Saturday & Sunday

June 14 & 15

10 AM - 4 PM

Class Size Max: 12

Paper is a crucial part of a bookmaker’s craft. To use paper in interesting and thoughtful ways, one should consider not only material sensitivity, but how paper is made, distributed, printed on, and bound together. “Paper and Ink: Paper as Material and Metaphor” is an in-person course for photographers at any level interested in making their own photobooks.

This workshop is practical and technical in nature: students will leave with an understanding of paper properties, printing methods (offset, digital, inkjet, and risograph), ink behavior, color reproduction, and color gamuts, as well as a game plan for how to implement this knowledge in future photobooks. By examining past Small Editions projects at various stages of production (digital files, scatter proofs, unprinted maquettes, final bound books), students will learn how to select paper and printing techniques based on the specific color demands of their photographs.

The conceptual nature of photobooks is also an integral aspect of the class: lessons will weave together the technical side of book making with more abstract discussions of form, content, materiality, aesthetics, and meaning-making — what Small Editions calls the “poetics of book design.” The class will focus on the real-world skills needed to make a book, as well as interesting ways to disrupt the relationship between form and content.

Tuition includes a $10 materials fee

If your desired tuition option is unavailable, please email info@penumbrafoundation.org and we will do our best to accommodate you. If the entire class is sold out, we can add you to the waitlist.

Small Editions is a design studio and artist book publisher based in Brooklyn, NY offering services in graphic design, print consulting, and limited edition book binding. The studio also runs an independent publishing imprint, collaborating with artists on several projects annually. Small Editions aims to center the book as a form of art, rather than a vehicle for art. Previous books are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of Art, Yale University, and Harvard University, among others. 

Hannah Yukiko Pierce is an artist, educator, and publisher based in New York. She has lectured internationally about artists’ books and independent publishing. She is the owner and director of Small Editions.

Isobel Chiang is the head of design at Small Editions, where she collaborates closely with artists, editors, book binders, and printers. Most recently, she’s the author of the book Paper and Ink. Originally from Canada, she’s now based in Brooklyn, NY.  

Image Credits:

1-3: previous Paper & Ink workshops with Small Editions

4: Castle Ruins of Kozuke Province, Brett Davis, Image © Small Editions, 2021

5: Diza No'ole, June Canedo, Image © Small Editions, 2021

6: Parallel Planes, Rhea Karam, Image © Small Editions, 2022

7: Roller Zoku, Alvin Kean Wong, Image © Small Editions, 2023

8: Mend, Beili Liu, Image © Small Editions, 2024