Can a book be an artwork? Explore the playful and ingenious world of artists’ books at this Free First Saturday, celebrating the Walker’s Rosemary Furtak Artist Book Collection. Learn about bookmaking techniques with teaching artists from the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, join the Hosmer Library Teen Tech Squad to create your own zine, and enjoy a visit to the Walker Art Center Library to discover a new side of books.
Activities are subject to change or cancellation. Please check back for updates, details, and COVID-19 guidelines as the program approaches.
Free First Saturday also features free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month. Gallery admission tickets are available on-site on the event day from the Main Lobby desk; quantities are limited.
Activity Information
Art-making Activity: Make a Letterpress Print
Try your hand at letterpress printing with artist Kerri Sandve and Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). After creating a print, take a look at MCBA’s wood type collection and arrange type into words and short phrases. Don’t forget to return at the end of your visit to pick up your print!
Art-making Demonstration: Paper Marbling Magic
Experience the magic of marbling firsthand with artist Michelle Blodgett and Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Paper marbling involves making intricate and colorful patterns with paint on the surface of a vat of carrageen, which is water thickened with a seaweed additive. Like magic, these patterns are then transferred to paper. Watch as the artist creates marbled paper, then explore further resources on the process of paper marbling.
Art-making Activity: Zine Squad
Join forces with Hosmer Library’s Teen Tech Squad to self-publish your own zines and artist books.
Visit the Walker Art Center Library
The Walker’s library is open! Browse our art book “petting zoo” and meet artfully designed books. Enter the library through the Art Lab, on the lower level.
Watch a Short Film
Stop by the Bentson Mediatheque in the Main Lobby to watch Beyond the Book, a short film exploring the world of a vast and wonderful library. The film will loop throughout the day. Capacity is limited to 10 people at a time. This is a relaxed screening appropriate for all ages.
Bios
Kerri Sandve (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and writer from St. Paul, working under the imprint Carbon Copy Co. Press. She creates zines, screenprints, sculptural paper works, and collages. Her work centers on memory, personal archive, and human-landscape relationships. These often highlight connections to the land and to each other, loss, and the nonlinearity of time. Her work resides in collections across the United States, including the Walker Art Center and the Newberry Library. Sandve holds a BFA in print, paper, and book arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Michelle Blodgett (she/her) has been teaching and creating experiences for more than 20 years. An Iowa native, Blodgett received her BA in arts management with a minor in education from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA, and her MA in human development with a focus on creativity from Saint Mary’s University. She has developed programs and exhibits, and taught at Witter Art Gallery at Buena Vista University, the former College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Hawaii Children’s Discovery Museum, and the Minnesota Children’s Museum. She enjoys sharing her passion for paper marbling and has been marbling since 2015.
Minnesota Center for Book Arts is a nonprofit visual arts center that celebrates the book as a dynamic contemporary art form that takes many shapes. The organization’s mission is to ignite artistic practice, inspire learning, and foster diverse creative communities through the book arts. They do this by creating access to specialized book arts tools, equipment, and knowledge; supporting interdisciplinary artistic development; expanding opportunities for people who have been historically underrepresented in the field; and presenting exhibitions and educational programs that create connections around the art of the book, promote innovation, and advance the future of the field.
Teen Tech Squad is a teen-led, youth activity program through Hennepin County Library. During weekly workshops, the Teen Tech Squads lead activities for youth, which are grounded in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Hosmer, Franklin, North Regional, Brookdale, Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center, and Minneapolis Central Libraries all have Teen Tech Squads that employ high school juniors and seniors for up to two years to express themselves creatively, learn hands on youth work skills, and build valuable job experience. Depending on location, youth ages 8–18 may participate. Check with each branch for more information.
Accessibility
The film will be captioned.
For visitors who need to plan accessible transportation to the Walker, please email access@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7564 to inquire about reserving timed admission.
To request accommodations for this program or more information about accessibility, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
Attendance Requirements
Masks are strongly encouraged inside the museum for all visitors ages 2 and older regardless of vaccination status. On Free First Saturdays and Sensory Friendly Sundays, we require visitors ages 2 and older to wear face masks inside the building to support the safety and comfort of families and attendees.
If you have questions or require additional assistance, please email orders@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7600.
