Hi Friends! Thanks for welcoming me into your inbox. A special welcome to new subscribers—I’m so glad you’re here. Each newsletter I pick a topic, share three things that are inspiring me around that theme, and also include updates from my studio: new artwork, recommendations, and upcoming opportunities to connect through workshops or events.
 
This time the theme is the accordion book, inspired by a recent five-day workshop I took with ebond called Personal Map Making through the Accordion Book. It was fantastic, and ever since I’ve been buzzing with ideas about the possibilities of this form.
 
There’s something so compelling about folding, layering, and designing pages that unfold into a story in fresh and unexpected ways. Below, I’m sharing three accordion books—each linked so you can explore more images and descriptions of these inspiring works.
 
And as always, keep scrolling for updates from my studio, recommendations, and a peek at new artwork. 
 
Cheers!
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1. ebond I don't remember when I first discovered ebond, but I love her fabric lines, her social media posts and her fine art books! Her book There Are Two Times for Everything is a stunning achievement in form complimenting content. It explores the chaos that can occur when timelines overlap. It was such a gift to study and create and learn with her.
2. Book+Quilt There's an accordion book in Quilt National! I was thrilled that Patty Kennedy-Zafred's amazing work, Mercato Del Friuli, is included in this prestigious exhibition.  It's an art quilt and it's a book. Patty's Instagram post includes pictures of the entire book on display at the Quilt National opening. 
3. Bookmaking Workshop  Above you can see a close up of one of the books I made during the workshop. It's a flag book which uses the accordion as the spine. I used images, ideas and inspiration from my art quilt Unbothered. It was a fascinating creative challenge to interpret one of my art quilts into this book form. You can see more images of the book here. 

Updated Website Gallery
I organize my website galleries by year. The 2024 gallery is now live. 
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Creative Spark is hosting this amazing event next month! It's Friday, September 12 from 10 am to 2:30 pm PT and there will be presentations by 10 different award-winning art quilters. (They all look amazing but I'm especially excited about Lisa Thorpe, Caroline Oneto and Mary Pal!) You'll get life-time access to all the recordings so even if you can't make it live or if you can't take it in at once, it's definitely worth registering. 
You'll see the discount automatically applied when you check out. It's regular $59.99 but you'll get it for $39.99. 
(A great deal for 5+ hours of content!)
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Here are a few more pictures of accordion books I made in the workshop. It was so fun to experiment with new forms, work in a beautiful studio, meet other creative folks and interact with students in other workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft.
The first one unfolds into one giant two-sided painted page (more images). The second image is another flag book based on one of my landscape quilts (more images). And the last picture above shows the spine of the ampersand book (more images). There are more artist books in my future for sure. 

Highlights & Recommendations
  • Occasionally I enjoy playing games on my iPad. My daughter introduced me to A Little To the Left and I love it! It's a puzzle game that has you sort, stack, and organize household items into pleasing arrangements.
  • Art Quilter Irene Roderick's new book has excellent ideas about design, critique and developing a creative voice.
  • Have I mentioned how much I love the SewLine Aqua Eraser for removing marking lines on quilt tops?
  • Interested in making your own accordion book or exploring other book forms? I really like this book.
  • I was surprised how much I enjoyed this video “Inside a Hidden LA Greenhouse Full of the World's Rarest Plants.”

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Further Across and Through, 12 x 12" – My donation to the annual Studio Art Quilt Associates Benefit Auction. See all the art quilts and consider purchasing one with a donation to support SAQA.

Did you know I have two online interactive lectures with Creative Spark? I'm really proud of them and so happy they are accessible to everyone! They are a great compliment to my book and workshops. If you've heard one of my lectures and want more ideas and inspiration, I think you'll enjoy both of these offerings.
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Use the code ARTISTBOOK15 for 15% off anything in my Etsy shop through August 29. My Etsy shop will be closed from September 1 to 15 while I'm teaching in France. 🇫🇷

Have you made an accordion book or other artist book? Tell me about it.

Some products listed here may be Amazon Associate links from which I earn a tiny commission. 
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Lewisville, TX 75056, United States