As part of the Jouez project on BIG on Bloor Festival, esteemed artist Andy Fabo will be hosting a FREE workshop called Dreambooks.

Participants in this project will create an artistic bookwork by using one of the simplest and oldest of formats, the accordion book.

Once the book is made, the participants will use the Surrealist technique of automatism to create the images or abstractions on the pages of the book. They will be instructed to relax, clear their minds and create a series of images from their intuitive minds, basically drawing in a wakeful dream state, trying to avoid any self-censorship or overt pre-planning. This was a technique the Surrealists developed in both visual art and literature for drawing from subconscious or unconscious mind to create artistic works. It is also known as stream of consciousness.

Participants would select the size of the book from pre-cut cardboard covers, fold pre-cut paper strips and glue the covers to the opposite ends of the folded paper, a format used most often in Asian bookmaking. Crayons, sharpies, ink pens and watercolours will be provided for the participants, creating their books which they will take away with them as souvenirs of their foray into Surrealist bookmaking. They will learn trust their unbridled imaginations rather than clinging to rigid pre-planned art making.

The motto of our project: “Spontaneity over predetermination!”