Bookbinding with Elaine Barker

Soft Bookbinding with Elaine Baker
Saturday October 24, 2026 from 1-4pm
LOCATION: Guild Gallery & Art Center, 24353 Redwood Hwy. Kerby, OR 97531
Class Fee: $45-$65 (all ages) sliding scale, open to ages 12+

Come learn how to make your own DIY journal to enhance your daily writing, drawing, painting, or collaging practice! Join longtime local art teacher Elaine Barker on Saturday October 24 from 1-4pm at the Guild for a 3-hour hands-on workshop all about Bookbinding! EMBarker began making books in the early 80's. After learning to make elaborate books for personal use, she incorporated bookbinding into her high school art classes where students made their own 'text'/sketch book.

Participants in this class will have the opportunity to learn about the history and techniques of bookmaking, bookbinding, how to construct/sew the book's pages, how to attach a cover to your book, and optional design elements that can be added for personalization and flair! You will come away with 1 small handmade journal sized 8.75”x 5.75" made with 4 signatures (inner book sections) using traditional sewing techniques and binding methods. Through the making process, gain an appreciation for historical creative connections, a sense of pride in craftsmanship, and a resulting practical and beautiful object that you now have the skills to reproduce! Students should bring their own paste paper made during Elaine's prior class. Otherwise, all needed materials will be provided for the pages, cover, and binding.

This workshop is for ages 12+ and all skill levels are welcome--no experience is required. All minors should ideally be accompanied by an adult. Class fees are sliding scale $45-$65 per person, all ages. When you register, please honestly self-select your contribution. Choose a tier that supports you to commit. By paying at the highest level you help subsidize others and offer scholarships to support a wider range of people. If the sliding scale would be a hardship and you’d like to request a scholarship, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us at (541)-592-5019.

ABOUT ELAINE BARKER-CORTRECHT: A Midwest child transplanted by choice (or cosmic intervention) to the Illinois Valley of Southern Oregon nearly 50 years ago, Barker is a divergent thinker, educator, creator, idealist, observer. From kindergarten, Barker knew she wanted to work in the arts. A practical, yet quietly adventurous spirit led her to various opportunities that fed and broadened her chosen field. From Indiana to NYC, South America to Paris, Barker pursued a larger experience of the world. Through varied media such as painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and papermaking, she has played with the possibilities. On the west coast she found the natural wonder that her spirit needed. As artist, instructor, mentor, mother and now ‘Nana’ she has continued to provide meaningful experiences for herself and many others through the arts. Her experience includes 30+ years of arts teaching experience at Illinois Valley High School, Dome School, Rogue Community College, and creating Art Share, an inter-grade arts learning program in the Illinois Valley. Elaine currently serves as Interim Treasurer on the Guild Board of Directors and a selection of her work can be found on display year round in the Guild Gallery & Art Center. “The power of transformative processes possible in the arts have led me ‘to look, to make, to wonder and to look again.’ This ‘change’ process can be tangible and/or intangible. Can take place in the artist and in the viewer. Art is all about the heart and the spirit. Under the guise of manipulating the crudely physical we are presented with the possibility of transforming a baser substance into the ethereal: making changes on the outside…and the inside, sometimes turning things inside out or working a bit of alchemy, looking for a ‘window.’” - Elaine M. Barker