Greensboro Book Arts Residency

I am Richard Creighton, and I am a bookbinder, printmaker, and graphic artist. Having spent most of my professional career in the Graphic Arts field (print and web design, freelancing, etc), I made the shift to more traditional practices in 2011 when I took a job with a custom bookbindery in the Washington DC area, after a brief stint in Graduate School.
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After spending nearly 6 years learning the intricacies of traditional bookbinding, conservation, and restoration--and having the honor of producing books for the likes of Supreme Court Justices, the White House, several Embassies, and historical landmarks such as Monticello, my wife and I moved to Greensboro, North Carolina to be closer to our grandchildren.

The arts community in Greensboro--although not as well-known as the arts scenes in Asheville or Raleigh--is astoundly vibrant and enthusiastic. And artists here--in testament to the stereotype of "southern charm," are warm, welcoming, enthusiastic, and inclusive--something that I found was difficult to find in the DC area.

While visiting the local GreenHill Center for NC Arts "Art Quest" program with our granddaughter one day, I was speaking with the Director of Education and she suggested I apply for a "Pop-Up Residency"--a 10-day intensive program where artists receive a modest stipend of $200 for materials, and given free reign to pursue their craft.

Residents are also expected to interface with the public--adults and children alike (as a large part of GreenHill's offerings are programs for children).

Being the eternal optimist, I applied--and received the first Residency of 2017 (they have been running this program since 2015). Needless to say, I was thrilled with  the prospect--the exposure, spreading my love of the book arts to adults and children, and networking with other local artists-- it all presented such a great opportunity!

But as any artist knows, making art--and especially TEACHING art--requires materials, tools, and research. Luckily, this residency is in the town where I live--and the studio where I will be working is only a few miles from my home, so I don't need to worry about travel or living expenses like many other people who are awarded residencies in far-flung locations.

But in order to fulfill my vision of a small edition of an Artist's Book focusing on the Moon (entitled "LUNA") as a theme (her imagery, mythology, science, and mystique), I could use some help funding the more exotic materials and some new bookbinding tools to make the job easier, and to show people how interesting and innovative the Book Arts can be.

This book will be bound in leather, with inlays of glass, leather, and Swarovski crystals. The pages will be unique, hand-painted prints on archival Zerkall Frankfurt printmakers paper, featuring "asemic" writing, and will be drum-leaf bound. All materials and media used in this book will be archival quality, from the glue to the hand-mixed watercolors. This piece will have a finished size of 11x7" (opening to 11x14"), and will be limited to an edition of 3 signed and numbered books.

As is the case for much of my art, the idea for this book came to me in a dream--fully-formed. And now, I am faced with the task of bringing it into physical reality--in only 10 days on modest stipend. I want to make this book as spectatular in real life as it was in my dream--and to do so I'm going to need help.

The Book Arts are a strange world--drawing from and bridging Craft and Fine Art, but often claimed by neither. This Residency has given me the opportunity to be an Emissary of the Book Arts to the Western North Carolina arts community, and I want to produce work that represents what Book Arts can really be.

Any size donation will be appreciated, and to sweeten the deal, I will show my appreciation for your patronage with the following rewards:

$10 - Post Card featuring art from my book, "LUNA"
$25 - 5x7" Signed Print of art from my book, "LUNA"
$50 - 8x10" Signed Print
$100 - Full Size  11x14" signed and numbered print
$500 - signed and numbered copy of my book, "LUNA" (only one, first-come first served)

I have also set up a blog called "Ten Days Under the Moon" , to be a daily chronicle of the progress of this project. Please visit daily, starting on 22 February, and watch as this wonderful book emerges from stacks of paper, pots of glue and tubes of paint.

Thank you for your help and for your generous patronage of the Book Arts.