Letterpress Junk Journals

Letterpress Junk Journals is a beginner-level workshop at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center focused on making a one-of-a-kind handmade book. Participants begin by printing custom covers on a letterpress, then build and embellish their journals with recycled, repurposed, and found materials such as patterned paper, sheet music, envelopes, brochures, maps, paper bags, and other ephemera.

The workshop encourages experimentation and personal expression. Students can incorporate their own decorative papers, prints, stamps, stickers, and other additions while learning book assembly and decoration techniques. No previous experience is required.

When: October 31 through November 7

Showtimes: Begins at 10:30 am on October 31 and ends at 2:30 pm on November 7

Venue: Pyramid Atlantic Art Center

Tickets: $232

Registration deadline: October 23, 2026

Level: Beginner; no prior experience is needed

Materials: Registration includes a $14 materials fee covering paper, inks, glue, thread, and access to a selection of bookbinding tools.

What to bring: Optional items include an apron or clothing suitable for getting inky, a sketchbook or notepad, preferred personal bookbinding tools, stamps, stickers, embellishments, and decorative papers or prints. Decorative papers brought for the class should be cut to 10 by 7.25 inches in advance. Extra aprons are available.

Instructor: Sarah Matthews

Instructor background: Matthews earned an MA in Art & the Book from the Corcoran College of Arts and Design in 2016, as well as an MBA with a marketing concentration and a BS in sociology from Bowie State University. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and is held in the permanent collections of Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, George Washington University’s Gelman Library, the University of Puget Sound, and Samford University. She is a full-time artist, teacher, and YouTuber known as SARAHBEME.