Discover the Best Bookbinding Classes in NYC
Bookbinding is a traditional art that has been practiced for centuries around the world. Ancient Egyptians recorded stories on pressed papyrus which they rolled into a scroll. Later, Turks created texts on parchment made from animal skins. The first paper pressed from plant pulp was developed in China. Even after Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1436, bookmaking remained a handmade process until the nineteenth century.
Modern bookbinding stems from early processes and uses a variety of materials and techniques. Bookbinding is one of the traditional book arts, which includes hand binding, fine printing, calligraphy, box making, paper decorating, and artists’ books. Bookbinders assemble individual sheets of paper inside a cover to make a book.
Traditional and creative bookbinding is now practiced by enthusiasts in homes and studios. Some artisans sell their products in markets, boutiques, and online. Bookbinding incorporates a wide variety of techniques and materials to create unique and beautiful hand-made volumes.
Why You Should Learn Bookbinding in NYC
Learning bookbinding in NYC is a journey into an art that is both meditative and exacting. Making a finely crafted book requires hours of practice, and selecting unique covers, papers, and binding techniques stimulates your creativity.
Some bookbinders use their skills to repair and restore antique volumes or create beautiful and protective covers. Artists who practice bookbinding strive to create something new and unique that expresses their personal vision. Whatever your motivation, holding your hand-bound book in your hands gives you a sense of accomplishment. A handmade book is a treasured gift or the start of a blossoming cottage industry in the crafts.
Share your bookmaking journey with others at the Center for Book Arts in NYC. This nonprofit organization promotes the artistic practice of books as art. As the oldest nonprofit dedicated to uplifting the book arts, they offer education, preservation, exhibitions, studio access, and community building.
In-Person Bookbinding Classes & Schools in NYC
Coursehorse helps you find in-person bookbinding classes in NYC. Take a look at these classes that will grow your skills in the book arts.
Explore historical and theoretical aspects of zine-making and zine culture in Introduction to Zines at Penumbra Foundation in New York City. When you complete this one-day zine-making session, you’ll have the power to tell your own story into your hands.
Zine-making considers the visual flow of your publication, examines how images can complement or detract from one another, and experiments with layout and sequencing content. You’ll use tools like a bone folder, scissors, a blade, needle and thread, and a stapler to fold, collate, and bind your zine. The Penumbra Foundation is a non-profit photographic arts organization whose mission is to bring workshops, education, lectures, and events to an international photographic community.
Fabric Printing at Super Silk Screen, Inc. in Astoria, New York will have you creating unique, one-of-a-kind fabric for your book covers. Submit their own graphic art design prior to the class and Super Silk Screen will make a silk screen from your artwork. You’ll learn how to print on fabrics using your design and you’ll go home with your reusable screen. Take home up to five printed items and a Certificate of Completion. Super Silk Screen, Inc in New York City makes silk screens for printmakers and product printers.
Create a hand-bound book to collect your drawings from Accelerated Introduction to Drawing at The Decorus Atelier of Figurative Art in Brooklyn, New York. You’ll learn how to correctly start a drawing, use straight-line construction and comparison, and use the basic principles of light, shadow, and shading. This accelerated two-hour class is for artists of every level of experience who would like to improve their technique and gain confidence in starting a new piece.
Decorus Atelier of Figurative Art teaches classical methods of drawing, painting, and sculpture through rigorous traditional training. Students learn how to infuse their work with narrative and explore critical thinking essential to fine art.
Virtual Bookbinding Classes & Schools
Online bookbinding classes are a terrific alternative to in-person classes when you don’t have any local options. You can take bookbinding classes from expert teachers who are located anyplace. You can spend all the time you save on commuting working on your bookbinding projects, in the comfort of your home or studio. Ensure you can join your class without interruptions and that you have space to spread out your materials. Virtual bookbinding classes often require that you source your own materials before class begins. Use the materials list from your instructor to source items from local stores and online vendors.
In Virtual Interactive Japanese Ink Painting (Sumi-e) from RESOBOX, you’ll learn to create beautiful ink paintings for your hand-bound books on Japanese paper. Sumi-e painting, also called Suibokuga, is a style of ink-wash painting that originates in East Asia. It depicts the spirit or essence of an object or scene by using the fewest possible brush strokes. Viewing or creating Sumi-e is a contemplative form of painting. For this class, you’ll need liquid Sumi ink, Sumi-e (or Calligraphy) brushes, Washi paper (rice paper) or newsprint paper, a couple of containers with water, a couple of small dishes, and paper towels or rags.
You’ll create an art journal that reflects your creative journey in Beginner's Intro Art Journaling from The Art Studio NY. This live, online art journaling class is for total beginners or journal makers who need a creative jump start. A professional artist will guide you through creating your own authentic piece of artwork in this two-hour class. You’ll learn drawing basics, color fundamentals, watercolor painting, layering, and collage, with a focus on self-expression and creative exploration.
Beginners Art Journaling by The Art Studio in New York City is a five-session course that dives deeper into art journaling. You’ll learn how to use painting, drawing, collage, and mixed-media techniques to journal in your unique voice and perspective. The class covers how to layer and intuitively collage, express yourself with paint and meditative marks, use watercolor to channel your mood, tap into drawing with expressive marks, and explore the addition of writing, inspiring quotes, pictures, textures and other details to your personalized art journal pages. When you join the class you can get to know your classmates and fellow artists in a private community Facebook group for students only.
For either art journaling class, you’ll need 90-pound or heavier watercolor or mixed media paper, watercolor paints, pencil, eraser, glue (Modge Podge or matte medium), craft brushes, black marker (Sharpie Ultra point, Posca fine point, or Pigma Micron Pen), scissors, and collage elements (magazines, scrap papers, or tissue paper). Optional supplies include acrylic craft paints and a white Posca fine-point marker.
Learn how to create illustrated cartoons, graphic novels, or commercial book illustrations with pen and ink in Online Pen and Ink 101 from Pastimes for a Lifetime. You’ll learn how to select the best pens and papers for your projects, how to precisely represent textures, shading, and tone, and how to use positive and negative space. You’ll leave with a collection of black and white works of art, as well as receive a certificate of completion. Students enrolled in this class will need a Copic® 0.3mm multiliner black pen, a 9 x 12 inch bristol board, an 11 x 14 inch bristol vellum, a graphite 2H pencil, a 2H turquoise drawing pencil, a kneaded eraser, a 2-hole General® Metal Twin sharpener, a pen brush, and a Copic® multiliner brush.
Private Group Bookbinding Classes in NYC
Whether you’re planning a team-building activity for your workplace or coordinating a fun event for a getaway weekend, Coursehorse makes it easy with live online group classes that you can enjoy wherever you are.
From private group bookbinding classes in NYC to a wide variety of other activities, Coursehorse provides classes that your group will love.
You’ll learn to make Fish, Butterfly, Crane, and Jumping Frog with the creative art of paper folding in Virtual Origami Workshop. Whether you use your origami shapes as a bookmark, hang them on your wall, or simply leave them on your desk to show off your new skills, origami is fun to share with your others. Plus, kids will love the myriad shapes you create from just a simple sheet of paper. Paper folding skills are bound to fuel your creativity for bookbinding and the book arts. You don’t need any previous experience and all materials are provided.
In Virtual Shibori Dye Workshop, you’ll learn how to make unique and beautiful fabrics for bookbinding or any other crafty ideas. The traditional Japanese art of Shibori twists, bunches, ties, and binds fabric before dying it to create unique fabric designs. You’ll learn the six classic Shibori styles in this one-and-a-half-hour class. No previous experience is needed and most materials are provided. Pre-wash the provided fabric before class time and have your own plastic bag and large pot for the class.
Virtual Holiday Card Workshop will expand your paper art skills and delight your inner artist as you design your own cards. You’ll learn how to use paper collage, embellishing, and design to create beautiful cards. Show off your masterpiece in class and then send it off to a lucky recipient. This class is open to all ages. You’ll receive enough crafting materials to create ten cards; participants provide their own glue and scissors.
If you’re looking for a different course, Coursehorse can create a class just for you. Contact them through the Contact Us button on their website. Booking a class with Coursehorse is easy, even if you don’t know the size of your group. Select the minimum group size of ten, pay a deposit, and your date is secured. You can finalize your group size up to one week before your class. For just $50 extra, you can customize your event with added games, specific questions or a themed game, or another event with materials included.