Intro to Artists' Books for Photographers
Intro to Artists' Books for Photographers
In this workshop we'll look at a variety of structures that lend themselves to presenting photographs in fresh and non-traditional ways and talk about how materials and photos combined with form and folds can enhance any photography project. We'll also make a Panorama Book, incorporating your own photos into an elegant display.
No previous experience required, but participants should be comfortable with cutting, folding, and gluing.
Artists' books are a genre of bookbinding and book arts that can't always be distinctly defined but offer an opportunity to think more broadly about concept and craft through the book form. They are often more art object than book and can involve multiple mediums and techniques including photography.
What to bring (there will be some knives, bone folders, awls and cutting mats to share, but please bring what you can from this list):
Participants should bring at least 6 (extra if you want choice) printed photographs sized to about 2" x 3.5" and no larger than 2.5" x 4". The orientation will be portrait but also consider cutting a landscape image into those dimensions.
self-healing cutting mat (8 x 10 or 12 x 18 size is good) or piece of matte board or heavy cardboard--that you don't mind cutting on
craft/x-acto knife
bone folder
awl
pencil
scissors (optional)
This workshop is part of the Click! Photography Festival Academy and will take place at the Downtown Durham Convention Center during the Click! 120 Photography Experience
Sunday, October 4, 2026
3:30pm - 5:30pm
Instructor Bio:
Janet Guertin, a book artist and graphic designer, is an advocate for celebrating the tactile and tangible in life–merging her eye for detail with the craft of bookbinding, paper folding, and collage, with both fine and found materials to create artist books, heirloom books, and her own bookish product line. She has exhibited in many shows in the Southeast including curating a major group exhibition–Re(f)use–in collaboration with Triangle Book Arts group for Artspace in Raleigh.
Her work has been featured in magazines such as Uppercase and Where Women Create magazine and is held in private collections as well as UNC School of the Arts and the Atkins Library North Carolina Artist Collection at UNC-Charlotte. Janet has taught bookbinding workshops in the triangle as well as Sawtooth School for Visual Art, served as a co-leader of Triangle Book Arts, and holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.
To learn more about Janet and her work, visit her website or on Instagram.