Clark Herring – Special to Southern News
Homecoming week has been fueled with fun and activities for the whole campus to partake in. Last Wednesday on the 15, the back of the Buley Library, was occupied by a group of students, eager to express their artistic skills. The “Make-A-Book” event, hosted by veteran librarian, Tina Marie, ran a humble and intuitive workshop.
The students made books that were unlike your regular paperbacks. These books were extravagant, three dimensional designs inspired by the Artist Book Collection, a personal collection of Marie that consisted of highly rare and uniquely designed books.
Some of the books designs featured pull-outs, pop-ups and even holes in the pages. Some just had shapes or pictures, and one that really stood out was a book that stretched out like an accordion, and had a varying overlapping passages. Authors such as Ann Lovett, Ronald King and many others were a part of this collection.
Marie said that she bought and collected the titles from private booksellers across the state and beyond. They have always been an interest to her, and so she decided to share this admiration with other students by setting up the workshop.
“I really want to introduce students to unique book designs,” she said, “They’re so unconventional, and I’d like to see what students make.”
With the help of email notifications, Marie got her wish and students showed up to the event, ready to create. A predominate amount of people there came to the same floor of West. A group of seven freshman girls, interested in creativity and exploration were there for the artistic endeavor.
One of the girls, Madison Saruso, art major, expressed her interests in various types of art.
“I’ve worked with paper and done projects like these before, but it’s not my area of specialty. I usually like doing drawings. For everyone there, it was like a visit back to the times of grade school, where arts and crafts met learning and fun.”
Photo Credit: Clark Herring – Special to Southern News
