Virtual Bookbinding II

Course Code: 25FBB200V

This five-week, virtual workshop takes place on Zoom on Wednesdays, November 12th - December 10th, from 6PM to 9PM ET.

• Wednesday, November 12th, 6PM to 9PM ET
• Wednesday, November 19th, 6PM to 9PM ET
• Wednesday, November 26th, 6PM to 9PM ET
• Wednesday, December 3rd, 6PM to 9PM ET
• Wednesday, December 10th, 6PM to 9PM ET

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on October 29th, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

About the Workshop:

This virtual class at Center for Book Arts is taught by instructor Elizabeth Castaldo.

In this beginning hardcover bookbinding class, you will learn to make several different hardcover bindings. Students will gain a foundational understanding of hardcover bookbinding including how the structure beneath the cover can affect the final result. You will learn how to create a hardcover accordion, hardcover pamphlet, a multiple signature flat backed case binding, and even coptic binding. Students will develop the skills needed to create a variety of hardcover books that will prepare them for building more complex hardcover designs such as the inboard cloth-bound book. In the process, students will learn about the historical and contemporary uses of the structures learned in the book arts and artists books.

*Prerequisites: Bookbinding 1 or equivalent

Required Materials:

• Pencil and paper for note-taking
• Bookbinding awl
• Bone folder
• Olfa silver knife and blades, or exact-o knife
• Triangle or ruler
• Bookbinding needles
• Double sided tape with paper backing (3M 415 tape recommended)
• Wax paper
• Newsprint / scrap paper
• PVA glue
• Glue brush (such as 1.5 inch chip brush that you can get at a hardware store)
• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Self healing cutting mat

More materials will be shipped to students after registering for the workshop. 

Elizabeth Castaldo

Elizabeth Castaldo is a New York based artist, printmaker, and bookbinder. Working with collage, drawing, and printmaking she creates multi-layered and visually abundant works on paper and artist’s books that explore nature, the divine feminine and interconnectivity. She was a 2024 art-in-ed workspace resident at Women’s Studio Workshop and has completed residencies at Proyecto ‘Ace in Buenos Aires Argentina, Arquetopia in Oaxaca Mexico, the Center for Book Arts, NYC and Printmaker’s Open Forum, Oxford PA. In 2023, her work was included in an illustrated edition of The Awakening by Kate Chopin published by Kasini House and Kolaj. Her work has been exhibited internationally including with Proyecto ‘Ace, Saint-Paul de Mausole at Saint-Rémy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empty Set Gallery, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Center for Book Arts, Saint Joseph’s College, and Landing Contemporary. She teaches printmaking and book arts at Parsons School of Design and the Center for Book Arts. Castaldo received her MFA from SCAD Atlanta where she was a Dean’s Fellow in Printmaking and her BFA from the School of Visual Arts. Her work is held in many private and institutional collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, SCAD, The University of Alberta, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University and others.

All images courtesy of the instructor.