Stephanie Jacobs has always had an interest in the way books were made, and is now able to foster her interest in book arts through The University of Alabama’s Master of Fine Arts program. Her work, titled “Mazel: An Exhibition of Book and Paper Art,” displays the careful steps required to assemble an artist book. The exhibition began its feature this month at the Ferguson Center Art Gallery.

“When I found out there was a book art program in my hometown of Tuscaloosa I became excited,” Jacobs said.

She returned to Alabama two years ago from New York City, where she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration from Pratt Institute. Her Master of Fine Arts began with taking pictures of every moment in the book-making process. These pictures are now used to tell a story of book arts and to show the art of paper-making.

Jacobs explained the complex process of paper-making.

“A Hollander Beater shreds fabric into pulp, and with this pulp the paper is made,” Jacobs said. “We use fabric because it will make higher quality paper; it’s different from tree paper.”

She also uses a technique for her book called pulp paint. The fabric is shredded beyond pulp into a liquid and then put inside squeeze bottles and applied to newly pressed wet paper.

Jacobs said the art form requires extremely careful planning.

“Measuring is a very important part of paper-making.”

Jacobs said she drew inspiration from objects passed down from her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She decided to focus on these objects to tell the story of how her grandfather escaped from the Holocaust. Furthermore, she also drew inspiration from her mother, who she watched from a young age design book covers at the University Press.

Jacobs also pulls inspiration from the faculty members in the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University, Steve Miller and Anna Embree. With their guidance she learned paper-making and letterpress printing, which she found to be the most influential part of her MFA in book arts.

“Our graduate students in the MFA in the book arts program go through a process of self-discovery during their two to three years with us,” said Steve Miller, a professor in the book arts program.

“Stephanie came to us as an artist and civic-minded person who had a strong interest in the book form,” Miller said. “What emerged is an artist who now fully expresses herself in book forms that are richly textured, dimensional in meaning and conceptually wide and strong. Each future work will be her stepping into, and communicating with, the world and teaching others about it.”

Jacobs said she also has future book projects in mind, but she knows it will be a challenge when she graduates because she will no longer have a press at her disposal.

“Mazel: An Exhibition of Book and Paper Art by Stephanie Jacobs” will be in the Ferguson Center Art Gallery until Oct. 31. The gallery is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.