Thinking About Books

A course in 4 parts that will look at some practical aspects of book making from the context of “bookness” – what a book is and most importantly, what it could be.

There will be four live sessions with your tutor and a secure online virtual classroom for group discussions, materials and sharing of resources. You will be given an assignment at each live session to work on for the following month.

The group will benefit from sharing their work together and the tutor will call in on progress through the month.

This course will develop your confidence making experimental forms and encourage ways of considering the subject. It will leave you with many starting points for you to use within your own practice and lead to an exciting journey into the world of this endlessly fascinating subject.

Course Requirements

Access to join 'Zoom' to participate in the live sessions.

A few very basic materials.

Access to smart phone, tablet, computer or laptop to engage with the assignments and online content.

Don't worry! If you miss a month, it will be recorded and posted up to watch at your convenience. There will also be monthly handouts, resources and help to support your progress.

Course Structure

Titles of each months session

1 - Experimental book structures A workshop that demonstrates a number of experimental binding structures presented within a particular approach to the thinking and making around the concept of “bookness”.

2 - Generating words from pictures. A workshop that explores the idea of storytelling using sequence.

3 - Generating structures from words. A workshop that looks at developing form as content.

4 - Experimental book-like structures. A workshop that explores books but not as we know them.

Each session will have a clearly stated assignment for you to work on at your own pace for the following month. You will have opportunity to post your results and work in progress in the secure online classroom and receive feedback to help guide you.

* There will also be the option to buy a good quality bookmaking kit to accompany this course. Look out for details.

About the Tutor

Les Bicknell has an extensive history of making that explores the concept of bookness. The hybrid nature of the book form has led to undertaking an extensive range of commissions and exhibitions. His practice includes large scale public art commissions and an extensive history of working within community engagement initiatives. Teaching formally within Art Colleges informs practice and connects with ideas. Recently he has been working within Kings College London on an innovative synthetic anatomy module and at NanoDTC at the Maxwell Centre in Cambridge University connecting with scientist over very small but important things The work has been exhibited widely, and is held in many National and international collections including The Rijksmuseum, The V&A Museum, M.O.M.A. New York, Yale Centre for British Art, The Tate Gallery.

Blog - lesbicknell.blogspot.co.uk

Insta - les1bicknell

Twitter - @BicknellLes

Website – lesbicknell.wixsite.com/work

Leicester Print Workshop

Leicester Print Workshop is the regional development centre for printmaking. Established by artists in 1986, we are a registered charity, supported by Arts Council England. Our RIBA award-winning building is situated in Leicester City Centre's Cultural Quarter and is home to a large, well equipped open access Printmaking Studio. We have over 30 years’ experience of teaching people printmaking. Our programme offers the largest number and broadest range of printmaking courses in the region, with courses suitable for beginners as well as experienced printmakers, delivered by practicing artists and nationally renowned tutors. Participants learn in small and friendly groups in our purpose-designed studio.

Bookings Online:

You can book online here by credit / debit card or Paypal.

Telephone:

You can pay by card over the phone during our opening hours (Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm). Call us on 0116 251 4174.

In person:

Call in to Leicester Print Workshop during our opening hours (Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm) to book and pay by card, cash or cheque.

Pre-course information:

We will send you details of how to access the Zoom sessions and what materials you will need when we process your booking.