Todd Pattison

Todd Pattison (b. 1964) first became fascinated with binding books in the Boy Scouts while completing his Bookbinding Merit Badge. He is interested in the construction of various binding styles and the history of bookbinding in general. Todd has taught workshops on book conservation and bookbinding in the US and abroad and teaches a one-week course on the history of American Publishers’ Bindings at Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has worked as the Collections Conservator at Harvard College Library and was the Senior Book Conservator at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Todd is currently the Conservator at American Ancestors in Boston, MA.

Todd’s artwork was featured in ‘Codex Insolitus‘ on view September 12-27, 2026.

“‘Codex Insolitus’ (Latin for “bizarre book”) is a collaborative project between Karl Fleck and Todd Pattison. We met in 2017 as co-workers at an arts non-profit. Karl works in audio preservation, and Todd is a book conservator. We have a deep respect for each others’ use of materials and creativity. About a year ago, Amy and Karl were working on ideas for a show and Karl reached out to Todd to see about working on a project together. This is the result.

The work itself melds organic shapes and textures with vivid colors and is related to the technical facets of the written word (in one way or another). You’ll notice letters, pages, scrolls, as well as references to historical forms (such as the Antiphonal – a large medieval-era book used for communal singing). 

We encourage you to read the pieces as you would read a book. Each one has a story to tell.”