From letter-pressing to bookmark-making, Carleton University’s Book Arts Society aims to provide a historical outlet for students to develop their own creative voices.
Nestled within the MacOdrum Library’s Book Arts Lab, the book arts is about combining book-making with various art styles, thereby bringing the craft to a modern age.
After coming off a successful inaugural year, the club plans to host events such as paper marbling and book restoration this year.
Carleton English PhD students Amanda Cannella and Sarah Pelletier co-founded the club in 2023 following an assignment requiring them to typeset a sonnet.
Through various interactive workshops and events, Cannells said the club can be a creative outlet for students to produce a physical product.
“The creative process of making, doing something with your hands, is extraordinarily beneficial for humans,” Cannella said. “It’s very rewarding.”
Learning about books adds a historical value to students’ education, she said. By using 19th-century printing presses, students can enjoy creative freedom and bring a book back to life.
“Especially in a digital age, appreciating the art of making books, preserving them, is extremely important, even if they’re not in a humanities or arts-focused background,” Cannella said.
“The club brought together a bunch of students from different programs to learn more about bookmarks and design making and I really wanted to be part of that,” she said.
Upon the club’s inception last year, master printer Larry Thompson and associate librarian Sarah Simpson welcomed the club with open arms.
Thompson’s role as a master printer is a classic nod to the history of printing. Historically, master printers were individuals who hand-printed an artist’s work through printmaking.
As an experimental learning facility, the Book Arts Lab encourages students from all disciplines to experiment with the craft.
“Few come into the lab and leave without any experience,” Thompson said.
Cannella said she wants more students to learn about the different opportunities available to them in the Book Arts Lab, as many classes don’t introduce them to it.
Sivarupan said she appreciates how accessible the club makes the book arts.
“Last year’s [club] executives made sure there were no costs to participating in the Book Arts Lab,” she said.
After wrapping up its first year as a club, the Book Arts Society plans to continue providing a space for students to learn about the book arts.
To Thompson, the book arts is all about learning through experience and encouraging students to be creative.
“It is an ingenious way to allow students who don’t have access to the lab [to access it],” Thompson said. “It’s their right and opportunity to do it.”
Featured image by Bianca McKeown/The Charlatan.
