The Carousel Book

Course code: 25MBB002I

This one-day, in-person workshop takes place at CBA on Saturday, August 2nd, from 11:00AM to 5:00PM ET.

• Saturday, August 2nd, from 11:00AM to 5:00PM ET

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on July 19th, at 11:59pm.

About the Workshop

This in-person workshop is taught by instructor Maria G Pisano.

A carousel book is an ingenious structure, containing three-dimensional panoramic scenes that are revealed in multilayered openings that recede into space. Its seductiveness comes as a result of its construction, a series of five scenes, which when taken together are a play in five acts. Viewed through windows or other intricate openings, they take the viewer into their world, beckoning with surprises of creative multidimensional visual experiences. When fully opened it creates a full 180 degrees stage, which from an aerial perspective can be seen as a complex star, with the viewer performing a dance around it.

Participants in this workshop will learn how to conceptualize a 3D structure where all the parts relate to one another to tell a story; will come away with a working knowledge of binding methodology for a carousel book, including covers and pages; will learn proper cutting for this book form; and will learn the history of this movable structure.

Required Materials

Please note that for the Carousel Book Workshop we are working with content. Because of our limited time, please choose the alphabet or landscape as a subject. Come with images that will support your chosen theme, for Front, Middle, Back and Front cover - Suggestions are drawings, photos or images that you can cut up, etc. – these should be printed or Xeroxed on cover weight paper (65lb.or heavier) Each book is created with four layers - Backing panel, Front panel, Middle panel, and a Cover.

• Theme #1: Alphatheatre: Using your name or any 5 letters create a 3D diorama, composed of five separate scenes.
• Theme #2: Real or Imaginary Landscape: Design a book that contains 5 nature scenes, real or imaginary. You can reference a trip you have taken, a city you love, or an imaginary voyage.

Additionally, in your pages, you can use stencils, assorted decorative papers, and any collage materials you would like to incorporate in your works, and / or direct drawing. When designing the book consider line, movement, colors, composition, contrast, unity and balance of entire work. Below are final sizes of book pages – choose your images accordingly.

• Front: 7" W x 5.5” H - cut 5 - this allows for 1/4" tab on either side of sheet
• Middle: 8" W x 5.5” H- cut 5- this allows for 1/4" tab on either side of sheet
• Cover: 1 sheet measuring 14" W x 5.5” H – you only need F. cover image – 5.5 H x 5 W

Please see dimensions below for all your pages - you will need 16 images total, color or black and white, they must be printed on cover weight paper 65lb or higher:

• Backing: Five images each: 10" W x 5 1/2H
• Front: Five images - 7" W x 5 1/2" H
• Middle: Five images 8" W x 5 1/2" H
• Front Cover: one image – 5 W x 5.5 H

Additional Required Materials:

• small snap blade knife (note: that there is a lot of cutting involved for the book, to reveal all the many layers, and I recommend the Olfa knife)

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

About Maria G. Pisano

Maria G. Pisano (she/her) is a book artist, printmaker, curator and educator. Memory Press works are represented in The Library of Congress, 9-11 Memorial Museum, National Library of Medicine, Columbia University, NY Public Library and many more. Her book Caudex Folium was exhibited at “Towers Rising“, the 9-11 Memorial Museum in NYC, and in 2022 her work was in “And Yet We Rise: A Retrospect of the Days and Times Surrounding 9/11″ at the American Consulate in London. She has curated a number exhibits including Book as Witness: The Artist’s Response at CBA in NYC and Crossroads: Book Artists’ Impassioned Responses to Immigration, Human Rights and Our Environment, at the Hunterdon Museum of Art, NJ. Ms. Pisano contributes to book arts publications and has presented lectures at the Library of Congress, College Book Arts Association and the Art Libraries Society of North America. Her article “Mark To Impress” was published in California Society of Printmakers and The Blue Notebook in the UK. She continuously gives workshops nationally and internationally, at her studio, libraries and institutions such as Bridwell Library, TX, CBBAG and Center for Book Arts in NYC.

All images courtesy of the instructor.