The Bee’s Knees: Book Art Centers

Hello, and welcome to the Bee’s Knees, the weekly column focusing on some of the many creative ways words and pictures can be combined! Imagine a world where even the dullest of textbooks are fascinating, where Kindles and Nooks are obsolete because paper books actually offered something that nothing else could. That world exists, and it can be visited by us humble mortals!

Book arts are exactly what they sound like: an eye-catching combination of books and art. Book art centers are places where you can surround yourself with some of the world’s most creatively put together books. I recently had the privilege of visiting one of these wondrous places myself, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis. The center is downtown, adjoining a coffee shop and just down the street from a comic book store.

The whole center is overflowing with book art inspiration, whether in binding, lettering, or the pages themselves. Some are meant to be read, some to be played with, and others to look at and marvel. Who puts these together? Anyone. Anyone at all. And in book art centers, everyone else can enjoy them in person. Where can such centers be found? There are several spread out across the United States, including centers in Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Texas. Also, select libraries and bookstores occasionally put out temporary displays for book arts, but the centers are the best place to go for those looking  to experience the full effect! You’ll find nothing short of a world of the most creative books you’ve ever seen.

And that’s the Bee’s Knees for this week! Please join me next Friday for another look at the ways people blend words and pictures to create all-new forms of art. In the meantime, feel free to tell me if there’s something you know of I should write about. I love finding out about new things!