Stockton Springs Community Library (SSCL) will host a special Holiday Art in the Stacks exhibition featuring altered books by Stockton Springs artist and entrepreneur Chelsea Porter from Monday, November 29, until Thursday, December 23.

Porter’s business, Binders Keepers, features books cut and folded into intricate designs. She began creating these works of art in 2017 when she learned the technique from her mother and aunt. Each book is measured, marked, and then folded page by page to make the design. Porter creates various inventive designs and is able to personalize any piece of artwork with names or special dates.

Crafting an image or word into a book can take between four and twenty hours. Porter acknowledges that the process is simultaneously time consuming and therapeutic. Though each design varies, her works require a hardcover book with a minimum of 500 pages. She mainly uses books that would otherwise be thrown away.

Porter markets her work through an Etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/BindersKeepersArt

Despite the pandemic, Porter has seen an increase in her online sales, 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 p.m.; Tuesday 4 – 7 p.m.; Wednesday 3 – 5 p.m; Thursday 9 a.m. – noon and 6:30 – 8:30 p.m, and Saturday 9 a.m – 3 p.m.

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 call 207-567-4147.

Sarah Jordan can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.