COMMUNITY BINDING is a shared endeavor that brings people together in a comfortable, welcoming setting where craft and social interaction are combined. Participants gain experience and knowledge in hand bookbinding techniques during a 1-2 hour workshop. Using non-adhesive stitching methods, techniques are introduced in three basic steps, folding signatures, making covers, and stitching the parts together.

Both traditional and non-traditional modes of production will be shared, and participants will come away with 3-4 handbound books, from zines to pamphlet variations. All materials and tools are provided.

Regin Igloria was Born 1974 in Manila, Philippines and currently lives and works in and around Chicago. He is a multidisciplinary artist and educator. His drawings, artists’ books, sculptures, and performances portray the human condition as it relates to the natural environment and inhabited spaces. He founded North Branch Projects, an organization that builds connections through book arts. He works with various communities to create crossover between disparate populations and cultures, aiming to broaden the roles of both artists and non-artists. Igloria has taught at places such as Marwen, RISD, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Snow City Arts, and Carthage College. He received a 3Arts Individual Artist Award as well as local, national, and international grants, support through artist residencies, and has exhibited internationally. He received his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design.

The title Seven Skins is derived from the theory that all the cells in a human body get replaced over seven years. Some take this to mean an individual becomes a new person every seven years. Igloria employs this framework in his exhibition, having gone through seven skins at forty-nine years of age. This show serves as a mid-life re-evaluation, reflecting on past interests, identities, and fascinations while determining the emergence of themes and preoccupations that remain prevalent in his work. Through the lens of dry absurdity, Igloria explores diverse topics such as survival, competition, and the Western iconography of the outdoorsman.

Seven has become a fitting categorical number to Igloria, the last of five children and the seventh member of his family. The cornerstone of the exhibition is seven wall-hanging pieces, each with accompanying artist books. While the wall works are scaled thoughtfully, no larger than his human body, the book counterparts, set in the midst of the lager wall works allow for a more intimate reading. In tandem these twin works create a literal figure-ground relationship for the viewer.

This project is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

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Tags: Columbia College Chicago, Community Binding Workshop 1, Glass Curtain Gallery, Loop, Regin Igloria, Regin Igloria: Seven Skins: Community Binding Workshop 1, Seven Skins