California College of the Arts (CCA), the UC Berkeley Art Studio, CCA Extension, and Dominican University. Her work has been featured in various spaces, such as the SF Art Book Fair, Rubenstein Arts Center, Shapeshifters Cinema, Jack Hanley Gallery, and San Francisco Center for the Book, and has received various accolades, including the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Minicomic for Death Bloom and the Mocca Award of Excellence for When to Pick a Pomegranate. She has taught comic workshops at BAMPFA, Mendocino Art Center, Secret Room, Kala Art Institute, Sequential Artists Workshop, and Black Mountain Institute. She has created several published comics, such as When to Pick a Pomegranate (pub. Silver Sprocket), Death Bloom (pub. Lucky Pocket), and Burnt (pub. Wiggle Bird Mailing Club).

She is also part of a comics collective called D.R.Y. with her peers, Daniel Zhou and Raul Higuera, aimed at fostering community and highlighting the Bay Area comics scene.