ANTIQUITIES THAT BIND US WITH WANDA HELA KATZ, ALSO KNOWN AS THE PAPER PALACE QUEEN
Bath, Somerset England
May 7-15, 2026
Join us for a mixed media/vintage and antique ephemera workshop in Bath, England with handmade book Artist Wanda Hela Katz, also known as the Paper Palace Queen on Instagram.
As well as being a vibrant and thriving twenty-first-century city, Bath is a living museum. History and heritage line the city’s streets, with every footstep revealing compelling cultural attractions and astonishing Georgian architecture. It’s why Bath is the only city in the UK designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with its unique second inscription at part of UNESCO's Great Spa Towns of Europe.
We are so excited that Wanda has agreed to teach her first Bellissima Art Escape so you are in for a really special experience. She is very enthusiastic about giving this workshop and has put together an unbelievable supply packet that includes 17th, 18th and 19th century ephemera from around the world, a Pre-1900 antique book, eco dyed papers and fabrics, vintage paper (correspondence, tickets, receipts, invoices, ledger papers) and more. She envisions that you will create gorgeous books with this ephemera that for most of us, is unattainable, at least of that vintage.
We will hold our workshop in the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.
Itinerary
Day 1, Thursday May 7
Everyone arrives and we will meet this evening for a quick introduction and go over the schedule.
Day 2, Friday May 9
Breakfast is in the hotel, then we will walk to the studio where we will set up for the day. Wanda and Kathie will go over the schedule each day.
Wanda will share some of her books as examples —this will be a great treat! We will break for lunch and walk to a nearby eatery. Afterwards, we will visit an antique bookstore and bindery for a tour and a little shopping. We will stop on the way back to the hotel for an early dinner.
Day 3, Saturday May 10
Breakfast at the hotel then walk to the studio where class will start at 9:00. It’s a full day in the studio. Lunch and dinner will be provided.
Day 4, Sunday May 10 Travel day
Breakfast at the hotel, then meet the coach at 9:30. Lacock, a small village in the Cotswalds, is a 25 minute ride from Bath. Here we will visit the Abbey and the garden. In its 800 years of history, Lacock Abbey has been many things. It started as a nunnery in the 1200s before becoming a Tudor family home. Since then it has evolved with every owner and in 1835, the first photographic negative was captured in the Abbey. Today Lacock is a well-known location for a host of film and TV productions including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey.
On site is also the Fox Talbot Museum which is housed in a 16th-century barn once used as stables. It tells the story of the birth of photography with objects and technology from the early years of photography.
We will stop for lunch at the Tea Room.
When we are through exploring, we will head into the quaint village where you will have some free time to wander before we meet at the Stables Cafe for dinner at 6:00. Afterward, we will return to Bath.
Day 5 Monday, May 11
Breakfast at the hotel and then be in the studio by 9:00 a.m. You will continue working on papers and Wanda will give a short demonstration on the traditional binding technique/open binding — but she will also talk about her “rebellious stitching binding” that is one of her signatures. She will share examples of both.
Lunch and dinner will be provided.
Day 6 Tuesday May 12
Breakfast at the hotel and then meet in the studio at 9:00. Today Wanda will discuss book covers and ways to age them by distressing and adding visual interests. If you are ready, you can begin to bind your rebellious stitching book.
At noon, we will walk along the Royal Crescent, a sweeping curve of townhouses built from honey-colored Bath stone to the majestic Royal Crescent Hotel where we will have lunch. There will be time to explore the gorgeous hotel and grounds.
Dinner is on your own this evening.
This Escape Includes
8 nights at the DoubleTree by Hilton
Classes with Wanda Hela Katz, The Paper Palace Queen
Unbelievable antiquity supply packet!
Excursions to museums, villages, and book bindery
All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)
Free time to explore
A farewell dinner
Price: $5,100, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $1000.
A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due January 8, 2026.
Price does not include transportation to/from Great Britain, alcohol, country and travel insurance (mandatory).
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton
Walcot Street, Bath BZ1 5BJ, United Kingdom
Wanda’s desk where she creates
We will Supply
An amazing antique ephemera packet
Book gauze
Book Glue
Artist Book boards
Rubber Gloves
Matt medium
Cardboard
Artist Supply List
Scissors/apron
Water pot and a glue pot (can be yogurt cup)
Stapler with extra staples
Sari silks (optional)
String
Sewing and Embroidery needles,
Brushes for glue and for painting
Stanley Box Cutter
Awl
Small cutting pad
A mix of strong cotton and embroidery threads
Waxed thread for binding and stitching
Small jar of textured gesso
Fragments of your work that you have been collecting in that “scrap box” that you will someday use
Tim Holtz Oxide inks
Walnut ink
Either a few watercolors or a couple small bottles of acrylic paint
A minimum of 40 papers no less than A5 of all kinds and thicknesses.
Day 7, Wednesday, May 13
Breakfast at the hotel. Meet in the studio at 9:00. It’s a full throttle day, finishing covers, and binding both your traditional and rebellious stitching books. Lunch will be nearby and dinner will be provided.
Day 8, Thursday May 14
Breakfast at the hotel and then over to the studio at 9:00. Today we add finishing touches and inside page covers to the traditional binding book. We will break around noon to clean up and have our Show”N Tell.
Lunch will be on your own today and you will have a free afternoon until we meet for our farewell dinner at this evening.
Day 9, Friday May 15
The trip is over and everyone leaves or stays on to continue exploring Bath and the surrounding area.
Wanda Hela Katz brings a calm meditative holistic approach to her book making responding intuitively to her materials. Her passion for incorporating vintage and rare antique ephemera fragments sourced from across the globe is magically woven into her more than 170 books made to date.
A decade living amongst the ruins of Rome, Italy has fed her endless fascination for appreciating and finding beauty within decay, deterioration, and disintegration which feeds into her beautifully crafted one-of-a-kind art journals filled with darkness and mystery.
Look for Wanda’s Keeper of Memories article in the latest issue of Somerset Studio.