VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” June 2022
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
This month’s meeting will once again be held via Zoom, an online conference program. If you’ve never attended a Zoom meeting before, check out this video – it will go over the basics of how to join a meeting.
Stay safe!
The B.A.G. Board
In continuing with our tradition of choosing a theme for our meetings every year, the B.A.G. Board has selected the theme of Woven for 2022.
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in history, and is an integral part of all of our lives. We wear woven clothing, we sit on woven seats, we use and admire woven baskets.
In the paper and book world, there are many examples of paper weaving, woven book covers, and woven structures. Here are a few resources to get your brain churning:
- 100 Day Project: A Paper Weaving a Day by Helen Hiebert, the Weaving Queen
- Paper Weaving Meets Artists’ Books by Lindsay Olson
- Woven and Interlocking Book Structures by Claire Van Vliet and Claire Steiner
The possibilities are kind of endless!
During the meetings this year, guest presenters will guide you through techniques to get you started on your woven explorations. The simplest methods can produce exciting results and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Program: Crossed Structure Binding – Linked Variation with Elissa Campbell
The Crossed Structure binding is intriguing in that the sewing is done directly onto back cover straps that integrate into the front cover. This non-adhesive variation on the long stitch was developed by book artist Carmencho Arregui after studying pre-16th century bindings.
In June’s meeting, Elissa Campbell will teach you a variation of this binding. As time allows, you’ll add stitching to the covers to both reinforce the structure and add a decorative touch.
Supplies:
- 4 pieces of text weight paper: 4.75″ x 6.25″
- 2 pieces cover material (leather, heavy fabric, vinyl): 8″ x 4.75″
- 3 pieces sewing thread in the following lengths: 62″, 6″, 25″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 4.75″ x 8″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 1.5″ x 4.75″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 1″ x 2″
Tools:
- Bone folder
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Metal ruler Awl
- Cutting mat
- Bookbinding or tapestry needle
- Japanese screw punch or other leather punch (optional)
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
May Meeting Reflections
I was very inspired by our meeting’s presenter, paper artist Karen Kreiger. As she pulled out beautiful work to show us, I really got a sense of how she arranged images in and around her weaving. And then, oh my, she added stitching! Could the work speak to me any more personally? A woven, stitched rolling pin! As a former baker, I need one of my own.
Here are my favorite take-aways:
- A dot of red fixes everything
- Dots make me happy
- Insert scraps into cut out windows
- Cut patterns into the ‘weft’
- Stitch on top of weaving
- And finally, organize your scraps (no matter how small) by color in small boxes.
Believe me, I have tried organizing my scraps, but somehow serendipity helps me to find the right one, even if they’re not so organized.
Thanks to all who showed up on screen, and thanks especially to Karen for a totally enjoyable and inspirational evening.
B.A.G. Library Corner
This month we’re taking a step back from how-to’s and looking at the conceptual process involved in bookmaking, or any art. In his introduction to Structure of the Visual Book, the illustrious Keith Smith takes us through his thought process and approach to making artist books.
Written as ponderously as his process, he describes his first foray into bookmaking and how he learned to see his subject matter.
If you have ideas for books to feature or if you have a library book in your possession you’d like to share something from, email Sally at salblanch@gmail.com.
You can check out and download the selection here.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce our annual member show at Grand Isle Art Works! The dates of the exhibit are July 1 – July 30 and our opening reception will be on July 6.
The submission deadline is June 17 and B.A.G. members can submit up to two pieces for the show. We’ll have a space devoted to zines, and you can submit zines in addition to the two pieces, without any limit.
Ann Joppe-Mercure will be doing a workshop at GIAW in conjunction with the show. If you’re interested in doing something similar, please contact Ann at joppemercure@gmail.com.
The submission form can be downloaded here.
We’d love to have your work in the show!
*** On June 10, Writers as Artists will showcase the work of award winning book artists/writers Beth Kephart and B.A.G. member Nina Gaby and award winning writer/sculptor Abigail Thomas.
The event will be held at Nancy’s Artisanal Creamery and Coffee House at 297 Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY.
Book Arts News
*** Artistree Gallery is accepting submissions for their 10th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL X. The theme of the show is simple – art using books as a material or a format. Visitors will have an opportunity to examine curious folios, recent grimoires, tomes turned to sculpture and some works having a relation to “books” in concept only.
This exhibition is for artists working in all traditional and non-traditional 2D (wall mounted) and 3D media, who are working in Vermont or New Hampshire and are 18 years of age or older. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution.
The deadline for submission is June 4, 2022. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please visit the Artistree website. Please contact exhibits@artistreevt.org with any questions.
*** North Country Studio Workshops in Bennington, VT is offering their next five-day intensive from January 24 -29, 2023 for artists and craftspeople in an atmosphere of discovery, energy, collaboration, and inspiration. There are two book artsy workshops that may be of interest to you:
The first is North Country Shifu with Velma Bolyard. Here’s the workshop description:
Experience the Japanese craft tradition of spun and woven paper textile called shifu. Make deep connections to place through text, textile (shifu), book, and paper. Haptic experiences will include experimental mark making, hand spinning, loom building, weaving, book construction, papermaking, dyeing, and stitching. You will leave with a wonderful book and a passel of techniques that you can add to your paper and fiber toolkit.
The next is The Artful Box with Mary Uthuppuru. Here’s the workshop description:
Construct a modified clamshell box. A box can enhance its contents or become an art piece of its own. Learn how to build a specific structure using a variety of decorative and assembly techniques. You will be encouraged to experiment and create components of the project drawing from personal inspiration. No special skills are required, just patience with a few techniques that require accuracy.
Registration opens on June 15 and historically, these workshops fill up fast. If you know that you want to take either of these workshops, don’t wait to enroll. There are a number of scholarships available if you need financial assistance. Applications are being accepted now through June 6.
*** The Are You Book Enough theme for June happens to be Weave, which works out well with our theme for this year. If you’re working on a book that has a woven element, then this is your month to submit to the Instagram challenge.
Use hashtag #areyoubookenough_weave if you participate. It most certainly will be inspirational to look at the work submitted using this theme. You can also check out past work by using the hashtag #areyoubookenough.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Dove Dale Limp Case: A Sympathetic Update of an 1884 Binding with Karen Hanmer on June 11.
Edward Marston’s 1884 An Amateur Angler’s Days in Dove Dale: Or, How I Spent My Three Weeks’ Holiday was issued in a simple folded limp vellum case printed in two colors. We will examine two examples from this edition of 100 before creating a low-adhesive, facsimile-ish version in a limp paper case. This case can be made of any decorative text-weight paper.
The resulting book is lightweight, elegant, opens well, and can be made quickly and easily with no specialized tools or materials. This workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders, beginners who are ready for a fast-paced workout, and anyone who wants to add another limp case to their repertoire.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Frederick Book Arts Center is offering Islamic Bookbinding with Nic Heersema on June 16, 21, 23, 28, 30, and July 5 & 7.
Islamic bookbinding is one of the styles that developed in the Middle East before the 17th century. Used for everything from richly-decorated Qur’ans to scientific treatises, this style of bookbinding is recognizable by the pentagonal envelope flap.
This style of bookbinding is recommended for advanced beginners or intermediate/advanced bookbinders who have some experience with kettle stitches, endband sewing, and general bookbinding techniques.
This seven-class workshop series walks through all the stages of making a book in the Islamic style. Due to the nature of these classes some are planned to have longer slots of time then others to accommodate drying times and other waiting times.
For more information or to register, please visit the FBAC website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Drum Leaf Binding with Karen Hanmer on June 29.
Developed by Tim Ely, the drum leaf binding has features in common with multiple preexisting Eastern and Western book structures. This adhesive binding is a perfect structure for printmakers, photographers, or anyone who desires to present visual narratives with no sewing thread to interrupt the flow of imagery. Because a drum leaf book is not laid out in signatures but made of single-sided folios, the complexities of imposition are not encountered when laying out text.
The binding opens flat and can be dressed up or down with a variety of spine treatments, board-covering materials, and edge decoration techniques. It can be constructed quickly, lends itself to edition work, and can be made in a sparsely equipped home studio.
In this virtual workshop, build skills working with common bookbinding tools, materials, techniques, and principles such as grain direction, folding signatures, tidy application of adhesive, and measuring one component of the book to fit another. This fast-paced workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders and beginners who are ready for their next challenge.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
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