Open Studio perfect for personal, handmade gift

On Saturday, The Hyde’s Curator of Museum Education and Programming Jenny Hutchinson will lead Open Studio: Bookmaking.

From 10:30 am to 1 pm, learn to make a decorative book to present special mementos or pictures, or to give as a holiday gift. The workshop costs $15 for members and $20 for non-members, with all supplies included. The program is open to all skill and experience levels.

Open Studio is an incredible program in which a professional artist leads a half-day workshop to teach the basics of an art concept. Last year’s bookmaking program was a huge hit, so Ms. Hutchinson decided to offer it again.

After last year’s event, she received an email from George Hubbard, a frequent attendee of our art programs. He made a mistake in the workshop, so his book was different from the example created in class (the project is seen at left). Unhappy with it, he went home, took it apart and fixed it.

But he didn’t stop there. A talented guy — clearly — Mr. Hubbard found that the paper was perfect for drawing with ink markers and painting with watercolor.

So, over the course of about two weeks, he created an image a day and transformed his Open Studio project, doing what we hope everyone who attends a Hyde program does: Learns and goes home inspired, then personalizes what they learn to make the art their own.

“Everybody who I show the book to is amazed by it,” Mr. Hubbard wrote at the time. We were, too.

To register for Saturday’s Open Studio: Bookmaking, contact Sue at 518-792-1761, ext. 350, or [email protected].