Is the book arts community vibrant in the Bay Area?
Since the time I began making books the book arts community in the Bay Area has grown enormously. I used to know everyone, or at least I’d heard of everyone; now I can’t keep track of all the people making books. The San Francisco Center for the Book has been a fantastic resource. They offer 300 classes and workshops per year, I think. They have events like the amazing Roadworks event where artists carve huge panels of linoleum and a rented steamroller prints them; exhibits—I just curated an exhibit there called “Wings for Words: New Bookworks from Korea and Japan”; and readings—the poet laureate Kay Ryan is a friend of the Center so she has been involved there. After they take preliminary classes, people can rent time to set metal or wood type, make photopolymer plates, or use the letterpresses. The place is hopping! The universities in the area—art schools and academically based colleges—are offering many book arts classes, and they are very active as well. You are in a unique positi
