The May meeting will be held at UVM’s Special Collections in the basement of Bailey Howe Library. Click here to download a pdf of the directions to Special Collections.

Please note that in May we will not be meeting as usual on the second Wednesday at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.

Program: Visit to UVM Special Collections

Librarian Prudence Doherty will guide us through some of the amazing artists’ books held in the Special Collections Department at UVM. Not everyone knows that we have one of the finest collections of artists’ books in the nation, right here in Burlington. Join us in a hands-on exploration that will stimulate your imagination and spark your creativity!

* Please bring a pencil, not a pen, if you plan to take notes.

Reflections on April’s Meeting

April’s B.A.G. meeting was full of rich chocolate treats and rich inspiration for committing to making art. April is edible book celebration time and we had delicious treats including Lord of the Ring Dings and the Invisible Man.

As good as the food was, Marcia Vogler‘s sharing of her postcard a day initiative was the real inspiration of the evening. Marcia has been making collaged postcards with messages and sending one a day to friends while they’re going through challenging times.

Her postcards were exquisite and the whole undertaking beautiful on so many different levels. Marcia shared her process and we all had time to create postcards of our own. It was a very enjoyable evening and one that will resonate within our hearts and our stomachs too.

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

B.A.G. News

*** B.A.G.’s 2013 spring exhibit, There’s No Place Like Home, will be hosted by Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT. The show will take place at the same time as an exhibit on children’s literature in the Main Floor Gallery. Members are encouraged to submit work for this exciting show. This is a great opportunity to get your work out there, whether you are a first time exhibitor or a seasoned artist. The theme is very accessible, and brings up many references that are unique to each person. Beyond the reference to the Wizard of Oz, the idea of ‘home’ can suggest family, rooms, objects, memories, and dreams, just to mention a few. Start now with some brainstorming and word association techniques presented by Stephanie Wolff at the September meeting, and generate content for your book.You can download the entry form here. If you would like to bring your work to the May 8th meeting instead of mailing it, please email the entry form and your accompanying artist statement to Marcia to indicate that you will be bringing it then. The exhibit will be in SPA’s Third Floor Gallery from June 4 – July 6, 2013. The opening will be on Thursday June 6, 2013 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (please note that this is a date change).

*** On May 25 & 26 (Memorial Day Weekend), the statewide Open Studio Weekend is offering a wonderful selection of book artsy studios for you to visit.

If you’re up for a tour, you can find your comrades in the following locations:

• Meta Strick: Fairfield, studio #7
• Nancy Stone: Williston, studio #36
• Jill Abilock: Shelburne, studio #38
• Lyna Lou Nordstrom: Shelburne, studio #39
• Marianna Holzer: Hinesburg, studio #42
• Carolyn Shattuck: Rutland, studio #96
• Elissa Campbell: Montpelier, studio #199
• Ken Leslie: Hardwick, studio #218

Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour. You can find maps and directions to studios on the VT Crafts Council website. You can also download a pdf of the 2013 Spring Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file.

*** B.A.G. member Nancy Stone will exhibit her handmade books in the exhibit Drawn to Music. Nancy’s work will include Line Notes, a window installation of seven translucent accordion books traced from her sketches of performing musicians; Vibrations, a suite of six triptych-books of watercolor paintings developed from Line Notes; and Ecclesiastes III, a suite of diverse pop-up, white-on-white books based on “A time for war; a time for peace”, etc.

The show runs from June 4, 2013 – August 29, 2013 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. The opening is on Friday June 7, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with an artists’ talk at 6:30 p.m. Summer hours are Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 pm. Jazz, folk and classical musical events will correlate with the exhibit.

*** B.A.G. Chair Elizabeth Rideout will be teaching Bookbinding Intensive: Simplified Binding With Leather Relief Cover on June 22 & 23, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at The Bindery Place, Shelburne Pond Studios in Shelburne.

Discover the joy of working with leather as you create a relief pattern in leather for the front cover of this book! Using professional sewing, cutting and pasting techniques, you will create a text block and encase it an elegant binding. In addition to showcasing your leather relief cover, this binding style offers the opportunity to create well-crafted books with a variety of cover possibilities.

For more information please contact Jill Abilock via Email at SixLoonsStudio@gmail.com or call (802) 238-0883. There are only 10 places in the workshop and it is filling up fast, so download the registration form and send it in soon!

*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Leather Pocket Journals – The Sequel, at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on June 4 & 11, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Some say that a sequel is never as good as the original – but not in this case!

In Leather Pocket Journals Part II, you’ll learn 5 bindings that use only leather, paper, and thread – no glue needed! For each binding, you’ll sew 3 sections of folded pages into covers cut from one piece of leather. These bindings are very flexible and allow the books to open completely flat, making them perfect for use as sketchbooks or journals.

Each sewing technique creates a different decorative sewing pattern on the spine and we’ll try out different closure methods. No previous experience required – this is a great class for a beginner. You can even bring in your own leather to customize your book.

To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or Email.

Book Arts News

***  ArtisTree Gallery and Pentangle Arts Council, in conjunction with the Bookstock Literary Festival, are looking for submissions for their upcoming exhibit, Unbound Vol III: Art Using the Book as a Material/Format. The show will be juried by book artist Erin Sweeney, owner of Lovely In The Home Press in Peterborough, NH

The broad theme of UNBOUND: VOL III encompasses all of the possibilities of what we may think or may not think a “book” is. Is it story? An entry to another world? An exploration? What does it indicate? This juried show looks to explore these ideas of “the book” and all the ways artists use its format as a stepping off point or as a material to explore new ideas.

This call for submission is open to all New England and New York residents of the U.S. who are 18 years of age or older. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution. Submissions must be postmarked by mail or Emailed by June 15, 2013. For more information, please visit the ArtisTree Gallery’s website.

*** On May 9, 2013 at 6:00 p.m., The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers will be sponsoring a talk by Amy Lapidow and Stacie Dolin on their experience publishing their new book, the Book Arts Studio Handbook.

The longtime North Bennet Street School bookbinding workshop instructors have put together projects; techniques; and tools from information gleaned from their teaching experiences.

The talk will take place in the Radcliffe Room of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University.

Book Arts Classes

*** Bill Hanscom will be offering a Books in Motion workshop on May 18, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science in Boston.

Create books that burst open, tumble, spin, sway and dance! During this workshop we will explore the possibilities of movable parts within books. These elegant mechanical devices can stand on their own, in combination, or be used to enhance a variety of other book structures. We will explore the Flag Book, Blossom Book, Woven Flexagon, Exploding Map Fold Book, Jacob’s Ladder, Volvelles, and basic Pop-up construction.

Required tools: bone folder, utility knife, 12″ steel ruler, 12 x 18″ self-healing cutting mat, small brush for glue and pencil.

For more information or to register, please send an Email to gslisce@simmons.edu or call (617) 521-2803. The workshop will be held at 300 The Fenway.

***  Carol Barton will be teaching Book Arts: Paper Engineering and Sculptural Binding at the North Country Studio Workshops from January 28, 2014 – February 2, 2014. This is an ideal session for book artists, teachers, graphic designers, and anyone who likes to play with paper.

Discover the magic of the sculptural book through exploration of three-dimensional and pop-up forms. Learn how to use book structures to help convey your message. Participants will construct a series of pop-ups from simple to more complex glued structures, along with an accordion book, a carousel book, and a tunnel book.

Registration for 2014 opens June 15, 2013, so be sure to mark the date on your calendar!

*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is also hosting two workshops in June with Paul Johnson in Maine (one workshop will be repeated):

• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: In this workshop, you will make a 3D pop-up spirit house from paper. There are no folds – the whole structure (comprising over thirty separate parts) is made from hinges and dovetails joints and will fold down flat.
• Book as Architecture: In this workshop, you will make a pop-up gazebo in which there are no folds and therefore no paper ‘fatigue’. All sections are fastened together using a range of paper hinges, locks, and dovetail joints. Sections can be modified and redesigned as the model develops – you simply take out one section and replace it with another.

For more information, please download the registration form(s) below or contact Todd Pattison via Email: bookandtile@att.net.

• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: 6/21/13
• Book as Architecture: 6/22/13
• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: 6/23/13

• Book Arts Guild of VT website: http://www.bookartsguildvt.com/

• Book Arts Guild of VT Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bookartsguildvt

Fifty Shades of Grapes

Fifty Shades of Grapes

The Hunger Beans

The Hunger Beans

The Invisible Man

Lord of the Ring Dings

Heart of Darkness

The Dot

Postcard-a-Day

Marcia Vogler sharing her handmade postcards

Postcards from Marcia Volger’s “Shoe-a-Day” project

invites artists working in book and paper arts to submit entries
for an upcoming exhibit

There’s No Place Like Home

at

Studio Place Arts

 June 4, 2013 – July 6, 2013

SUBJECT MATTER: Artist books and fine bindings inspired by the phrase, “There’s no place like home”.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Membership in the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is required to participate in the exhibit.
• Membership dues may be paid with the registration form by adding the $35.00 membership fee.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: May 1, 2013

Work can be:

• Handed to Marcia Vogler at the Book Arts Guild meeting on May 8th.
• Mailed to Marcia Vogler: 1510 Hinesburg Road, Charlotte, VT 05445
• For special arrangements please contact Marcia Vogler by phone (802) 488-0461 or Email: marciavogler@gmavt.net

EXHIBIT DATES: June 4, 2013 – July 6, 2013

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday June 6, 2013 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

GALLERY LOCATION: 201 North Main Street, Barre, Vermont

GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

ENTRY FEE: $10.00 per entry (entry fees cover the costs of exhibit space, hanging, and publicity). Please make checks out to: Book Arts Guild of Vermont.

• All work to be mailed back to the artist must have pre-paid boxes or envelopes and a self-addressed label. Any packing material that needs to be returned with the book art should also be clearly/permanently labeled.

SPECIFICATIONS:

• You may submit up to 3 works for exhibit.
• All media will be considered as long as it relates to book arts and the exhibit theme.
• Each artist is guaranteed one entry for exhibition.
• All subsequent entries will be exhibited as gallery space allows.
• All 2-D work must be ready to hang.
• All 3-D work must be freestanding or have necessary cradles provided by the artist.

READING COPIES: Typed or photographed gallery reading copies are encouraged for multi-page artist books.

LABEL EVERYTHING: Artists must clearly & firmly label each submission with title and the artist’s name.

SALES: Artists must clearly indicate whether or not the work is for sale along with the price. The gallery commission is 35%.

INSURANCE & LIABILITY: While all due care will be taken with the artist’s work, neither Studio Place Arts nor the Book Arts Guild of Vermont will assume any liability for loss or damage however caused. Artists are encouraged to provide their own insurance on artwork in transit and during the exhibition. Submission of artwork constitutes acceptance of these terms.

PICK UP: At the end of the exhibit, works will be picked up by a member of the Guild’s Exhibit Committee and brought to the following Guild meeting on July 10, 2013. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact Marcia Vogler.

FOR QUESTIONS: Please contact Marcia Vogler via Email: marciavogler@gmavt.net

DATE CHANGE: PLEASE NOTE THAT WE NOW MEET ON THE SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH.

There will be no change in location – 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: Edible Books and Postcard-a-Day with Marcia Vogler

For our April meeting, Marcia Vogler is serving up a double dose of creative fun. For the first part of the meeting, we’ll celebrate the International Edible Books Festival right here in Vermont. Simply combine your creative and culinary talents and bring a piece of edible art related to books.

Your creation can pun a title (The Brothers Karamatzoh, Grape Expectations); refer to a quote, scene, character or author (To brie or not to brie, Curd Vonnegut); look like a book or book form, or be a functional book made out of edible materials (Japanese sushi nori, Pop Tarts, etc.).

Of course, you are welcome to attend the meeting whether you bring edible book art to share or come to enjoy the creations, but here are some ideas to get your creative (and gastric) juices flowing:

• S’more and Peace
• Alice in Wonderbread
• The Bun Also Rises
• The Rosetta Scone
• Lord of the Pies
• Twelve Angry Gingerbread Men

We will visit each entry and try to guess the title before the artist reveals it! You may want to bring a camera and a notepad to record the humorous creations with their titles! Then, we’ll chow down on the truly edible creations. For more inspiration, visit the International Edible Books Festival website or Google “edible books”.

During the second part of the meeting, we’ll make someone else’s day special (and keep the USPS in business!) by sending a ‘Postcard a Day.’ Marcia will share her inspiration for a daily practice of collage and written word, and how it has helped her to stay in touch with both herself and an ailing friend. A simple collage can be made quickly in an abstract manner, or as a representational piece.

Using painted papers, magazine tears, used calendar pages, or simply paper scraps, we will put together mail art to be shared with others. Marcia has sent an original postcard almost everyday since August 2011, to friends receiving chemotherapy and/ or radiation treatments. She continues because it has become an important part of her day. Examples of her work can be found here and here.

Please bring:

• Glue Stick
• X-Acto Knife
• Scissors
• Cutting mat
• Collage materials
• Paints, inks, and rubber stamps and anything else you would like to use to embellish your card(s)

Reflections on March’s Meeting

For many book artists, text is a difficult aspect to handle. In our March meeting, Donna Stepien presented a unique and fascinating view of the power of text and letters.

Beginning with an overview of applying mindfulness as a tool to find meaning in our work, Donna led us through some history of typography and principles of graphic design. She then shared the extraordinary work of students in her college-level typography class. Each student designed and constructed a book using only the words of a chosen poem to create visual and emotional impact.

We were all impressed with the level of sophistication in the work, and came away with ideas for incorporating text in a more mindful manner in our own work.

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

B.A.G. News

*** B.A.G.’s 2013 spring exhibit, There’s No Place Like Home, will be hosted by Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT. The show will take place at the same time as an exhibit on children’s literature in the Main Floor Gallery.

Members are encouraged to submit work for this exciting show. This is a great opportunity to get your work out there, whether you are a first time exhibitor or a seasoned artist. The theme is very accessible, and brings up many references that are unique to each person.

Beyond the reference to the Wizard of Oz, the idea of ‘home’ can suggest family, rooms, objects, memories, and dreams, just to mention a few. Start now with some brainstorming and word association techniques presented by Stephanie Wolff at the September meeting, and generate content for your book.

The exhibit will be in SPA’s Third Floor Gallery from June 4 – July 6, 2013. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2013. You can download the entry form here. Forms will also be available at the April meeting.

Book Arts News

*** A Book Arts Bazaar, presented by the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts in conjunction with Maine Reads and the Maine Festival of the Book, will take place on April 7th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the University of Southern Maine. The Bazaar will feature book artists, papermakers, bookbinders, printmakers, educators, writers, and all things related to the book.

The Wishcamper Center is located at 34 Bedford Street on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Campus. For more information, please contact Rebecca Goodale via Email or phone: (207) 228-8014.

*** In conjunction with the release of the Book Arts Studio Handbook by Stacie Dolin and Amy Lapidow, The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is arranging an online exhibit of bindings on or inspired by the book. The exhibit will be posted on the New England chapter website.

The entry deadline is May 1, 2013. Participants will have to submit a jpeg of their binding along with description information. If you are interested in participating in the exhibit or need more information, please Email bookandtile@att.net.

*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers has released their calendar of events for the first half of 2013. Other events may be in the works, but they wanted to distribute information so you can save the dates for any programs you are interested in.

Events will be posted on the NEGBW blog and further information will be included there. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the blog and receive notifications of new posts by Email. On the right side of the blog’s home page, fill out your Email address under “Email Subscription” and click on the “Sign Me Up!” button.

Book Arts Classes

*** Martha Kearsley will be offering a Drop-spine Box (aka Clamshell Box) workshop on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the University of Southern Maine.

The drop-spine box is a remarkably useful structure and can be easily adapted from its original purpose of housing books to create elegant and expressive portfolios. Owing to time constraints, students will build a drop-spine box from pre-measured and cut materials, but will also be provided with the skills, models and information to design and create their own boxes.

For more information or to register, please call (207) 780-5900. The workshop will be held at the Wishcamper Center Multi-Purpose Room  at 34 Bedford Street on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Campus.

*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers presents Making Bone Tools and Objects with Jim Croft on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the North Bennet Street School.

Participants will learn how to shape and polish elk and deer bone using various hand tools. Bone may be shaped into tools, small sculptures or both. Bone carving will also be demonstrated. Raw bone will be available in many shapes and sizes, everything from usable scraps to large pieces. Jim will teach sharpening if anyone wants. Bring tools you would like to show and light work gloves.

A $20.00 materials fee will cover the use of bone-working tools such as rasps, files, sandpaper and drill bits in addition to either one large bone or several smaller pieces. Additional bones may be purchased on an individual basis if desired by participants.

For more information, please download the registration form or contact Todd Pattison via Email: bookandtile@att.net.

*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is also hosting two workshops in June with Paul Johnson in Maine (one workshop will be repeated):

• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: In this workshop, you will make a 3D pop-up spirit house from paper. There are no folds – the whole structure (comprising over thirty separate parts) is made from hinges and dovetails joints and will fold down flat.
• Book as Architecture: In this workshop, you will make a pop-up gazebo in which there are no folds and therefore no paper ‘fatigue’. All sections are fastened together using a range of paper hinges, locks, and dovetail joints. Sections can be modified and redesigned as the model develops – you simply take out one section and replace it with another.

For more information, please download the registration form(s) below or contact Todd Pattison via Email: bookandtile@att.net.

• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: 6/21/13
• Book as Architecture: 6/22/13
• Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: 6/23/13

• Book Arts Guild of VT website: http://www.bookartsguildvt.com/

• Book Arts Guild of VT Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bookartsguildvt

Donna Stepien