[Virtual] Catenary Books: The Making of a Narrative Bookplate Series

Illustrator Kristy Caldwell will share the process of creating Catenary Books, a series of six narratively connected bookplates developed during her 2025 William H. Helfand Fellowship at the Grolier Club Library.

Kristy Caldwell is a New York-based illustrator and an assistant professor of illustration at Queens College, CUNY. She has illustrated more than a dozen children’s books, including Flowers for Sarajevo, a 2017 New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, and co-founded the experimental journal Carrier Pigeon: Illustrated Fiction and Fine Art. Previously, she served as archivist at Castelli Gallery; recently, she wrote an essay for the gallery remembering appropriation artist Richard Pettibone. Her illustration work often combines digital tools with eclectic art supplies such as vintage fountain pens, conical nibs, mouth atomizers, and rainbow pencils. For more information: kristycaldwell.com

Registration

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Accessibility

An ADA-compliant lift from street level to the lobby is available to anyone with mobility issues. All desk staff should be ready and able to assist you in operating the lift, with or without advance notice.

A “T-Coil” assisted listening system is available to anyone attending a lecture in the Exhibition Hall. Visitors with hearing aids should turn their devices to the “T” setting in order to access the system; visitors without hearing aids may request a “loop receiver” with earphones.

Environment

The temperature and humidity in the exhibition hall are tightly controlled for the sake of the valuable items on display, and this may cause the room to feel chilly, particularly in warmer weather, to those coming in from outside. Members and visitors are advised to bring a light wrap when visiting an exhibition, or attending an event in the hall.