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Erin Cramer works in a variety of mediums including hand papermaking, bookbinding, textiles, and sculpture. Erin has exhibited nationally and internationally and has work in several public and private collections including The Flat Iron Press in New Orleans, The Kansas City Art Institute, and The Joan Flasch Collection at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Sherry Antonini is a multigenre artist and writer whose work is rooted in and driven by text-based forms. She has taught creative writing and interdisciplinary art workshops for several years, including seminars on essay writing, poetry, and the archetype of the witch in literature and other art forms. These courses have been offered at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and through her independent workshops.
Kit Montgomery is a cartoonist, printmaker, and bookmaker. They are teaching Unique Zines Sunday, October 11, 1:00-4:00PM, Intro to Textile Books Wednesdays October 14-November 18 6:30-9:30PM and Humor Comics November 21, 1:00-4:00PM.
Marnie Galloway is an Eisner nominated cartoonist who makes poetic comics about identity, motherhood, love, and rage. She is best known for her Xeric Award winning wordless graphic novel, In the Sounds and Seas. Her work has appeared in Best American Comics, The New York Times, PEN America, Cricket Magazine, Saveur Magazine, and MUTHA Magazine. Marnie lives in Chicago and teaches comics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Anna Wagner is an American/Brazilian artist and educator based in Chicago, IL. A dedicated craftsperson, Anna is invested in working with antiquated techniques to explore how marginalized histories resurface throughout time, ever-present and existing in the contemporary world as informed by the past.
Step into the intricate, shadow-filled worlds of Ken Gerleve, an artist whose work blends gothic storytelling, stagecraft, and the delicate art of paper cutting. Known for his evocative paper vignettes that evoke the magic of miniature theaters, Ken invites viewers to experience narrative through depth, shadow, and motion.
I've been a book artist and printmaker for almost 20 years, and reduction linoleum prints are still my favorite medium in the field! I use this process not only for one-off prints and handmade artist book editions, but also for my mass-market, traditionally published books.
Regin Igloria, multidisciplinary artist and educator, will be teaching multiple workshops for Artists Book House throughout Summer 2026. We asked him about his background, practice, and connection to ABH.
On 23 July, 2020, we visited Evanston-based artist Mardy Sears. She is a printmaker, ceramicist, and artist book maker.
It’s been a long, cold winter, but spring is finally here. We’ve been busy cooking up new ideas and new learning opportunities for the ABH community. We’re excited to welcome you back to 4207 W Irving Park Rd.
Our 2026 calendar is filling up. Keep an eye out for more information and links to register for the workshops, classes, and events listed below. We’ll also be announcing additional classes in the coming weeks.
Have you ever wanted to know how a hardcover book is constructed? Are you looking for the perfect sketchbook filled with your favorite paper? The Introduction to Bookbinding course will introduce students to bookbinding tools, materials, and terminology.
We are excited to announce that construction has begun on our roof, and will soon begin on our facade. If all goes well, work will be completed in mid-November. Because of this, ABH will be closed until early December. We will send an email out to everyone once work has been completed. Until then, check out our upcoming workshop, Paper Masks with Erin Cramer, which has been rescheduled for December 6th and 7th, 2025.
A Macabre Merriment Honoring the Edward Gorey’s Centennial and to benefit the building renovation of Artists Book House
Artists Book House (ABH), the literary and book arts nonprofit, will host a new feature on its website. ABH will be the new home of Goreyesque, an online literary journal featuring stories, poems, and artwork inspired by Edward Gorey. The journal, founded by ABH co-founder Ken Gerleve and Board member Todd Summar, is moving to ABH as part of a series of late 2025 celebrations and fundraising events honoring the work of Edward Gorey.
Artists Book House founder and former Board President, Audrey Niffenegger, will be exhibiting new work at Zolla Lieberman gallery from September 5 - October 11, 2025 with an opening reception on Friday, September 5th from 4 to 7pm.
Artists Book House Founder Audrey Niffenegger and Board President Ken Gerleve were recently featured in the Chicago Sun-Times!
Thank you to everyone who came to the March 29th poster sale and book signing with Amos Kennedy! It was a delight getting to host Amos and his work, and we are so excited that our first book sales and signing in our new building went so successfully.
We have also just been notified that we will receive a grant of $5,400 from the organization Pitch Your Peers Chicago.
We are pleased to announce that Artists Book House has been selected to receive a Community Development Grant from the City of Chicago in the amount of $249,032.03 for the renovation of the roof, facade, and back wall of our building.
Artists Book House Founder Audrey Niffenegger was invited on WGN Spotlight Chicago to talk all things book arts.
Artists Book House was recently featured in an article on Redfin on the Chicago Art Scene - read the entire article here.
Everyone has a tree story. Do you remember running to a tree for safe base in a childhood game of tag? Plucking ruby-red apples on a crisp fall day? A treehouse that felt larger than life, where secrets were whispered, and dreams took shape? Many of us recall climbing high into the branches, feeling the rough bark beneath our hands, the gentle sway. Trees stand as silent witnesses to our lives, marking the seasons of change and growth.
Many of us here at ABH draw great inspiration from the weird, wonderful work of Edward Gorey, born here in Chicago on Feb. 22, 1925.
Edward Gorey was a prolific writer, illustrator, set designer, and playwright, who is most known for the animated opening titles to the PBS Mystery! series, and creating dozens of small illustrated picture books – many decidedly not for children – including the Gashlycrumb Tinies.
I sometimes wish that Artists Book House was small and cuddly, with silky warm fur, twitching whiskers, and beseeching eyes, because if ABH was a cute little mammal we probably would have found a nice home for it much sooner. Since ABH happens to be a book and paper center, it took us a while to find a suitable location. After a couple false starts, we eventually Goldilocksed our way to something that is just right: 4207 West Irving Park Road, in Chicago.
I am delighted to report that Artists Book House has a new home: 4207 West Irving Park Road, in Chicago. This is a single-story, double storefront in the charming Old Irving Park neighborhood. It is near the Irving Park stops on the Blue Line and the Union Pacific Northwest Metra line. It’s just west of 90/94. It should be easy to visit us!
Welcome to our new website. Due to platform and support changes with our website provider, Squarespace, the need to create a new website that takes advantage of their new features and ongoing development has become a necessity. We are working diligently to migrate all of the content from our old website to our new online home, so some sections will not be immediately available. We hope to complete the migration by Monday, August 26th. If you have questions in the meantime, please email us at info@artistsbookhouse.org.
Take a little walk to the edge of town, and go across the tracks to where the Schnappviecher looms like a… well, like a Schnappviecher, and you’ll find cartoonist Marie Enger binding that prickling shiver up the back of your neck into the shape of ink on paper.
Deborah Siegel-Acevedo, ABH’s first Executive Director, will be shifting roles at the end of March, leaving her staff position to take a seat on ABH's Advisory Board. We are grateful for Deborah’s many innovations, for helping ABH to become more professional and for connecting us with so many wonderful opportunities and friends.
As I prepare myself, and ABH, for the transition from my current role as Executive Director to that of Advisory Board member, I think back on this Prologue year with fondness. I’ll continue to wholeheartedly cheer the organization on in this capacity, and I’ll be available to offer guidance and support whenever it is needed after this shift.
What if writing itself is a form of magic? What happens when we write from the part of ourselves that seeks to protect, heal, change, or call something into being? In this generative one -day workshop, participants will explore the tradition of spells, incantations, chants, blessings, curses, and charms as inspiration for creative writing.
Just in time for Halloween, you can attend this TWO-DAY papermaking workshop with Artist Erin Cramer, and learn how to make your very own cute — or scary — mask from natural plant fibers! Learn the basics of hand papermaking and create a unique mask to wear or use for decoration. No experience necessary. This class is for ages 11 to Adult. All materials are included.
When I tell people that I've been collecting paper models for almost 25 years, the first thing I'm asked is "What are paper models?" This workshop will not only enable you to answer that question, but you will also be able to proudly display a paper model that you built yourself.
Participants will learn the technique of pulp painting, creating imagery within sheets of handmade paper using plant pulp as a medium.
This class will focus on serendipity: finding things to write about and on. Picking up a piece of strangely shaped wood, really looking at it, being inspired by it, and then writing directly on it; taking an old photograph as a starting place for writing, either autobiographical or fictional, and then finding a way to integrate the writing into the photo; making a painting, writing text, and then integrating the text into the painting.
Learn the ins and outs of short-form comedy in comics! With this course, students will learn how to conceptualize, write, and make their own humor comic strips. The course will start with an introduction to the structure of short comedy, as well as an overview of humor and gag comics.
