The Ultimate Art Book

DJ Pettitt

Immerse yourself in a 3-day class packed with innovative techniques and inspiration! I’ll share my process, as well as my favorite materials and methods to guide you in creating a fabulous book that you’ll treasure for years to come. You may wish to bring personal items to create a memory journal, travel journal, etc., or you may want to simply create a book that stands alone as a work of art—it’s completely up to you. Once the cover and pages are created, you’ll complete your book construction using a simple binding, signature wraps, and a beautiful embellished spine.

We’ll begin with a simple sketch to use as a foundation to piece together our gorgeous collaged cover. Using various mediums, paints, paper and photos, the finished cover could actually be a stand-alone work of art in itself! When you’re back in your own studio, you may want to use the techniques learned to create wall hangings, framed works or cards. For this class, it will be just the thing to bring out our muses for the next steps.

Creating the pages comes next, where the sky’s the limit! I’ll share with you a number of methods that I use to enhance my book pages. You'll explore various painting techniques, combining collage elements, using fabric scraps and ephemera in your composition, beads and buttons, machine and/or hand stitching, and much more. I’m constantly exploring new ways of using materials, and will happily share my knowledge with you.

No drawing or painting skills required; this class is open to all skill levels. I look forward to creating with you!

Any questions, please contact me at jndpettitt@charter.net

Supply List

Click here for a printable supply list.

Two bases for creating the book covers. You will need two surfaces to build on, in the size you would like your book. These could be canvas panels (not stretched canvas), thick book board, recycled book covers, light weight board, any flat surface that is the size and weight that you would like to work on and create your covers. Sample is from an old book.
Images. Bring more than you think you will need, in a variety of sizes. Print on matte paper using a laser printer, an inkjet printer that uses non-smearing pigment ink (such as Epson Ultra Chrome K3), or toner copies from any print shop. No high gloss paper.
Stonehenge paper for book pages. We will be creating a 4-signature book (signatures are groups of pages), so you will need 48 pieces torn or cut the same height, and a bit narrower than the size of the canvas panels. Stonehenge is available at most art supply stores, and online here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/stonehenge-paper/.
Small, regular gel medium, matte (any brand)
Trowel shaped palette knife or glue spreader
Inexpensive brushes. I like a 1/4" and 1/2" flat brush, and a #6 round brush, or close to it. You will also need a utility brush about 1" wide, or any inexpensive 1" flat brush to paint the pages and use with glue.
Several soft or medium body acrylic paints (not the heavy-body tube paint). Include your favorite colors plus a dark brown and black. Any brand will work. I use a combination of Golden Fluid, craft paint, Claudine Helmuth Studio paints, and Liquitex soft body paint.
Fabric scraps for creating the signature wraps and the spine. Vintage quilt top pieces (unfinished with no padding), velvet, ribbon, lace and trims, and scraps of recycled clothing are a few ideas**.
Buttons or beads for binding a 4-signature book. These can be different sizes. If they are large (an 1" or so), you will need approximately 8-10; if they are small (approx. 1/4" in diameter) you will need 18-24 (2-hole or shank buttons work best). Vintage shoe buttons are also wonderful used on book spines. Beads and buttons should have a large enough hole to accommodate a 1 mm needle.
Japanese Screw Punch, with a 2.5 mm or 3 mm tip, and a small cutting mat to lay signatures on as you punch holes (if you don’t have one, don’t worry; we’ll have a couple to share)

Optional: Sewing machine and thread if you would like to add machine sewing as an embellishment. We’ll have a couple of machines available for use as well.

Kit fee of $20 (payable directly to instructor on day of class) includes: color handout, bookbinding materials, markers, muslin lining, matte medium, gesso, glues, tissue, palettes, and more! DJ will have some photos to purchase and Cindy will have Provisions Packets for sale made exclusively for this class if you don’t wish to bring your own fabric scraps, trims, lace, etc.**