Staff photo of Jen Thomas

Hello! I’m Jen Thomas, the new Book Arts Studio Coordinator within Rare Books and Special Collections here at Boatwright Memorial Library. I’d like to introduce myself and tell you about the Book Arts Studio and the work I’ll be doing here in the library and beyond.

I completed my BFA in Communication Arts with a minor in Painting and Printmaking just down the road at VCU, then packed up and moved to Chicago to earn an MFA in Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago. While working on my MFA, I interned at Landfall Press, assisting with printing and fine finishing work for artists as varied as Lesley Dill, Robert Cottingham, Ed Paschke, and Ellen Lanyon. It was a transformative experience that then shaped the process and scope of my own work. After completing my MFA, I worked as a commercial letterpress printer and binder, crafting wedding invitations, business branding, photo albums, and unique portfolio books for professional photographers, while also working as a graphic designer.

I began teaching community-level book arts workshops and after school arts programming, which soon grew into a full-time gig. I spent the next eight years teaching graphic design and book arts at Columbia College Chicago, the American Academy of Art, DePaul University, and the Chicago High School for the Arts. I soon realized there were few outlets in Chicago for folks in the community to learn about book arts, so in 2012, I founded werkspace, a gallery and workshop space on the edge of Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Our mission was to create exhibition opportunities for artists who functioned outside of traditional gallery models (artists working with books, paper, and non-traditional materials!) and offer book arts-focused workshops for the greater Chicago community.

After four years of showcasing emerging artists and sharing book arts with Chicagoans of all ages, I knew it was time to return to Richmond to grow the Book Arts Studio at UR in a similar way. I am currently working with generous donors such as Shiu-Min Block and the family of David M. Clinger to put all of our bookbinding and letterpress equipment into use. Over the past 6 months I have been able to work with the CCE staff, American Studies, History, Museum Studies, FYS, and Armstrong High School students on book arts projects, in addition to creating pop-up maker events in the library. Exciting things are happening up there on the fourth floor of Boatwright, so keep your eye on the blog for program updates!