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An Arts-Integrated Program Spotlight: Bookbinding with Laura Chenault


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Looking for a creative way to connect art and literacy?


Our Bookbinding workshop engages students in the hands-on process of designing and constructing their own books.


Led by Teaching Artist Laura Chenault, this hands-on workshop introduces students to the art and craft of handmade books. Participants begin with simple folded or pamphlet-bound books and can progress to more advanced techniques like Coptic or hardcover bindings. Along the way, they learn how structure, design, and storytelling come together in a single creative process.


Workshops can be tailored for all grade levels, from Pre-K through Grade 12, and are ideal for integrating the arts into English Language Arts instruction. Younger students collaborate to create colorful, expressive pieces, while older students are encouraged to refine their designs and explore more complex book forms.


Popular single-session options include:

• 8-page books • Turkish map folds • Flexigons (magic wallets) • Pamphlet bindings

• Accordion books


Multiple-session options include:

• Coptic binding • Hardcover binding • Tunnel books • Jacob’s ladder



Each session is approximately 40 minutes for a class size of 20-30 students. Bookbinding not only strengthens creative thinking and fine motor skills but also reinforces literacy connections - making it a perfect addition to your classroom curriculum.


Curriculum Standards Supported

  • Visual Arts - Creating: Anchor Standard 1 Va:Cr1.1PK - Va:Cr1.1HSIII

  • English Language Arts - Reading: Anchor Standard 7 PKR - HSIII


Meet the Teaching Artist


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Creating art from a queer, feminist, and post-modernist perspective, Laura Chenault’s concept and content works hand-in-hand with presentation and display. Every project considers medium, scale, and delivery. Her process begins in extensive journals filled with notes, scribbles, ramblings, and inspiration. Form and function are the foundation of her initial image making. With time and perseverance, ideas take fruition. She has a BFA in photography from the University of Illinois. The disciplines she works in are photography, collage, book arts, installation art, performance, printmaking, and film making. Her love of alternative processes spans decades after being exposed to them by Bea Nettles and Barbara DeGenevieve as an undergrad. In addition to making art, Laura is passionate about building communities, sharing skills, mentoring, and teaching.mentoring, and teaching.


 
 
 

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