VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” January 2015
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 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: Altered Books: Folded-Page Book Sculptures with Marilyn Gillis
Learn how to make easy sculptures from old books by using different page folding patterns. Fiber and book artist Marilyn Gillis will begin the meeting by showing book sculptures she has made using these techniques plus various ways to enhance the sculpture forms. Then she will get you started on your own sculpture(s).
The process is fun and easy; something to do in front of the TV or while listening to music. It can also challenge your artistic side if you want to decorate or enhance your sculptures.
Supplies to bring:
- 1 or 2 old books about 1″ thick, can be paperback or hard cover (Vera Ryersbach has extras, if you need one)
- Bone folder
- Scissors
- Glue stick
Marilyn Gillis is a mixed media/fiber artist. Eight years ago she became interested in book arts and has enjoyed learning a new medium. Her particular interest is in making folded page book sculptures, and she had made and sold them as another expression of her creative energy.
B.A.G. News
*** Announcing a new meeting format for 2015!
The BAG Board of Directors met in November to plan the upcoming year, and we are excited to announce a new approach we hope will spur and support our members’ creative work. In addition to an exciting roster of presenters for meetings, starting in February we will introduce an every other month meeting format titled Studio Support and Workshop Time.
These will be open sessions (with no presenter) during which we hope four things will happen:
- Members will have an opportunity to briefly “show and tell” their recent work at the start of the meeting.
- Members can receive support and creative problem solving from other members for any challenges or problems they are having in their work.
- Members can continue work and follow up on the project or technique presented in the previous meeting(s).
- Members can bring a current piece they are working on to simply continue their own work in the company of other artists.
The Board will also be introducing a challenge project for members and those who want can use the Studio Support and Workshop Time to participate in the challenge project. Artists spend much time working in isolation, so it is our hope that Studio Support sessions will be fun and will enhance and encourage our individual work.
*** Announcing our Spring 2015 exhibit: Book Works, book-related works by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont!
The theme for our annual exhibit, entitled Book Works, is an intentionally broad one, and can include any work that is related to book arts. We encourage all members and friends to participate, especially those who have not exhibited previously. Work can include new or time honored techniques, book-related pieces and sculpture, and generally any work that can be ‘read’. Start working on your pieces now! If you have ideas but just can’t get yourself going, or if you are stuck on a problem and need advice, bring them/ it to the monthly meeting and let’s help each other out.
The exhibit will take place at the SEABA Center Gallery at 404 Pine Street in Burlington during the month of April. The opening will be on First Friday Art Walk, April 3rd, and we will have a gallery talk on April 8th that will serve as our April meeting. We are thrilled to have a South End location for the show, and excited to have the opportunity to increase awareness of the book arts.
Entries will be due on March 20th, but may be brought to the March 11th meeting. Entries are free for BAG members, and $10.00 each ($25.00 for 3) for non-members. The gallery takes a 30% commission on sales. Click here to download the entry form.
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont’s annual membership begins this month!
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. Our monthly meetings are $5.00 an evening or free with a $35.00 annual membership. Your membership supports the mission of the Book Arts Guild, pays for our rented space, provides opportunities to exhibit and supports honorariums to presenters.
In addition to the benefits you receive (outlined on this page of our website), your paid membership also enables us to cover expenses such our website and email newsletter – key tools for keeping our book arts community in touch and informed. A special membership benefit this year is that you don’t have to pay to submit work to our annual, non-juried book arts exhibition. You’ll also receive a personal thank you from Ann Joppe-Mercure (priceless).
If 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. If you present at a B.A.G. meeting, you receive free membership for the year. Think about it – we know you have something to share!
If you would like to become a supporting B.A.G. member, click here to download our membership form.
Book Arts News
*** The New England chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is looking for volunteers for two upcoming Girl Scout events. They will be partnering with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass. and the programs are for Cadette scouts (age 11-14) to earn a Book Artist badge.
The first event will be held Sunday January 25th at Camp Wind in the Pines EDC Lodge, 190 W Long Pond Rd Plymouth, MA, and the second event will be held April 12th at Camp Rice Moody Lodge, 29 Rice Rd Reading, MA. Both events will run from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
There will be an introduction and then five stations that the girls will rotate through which may include printing, accordion folds, a pamphlet, origami book, a scroll, decorating paper or a collaborative book, depending on the interests of the volunteers. Each rotation will last for about 30 minutes. If you have a book arts technique or project that you’d like to see done with the Girl Scouts please make some suggestions.
You do not need to be a member of the NEGBW to volunteer. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Todd Pattison at bookandtile@att.net.
*** A reception for the exhibit Commitment to Craftsmanship: Conservation Bookbindings by Mark Esser, with brief remarks and presentation of a gift in acknowledgement of Mark’s contribution to the field of book conservation, will happen on January 14, 2015.
Mark Esser was Rare Book Conservator in the John J. Burns Library at Boston College from 1994 until 2008. The show, a handsome group of books bound by Mark during his tenure as Book Conservator, also represents the many different subjects in the Library’s collections. This exhibit, designed to introduce Boston College students to bookbinding and book conservation, explores the training Mark received, his background as a teacher at NBSS, and show-cases some of the conservation bindings that he produced as Book Conservator for the John J. Burns Library.
- Location: John J. Burns Library (located in the Bapst Building on the Chestnut Hill Campus), O’Brien Fine Print Room and Irish Room
- Date: January 14, 2015 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Contact: Barbara Adams Hebard, barbara.hebard@bc.edu
- Directions to Boston College and parking information
Book Arts Classes
*** On Saturdays from January 10 – February 7, 2015, the North Bennet Street School is offering Fundamentals of Bookbinding I with Amy Lapidow.
Students learn the foundations of bookbinding with hands-on experience and discussion. The course covers non-adhesive structures and case bindings, students learn about structural elements, sewing variations, covering and cutting techniques using various materials, and tools and equipment. Discussions throughout the course cover terminology, paper grain and folding, selecting proper materials and tools, and adhesives and their properties.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Altered Books with Daniel Embree on February 1 & 8, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Transform used books into art objects. Learn bookmaking, paper cutting, drawing, collage and decollage techniques to reinvent used books into something new. Bring some books and some small objects and images to include. We will distribute a list of good Boston book-buying places in advance.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
- Book Arts Guild of VT website: http://www.bookartsguildvt.com/
- Book Arts Guild of VT Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bookartsguildvt
- Book Arts Guild of VT on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bagvermont/
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