About This Page
In the tabbed box down below, there are a variety of basic resources for the literal construction of zines and artists' books. You can find videos walking through folding techniques, community studios who offer classes and printing services, books on handmade paper making, some designs for making your own presses, and online design tools that are free to the public or as part of your university affiliation. The resources are currently organized into four categories: Printing, Design, Paper, and Book Making.
Please do drop us a note if you have a resource you'd like to share or would like more support in finding resources not mentioned here!
Technical Resources
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Tres Gatos Material descargable, úsalo, compártelo y mejóralo. :: Material for download, use it, share it and improve it.
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An Atlas of Modern Risography An Atlas of Modern Risography is an interactive directory of publishers, print shops, and design studios using Risograph duplicators in a creative context. Log in to add yourself to the map!
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The Instituto Gráfico de Chicago The Instituto Gráfico de Chicago is dedicated to maintaining the critical activist tradition of Latino printmaking that unites communities of struggle around the world. We are inspired by the socio-political art of Mexico's Taller de Grafica Popular (The People's Print Workshop) and use our art as a platform to inform and generate community discourse about urgent social issues. We believe that art is not separate from public life. IGC advances the legacy and vitality of printmaking by fostering collaboration and solidarity amongst print artists through transnational dialogue and art making. We also create programming outside of formal education settings that celebrates and demystifies printmaking techniques and process for the public. Our praxis responds to the social conditions that impede equity and access to art-making and critical consciousness. The Instituto Gráfico de Chicago. “IGC Statement.” INSTITUTO GRAFICO DE CHICAGO. Accessed April 1, 2021. https://www.institutograficodechicago.org/igc-statement.
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Open Press Project We are on a mission to make printmaking accessible to everyone. That's why we are giving away the plans for a 3D-printed press for free! Access to a 3D-printer? Print your own tiny etching press! No 3D-printer? That's okay, we can print you a press! It took us a while, but you can order presses right now! And because our vision of making printmaking more accessible doesn't stop when it comes to pricing, we came up with an interesting pricing idea: You can choose what you pay!
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Stencil: A RISO wiki for artists, designers and printers Stencil: A RISO wiki for artists, designers and printers
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Spudnik Press Cooperative in Chicago Spudnik Press Cooperative is a community-based art center located in a warehouse-turned-arts hub in West Town, Chicago. Unique in our dedication to printmaking and the cultural traditions surrounding print, our studio houses professional facilities and rare equipment for a wide variety of traditional print processes and fine art publishing. Our 4800 sq.ft. studio includes shared work space, private studios and mixed-use spaces for exhibitions, classes and community events. The organization began in 2007 as a live/work studio. Executive Director, Angee Lennard, created the community-integrated print shop to respond to the needs of printmakers and Chicagoans interested in the arts. Throughout our short history, Spudnik Press has seen exponential growth. Programming began with a simple weekly drop-in Open Studio session and now includes a rich network of opportunities for anyone who wishes to be creative through printmaking. Between 2008 and 2011, the organization incorporated, received 501(c)3 status, moved to a dedicated studio space, acquired additional printing presses and hired a Studio Manager. Within four years, Spudnik Press Cooperative was able to offer access to professional letterpress, relief, intaglio, bookbinding, screen printing, and offset printing facilities. Programs expanded through new Open Studio sessions, a local residency program, hosting the first youth field trips and through publishing prints in collaboration with artists and designers. Another studio expansion in 2013 allowed for the creation of the Exhibitions Program, a large-scale free festival, Printers Ball, and adding yet one more type of printmaking to our repertoire, Risography. Now just over a decade of programming, the organization continues to provide minimal barriers to well-maintained, robust printmaking facilities and a gallery while establishing a rich community of artists and art-consumers engaged in the vibrant landscape of fine art printmaking.
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Perfectly Acceptable in Chicago A small publishing house and Risograph printing studio in Chicago.
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Oddities Prints in Kansas City YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD PRINT SHOP We offer full silkscreen, letterpress, risograph, and design services for any project from limited-edition print runs to large production suites. Though we specialize in these old school methods, we can also see your creative project through any digitally printed or web-based output. Here's a quick rundown of items we frequently produce: T-shirts / Apparel / Tote Bags / Hats / School Wear / Posters / Flyers / Record Jackets / Business Cards / Handbills / Envelopes / Take-out menus / Brochures / Invitations / Announcements / Coasters / Zines / Booklets / Artist Editions / Logos / Custom Illustrations
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Design Justice, Issue 3 | Design Justice in Action Allied Media Projects. “Design Justice Network Hub Zines.” Allied Media Projects, 2021. https://alliedmedia.org/resources/design-justice-network-hub-zines.
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100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design
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New in the "100 Ideas that Changed..." series, this book demonstrates how ideas influenced and defined graphic design, and how those ideas have manifested themselves in objects of design. The 100 entries, arranged broadly in chronological order, range from technical (overprinting, rub-on designs, split fountain); to stylistic (swashes on caps, loud typography, and white space); to objects (dust jackets, design handbooks); and methods (paper cut-outs, pixelation).
ISBN: 9781856697941Publication Date: 2012
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Adobe Color Adobe Color. “Color Wheel, a Color Palette Generator | Adobe Color,” 2021. https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel.
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Adobe InDesign Tutorials Adobe. “Adobe InDesign Tutorials | Learn How to Use InDesign,” 2021. https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/tutorials.html?filters=%7B%22topics%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22level%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22stage%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22creative_fields%22%3A%5B%5D%7D.
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Canva Tutorials Canva. “Tutorials.” Canva Design School, 2021. https://designschool.canva.com/tutorials/.
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Natural Dye Initiative. Baltimore Natural Dye Symposium The Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative is a multi-agency project that aims to explore the cultural and economic impacts of growing and using natural dyes in our region. The project brings together a diverse network of collaborators and funding partners and is supported by the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Maryland State Arts Council. The project establishes a dye farm at Parks & People Foundation and employs two part-time farmers in order to develop local knowledge related to the growing, processing and use of natural dyes. MICA’s participation supports collaboration with local designers, artists, and businesses, intercultural exchange through visiting artists and lecturers, and experiential learning opportunities through an additional natural dye garden at Hidden Harvest, an urban farm in Greenmount West. The state is providing a combined $350,000 to multiple participating partners to support the pilot project over the course of two years. As a partner in the initiative, MICA is collaborating with community members and expanding its curriculum within the Fiber Department in order to: -learn more about the natural dye process and extend their place in the curriculum; -explore and better understand the ecological benefits and impacts of natural dye use; -engage with artists, researchers and farmers from the Baltimore community in collaborative learning; and -investigate the social, historical, and economic implications of the cultivation and use of natural dyes in Baltimore and beyond. The project involves learning about the cultivation, harvesting and processing of plant matter in order to color cloth, and recognizes that this contemporary process cannot be separated from the histories that precede it. Many natural dyes were highly valued commodity crops. Trade in these goods was thus intertwined with European colonization, the enslavement of people and forced labor in the Americas and Asia. Acknowledging the gravity of this history, and the project’s geographic location in Baltimore, Maryland, MICA staff and faculty working on this project developed a set of core principles and protocols, centered on racial equity, to guide work on this project and increase transparency and accountability.
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MCBA Papermaking & Paper Marbling Workshops In an effort to support social distancing and to continue to spark the artistic impulse in all of us, MCBA is offering live, virtual workshops on a variety of topics, suitable for all skill levels. Art and meaningful connection are more important now than ever! With the help of an online platform, MCBA’s teaching artists are eager to connect with you wherever you are. Workshops are interactive and not recorded.
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Hand Papermaking (Trade Publication) byPublication Date: 1996--
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Pulp as Portal: Socially Engaged Hand Papermakin by Catalog of an exhibition held at Center for Book Arts, New York, N.Y., February 3-April 8, 2017 and at Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas, May 10-July 23, 2017.Publication Date: 2017
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Social Paper: Hand Papermaking in the Context of Socially Engaged Art
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Catalog published on the occasion of the exhibition Social paper: hand papermaking in the context of socially engaged art, held at Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book and Paper Arts, February 10-April 15, 2015.
Artists: Loreto Apilado and Trisha Martin, Laura Anderson Barbata, Talya Baharal, Combat Paper, Nick Dubois, Eileen Foti, Fresh Press, Julia Goodman, Ken Gray, Sheroanawë Hakihiiwë, Alison Knowles, Cathy Mooses, Parents Circle--Families Forum, Peace Paper, Maggie Puckett, John Risseeuw, Kiff Slemmons, The People's Library, Women's Studio Workshop.
ISBN: 9780929911557Publication Date: 2015 -
Paper Innovations: Handmade Paper and Handmade Objects of Cut, Folded and Molded Paper
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"A documentary publication of Mingei International Museum's exhibition"--Page 7.
"The exhibition was inspired by the contemporary resurgence of interest in the art of paper making, and is designed to give a glimpse of our rich international heritage in the innovative making of paper and art objects of paper."--p. 11
ISBN: 9780914155041Publication Date: 1985 -
Hanji Unfurled
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With a history of well over 1,500 years, Korean handmade paper, known as hanji, is familiar to Koreans but a mystery outside its home country. This lustrous paper that comes in a wide array of thickness, color, dimension, and translucency was once a coveted item inside and beyond Korean borders. Made by farmers and artisans during bitter cold winters, hanji was a noble marker of the literati who demanded high-quality paper for books, documents, calligraphy, and painting. Hanji also played a sacred role as the support for illuminated sutras, the body of temple decorations, and spirit of rituals where it was burned in hopes that its ashes would rise to the sky. Fashioned into objects that ranged from kites to armor to shrouds to chamber pots, there was seemingly no end to the possibilities of the combination of human ingenuity and paper through the transformation of natural fibers, until forces of history and industrialization collided and left this once-celebrated substrate and its related craft practices near extinction. In this first English-language book about hanji, Aimee Lee shares her experience as a Korean-American artist and Fulbright fellow on her search for a traditional Korean papermaking teacher. Of the handful of American hanji researchers, she is the only one to have interacted with Koreans in their own language while simultaneously learning the craft. This book follows her journey as she met papermakers, scholars, and artists from bustling cities to traditional Korean villages to Buddhist temples to island outposts. Not only did she encounter the few remaining papermakers who still practice webal tteugi, the indigenous Korean sheet-formation method, but she found teachers of a whole array of allied crafts that include jiseung-cording and weaving hanji, joomchi-texturing and felting hanji, natural dyeing, and calligraphy. She traveled from the studios of living treasures to the homes of ordinary Koreans, illuminating an often-misunderstood culture through stories from its keepers of traditional heritage. Book jacket.
ISBN: 0979797446Publication Date: 2012 -
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Plant Fibers for Papermaking
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Publication Date: 1984
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The Art of the Fold
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"The influential artist Hedi Kyle and renowned architecture graduate Ulla Warchol shows you how to create their unique designs using folding techniques. From creating flag books and fishbones, to blizzards and nesting boxes, you'll gain an invaluable insight into the work of two skilled artists with this fun read! With the help of their thorough instructions and simple illustrations, you'll be on your way to becoming a pro paper crafter in no time at all" - Sew magazine "A wonderful insight into the work of a truly skilled artist" - PaperCrafter The renowned and influential book artist Hedi Kyle shows you step-by-step how to create her unique designs using folding techniques in The Art of the Fold. Bookbinding and paper craft projects include flag books, blizzard books, the fishbone fold, and nesting boxes. Written by the doyenne of artists' books, Hedi Kyle, The Art of the Fold is a wonderful insight into the work of a truly skilled artist. Hedi will show you how to bind a book and fold paper to create over 35 of her cut-fold book designs. The book is beautifully illustrated with Hedi's finished works of art. An excerpt from the book: 'I can still remember the thrill I experienced when my first folded book structure emerged from my fingers - how eager I was to explore its possibilities and to share it with whoever was interested. The Flag Book, as I now call it, is a simple accordion and has interlocking pages oriented in opposite directions. Little did I know that this simple structure would have legs and be the catalyst for the next forty-plus years of thinking about and making books. The common perception of the book today is fairly straightforward: a series of pages organized around a spine and protected on either side by two covers. This format allows for easy access, storage and retrieval of information. Yet what happens when the book is stripped away of centuries of preconceptions and is allowed to reveal something else: playfulness, utility, invention? Expanding the notion of the book is what the structures in the following chapters of The Art of the Fold attempt to do. Exploring its tactile, sculptural form, primarily through folding methods, the book as a structural object is celebrated while content is considered in a new and unconventional way. My range in this medium has always been broad. In part this is due to my introduction to the world of bookbinding and some chance encounters. In the 1970s in New York City, the art and craft of hand bookbinding and papermaking were experiencing an unprecedented revival. I was fortunate to arrive in the city at just this moment. With an art-school background and an impulse to make things, I was naturally drawn to pursue this new opportunity. The Center for Book Arts, the famous forerunner of so many centers yet to come, was located in a small storefront just down the street from where I lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Under the direction of founder Richard Minsky, it had a radical mission: to push concept, materials, printing and making of artist books in a new direction. When Richard dared me to teach at the Center one evening a week, I was hooked. My career as a book conservator and a book artist has now spanned over 45 years. As head conservator at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, I've had the opportunity to handle some of the rarest volumes and manuscripts in the world. I have also dealt with decrepit books, torn maps and countless curiosities discovered in stacks and archives. All were endless sources for ideas and provided a springboard for a departure from tradition. Leading book-arts workshops around the world and a 25 year tenure teaching in the graduate program for Book Arts and Printmaking at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia have shown me, in retrospect, that the more I taught, t
ISBN: 1786272938Publication Date: 2018 -
Eco Books
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A collection of projects and ideas for making books out of common everyday items normally placed in the recycle bin.
ISBN: 9781600593949Publication Date: 2009 -
Folding Techniques for Designers
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Many designers use folding techniques in their work to make three-dimensional forms from two-dimensional sheets of fabric, cardboard, plastic, metal, and many other materials. This unique book explains the key techniques of folding, such as pleated surfaces, curved folding, and crumpling. It has applications for architects, product designers, and jewelry and fashion designers An elegant, practical handbook, Folding for Designers explains over 70 techniques explained with clear step-by-step drawings, crease pattern drawings, and specially commissioned photography. The ebook version of this title does not provide access to the companion files.
Publication Date: 2011
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Booklyn Education Manual Booklyn’s mission is to promote artists’ books as art and research material and to assist artists and organizations in documenting, exhibiting, and distributing their artwork and archives within the academic market. We specifically assist artists and organizations committed to environmental and social justice. We work towards our mission by documenting, exhibiting, promoting, and distributing their work within educational institutions worldwide. We envision a world in which art and bookmaking are tools for education, personal agency, community engagement, and activism.
Index of Technical Resources
For browsing convenience, this is a list of the resources on this page.
Printing
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Tortilla Press Printing! Joseph Velasquez. Tortilla Press Printing!, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvvN2csd5fM&ab_channel=JosephVelasquez.
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Haga Su Propria Prensa Tortillera | Make Your Own Tortilla Press Tres Gatos Press. “DESCARGAS / DOWNLOADS.” Accessed April 19, 2021. https://3gatospress.art/descargas-downloads.
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Highpoint Center's Printmaking at Home Resources Highpoint Center for Printmaking. 2020. “Printmaking At Home.” Highpoint Center for Printmaking. 2020. https://www.highpointprintmaking.org/printmaking-at-home.
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An Atlas of Modern Risography Stencil. n.d. “An Atlas of Modern Risography.” Stencil.Wiki. Accessed April 9, 2021. https://www.stencil.wiki/atlas.
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The Instituto Gráfico de Chicago The Instituto Gráfico de Chicago. “IGC Statement.” INSTITUTO GRAFICO DE CHICAGO. Accessed April 1, 2021. https://www.institutograficodechicago.org/igc-statement.
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Open Press Project “Our Story.” 2021. Open Press Project. 2021. https://openpressproject.com/pages/about-us.
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Stencil: A RISO wiki for artists, designers and printers stencil. n.d. “Stencil.Wiki.” Stencil.Wiki. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.stencil.wiki/.
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Spudnik Press Cooperative in Chicago Spudnik Press. n.d. “About | Spudnik Press.” Accessed April 9, 2021. https://www.spudnikpress.org/about/.
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Perfectly Acceptable in Chicago Davis, Matt. n.d. “Print with Us | Perfectly Acceptable Press - Risograph Printing.” Accessed April 15, 2021. http://perfectly-acceptable.com/print/.
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Oddities Prints in Kansas City Oddities Prints. n.d. “ODDITIES PRINTS.” ODDITIES PRINTS. Accessed April 15, 2021. http://www.odditiesprints.com.
Design
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Design Justice, Issue 3 | Design Justice in Action Allied Media Projects. “Design Justice Network Hub Zines.” Allied Media Projects, 2021. https://alliedmedia.org/resources/design-justice-network-hub-zines.
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100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design Heller, Steven., and Véronique. Vienne. 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd., 2012.
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Adobe Color Adobe Color. “Color Wheel, a Color Palette Generator | Adobe Color,” 2021. https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel.
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Adobe InDesign Tutorials Adobe. “Adobe InDesign Tutorials | Learn How to Use InDesign,” 2021. https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/tutorials.html?filters=%7B%22topics%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22level%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22stage%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22creative_fields%22%3A%5B%5D%7D.
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Canva Tutorials Canva. “Tutorials.” Canva Design School, 2021. https://designschool.canva.com/tutorials/.
Paper
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Papermaking from Corn Husks Jim Escalante. Papermaking from Corn Husks, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Na-d0lPpjc&ab_channel=JimEscalante.
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Natural Dye Initiative. Baltimore Natural Dye Symposium MICA. 2021. “Natural Dye Initiative.” MICA. 2021. https://www.mica.edu/annual-events-series/natural-dye-initiative/.
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MCBA Papermaking & Paper Marbling Workshops Minnesota Center for Book Arts. n.d. “Papermaking & Paper Marbling Workshops.” Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Accessed April 16, 2021. https://www.mnbookarts.org/category/papermaking-paper-marbling/.
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Hand Papermaking (Trade Publication) Hand Papermaking, Inc. “Hand Papermaking.” Trade Publication, 1996-Present. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/eds/command/detail?vid=0&sid=e0dfc2be-eec9-4001-ba10-574e3fdf8669%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#jid=2A3&db=asu.
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Pulp as Portal: Socially Engaged Hand Papermakin Cochran, Jesica. Pulp as Portal : Socially Engaged Hand Papermakin New York, N.Y: Center for Book Arts, 2017.
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Social Paper: Hand Papermaking in the Context of Socially Engaged Art Cochran, Jessica, and Melissa Potter. Social Paper : Hand Papermaking in the Context of Socially Engaged Art Chicago, Illinois: Epicenter, Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, 2015.
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Paper Innovations: Handmade Paper and Handmade Objects of Cut, Folded and Molded Paper Longenecker, Martha. Paper Innovations : Handmade Paper and Handmade Objects of Cut, Folded and Molded Paper La Jolla: Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art, 1985.
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Hanji Unfurled: One Journey into Korean Papermaking Lee, Aimee. Hanji Unfurled : One Journey into Korean Papermaking Ann Arbor, Mich: Legacy Press, 2012.
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The Handmade Paper Book Ramsay, Angela. The Handmade Paper Book Pownal, Vt: Storey Books, 1999.
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Plant Fibers for Papermaking Bell, Lilian A. Plant Fibers for Papermaking 4th slightly rev. ed. McMinnville, Ore: Liliaceae Press, 1984.
Book Making
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How to Make a Cartonera Book/Cómo Hacer un Libro Cartonero Cartonera Publishing. How to Make a Cartonera Book/Cómo Hacer Un Libro Cartonero, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAqRD9RM6XY&ab_channel=CartoneraPublishing.
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The Art of the Fold: How to Make Innovative Books and Paper Structures Kyle, Hedi, and Ulla Warchol. The Art of the Fold : How to Make Innovative Books and Paper Structures London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2018.
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Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin Taylor, Terry. Eco Books : Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin 1st ed. New York: Lark Books, 2009.
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Folding Techniques for Designers Jackson, Paul. Folding Techniques for Designers 1st edition. Laurence King, 2011.
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Booklyn Education Manual Booklyn. “Booklyn Education Manual.” Booklyn. Accessed April 19, 2021. https://new.booklyn.org/programs/booklyn-education-manual/.
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How to Make a Zine nicki sabalu. How to Make a Zine. Accessed April 19, 2021. https://vimeo.com/18312616.
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Explore Living Colors: The Ecology in Book Arts San Diego Book Arts. Explore Living Colors: The Ecology in Book Arts by Jie Tian, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhGagH6DwJI&ab_channel=SanDiegoBookArts.
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Alternative Accordion Book Demonstration San Diego Book Arts. Maria Rebelo: Alternative Accordion Book Demonstration, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Om6KKuIyZQ&ab_channel=SanDiegoBookArts.
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Bookbinding: Create a "Flutter Book" OtisCollege. Otis College Book Arts: Bookbinding: Create a “Flutter Book,” 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xeBbp8TcJA&ab_channel=OtisCollege.
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Hedi Kyles's Fishbone Fold with Pockets Paula Beardell Krieg. Hedi Kyle’s Fishbone Fold with Pockets, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoM6kWmzZhQ&ab_channel=PaulaBeardellKrieg.
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DIY Lightning Bolt Stitch Bookbinding Sea Lemon. DIY Lightning Bolt Stitch Bookbinding | Sea Lemon, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy3gISMDmxM&ab_channel=SeaLemon.
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How to Photograph Your Artists' Book San Diego Book Arts. How to Photograph Your Artists’ Book by Cathy Cakebread, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgcwoihtxpk&ab_channel=SanDiegoBookArts.