Ancestral Folds: Storytelling Through creating a Chinese Thread Book

Ancestral Folds: Storytelling through Chinese Thread Books
withTony Lemos

2 Days: Sat & Sun
May 16th & 17th, 10 AM to 4 PM
Cost: $170 +$25 materials fee
6 participants maximum

In this hands-on workshop, we explore the Zhen Xian Bao—the traditional Chinese thread book—an ingenious folded structure historically crafted by women to hold needles, threads, seeds, and small domestic treasures. We will begin by honoring the origins of this form, looking at its cultural history, regional variations, and the often-unrecorded lives of the women who made and used these intimate, functional books.

From there, we shift into its contemporary revival within book arts, where the thread book has become a powerful vessel for narrative, memory, and creative expression. Participants will learn the foundational folds and nested compartments, then experiment with papers, pigments, and personal symbolism to reimagine the structure for their own artistic practice.

Throughout the class, we will reflect on how these folded chambers,once practical containers,can now become spaces for holding stories, intentions, plant wisdom, or fragments of lived experience. Each participant will leave with a completed thread book and a deeper sense of connection to craft lineage, women’s material culture, and their own unfolding narrative.

Additional Materials fee:

$25 per student-I will bring decorative papers

Free parking is provided.
Class is located at Shepherd & Maudsleigh Studio,
27 Dunstan Street, West Newton, MA 02465
[email protected]