On the fifth floor of Amelia Gayle Gorgas library, dozens of handmade books fill the shelves opposite the elevators. Just down the hall, masters of fine arts students set text in lead type to fill each book’s pages.

But in early February, five of these MFA students studying book arts spent seven days wandering the bustling streets of Havana, Cuba, to get to their studio space, instead of the quiet hallways of Gorgas. The students traveled to the country’s capital city to collaborate with Cuban artists, primarily print-makers, through the Artist to Artist program, which allows MFA students to connect with other artists to learn more about constructing various book components.

Steve Miller, coordinator of the MFA in the Book Arts program, said the group stayed a few miles away from the studio space they worked in at the El Taller Experimental de Gráfica.

“Every day students took a different pathway into the city,” he said.

(See also “Book Arts program exhibit explores patterns“)

Miller first visited Havana a few years ago and had the opportunity to meet and work with various artists while he was there. Over the years he has collaborated with artists across the country and in Cuba to make a number of books in the Artist to Artist collection.

“I really wanted our students to share in the experience of making a book there,” Miller said.

Traveling to Havana to work with local artists gives students the opportunity to learn about facets of the book-making process that they can’t in Tuscaloosa.

“We’re blessed with great equipment here, but they’re blessed with traditions of printmaking there,” Miller said.

At the University, they print all of the type on any paper of their choosing. Some of the paper is handmade in the mill in the basement of Woods Hall. In Cuba, students work with print-makers at El Taller Experimental de Gráfica to print the art for the books.

The program has built a relationship between the University and the artists in Havana, with each side having something to teach and something to learn. Six trips to Havana have been made with students over the last 11 years, and everyone involved has grown from the collaborations.

“These books here represent our friendly, kind and humorous relationship with artists in Cuba,” Miller said.

Through his multiple trips to Havana, Miller has gotten to know many of the artists who live there. He said although the locals often struggle to meet basic needs, they are passionate about what they do and the culture they are a part of.

(See also “Cuba exchange offers rare opportunity“)

Miller said students in the program often leave with a learning experience.

“For some of them, it’s confidence building; for others, it’s affirming that they’re going in the right direction with what they make,” Miller said. “It’s hard to be in the humanities in 2014.”

Emma Sovich, a student in the Book Arts program who did not travel to Cuba, got into the program through her studies in creative writing. She said she always knew she would end up in the program and has enjoyed what she has learned in the process.

“I think about my writing in a new way,” Sovich said.

Caroline Anderson, another student in the program, got her start making books when she was little with a hole punch and ribbon. She said she had some experience with writing, but she’s focused more on the process for now.

“It’s also really exciting to look at a book and make one and know that it’s something that can be done,” Anderson said.

The books students made through the Artist to Artist collaboration are on display on the fifth floor of Gorgas across from the elevators from now until April 4.

(See also “UA grad program offers book art studies“)