VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” November 2011
Next Meeting
Wednesday, December 2, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the B.C.A. Center (formerly known as the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts), located to the right of City Hall on Church Street in Burlington, VT.
Program: Card Tricks with Gwen Morey and Jennifer Alderman
Our December meeting will be a Card Exchange B.A.G. style called Card Tricks. Get prepared now and join the fun in December!
Design a card that has a trick or two; maybe a pop-up, French doors or a window. Bring your completed card along with six undecorated card structures to share. We will have an undecorated card exchange and then engage in some decorating fun.
See the sample below to give you an idea of what we’re going for:
Come to the December meeting with or without cards and we will all go home with a few new cards for the season.
Things to bring:
- A decorated card with a “trick” (optional)
- 6 card structures of your card “trick” to exchange (optional)
- Glue
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Ruler
- Decorative punches
- Stamps
- Pens
- Decorative papers
- Pencil
- Fun stuff!
Reflections on November’s Meeting
Maryanne Grebenstein was our honored guest at the November B.A.G. meeting. Over thirty members came to listen to the expertise Maryanne shared on her process and techniques with designing her one-of-a-kind books.
Maryanne is inspired by calligraphy and illustration from medieval illustrated manuscripts and creates new manuscripts using time honored techniques. We were all greatly impressed with her technical demonstration of layering gesso and then gold on a letter within her page.Maryanne’s books are beautifully bound and we were got to view the collaboration of Maryanne’s manuscript and Elizabeth Rideout’s binding.
To learn more about Maryanne’s work and Elizabeth’s binding go to the websites at The Abbey Studio and Turn in the Path.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** B.A.G. is happy to announce the theme of our 2012 spring exhibit, Shaping Pages: An Exhibit of Artist Books & Fine Bindings. The exhibit will be hosted by the S.P.A.C.E Gallery in Burlington and will run during the months of April and May, 2012. Our exhibit will be part of the First Friday Art Walk. Stay tuned for more details!
Submission details:
- Entries for the exhibit may be submitted, accompanied by registration forms, from January 4 – February 1, 2012.
- All entries are required by the gallery to be for sale. Sale prices must be indicated on the entry form.
- All submissions must be accompanied by an entry form and a single page artist statement or artist bio.
- Reading copies (typed or photographed) are required for all multi-paged artist books.
Exhibit Dates: April 6 – May 3, 2012
Artist Reception: April 6, 2012, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
All book arts entries and questions should be directed to Nikki King.
Good Luck and Happy Bookmaking!
*** Chena River Marblers in Amherst, MA is holding an open studio from December 10 – 11. This is a great time to take advantage of their end-of-year overstock and seconds sale. We’d love to take a field trip down there to visit our friends and local paper marblers. If you’re interested in joining a car pool, please contact Elizabeth Rideout.
Book Arts Classes
*** B.A.G. member Linda Lembke is teaching two graduate education courses at Saint Michael’s College in January and February. These courses are designed for elementary and secondary school teachers of science, math, and art, but are also open to those who would like to explore a variety of book forms and their connections to these subjects.
- Math, Art & Bookmaking: In this 1-credit course you will explore connections between math and art through the book form. In the first session, you will construct 6 to 8 book forms inspired by geometry and incorporating mathematical concepts in their design. In the second session, you will connect book forms to math concepts, creating two books that explore mathematical ideas.
- Science, Art & Bookmaking: In this 2-credit course you will discover connections between form and function in science through the art and craft of bookmaking. Students will construct several book models suggested by such concepts as cycles, sequences, and classification as well as handmade laboratory or field notebooks designed for scientific exploration.
For more information or to register, please visit the Saint Michael’s website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering book arts classes in February and March.
- Do-Si-Do & French Doors: Learn to construct some playful alternatives to conventional folding structure and covers. Do-Si-Do combines multiple books within one structure. French Doors allow a book to open on both the left and right sides.
- Case Binding: This elegant and sturdy hardcover binding is perfect for blank journals. Start with some simple skills (gluing, folding, etc.) and over the two class sessions make one beautiful book.
For more information, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
Book Arts News
*** Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is giving a workshop at the Center for Creative Wholeness in Newbury, MA on Saturday, December 3 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The focus is on simplicity. It’s a perfect introduction to bookmaking for those with no prior experience and a chance to let go and relax for experienced book artists.
With clear instructions and gentle guidance, you’ll make several accordion books and then complete them with collage materials. As a gift to the earth, the books will be made from recycled materials. No art experience or creative confidence is needed; this workshop is truly for everyone.
For more information, please download the workshop flyer.
*** The Boston Athenæum is hosting the exhibit Artists’ Books: Books by Artists, featuring remarkable and unexpected artists’ books from their outstanding collection. Featured artists include book artists Russell Maret, Laura Davidson, Ryoko Adachi, Stephen Dupont, Harriet Bart, Xu Bing, Iliazd, and more than two dozen others.
The exhibit runs October 12, 2011 – March 3, 2012.
- Book Arts Guild of VT blog: http://bookartsguildvt.wordpress.com
- Book Arts Guild of VT Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bookartsguildvt
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