Papermaking

Make your own sheet of paper from pure cotton. Cotton is the most durable paper due to the high amount of cellulose in the fibre and is used by many artists.

Everyone goes home with one sheet of handmade paper, decorated or not with a few flower petals. Although the sheet is still wet, it is given along in a cover.

Paper scooping was done until about 1720, from then on a rotary sieve was used. All steps, from making pulp, shovelling, carriage of paper, pressing, drying to satinising the paper can be found in a huge paper machine. Because all these steps reflect characteristics in the paper, the knowledge and craft is very important.

De Papierschepperij in Bruges has more than 23 years of experience in giving demonstrations and workshops for adults and children, both in the Papierschepperij itself and on location.

Recently, we have noticed an increased interest in handmade paper. Is it a bit of a countercurrent to the many and swift streams of communication we experience today?

Piet Moerman was born and educated in graphic arts. During his graduate studies, he was already given a lab about paper and a lab about ink. During a weekend, with the family, to the book village of Redu, he saw a paper cutter (Colpin) at work. That got stuck in his head and one thing led to another. In the “museum für papier und drück” in Basel he ordered the first professional scooping frames. In 1999, a building in the centre of Bruges was purchased to be used exclusively as a paper-making shop. Currently, the papierscheppery has an exclusive collection of handmade greeting cards printed with designs by renowned Bruges calligraphers.

By Booktopia (the current book fair in Flanders), the papermaking shop is asked for continuous demonstrations.

Book binding

Make a medieval long stitch binding.

Welcome to the wonderful world of book binding. In this workshop you will make a medieval long stitch binding. We start with a step-by-step demonstration. You then get to work, preparing the sections of the book, preparing the cover for sewing and finally sewing the book. The finished booklet is then ready to take home.

This workshop is made possible by CVO GENT.

CVO GHENT CHERISHES ITS CRAFT HERITAGE
Crafts contribute to the cultural identity and diversity of our society. They reflect the traditions, values and history of our community. That is why we at CVO GENT believe it is important to keep our cultural heritage alive and to pass it on to this and future generations.

We offer 6 crafts; Hand weaving, book binding, lace making, furniture upholstery, ornamental forging and sewing.

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BOOK BINDING
Immerse yourself and stimulate your senses throughout the entire process; prick up your ears as you rustle through your book, enjoy the smell of the paper, run your fingers over the cover, and feast your eyes on all that beauty.

During this course from CVO GENT you will learn everything about age-old, traditional and more contemporary bookbinding techniques, and it focuses on both general basic and refined finishing techniques. With all this acquired knowledge, you will be binding your own unique books in no time.

Greet, Mariella and Dries are the teachers in the professional training for manual bookbinding at CVO GENT.

Ebru: paper marbling

Ebru is an ancient painting technique that has been around for many centuries. With this technique we paint on water.

Marbling is done using a wet base layer on which the artist applies patterns. These patterns are obtained by allowing colors to float on the surface of water, after which the colors are transferred to a sheet of paper (or textile).

This type of ornament has been used over the centuries to decorate all kinds of surfaces. It is often used as a medium for writing official texts or in calligraphy, for posters and for endpapers. Each creation has a different pattern, which gives a unique character to the object.

Participants go home with the marbled paper they made themselves.

Demet Unlu Ancion was born in Ankara in 1971. In 1987 she studied art history and archeology at Ankara University. During her art studies, she took part in drawing workshops. She started practicing Ebru art in the studio of Esengul Inalpulat in Ankara.

Print your own name card

In a time not so long ago, typesetting was a real art. The letters of a text were set manually, one by one, and later with special machines. After setting, ink was put on the letters and the letters were placed in a printing press. This is how a printed text was created.

With these workshops we give everyone the opportunity to experience for themselves how the craft of typesetting was carried out and what steps were needed to achieve a result. Maarten Renckens, Stoffel Van den Bergh, Sus Pulmans, and Patrick Goossens all have an affinity with letterpress. Each in their own way they keep the craft alive. Stoffel has its own printing studio, and Maarten and Patrick conduct historical research into the techniques of this craft. Together they received a grant as Linotype technicians from Flanders two years ago, in order to preserve the knowledge that is in danger of being lost.

Calligraffiti

Artists Lindsay van Vliet and Daan Wille have united as team Blazin. Both have mastered the skill of calligraffiti, a fusion of calligraphy and graffiti.

With well-known graffiti artist Shoe as a source of inspiration, Lindsay too has become an all-rounder in teaching workshops, ranging from Stencil like Banksy, Doodle like Keith Haring and of course calligraffiti. She also regularly makes murals together with Daan.

In this workshop you will watch Blazin at work up close and, with her help, create your own work of art with your name on it.

We first offered this workshop in 2015, in collaboration with the Street Art Museum Amsterdam. Daan also gave workshops during Craft in Focus New York in 2017 and 2019. This year due to success also in Brussels, with Lindsay!