VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” December 2013
Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 11, 2013, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Celebrating Book Arts
Join us in December as we celebrate our personal successes, challenges and inspirations in the vast field of book arts.
Bring along your creations to show and tell, share a useful tip, technique or tool you’ve discovered, tap into the collective knowledge of the group to puzzle out a challenge you may be having with a project, or bring us all in on what’s inspired you in the past year – anything from books you’ve read or classes you’ve taken to Pinterest boards, blogs and YouTube videos.
You are also welcome to simply come and soak it all in. In either case, expect to leave energized, inspired and eager to entertain your own creative muse!
November Meeting Reflections
Our third annual Card Tricks and Book Blitz meeting drew a large audience, and delivered on the promise of learning new tricks and simple (or maybe a little complex) structures.
Participants shared stories about where their techniques, cards, and structures came from, and followed with demonstrations. Variations on pop-ups, tunnel structures, and flag books were some of the ideas presented to start off the holiday season with good spirits.
Thank you everyone for sharing your talent, time, and enthusiasm.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont Needs You!
The primary mission of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is to act as both an educational and creative resource in the field of book arts. One of the main ways we strive to achieve this is by offering interesting, enriching and inspiring presentations at our monthly meetings. Your presence at meetings goes a long way to supporting this effort – every presentation is enhanced by everyone who attends.
There are two additional – and crucial – ways that you can help us continue to provide high-quality programs every month. The first would be to recognize that you have a skill, a passion, a favorite technique or a body of work that others would love to learn about, and then take the leap and volunteer to share it with us as a presenter. We are truly a group of eager learners, and your efforts will be rewarded with respect, admiration and gratitude.
The second way that you can help keep our programming strong is by becoming a member. In addition to the benefits you receive (outlined in the sidebar of this newsletter), your paid membership enables us to cover expenses such as the fee for our wonderful, well-lit meeting space (which includes free parking!). It also allows us to reimburse presenters for travel expenses and materials, and pays for our website and email newsletter – key tools for keeping our book arts community in touch and informed.
If you would like to become a presenter (or would even just like to explore the possibility), please contact Programs and Events Chair Jill Abilock.
If you would like to become a supporting B.A.G. member, click here to download our membership form – when completed, send it to:
Book Arts Guild of Vermont
c/o Elissa Campbell
846 Gallison Hill Rd,
Montpelier, VT 05602
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is happy to announce that the Spring exhibit will be hosted by the Rae Harrell Gallery in Hinesburg, in May. The show’s theme will be Nature: Beasts and Botanicals.
This broad theme can inspire fantastical, outlandish ideas as well as environmental, natural concepts. Find inspiration everywhere: on your daily walk, at your birdfeeder, on Pinterest, and at the library. Whether or not you have exhibited with us in the past, all members and friends are encouraged to submit work.
Deadline for submission will be April 1st, and we’re not kidding.
*** Vermont artist Jane Davies will be teaching a one day workshop in the Burlington area on February 22, 2014. The workshop, Text and Image Collage, will allow us to explore the power of image/ word relationships as well as learn basic techniques and principles of collage.
We will create expressive pages that can be used for books, with found and created text, personal photos, and found/altered imagery. This will be a great way to jump start your ideas for the Spring exhibit, and to lose those winter blues.
- Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014
- Location: Burlington area, exact location to be determined
- Cost: $55.00 (note revised cost)
Click here to download the registration form.
*** B.A.G. member Amy Burns is showing 2 pieces at Aprons-R-Us, an exhibit in the gallery at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury, VT. The exhibit celebrates the apron through personal response and historical and cultural artifacts.
The show is open now through January 1, 2014. The opening reception is Friday, December 6, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
*** We want to know how we can best serve you! Within the next several weeks, you will be receiving a short survey about B.A.G. It is an online survey so there will be nothing to print out and mail – simply click on the link and answer a few short questions. We are striving to best meet the needs of our book arts community, and your feedback is both vital and greatly appreciated!
Book Arts News
*** The Boston Athenæum will be holding a conservation open house on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. A panel discussion, Beyond the Athenæum: Life After the Laboratory, will take place at noon.
Behind the glass doors of the Conservation Laboratory, Athenæum staff work to stabilize, preserve, and restore the Athenaeum’s antiquarian and contemporary treasures. Stop by to get a behind-the-scenes look at treatments at the Athenæum, and watch as conservators demonstrate conservation and bookbinding techniques throughout the day – washing paper, paring and gilding leather with antique brass tools, and mending damaged paper documents.
This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. The Athenæum is located at 10½ Beacon Street in Boston, MA.
*** Chena River Marblers is holding an open studio on December 14 & 15 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. There will be marbling and bookbinding demonstrations, along with an end-of-year overstock and seconds sale.
The studio is located at 70 Justice Drive in Amherst, MA. For more information, please call (413) 253-2835.
*** The New England Historic Genealogical Society cordially invites you to a reception on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the 2013 opening of its conservation lab for the care and repair of materials held in its Library and Special Collections. A presentation by Deborah Rossi, NEHGS Conservation Technician, will be followed by group tours of the lab.
The Genealogical Society is located at 99 Newbury Street, Boston, MA in the first floor of the Treat Rotunda. Directions to NEHGS can found at AmericanAncestors.org/directions. R.S.V.P. by January 2, 2014 to drossi@nehgs.org.
Book Arts Classes
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Carousel Books with Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer on Sunday, February 23, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This sculptural book opens to form several shadow box-style pages in the round, like a carousel or zoetrope. Create images by cutting, drawing and painting, then precisely cut, fold and assemble accordion pages.
For more information the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
*** The North Bennet Street School is offering Copperplate Script with Maryanne Grebenstein on Saturday – Sunday, December 14 – 15, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The beautiful business ‘hand’ of the 18th and early 19th centuries known as Copperplate Script will be taught in this hands-on workshop. Developed centuries after the broad-edged style of traditional calligraphy, this pointed pen style is useful for wedding invitations and other stationery items, as well as poetry and other framable pieces.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBBS’s website.
- Book Arts Guild of VT website: http://www.bookartsguildvt.com/
- Book Arts Guild of VT Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bookartsguildvt
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