The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is located at Florida Atlantic University’s Wimberly Library in Boca Raton, Florida. The Rickie Report wants to thank Paula Marcus for bringing this gem to our attention. An excursion to the Center gave us a lot of food for thought: What IS a book? Director, John Cutrone, introduces visitors to a bevy of possibilities. The Rickie Report shares an overview of the Center and suggests you ( individually or with a small group) take a tour or sign up for some of the fascinating classes. Spread the word – Books are here in all shapes, sizes, materials — and beyond your imagination!  Sign up to create your own book on April 28th!  Details below – register now!

THE ESSENTIAL FOCUS OF THE COLLECTION IS ON ARTISTS’ BOOKS

777 Glades Road Boca Raton, Florida 33431   561.297.0226  

Books As Aesthetic Objects

Arthur and Mata Jaffe donated their collection of books as aesthetic objects, built for over 50 years, to FAU in 1998. Rather than being the end of something, that donation was an inspired beginning, garnering an enthusiastic group of loyal supporters that grows with each passing year. Arthur was a graduate of Penn State University and was a partner in Jaffe Department Stores (Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania) before he and Mata moved to Boca Raton in the 1980s. Mata died in 2001, soon after the Jaffe Collection opened, but Arthur continued to build the collection until his death in 2015––a task that Director John Cutrone continues to this day.

One of the many PopUp Books in the Jaffe Collection (Photo Courtesy of Candace Kahan)

There is great breadth to this collection. It encompasses not just artists’ books and limited editions, but also books that just appealed to the collecting sensibilities of the Jaffes. As such, there is much here that would be found in traditional libraries.

“Prayer Book” from the Jaffe Collection (Photo Courtesy of Candace Kahan)

There is great focus given to the artists’ book and on all aspects of the Book Arts: artists using the book as a means of artistic expression, fine bindings, limited edition printings, hand paper making and paper decoration, and indeed any of the handcrafts that artisans use to create books.

John Cutrone shows incised and hand written pages of Book (Photo courtesy of Candace Kahan)

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BOOK ARTS CLASS

BOOK ARTS 101: Vernal
Instructor John Cutrone
Saturday Afternoon, April 28, 2018
1 to 4:30 PM

Jaffe Center for Book Arts at FAU’s Wimberly Library
Book Arts Gallery, Letterpress Studio 351H, & Bindery 350C

Class Limit: 18 (you must register ahead of time!)
Tuition schedule: Self-determined
(Tuition is by open donation to JCBA’s Education Fund––you choose what you’d like to give.)

Become a book artist for a day through this three and a half hour immersion in the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. We’ll begin with a screening of a 7-minute video that will introduce you to Arthur Jaffe and the Jaffe Center for Book Arts and the amazing collection of artists’ books that is at its core. We’ll follow this with an in-depth viewing of some of the artists’ books in the collection––books that will entertain, inspire, and astound. And since spring is in the air, we’ll be sure to bring a few appropriately vernal books into the mix. Expect a little springtide story or two, as well, from the instructor’s cache of Convivio Dispatches from Lake Worth: perhaps the tale of the fearful ushers at St. Bernard’s and the April Fool’s Day paper cup tower at Minnie’s Diner.

After a leisurely break for coffee and tea and treats, we’ll move on to the JCBA Letterpress Studio, where each participant will print a sheet of paper from type set by hand from JCBA’s collection of historic wood type. These sheets will be the covers for the books we’ll make, a brief history of the book arts that we’ll bind by hand in the Single Signature Pamphlet stitch, a simple bookbinding technique that you can use again and again in your own book projects. You’ll go home with a book you made yourself––one that you can read as sleep calls later that night, as you reflect on the new outlook on books (and maybe even life) that you’ve found earlier in the day at JCBA. “For there is great joy in knowing how to do things.” All levels.

Instructor:

John Cutrone is Director of the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. He is a graduate of the MFA in the Book Arts Program a the University of Alabama. Aside from his work at JCBA, he is also a writer and a partner in Lake Worth’s Convivio Bookworks, a book arts studio specializing in limited edition letterpress printed books and broadsides (www.conviviobookworks.com). He is the author of the Convivio Book of Days blog, which explores the quirkier side of seasonal traditions, encouraging us to live the ceremony of each day (www.conviviobookworks.com/blog).

Registration
Advance registration is required for all JCBA workshops. To register, email JCBA Director John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.

John Cutrone Shows Pages of a Book, created with heat and fire (Photo Courtesy of Rickie Leiter)

John Cutrone displays small books that have been removed from medication containers (Photo Courtesy of Candace Kahan)

John Cutrone Demonstrates Book Pages flapping – part of the story this book tells (Photo Courtesy Caren Hackman)

John Cutrone shows one end of symbol story book           

Arthur Jaffe holds end of symbol story book (Photos courtesy of Rickie Leiter)

John Cutrone shows postcard book, personalized by the artist. (Photo courtesy of Candace Kahan)

For more information about classes or tours, please contact:

John Cutrone, Director
JCBA: Jaffe Center for Book Arts
Florida Atlantic University Wimberly Library
777 Glades Road   Boca Raton, Florida 33431

www.jaffecollection.org     www.facebook.com/jaffecenterforbookarts
Instagram: @jaffecenterforbookarts

For coverage of your events, to place an advertisement, or speak to Rickie about appearing in The Rickie Report, contact:

Rickie Leiter, Publisher

Rickie@therickiereport.com   561-537-0291

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