Super Summer #4

I am incredibly embarrassed that I have failed to update my lovely blog since February. Please accept my apologies, dear readers! (all 13 of you...?) My semester is winding to a close and that means you can expect another epic string of updates in the coming month, when I finally have time to breathe and document everything I've made since January appropriately.

But, I wanted to share some good news as I cannot believe it is already almost upon me. This year I will be attending the Paper and Book Intensive for the first time! They awarded me a work-study scholarship and words cannot express my gratitude. Despite having lived in Chicago for 9 years, I never made it up to Ox-bow. On May 11th I will be flying from Philadelphia to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and catching a shuttle to the beautiful outdoors and the Ox-bow lagoon.

photo by Hedi Kyle

I will be taking three classes: 

Shanna Leino: Custom Bone and Steel Tools for Book Working
Steve Pittelkow: Paper Marbling: That’s a Moiré!
Larry Yerkes: The Spring­back Account Book

If you recall, Shanna Leino came to UArts this past fall and gave us a wonderful workshop on a leather binding on wooden boards. I am so excited to learn to make tools from her; she makes unbelievable ones! Other points of excitement are that I will get to see Barb Korbel and Giselle Simon from the Newberry Library again, two of the most fabulous ladies in book conservation. 

If the wonder of PBI weren't enough, I have also been awarded a paid book conservation internship at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, under the amazing Tara O'Brien. I will be there for 6 weeks this summer, learning from Tara and working on the Bank of America collection, which includes some of our country's first documents. (!!!)

Oh yeah, and our program is also making a trip to Seoul, Korea for two weeks. Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our fundraising campaign and helped make this happen for us. Sometimes I still forget and can't believe we're going, because it seems so far removed from the realm of possibility. 

The long trend of super summers continues!