Smoke from half-a-dozen cigarettes gathers in the air, giving Autotelic Gallery, 2959 N. Springfield Ave., the hazy feel of an old tavern. A group of artists and novices huddle around Maura Walsh, the workshop’s instructor, listen intently as she explains how to thread strings through the spines of books.

This was the scene on Jan. 22 when bookmaking kicked off a series of seven workshops at Autotelic that will cover different art forms, ranging from knitting to physical comedy. Andi Crist, 22, who co-owns Autotelic with her friend Evan Carrison, 28, said the goal of these workshops is to continue networking after college.

“Once everyone graduates, we’re going to lose those networking opportunities, and I want to keep that fresh,” Crist said. “So I think that will be a really strong base behind this place.”

Crist and Carrison started Autotelic in fall 2010. Their first big event was an exhibition in November 2010. The gallery has also hosted a clothing swap and exhibits local artwork during the day.

Walsh, 24, said the workshop idea came from her friends asking her how to make books.

“Everyone wanted to learn, and we went from there,” she said. “People volunteered to teach other forms of art, and it turned into this project.”

The gallery’s mission is to be a place where artists can come together in a casual and professional environment to share art and learn from one other, Crist said.

“We want to keep the learning experience going, where people are comfortable enough to come out and hang out with other artists and musicians [who] are also working in the field,” Crist said. “It’s a spring board for jumping into the professional art world.”

Nick Ernst, Columbia fine arts major who will teach a two-part printmaking workshop on Feb. 27 and March 6, said networking is the key to being a successful artist.

“Networking is pretty much everything when it comes to art,” Ernst said. “If you can’t network, you can’t get your art out into the public for others to see.”

The event started with Walsh demonstrating how to cut and fold paper, line up the pages and cut holes in the center for binding. Walsh finished by showing how to wax the string and properly weave it through the holes to hold the book together. The last step, putting together the front and back covers, gave everyone a chance to be creative. Anything from old maps to magazine pages were cut to

create the covers.

Not everyone who attends a workshops is an artist. Dave Russo, 23, a financial analyst for Bank of America, heard about the project from a friend.

“I like to joke around that it was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life,” Russo said about creating his book. “But to be honest, the directions were really stated well. Even for a layman—just as myself—it worked out

pretty successfully.”

A guest artist will teach each workshop on his or her specialty. The next six will be held on alternating Sundays until April 23, culminating in an exhibition Autotelic calls the “Happy Springtime Funshow.” This will give everyone who participated in the workshops the opportunity to showcase, sell or donate his or her work to the gallery.

Starting a new gallery from scratch had its obstacles, and Crist said it is another area where networking helps.

“My friend Jim, who I used to play in a band with, is also a Web designer” she said. “He gave us a huge discount on setting up a website.”

Autotelic also has a kickstarter.com profile, which is an online donation site for creative projects.

Many of the teachers involved with Autotelic met at Columbia, and Crist said the gallery will be a great way to keep in touch after graduation.

“I want to know all these people when they get crazy famous, and I want them to know me, too,” Crist said. “I just love all the people getting to come in here. It sounds cheesy, but I really like learning from them. I want to reap the benefits from knowing these talented people.”