A free workshop for aspiring writers – and book-binders – begins with the New Year.
Write Your Story, Create Your Book workshops start Jan. 5. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Homewood branch, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood
“Write Your Story, Create Your Book” is an eight-session class at the Carnegie Library’s Homewood branch. The workshop is taught by Sandra Gould Ford, an experienced artist, educator and published author.
“I especially love helping people who really have stories that they want to tell and just need to know how to do it,” she said.
The class is open to anyone age 18 and older. It runs for two hours every other Saturday afternoon at the library starting Jan. 5.
“In these eight workshops we’ll look at how to develop setting, how to develop characters that engage readers, how to write scenes that are active, again that engage readers,” said Ford. “Then at the end we’ll actually make books, handmade beautiful work of art books for these stories.”
The stories can be true-to-life, fiction, poetry, or anything a participant wants. The book-making can be as simple as stapling together sheets of copy paper, or as complicated as hand-stitching books in unusual shapes or made of unusual materials.
Ford’s artistic and teaching career is varied. The native of Braddock founded a creative-writing program at the Allegheny County Jail, published the literary magazine “Shooting Star Review,” and in 2000 (as Sandra Lee Gould), published the novel “Faraday’s Popcorn Factory.”
She’s also a visual artist who in 2017 collaborated with MacArthur “genius-grant” winner LaToya Ruby Frazier on “On the Making of Steel Genesis: Sandra Gould Ford." (A version of the show highlighting Ford’s work is now at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.)
Ford taught a prior version of the class this past fall at the Hill District branch of the Carnegie Libray.
The new workshop, for up to 24 students, is funded by a grant from Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Heinz Endowments.
Pre-registration is required. More information is here.
