Many thanks to Create Here and the MakeWork program for an incredible opportunity during the past year.
With my grant, I have outfitted my studio with a fabulous board shear and book press that have taken my art to a new level. I've studied with master bookbinder Dea Sasso and advanced my book making skills dramatically. I have completed my first edition of handmade leather-bound books which will be part of the Small Book Exchange at BookWorks in Asheville, NC. I will be part of Chattanooga's first book arts exhibition at the Jewish Cultural Center that opens later this summer. And I have started the Chattanooga Book Arts Collaborative, a group of over 30 interested individuals that meets monthly to learn and share new book binding techniques and skills.
There is no doubt that my MakeWork grant was the catalyst for all of these accomplishments. I look forward to the future of my own growth as an artist and to the development of an active and vital book arts community in Chattanooga. Thank you!
