Posts by Jessica Pigza

Calling all craft-loving, library-loving readers! Please join me and my co-host Maura Madden (author of the amazing guide to crafty gatherings, Crafternoon) for a new FREE monthly series called Handmade: Crafternoons! Each day we'll focus on a different handmaking theme, and I'll post details about them here on the blog in advance of the date. What's in store for you at a Handmade: Crafternoon? Each event will include an inspiring spread of books and magazines (especially vintage books like the one pictured) from the Library's collections, a hands-on DIY project, and special crafty guests. It'll be a chance to get inspired at your Library, to hang 

This past Saturday I taught The Craft of the Book and, as usual, I had a great time meeting attendees and learning what brings them to the Library. My classes always include a little spread of books from the Library’s collection to give people a peek at what we offer. And below, as requested by a few of the students, I have listed the books shown that day (with links to the Catalog records for each). Thanks for coming! 

Paper cutting by Annye Allison

Catalog 25; type faces, border designs, typecast ornaments, brass rule, superior specialties, machines and materials, cabinet equipment by Barnhart Brothers & Spindler

The world of the book by Des 

It might be summer, but at the Library class is in session--craft of the book class, that is. If you would like to learn more about hand-press era bookmaking, come to the Library Saturday afternoon for an illustrated talk on the craftsmanship of paper making, printing, and bookbinding.

And I'll have some books from the collection to share too. It's a free class, and you don't need to register. And attendees get to take home a handy guide to the subject (pictured above, atop a great wood type specimen book that I'll have to share too!). This guide doubles as a model for a quick and easy bookmaking structure that you can make at home anytime!

Saturday, July 25th, 2:00 to 

Interested in learning how books were made during the hand-press era? If so, please join me at the Library this evening for an illustrated history of the craftsmanship of paper making, printing, and bookbinding. I’ll be gathering some how-to books on book arts from our collections to share with you too, to help you get started making books.

There's no need to register, and it’s a free class—here are the details:

Wednesday June 10th, 6:00 to 7:00pm (classroom will open at 5:45pm)
New York Public Library Celeste Bartos Education Center
First Floor, South Court Classrooms Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue & 42nd 

Last weekend, as I sat and ate my lunch in Bryant Park, I had the unexpected treat of listening to Geoffrey Hayes read from his children’s comic book Benny and Penny in Just Pretend. The day’s readings and activities were linked to Children’s Book Week, which runs all this week. And I left the park thinking about children’s books that I loved when I was little—books that encouraged me to make, create, and play.

One of the books that I spent hours and hours with as a youngster was Steven Caney’s Play Book, which I have become reacquainted with thanks to the copy at the Children’s Center at 42nd Street. This book is one of several 

Many New York artists and makers will at some point face the befuddling legal issues of intellectual property, copyright, and more. To help to answer your questions and set you on the path to being legal-savvy in your own creative work, NYPL’s Mid-Manhattan Library will present Ask the Lawyer: An Artist Career Development Lecture on Monday May 11th, at 6:30pm. This event, hosted by the Art Collection, is one in a series addressing the growing needs and concerns of New York City's independent creative workforce.

Presented in cooperation with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, legal experts Elena M. Paul, Esq. & Alexei Ormani Auld, Esq. will be on hand to cover a wide 

We're pretty excited at the Library today, because tonight is the debut screening of a documentary short of Design by the Book at the Brooklyn Arts Council Film Festival!

Design by the Book began life as a series here at NYPL, co-produced by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge. It follows the experiences of five local artists as they explore the Library's collections (and the building itself too!) in search of inspiration for their work. I was their resident reference librarian and had great fun helping them out in their searches. We're planning some super fall programming that will bring more crafty and artsy books out of the stacks and to the DIY-ing masses, so stay tuned if you 

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been doing so much sewing at home in recent weeks (and therefore spending lots of time shopping for fabrics), but I’ve been feeling awfully textile-centric as of late. Or perhaps it’s because I’ve been I’ve been spending time getting to know a textile industry periodical called American Fabrics at the Library.

I’ve been spending some time as of late with a 1945 book called Creative Hands: An Introduction to Craft Techniques, written by Doris Cox and Barbara Warren Weismann, who worked closely with the WPA Handicraft Projects of Minneapolis and Milwaukee in bringing the book together. Their book covers a broad range of crafts, from block printing to needlepoint, from soldering to button making. But the section that caught my eye last week was called Eggs in One Basket, in which Cox and Weismann offer egg-decorating techniques from different cultural traditions. The method that I knew that I wanted to try was this: “The simplest method is to gather up all the onion skins one can 

Are you thinking about making some Easter cards this year? If you are, and if you are hungry for ideas, look no further than the Digital Gallery and its hundreds of inspiring vintage Easter cards. Here are a few of my favorites of the moment: Play ball, rabbits! 

Chicks who have wrecked their car!  And hens, doing what they do best. 

Have fun exploring the many rabbits, and hens and pussywillows you'll find in this card collection. And if you make cards inspired by what you find, please share them with us via our Flickr group! I'll write again soon with another Easter craft idea!

 Monday March 16th might just be the best day to visit Deirdre Donohue's art installation, Sevdah, at the Mid-Manhattan Library, because on that evening the artist herself will be there, in conversation with Bernard Yenelouis, curator and educator at the School of the International Center of Photography. This event begins at 6:30pm, Monday 3/16/09. I'm drawn into Donohue's work because of the intensity of the details that she creates using a traditional medium, embroidery, on a large scale. When I visited the installation last week, I wanted to study each small fabric square's evocative imagery, patterns, and textures. You can read more about her work here. And even if you 

Did you enjoy following the adventures of our Design by the Book artists as they found inspiration at NYPL? Do you want to dig in to the Library's collections too, to find materials to fuel your own creativity? If so, then check out my User's Guide to NYPL for DIY Designers and Artisans--it will get you up to speed on the treasures and the quirks of the entire Library system. And with it in hand you can start your own hunt for inspiring stuff.

It's been grand working with our Design by the Book artists Lorena Barrezueta, Rebecca Kutys, Mike Perry, John Pomp, and Julia Rothman. They never failed to surprise me in their interests and their unexpected uses of what they found at the Library. In this, the last episode, they share their Library-inspired creations. I hope that you've enjoyed this series. Stay tuned for future DIY and design projects from the Library!

This week's a big one for the craft-conscious of New York City, because Handmade Nation--which is both a film AND a book available at the Library--comes to town!

This long-awaited documentary of the indie craft movement will have its New York premiere at the Museum of Arts and Design on Thursday evening. In addition to the screening, director Faythe Levine will be there to talk with artists Mandy Greer, Kate Bingaman-Burt, and Callie Janoff. As of this morning, the event is 80% sold out. So if you plan to go don't delay in purchasing your own tickets. The Museum will screen the film two more times, though without the panel discussion, on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th at 

I had a such a great time meeting those of you who came to my class on Friday--thanks for being there and for contributing so much to the discussion. I hope that you'll come back to dig into our collections in the future. In the meantime, as suggested by one attendee, I've put together the following list of magazines and books that I had in the classroom, for your reference:

Bernat's Handicrafter

Embroidery: The Journal of the Embroiderers' Guild

Minerva Style Book

Box furniture: how to make a hundred useful articles for the home by Louise Brigham

Creative hands, an introduction to craft techniques by Doris Cox and Barbara Warren  

 It's time for all you would-be crafters and makers to come to the library! This Friday afternoon I'll be offering a free one-hour introduction to the Library's resources--both vintage publications and online sources--that I hope will inform and inspire you in your own DIY endeavors. I'll also bring along a stack of books and magazines to share, to give you a taste of what's waiting for you in the stacks. The classroom opens at 3:00, and class starts at 3:15. There’s no registration and the class is free; just come on in and grab a seat! Here are the details:

When: Friday, February 6th, 3:15pm Where: NYPL's Humanities & Social Sciences Library, South 

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about embroidery lately. It all started when I read all about the Bard Graduate Center’s exhibition ‘Twixt Art and Nature. I admit that I’ve not seen the exhibition yet, but that won’t stop me from recommending it based on what friends have reported to me—so go see it before it closes on April 12th. I’m also pretty excited about the Bard’s exhibition-related programming, especially “Present Tense: Embroidery in Contemporary Art,” which will include conversation with artists Elaine Reichek and Richard Saja (I’ve become especially fond of Saja’s reworking of toile traditions). I have 

The holidays are over, and our intrepid artisans are back at work. Check out the latest episode of Design by the Book to see what they are making!

The latest issue of ReadyMade features a great DIY gift idea from Kimberly Scola: embroidered letters. The project brought to my mind a book on embroidered letters that I had seen earlier this fall. It’s called the Embroiderer’s Book of Design and it was published in London in 1860. Each page offers an alphabet in a differing style—some look as it they will require quite a bit of skill on the embroiderer’s part, but they are all lovely. I've posted four of my favorite pages here (above and below, below, and below): 

So, if you are considering stitching up personalized embroidered gifts, consider the vintage lettering styles from