Together, BIMA and BARN are partnering to bring audiences and makers closer to contemporary book arts through both public dialogue (at BIMA) and hands-on creative exploration (at BARN).

Banks’s BIMA talk complements her extended visit to Bainbridge Island as a featured instructor for BARN’s Handwork Week 2026.

At BARN, Banks will be leading a week-long workshop, “Speak Your Piece: Artist’s Books with Meaning” (April 27–May 1, 2026). In it, she will guide participants in transforming personal stories into sculptural books through bookbinding, printmaking, material exploration, and narrative development.

Together, BIMA and BARN are partnering to bring audiences and makers closer through both public dialogue (at BIMA) and hands-on creative exploration (at BARN). Ruiz’s BIMA talk complements his extended visit to Bainbridge Island as a featured instructor for BARN’s Handwork Week 2026.

As part of BARN’s Handwork Week, Ruiz will lead “Portals of the Poetic Self: The Five Senses” (April 27–May 1, 2026, 1–5 PM daily), an immersive workshop exploring sensory-rich poetry grounded in lived experience. Participants will engage in close readings, peer workshops, and personalized feedback sessions, learning to approach stories with honesty and care while developing a polished portfolio of poems. This workshop offers guidance for writers at all levels, emphasizing storytelling in accessible language, while honoring the raw truth of personal experience.

George: George Lewis was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1944. His parents instilled in him a love for gardening and the outdoors, and his mother, Wilma, provided him with an early appreciation for the arts. He began gardening and painting in watercolors when he was only a child. After college, he developed a passion for concrete sculpture and water gardening, giving rise to his fountain and column creations for gardens.

David: David was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up steeped in beauty and adventure. At age 14, he lived in a small fishing village in Crete, Greece for a year—an experience that sparked his fascination with archaeology and mythology. After studying Classics at Oberlin College and exploring different careers, he found himself on Bainbridge Island.

George and David: George and David met in Bainbridge Island in 1990 and that meeting sparked a lifelong partnership (of 35 years, 13 of which have been married) and artistic collaboration. Their work has included concrete sculptures, fountains, paintings, gardens, plaques, and more. Their work is globally recognized and admired. They both have grown “deep roots” here on Bainbridge Island and are integral members of the community.

Aimee Lee is an artist, writer, and educator whose practice centers on Korean papermaking traditions, known as hanji. Designated as an Ohio Arts Council Heritage Fellow and Midwest Culture Bearer, Lee is a two-time Fulbright scholar to South Korea, where she conducted extensive fieldwork, studying with numerous national and provincial Intangible Cultural Property Holders to deepen her understanding of paper-making techniques and the toolmaking traditions that sustain them.

Lee’s initial Fulbright research culminated in her establishment of the first hanji studio in North America, laying the foundation for an internationally recognized studio practice. That research also led to her award-winning book Hanji Unfurled (The Legacy Press, 2012), which brought critical attention to Korean papermaking histories and methodologies. Her second Fulbright award, as a senior scholar, focused on advanced research into traditional Korean papermaking tools, further extending her long-term engagement with material knowledge and craft lineages.

Lee leads workshops from her private studio east of Cleveland and around the world, serving members of the Korean diaspora as well as artists and scholars from around the world. Her recent book, As Good as Our Tools (The Legacy Press, 2025), brings sustained attention to the vital contributions of fifteen underrecognized makers across four continents who have built the equipment and tools essential to the advancement of hand papermaking.