Personal Geographies

11 – 15 October 2023

Explore papery Venice through creative eyes and bind together your discoveries in a handmade book.

Find maps everywhere! Venture along canals and over bridges, browse in the quirkiest of bookshops, choose the finest Italian ephemera and inks, and make your own marbled papers.

Rachel Hazell guides you through the process of creating a unique artwork to document your experience – The Extraordinary Expandable Sketchbook Journal.

£1,595.00

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Day 1

Meeting & Making

Assemble at the San Marcuola vaporetto stop. Welcome to the workshop location and find your personalised goody bags.

Introductions. Meet your fellow adventurers and settle into our studio space. A day of making: learn an abundance of bookbinding skills and techniques, including map folds.

 

Day 2

Papers

Morning: Be introduced to The Extraordinary Expandable Sketchbook Journal structure. Start assembling papers and deciding on your book’s size.

Afternoon: Visit an artisan paper marbling studio and afterwards enjoy an Aperol Spritz or gelato at Rosa Salva in the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo before getting lost amongst the shelves of an amazingly characterful second-hand bookshop.

 

Day 3

Mapping

A morning developing narratives and investigating mapping methods with exercises and design prompts. Examine the significance and symbolism of maps.

Visit the inspiring graphics school nearby, tour the print-making facilities, view exhibition and meet a ground-shifting map artist.

 

Day 4

Collating

Studio day to work on your personal project. Play with the colour and texture of your journey. Experiment with a poetic text generation exercise. Committing to the page and collating content. Optional dinner at a deliciously atmospheric local restaurant.

Day 5

Binding

Bookbinding: Creating hard covers and binding your Sketchbook Journal together.

Pore over the details of each other’s Personal Geographies and see what you’ve charted. Celebratory trip to a literary café nearby.

Please Note

Each day we’ll start at 10am and finish at about 4pm.

Accommodation and meals are not included. Please email for a list of suggested places to stay.

Workshop drinks and snacks are provided, as are all materials.

Please bring a cutting mat, scissors, glue stick and a scalpel.

Itineraries are provisional and subject to change.

Our studio is on the top floor of a palazzo with no lift/elevator and our adventures will all be on foot so please wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk.

This course can be purchased as a gift. Please let us know the recipient’s details in the ‘additional information’ box at check out.

Please read the terms and conditions before booking and e-mail hello@thetravellingbookbinder.com with any queries.

 

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