Last night we went to the Jaffe Center for Book Arts here at FAU and heard an amazing talk by Matthew Reinhart, the fiendishly clever paper engineer (aka pop-up *master*) and author of some of my favorite contemporary pops: The Pop-up Book of Nightmares, The Pop-up Book of Phobias, etc. The entire event was a treat. In keeping with the theme, the folks at the Jaffe Center served popcorn, soda-pop, and m&ms in little boxes stamped with the word “pop!” on them. Reinhart told us his story about how he came to be a pop-up master and showed us some of his techniques. It was mind-blowing. I had no idea that everything was made by hand–all the way up to and through production.  Reinhart showed us how he drafts his works–first by sketching, then by making paper, then by tracing, folding, sculpting, and more sculpting. It was fascinating to watch. It rekindled my love of paper and books (as if this needed rekindling) and made me want to try making pop-ups of my own. Fantastic stuff!
