Craft a New Year: Bookbinding Workshop w/ Mary Sullivan

Back by popular demand, the Tennessee State Museum’s “Craft a New Year: Learning Craft Workshop Series,” presented in Partnership with Tennessee Craft, returns in January 2023 with classes in Cherokee basket/mat weaving, book making, weaving and clay. For four Saturdays in January, we’ll offer introductory classes in accessible and tradition craft mediums taught by some of the top artists and teachers in their fields. Each class is a one-day, seven-hour course designed to get you started in a particular Tennessee craft tradition. Think of it as an opportunity to learn something new … by learning something traditional. All skill levels are welcome, but classes are designed for beginning adults with little or no experience.

In this workshop, students will learn how to make the Standard Diary: a pocket-sized notebook used by the American working class during the turn of the 20th century. This popular portable stationery binding often featured a cloth or leather cover with a tucking enclosure, a pencil holder, an almanac, a pocket, and a calendar. These journals encouraged brief daily reflections and the collection of information such as addresses, phone numbers, tracking correspondences, cash receipts, and more. As a precursor to the modern day smartphone, this book was an ephemeral catch-all for every aspect of daily life for a full calendar year.

Mary Louise Sullivan is a bookbinder and printmaker who owns and operates Crowing Hens Bindery in Nashville, Tennessee. After earning a BA in Fine Art at Maryville College, Sullivan joined the ranks at Hatch Show Print as a designer and letterpress printer. There she was introduced to bookbinding, which led to her pursuing an MFA in Book Arts at the University of Iowa Center for the Book in Iowa City. She studied papermaking, fine press printing, bookbinding, and calligraphy. Afterwards, Sullivan moved back to her hometown of Nashville and founded Crowing Hens Bindery in 2014. She specializes in high-quality, hand-made stationery goods such as traditional stationery bookbinding, letterpress printed stationery, book jewelry, and decorative papers.