Book artist Peter Thomas will talk about how he has used book structure and binding techniques to add depth of meaning to his artwork and enhance viewers’ understanding of it. Interweaving discussion about the history and future of book arts, he will also share how his work relates to the way concrete poets have utilized typography and visual elements on a page to further illustrate texts.

In partnership with the University of Iowa Center for the Book, this talk is part of programming for the current Main Library Gallery exhibition, A Roll of the Dice: Symbolism in the Sackner Archive, at the University of Iowa Libraries.

About the speaker:
Peter Thomas is a book artist from Santa Cruz, California. He works in collaboration with his wife Donna, writing, illustrating, printing and binding artists’ books. Peter makes paper for letterpress printing. His paper is used exclusively in their books. Their books combine the precision of the fine press aesthetic with the structural creativity found in contemporary artists’ books. They are authors of More Making Books by Hand and 1,000 Artists’ Books, and produced a documentary/educational video titled The Ergonomics of Hand Papermaking. From 2009-2019 they traveled the country as “Wandering Book Artists,” teaching papermaking, printing and binding classes, and giving talks about the history and future of the book as art. In 2021, The Legacy Press published Peter and Donna Thomas: Bibliography, 1974–2020.