[MAQUOKETA, IA] Maquoketa Art Experience welcomes Iowa artists Peter Fraterdeus and Alice McMahon to Maquoketa on November 12 and 19 for a two-session workshop studying the art of book structures and sketching techniques. The workshop, held on two consecutive Saturdays, entitled "Travel Sketching Journals: Book Structures and Sketching Techniques" combines basic non-adhesive bookbinding techniques to create a four-signature journal with a folded paper cover with plein air sketching techniques including exploration of Maquoketa's built and natural environments.
Non-adhesive books are made without glue, and require no special equipment. Covers are made with folded and tabbed heavy paper, using principles discovered in 13th Century "limp vellum" bindings. Fraterdeus will use examples from his collection of fine-printed contemporary books as examples for the workshop.
"Travel Sketching Journals have a long history, long before the days of picture postcards or digital cameras," Fraterdeus explained, "Today they provide a record of a journey, and an opportunity to heighten our skills of observation. Travel sketches are both mnemonic and illustrative, whether quick or studied, they need not be more than a few lines and smudges, or may be as closely observed as a fine drawing"
No bookbinding or drawing experience is required for participation in this workshop, but some familiarity with paper folding and drawing tools will be helpful.
The book structures section will be taught by Peter Fraterdeus who has taught letterpress printing, calligraphy, book structures, and digital typography in a number of venues, both in the US and Europe, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Columbia College's Center for Book and Paper Art. He is the owner/proprietor of Slow Print in Dubuque, an award-winning 'high-touch' 21st Century letterpress printing studio. In the 1981, he received a National Endowment for the Arts apprenticeship grant to study calligraphy and letter carving in Wales, and in 1986, received an NEA Design Projects grant for his first digital typeface, "Prospera".
The journal drawing section will be taught by Alice McMahon, an internationally exhibited figurative artist, specializing in pastel portraits and charcoal magic realist drawings in large formats. Her work has been shown at the Saatchi Gallery in London and featured in American Artist magazine. She is currently represented by the 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago. Recent work includes a 30"x50" drawing on MDF board exhibited during the 2011 Voices From The Warehouse District's Art in ReVolt exhibit at Voices Gallery in Dubuque, Iowa.
The cost for the two-session workshop is $125 plus a $20 materials fee and is open to adults 18 or older. Registration materials are available at www.maquoketa-art.org. For more information contact Paula Neuhaus at paula@maquoketa-art.org or call 563.652.9925.
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