Concertina Book
Create a beautiful folded concertina book that brings together calligraphy, collage, photographs and expressive mark-making.
Across five sessions, you’ll build your book from scratch, develop layered pages around a theme or story, and gradually bring all the elements together into a finished piece that feels personal to you.
5 recorded sessions · Worksheets included ·
£20 One-off purchase · No subscription
What You'll Learn
Across the five sessions, we’ll take a long piece of text from a print out, through to a finished piece of calligraphy.
Worksheets are included to use alongside the sessions.
One payment gives you access to all five recorded sessions and the accompanying worksheets. You'll be asked to create a free website account so Wix can give you access to your videos, but this is not a recurring subscription.
Constructing the Concertina Base
Create your folded concertina structure with deckled edges and begin thinking about a theme or direction for your book.
1
Mark Making & Background Layers
Build up expressive backgrounds using colour, mixed media and simple mark-making techniques.
2
Photographs & Ephemera
Add photographs and collected paper pieces such as maps, tickets, book pages and labels to bring story, memory and interest to your pages.
3
Calligraphy & Lettering
Introduce calligraphy and hand-drawn lettering, exploring ways for your words to interact with the imagery and layers beneath.
4
Bringing It All Together
Refine your pages, add covers and finishing touches, and bring all the different elements together into your finished concertina book.
5
What You'll Need
Paper & Book Structure
Khadi paper or watercolour paper (around 210gsm is ideal) · Tape for joining pages, or a pre-made zigzag book · Ruler · Bone folder or the back of a spoon · Cutting mat or safe surface for tearing and folding
Khadi paper is available from www.khadi.com
Decoration & Backgrounds
India ink, Sumi ink, walnut ink or acrylic ink · Watercolours or gouache · Ephemera, such as book pages, tickets, labels, paper scraps and postage stamps · Glue stick or matte gel medium · Old credit card, palette knife or sponge for mark-making · Masking tape or washi tape · Pressed leaves
Lettering & Calligraphy
Pointed nib and ink or brush pens · Pencil and rubber · Fineliners
Optional Extras
Gold ink, gold leaf or gel pens · Stamps · Old photographs · String or ribbon to tie the book closed
Worksheets included
Once you’ve purchased the project, we’ll email you the accompanying worksheets, with session-by-session materials and guidance to follow alongside the recordings.
Ready to Start?
Get all five Longer Layouts sessions and accompanying worksheets for £20 and work through the project in your own time.
£20 · One-off payment · No subscription
A quick note about access
The button to purchase says “Subscribe”, but don’t worry, this is a one-off £20 purchase, not a subscription.
You need to create a free website account for you to access your videos whenever you’d like.
There are no recurring payments, and you won’t be joining The Calligraphy Club.
A Little Taste of The Club
Concertina Folded Book Project was created and taught live inside The Modern Calligraphy Club.
These are the original Club recordings, so you may occasionally hear members asking questions, sharing ideas or joining the conversation! Think of it as a little glimpse of what it’s like to learn with us live.
If you’d like to join us for new projects, live sessions, feedback and a creative community to share your work with, discover more about the Club.
Or, if you'd rather keep dipping in and choosing individual projects, we are adding more regularly.