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BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH LYNN SURES

 In November 2025, we were pleased to bring book and paper artist Lynn Sures to the KBAC through WMU‘s Visiting Artists and Scholars Program. During her visit, Lynn attended the opening reception for Lynn Sures: Glancing at the Unseen in the KBAC Gallery (https://kalbookarts.org/events/lynn-sures/), presented an open-to-the-public lecture at WMU’s Richmond Center for Visual Arts, and interacted with WMU students at a workshop on campus. At the end of January 2026, we had the joy of having Lynn back to work in our studio, this time as an Artist-in-Residence, thanks to an NEA Arts Project grant, to design and print pages on our press for her current artist’s book. 

Creating a book like this is a long process. Lynn’s ongoing research allows her access to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History’s collection of prehistoric human fossils, artifacts, and data, as well as a brilliant core group of scientists at the museum’s Human Origins program. Her inspiration begins with extended research in the museum. Lynn requests fossils of prehistoric individuals that interest her and assembles compositions before creating large, beautifully detailed drawings in colored pencil on handmade paper. Sometimes her projects take months, as she researches the stories connected with the objects she draws.

2024.2 Guattari 1, Circeo
2024
Colored pencil drawing on artist-made abaca paper
18 x 12 inches/46 x 30.5 cm
© Lynn Sures

For her new project, before traveling to Kalamazoo, Lynn created handmade paper in her studio for the pages. Beating pulp from flax and abaca pigmented fibers, she pulled enough good sheets of paper for test and final perfect prints. Her drawings will provide the critical basis for linocut relief prints that will fill the pages of her book, but these prints will come later. After conducting research, Lynn carefully wrote text to introduce readers to the backstories of these individual early humans at various stages of development, hidden in these fossils. One fossil for example is the skull of a 95,000-year-old female found in the Middle East, buried with her community. Another fossil was found in a cave near Rome, the victim of a pack of hyenas. Once the everything was written, edited, and the layout determined, the text was made into polymer plates that could be printed in relief on our Vandercook press. Lynn spent the first week in our studio determining the design of the pages, carefully mixing the letterpress inks to colors that complement the tinted handmade paper and linocuts, and printing the text for each of the 12 pages (including the front and back covers) in an edition of 10 copies. During the second week she worked on the drawings for the linocut prints that will surround the carefully placed text. When Lynn returns to her studio she will carve the linoleum plates for her prints, a slow and careful process. All the pages will contain hand-printed images. 

A lengthy and involved process every step of the way, Lynn is optimistic that this book will be completed in 2026. We are excited to see the final project and will be sure to post updates!

Find out more about Lynn Sures at  https://lynnsures.com


Our Love of Books and Broadsides

The Editions arm of our organization has become integral to who we are and what we do. With help from NEA grants, we have been able to produce limited-edition fine print books and broadsides for our Poets in Print reading series each year since 2008! We have been privileged to work with prestigious writers and poets such as Diane Seuss, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and Kaveh Akbar. We first worked with Kaveh in 2017 after the release of his debut full-length collection, Calling a Wolf a Wolf. Since that time, Kaveh has been a New York Times best-seller, a 2024 National Book Award Finalist, and the recipient of numerous awards. We were thrilled to work with Kaveh again this spring to produce his long poem, The Palace, and have him join us for the April Poets in Print reading.

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Aimee Lee visits the KBAC

The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center had the privilege of hosting Aimee Lee as a visiting Artist-in-Residence between October 17 and November 2. This was made possible by an NEA grant we received this summer and further supported by a grant from the WMU Visiting Scholars and Artists and Program.

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Synchronicity

Synchronicity is an exhibition curated by the Pen Dragons Calligraphy Guild for the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. Several of its members have taught or are currently teaching workshops for the KBAC, including calligraphic techniques, paper marbling, collage, paper folding, and more! The guild asked its members to submit two or more works for the exhibition, with one being a response, or somehow related to the other. This might include multiple approaches to a similar idea (whether a specific quote or theme such as water or nature) with new eyes and perspectives, or contrasting pieces linked by a common thread of subject or meaning. Calligraphers love to play, and the result is an exhibition featuring diversity in media, technique, and subject matter, ranging from whimsical to meditative or somber, integrating book arts with traditional and contemporary calligraphy.

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We Are a Community!

Like most non-profits, the KBAC is an organization with a passion; we exist for the sheer love of book and paper arts. Our studios are structured around traditional bookbinding, papermaking, and printing, and our gallery features artists exploring these creative disciplines. Our Poets in Print series provides a platform for poets through readings and limited-edition books and broadsides, all printed and bound in-house.

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