Bound by hand
Learn the traditional art of bookbinding to craft your own handmade journal, then customize with a protective mesh cover to make it uniquely yours. You’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind journal ready to be a personal archive to collect your ideas, sketches, reflections and creative thinking throughout the semester; along with the skills to make many more in the future. Facilitated by Samira Elbehairy.
Exploring the traditional anatomy of the book—measuring grain direction, scoring clean lines, and folding individual sheets into nesting signatures.
Punching stations along the spine and learning hand-sewn binding structures that give the book both flexibility and enduring strength.
Layering a custom protective mesh cover over the book, creating a resilient, tactile outer shell unique to each maker.
The book takes its final form—a durable companion designed to hold thoughts, sketches, and field observations across the term.
Laying out the finished volumes side by side, observing how identical techniques yielded completely unique tactile objects.
Reflecting on the act of slow making and leaving with both an archive ready to be filled and the skills to bind future works independently.