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VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” April 2015

2015 April 2

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Please note that this month’s meeting will be held at the SEABA Center Gallery at 404 Pine Street in Burlington. Click here to get directions using Google Maps.


Program: Book Works Exhibit and Artists’ Talk

The Book Arts Guild of Vermont‘s annual member exhibit, Book Works, is now on display during the month of April. Please join us at the SEABA Center Gallery to view the incredible work and hear the artists’ inspiration and methods.

If you have a piece or pieces in the show, we would love to have you share a brief commentary about your work. The show looks fantastic, and we have already received rave reviews from those who have previewed it.

See you at the opening on Friday, and then again for the meeting on Wednesday!


March Meeting Reflections

Marcia VoglerOur March meeting was full of inspiration, creativity and comradeship. Marcia Vogler presented a very personal journey she has taken as an artist and a friend with her Postcard a Day commitment. She created a post card every day to send to a friend challenged by cancer. Her process of creating a collage to delight her friend and writing a short note enriched the her life and the life of her friend. Marcia shared her collection of postcards now returned to the artist. We were all inspired and filled with a sense of the power of art to connect and express caring.

For the workshop we all created individual postcard using special papers and magazine pages. Marcia demonstrated and talked us through her process so we all felt confident enough to start. The challenge set forth by Marcia was to not only make a post card but to send it. As Marcia said, “who doesn’t like receiving mail?”

Thank you Marcia for sharing your artistic and spiritual journey.

Look for Marcia’s Postcards at our Book Works exhibit.

You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.


B.A.G. News

*** Announcing our Spring Show! Book Works, book-related works by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont

BAG exhibit postcard

The Spring 2015 exhibit from the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is entitled Book Works, and includes work from members and friends interested in the structure and format of books. The artists redefine the normal concept of the book, using various mediums and techniques to construct or reconstruct pieces that tell a story, and can be ‘read’ in some way by the viewer. A group of books altered by folding and manipulating pages represents the outcome of the guild’s monthly meeting program where members share skills and encourage creative work. Other works represent the broad definition of the book as explored by painters, textile artists, and paper lovers.

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.

Help us get the word out! Click here to download the postcard as a jpeg file. Click here to download the postcard as a pdf file.

*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont‘s show at SEABA is highlighted in the April edition of ART MAP BURLINGTON, a guide to art happenings in Burlington. Look for the dramatic black and white photo of Marcia Vogler’s altered book.


Book Arts News

*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is looking for volunteers for a Girl Scout Book Artist event on April 12th at Camp Rice Moody Lodge, 29 Rice Rd Reading, MA. This program will run from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

They will be partnering with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass. and the program is for Cadette scouts (age 11-14) to earn a Book Artist badge.

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.

*** The annual Book Arts Bazaar will be held on Sunday, April 12th from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Wishcamper Center on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Campus. This festival with book artists, papermakers, bookbinders, printmakers, educators, and writers is dedicated to all things related to the book.

The event is sponsored by USM’s Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts.

Bookstock logo

*** Bookstock is looking for book artist vendors for their literary festival during July 24 – 26. Last year’s vendors were made up primarily of authors and publishers but they’re interested in adding more book artists this year. The festival is held in Woodstock, VT.

For more information, please contact Mitzi Wilson at Mitziw@hotmail.com or (802) 356-9957.


Book Arts Classes

*** From January 26 – 31, 2016, Daniel Essig will be teaching Wooden Books – Greek & Centipede Binding at the North Country Studio Workshops in Bennington, VT.

Easily master the centipede stitch by first understanding the structure and workings of  this ornate 7th century Greek binding. Using simple hand tools to begin, we will drill, shape, and smooth our wooden book covers. Sealing the covers with milk paint will create a leathery appearance. We will adorn our books with the centipede stitch using two different colors of thread. This elegant sewing structure, combined with wooden covers, opens a wide range of possibilities for both the beginner and the advanced bookbinder.

Applications are now available and the review process begins June 1st. For more information or if you have any questions, please visit the NCSW website.

*** On May 9 & 10, 2015, Regina and Dan St. John of Chena River Marblers are teaching Boxes for Every Season and Occasion at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA.

Using simple tools and purchased or recycled cardboard, paper, and cloth, students will learn how to design, then make and decorate boxes and containers of all shapes and sizes. Learn about folding, scoring, creasing, and cutting, along with powerful templates, jigs, and approaches to accurate measurement without rulers. Cover the surfaces of the containers with various decorative materials and produce a unique 3-D work of art.

For more information or to register, please visit the Snow Farm website.

*** On April 25, 2015, the North Bennet Street School is offering a Secret Belgian Binding workshop with Erin Fletcher in Boston.

Students construct two variations of a non-adhesive structure known as a secret Belgian binding. This structure is simple and quick to construct. It opens flat and is perfect for blank journals, poetry or short stories.

For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website


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