Origami Books – New England Book Artists

Book Arts Workshop with Susan Porter – August 21, 2020

Suzon Fuks’ Refuge, 2017, a brilliant artist’s book inspired the book workshop. Her artist’s book resulted from her profound feelings of anger and sadness after listening to the stories of refugees, as well as from her frequent visits to the Brisbane Detention Center, Australia. Fuks’ daily practice of spiral writing along with other journal notes, informed her piece. She folded rose-colored striated papers and black ones into two different origami folds and used her own personal bookbinding technique to create a truly breath-taking piece.

In hopes of being able to learn the folds, Marie Canaves posted pictures of Refuge on NEBA’s Facebook page and asked if there were any members who were familiar with the technique. It wasn’t long before super-talented book artist, Susan Porter, came to the rescue. She’d used the same origami techniques in many of her own pieces and generously volunteered to share her know-how.

A few weeks later, on a picture-perfect August day, after an al fresco lunch, Susan, armed with a variety of materials and years of knowledge, proceeded to show Cristina Hajosy and Marie, how to make the specific folds in question. As Susan pointed out, these versatile folds can be used in a multitude of ways, and Cristina and Marie were able to make several maquettes for future reference.

The small group had a terrific afternoon, particularly since it was the first time since the pandemic began that the three were able to interact – socially distant but thankfully, in person – and that, made all the difference. A few days later, a mysterious package came in the mail. It was a gift, a beautiful accordion book by Susan herself, with her vibrant colors and buoyant, bold patters on glorious display. Wow!