Paper Decorations: Part 2/2

Course Code: 26SPT102I

This  in-person workshop takes place on Saturday and Sunday, March 28th - 29th, from 11AM to 5PM ET

• Saturday, March 28th, from 11AM to 5PM ET
• Sunday, March 29th, from 11AM to 5PM ET

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on March 14th, at 11:59pm Eastern Time.

About the Workshop:

Divided in two sessions of one weekend each, this class involves a variety of paper decoration techniques and materials. The two sections complement one another, but may also be taken independently. For those who register for both sessions of this class, you will receive a 10% discount on your total registration by applying this code at checkout: PastePapers26S View part one of this workshop here!

This in-person workshop is taught by CBA instructor Ana Cordeiro.

Paste paper is one of the oldest and most versatile paper decoration techniques. Paste papers can be seen through the history of books as cover wrappers, end papers, and box liners. By dragging, combing, and manipulating the surface of the wet sheet, artists have made a variety of complex, 3-d looking patterns for use in bookbinding projects. Participants in this workshop will learn how to properly prepare the paste mixture to achieve the classic paste paper look so that they can make their own paste papers from their own home. Instructor Cordeiro will demonstrate several of the core pattern making techniques and give participants the opportunity to develop some of their own techniques.

Participants will also learn how to create similar patterns using frittage and found patterns and textures and gampi layering, and finally, you’ll work with CBA’s hot stamping machines to learn how to emboss text and ornaments on your final creations. Make a variety of decorative papers to use in your next bookbinding project!

Required Materials:

• Optional: gampi paper or other thin Japanese paper

All other materials will be provided by the Center for Book Arts at no additional cost.

About the Instructor:

Ana Paula Cordeiro is a Brazilian national, New York City -based visual artist working primarily in the book form. The co-author of a book about making books called Bookforms, she has also co-organized the multi-media installation Introspective Collective at The Clemente. She was awarded a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and an Honorable Mention at the International Human Rights Arts Festival Creators of Justice Award for her essay “Citizen”. In 2024, she had her first solo show in the US at the Gallatin Galleries, and she was awarded The Governor’s Medal of Arts and Culture during the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Ana is graduating in 2026 as Dean Scholar for the Arts in the MA program at the Gallatin School of Individualized Studies at NYU, with a concentration titled “The Collective Introspective: How Artist’s Books Can Sabotage Patriarchy and Colonialism”.

Artist books can be a solitary practice, but as the Introspective Collective manifesto states, no artist is an island. Ana Paula thrives in the shared space, having been a part of the Center for Book Arts communal shop for her entire career. She was a resident at the LMCC Arts Center in Governors Island and a research fellow at Hispanic Society Museum and Library, which became her sponsor for a regrant by NYSCA. Ana Paula has an extensive exhibition history, and her artist books are collected privately and institutionally.

All images courtesy of the instructor.