Below is the schedule and descriptions of our Gen Con workshops for 2018. If you are going to Gen Con, we’d love to have you at one of our workshops!
You will receive everything you need to start and finish this project. Most people will complete the project during the workshop.
Please note, three of my workshops this year are 3 hours long instead of the normal 2. These workshops are noted by listing a start and end time instead of just a start time. You may finish and leave early, but it would be unsafe to assume you’ll be done in less than 3 hours.
Thur 8-11AM Bas Relief Sculpture : Wall Art or 3D Book Cover
Thur 11AM Intro to Thermoplastic Sculpting
Thur 3-6PM Bookbinding – Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers
Thur 6PM Intro to Thermoplastic Sculpting
Thur 8PM Epoxy Clay: Dragon Egg or Your Choice
Fri 8AM Bookbinding – Two Japanese Stab Styles – Tortoiseshell & Ledger
Fri 10AM Bookbinding – Hardback Secret Belgian
Fri 12PM Bookbinding – 1, 2, & 3 Section With Decorative Stitches
Fri 4PM Bookbinding – 1, 2, & 3 Section With Decorative Stitches
Fri 6PM Bookbinding – Two Japanese Stab Styles – Tortoiseshell & Ledger
Fri 8-11PM Bookbinding – Hardback Japanese Stab Binding: Hinged Turn-in Covers
Sat 8AM Bookbinding – Hardback Secret Belgian
Sat 10AM Bookbinding – Hardback Blanket Stitch
Sat 12PM Bookbinding – Hardback Coptic
Sat 4PM Bookbinding – Hardback Coptic
Sat 6PM Bookbinding – Hardback Blanket Stitch
Sat 8PM Epoxy Clay: Dragon Egg or Your Choice
Bas Relief Sculpture : Wall Art or 3D Book Cover
(3 hours) Thur 8-11AM
Bas relief sculptures using epoxy clay on board. Hang your finished project on the wall, or turn it into a book cover for one of my bookbinding workshops. Bas relief or low relief is sculpture in which shapes are carved or formed so that they are only slightly higher than the flat background. This sculpting method is great for making ornate book covers, but if you aren’t interested in making book covers, your finished work will look great as is hanging on your wall. Workshop participants are encouraged to bring source material for inspiration or reference.
Note: My other classes “Hardback Blanket Stitch Binding,” “Hardback Secret Belgian Binding,” and “Hardback Coptic Binding” complement this class because you can use the covers you make in this class on the book you’ll make in that class.
Intro to Thermoplastic Sculpting
(2 hours) Thur 11AM & Thur 6PM
Do you want to create pieces for a game you’re designing, elements for your latest costume, or customized dolls & accessories? We will explore the unique advantages of working with thermoplastic. This workshop is very open ended. Past participants made the following items: Flowers, a knife, repaired a toy, a fireball that lit up with a spare LED from his costume, fangs, finger extensions, and more. This really is a fascinating material, and a great way to learn how to use it is by sitting around with a bunch of new friends experimenting together! For those of you interested in other sculptural techniques and materials, consider taking our “Epoxy Clay: Sculpt Dragon Egg or Project of Your Choice.” (You can create a base structure out of thermoplastic and a long lasting & detailed outer shell with epoxy clay. Workshop participants are encouraged to bring source material for inspiration or reference.
Bookbinding – Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers
(3 hours) Thur 3-6PM
We will make a custom book cloth & wrap a set of book covers. This class is intended to be taken before taking another of my bookbinding classes, but not required. Making a book with a wrapped cover takes two days. By taking this class, you can make a custom wrapped book using leather or book cloth you will make and use it to create a book in one of my other classes. If you are not signed up for one of those classes, fear not, you will make a set of “Hinged Album” covers and be given the supplies you’ll need to complete your book at a later point.
Note: My other classes “Japanese Stab Binding: Two Styles,” “Hardback Blanket Stitch Binding,” “Hardback Secret Belgian Binding,” and “Hardback Coptic Binding” complement this class because you can use the covers you make in this class on the book you’ll make in that class.
Epoxy Clay: Dragon Egg or Your Choice
(2 hours) Thur 8PM & Sat 8PM
Epoxy clay is a fun material to work with! Inspired by past year’s free spirits, this year, we will supply the materials, ideas, & advice you need, but let you experiment on a project of your choice. Making a dragon egg is a fun and foolproof project for using epoxy clay for the first time. We suggest first timers stick with this project, but for those of you who have some experience with the material, have researched the material a lot, or have a specific goal in mind, feel free to go off track! We will provide the materials for the dragon egg project. If you want to do a different project, please contact us ahead of time so that we can plan accordingly or tell you what you should bring. If you are taking our “Thermoplastic 101” class, think about using the Thermoplastic to create a base structure of your epoxy clay creation! Workshop participants are encouraged to bring source material for inspiration or reference.
Bookbinding – Two Japanese Stab Styles – Tortoiseshell & Ledger
(2 hours) Fri 8AM & Fri 6PM
Elegant & simple, Japanese Stab Binding is a classic non-adhesive binding which allows you to bind single flat sheets of paper between soft or hard covers. We will make two examples in this workshop. The Tortoiseshell book we will make will have leather covers and a decorative wrapped book block. The Ledger book will be a smaller paper-covered book with a clever paper clasp.
Note: My other class “Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers” compliment this class because you’ll make a custom cover for the book you’ll make in this class.
Bookbinding – Hardback Secret Belgian
(2 hours) Fri 10AM & Sat 8AM
A beautiful book combining Japanese & English binding styles, the Belgian style first creates a 3-piece hardback cover & then adds a multi-section book block. Once you have learned enough binding styles, you will find that anything can be used to make a book. We will create a hardback cover and spine that could easily be substituted with wood, metal, cardboard, plastic, leather, stone tiles, or any other stiff material.
Note: My other classes “3D Relief Sculpture” and “Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers” compliment this class because you’ll make a custom cover for the book you’ll make in this class.
Bookbinding – 1, 2, & 3 Section With Decorative Stitches
(2 hours) Fri 12PM & Fri 4PM
New this year! Sectional binding is a easy & pretty binding style. In fact, during this workshop, we will have time to complete 3 different books each with uniquely stitched spines. Every element that goes into making a book can be used to hint at the content of the book. With sectional binding, the stitches that hold the book together can also add a visual clue to what’s in the book. This is a easy-to-understand class for a beginner and an inspirational class for the binder who is looking for another great technique to enhance their book binding skills.
Bookbinding – Hardback Japanese Stab Binding: Hinged Turn-in Covers
(3 hours) Fri 8-11PM
New this year! How do you make Japanese stab binding more interesting? Give it a turned-in cover. By adding a hardback cover with a twist, you create a fun and practical book with beauty inside & out. We will make a set of hinged hardback covers and bind our book with a traditional Japanese stab binding technique.
Bookbinding – Hardback Blanket Stitch
(2 hours) Sat 10AM & Sat 6PM
New this year! The Blanket Stitch is a variation of the classic coptic stitch binding style which adds a fun variation to the spine of your book. As with coptic binding, this style of binding is great for creating a hardcover book with a beautiful exposed spine. While the stitching pattern is not as straightforward as with coptic, the variation opens the door to your imagination on how to introduce design into the construction of your bound books. While I don’t recommend this as your first book class, I feel confident that you will complete your book in class regardless of your skill level.
Note: My other classes “3D Relief Sculpture” and “Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers” compliment this class because you’ll make a custom cover for the book you’ll make in this class.
Bookbinding – Hardback Coptic
(2 hours) Sat 12PM & Sat 4PM
Create an impressive Coptic book with hard covers & a beautiful exposed spine. Though this technique is not ideal for first-timers, it is essential knowledge for the more experienced book binder. Coptic stitch bookbinding is my favorite binding style. The covers can be made of soft material, but the glory of this binding is that it is the easiest style to turn ANY hard material into a book cover. We will use wood for our covers. Please note: of all the bookbinding classes I teach, this is the one I don’t teach differently from year to year, so if you have taken it before, you might want to pick a different class this year. The Blanket Stitch book this year is similar, but different. However, if you just want to make another awesome coptic book, it’ll be nice to see you again!
Note: My other classes “3D Relief Sculpture” and “Introduction to Wrapping Book Covers” compliment this class because you’ll make a custom cover for the book you’ll make in this class.
