Stockton Springs Community Library (SSCL) will present a special Holiday Art in the Stacks exhibition featuring altered books by Stockton Springs artist and entrepreneur Chelsea Porter from Monday, November 29th until Thursday, December 23rd.
Porter’s business, Binders Keepers, features books cut and folded into intricate designs. She started using this art form in 2017 when she learned the basic technique from her mother and aunt. Each book is measured, marked, and then folded page by page to make the design. Porter is able to create nearly any design imaginable and is able to personalize the artwork by folding in names or special dates.
Crafting an image or word into the book can take between four and twenty hours to complete. Porter acknowledges that it is time consuming yet therapeutic. Though each design varies, each requires a hardcover book with a minimum of 500 pages. She mainly uses books that are poised to be thrown away.
Porter markets her work through an Etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/BindersKeepersArt
Despite the pandemic, Porter has seen her online sales increase, and since joining the platform in 2017 she has shipped her creations to customers in 43 states.
Holiday Art in the Stacks will be open for viewing during library hours: Monday 3 – 5 pm, Tuesday 4 – 7 pm, Wednesday 3 – 5 pm, Thursday 9 am – Noon and 6:30 – 8:30 pm, and Saturday 9 am – 3 pm.
Sale of Porter’s work will benefit the library and the artist.
SSCL is an all volunteer library located in the heart of Stockton Springs. For more information visit www.stocktonspringslibrary.org or phone 207-567-4147.