Thursday, January 28, 2021

Clamshell box with Andrew Huot

 

5 x 7 box made in Andrew Huot's clamshell box class.

This class was an amazing eye opener for me. I took a one-day box making class years ago and made a nice box but didn't come away with any confidence that I could repeat it. When my mind wanders for a moment in a class I miss some instruction. And if there is no handout I am even more mystified. I think of myself as being able to learn things from books, but maybe because I'm not totally enthused about making boxes, I haven't been able to pick this up. It does feel like an important skill for any book artist so I have kept trying occasionally over the years. 

end view of clamshell box made in Andrew Huot's class. There is a small measuring error, but the box looks good.

Part of what worked for me in Andrew's class is that we did the boxes in stages, over about 4 weeks. Each step looks very approachable and the instructions were clear. For each step there was a video I could watch multiple times and pdfs to download. I completed the step at my own pace and was ready for the next one. I highly recommend this class if you want to learn box making. I think skills you learn here would easily transfer to other types of boxes. His class is available for the fall at Book Paper Thread. I am also signed up for the Books for Photographers and Printmakers Class in March. That one covers Drum Leaf Binding, and a couple other structures.