Silver Eye

Have you ever wanted to make a photobook but didn't know where to start? Join artist Brent Nakamoto of Almost Perfect Press for a hands-on workshop that guides participants through creating a photobook from concept to completion, leaving with a designed and handbound chapbook.

Together, we will explore how photographs, text, found images, and ephemera can be sequenced and combined to tell stories, document experiences, share information, and create new meaning. Inspired by the ethos of Almost Perfect Press, the workshop emphasizes affordability, experimentation, and learning by doing. Participants will create simple chapbooks that require no specialized equipment or expensive printing. Rather than striving for perfection, the focus is on making a finished book and using the process as an opportunity to play, experiment, and move ideas forward.

In the first session, participants will look at examples of artist books and chapbooks, share their materials and ideas, and begin organizing content and designing layouts. Time will be devoted to individual feedback and technical support with scanning and printing materials. Between sessions, participants will finalize designs and print their books. In the second session, participants will learn to hand-bind their books, share their completed projects, and discuss the process together.

Participants should bring a concept and/or materials to work with, including photographs, writing, found images, or ephemera. Materials may be digital or physical, personal or found. Access to a scanner and a laser printer will be available for digitizing materials at the Lab @ Silver Eye.

Image credit: Brent Nakamoto’s photobook The Thirty-Two Physical Characteristics of the Buddah at the Helsinki Analog Festival, Finnish Darkroom Association, Helsinki, Finland. Courtesy of the artist

Skill/Experience Level

No bookbinding experience is necessary. Basic familiarity with design software (such as Adobe or Affinity) and printing is helpful but not required. Open to anyone interested in making books, especially those who think they can't!

Schedule

Saturday, August 8, 2026, 11:00am–2:00pm
The Lab @ Silver Eye

Participants will be introduced to various artist books, utilizing photography and text in a variety of ways, and will be introduced to the form of chapbook that we will be making. Participants will share their materials and/or concepts with the class, and then will start organizing materials and designing a digital layout of the book. Brent will teach them how to use the digital software and will meet individually with each participant to help them with their projects.

Saturday, August 15, 2026, 11:00am–2:00pm
The Lab @ Silver Eye

Participants will come prepared with their printed sheets and we will bind our books together. After cleaning up, we will present our books to each other and discuss.

Register

The two-day workshop registration and materials fee is $150.00. Register below by 5pm on Monday, August 3!

If you would like to take this workshop and need financial assistance please contact sobia@silvereye.org. A limited number of bursary seats are available.

Participating Artist

1. Brent Nakamoto is a Queer, Japanese-American, and Buddhist artist with a background in painting and drawing, printmaking, photography, and book arts. He received his BA in Art from UC Santa Barbara and MFA in Visual Arts from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He currently lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the Program and Marketing Coordinator for Brew House Arts, where he manages the Distillery Emerging Artist Residency. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, and has facilitated workshops at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Contemporary Craft (PA), Poster House (NY), and Peter’s Valley School of Craft (NJ). He has shown work nationally and internationally, including in California, Saint Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Helsinki, and Kolkata, and his work is included in the University of Maryland Art Gallery permanent collection. He is the owner and operator of Almost Perfect Press, a curatorial and publishing project specializing in hand-bound, small-batch publications featuring emerging writers and artists.