by Elissa | Nov 4, 2015 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 11, 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: Card Tricks and Book Blitz: Mini Workshops in Cool Techniques
Join us for our always-popular annual November tradition: Member-led mini hands-on workshops in the form of a card or mini-book exchange that we call Book Blitz and Card Tricks. Get prepared now and join the fun!
Design a card or small/simple book structure that has a trick or two; maybe a pop-up, French doors or a window. Bring your completed card or mini-book, along with materials for six undecorated cards or mini-book structures to share. We will have an exchange and then engage in some decorating fun.
Please feel free to join in the fun even if you don’t have time to prepare cards or mini-books to bring. We do a similar program every November and there is always more than enough to go around. As in years past, expect to go home with some great new ideas, several new tricks up your sleeve, and a few new cards for the season.
Things to bring:
- A decorated card/mini-book with a “trick” (optional)
- 6 card structures of your card/mini-book “trick” to exchange (optional)
- Glue
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Ruler
- Bone folder
- Awl or needle tool
- Decorative punches
- Stamps and ink
- Pens, pencils, markers
- Decorative papers
- Fun stuff!
| BONUS: At the November meeting, we will also kick-off our first official BAG Collaborative Book Project: an Exquisite Corpse Book. Collaborative Project Coordinator Rebecca Boardman will explain the concept and distribute templates that you can take home and use to create an exquisite corpse to contribute to the book.
We’re planning to display the book at our upcoming Spring 2016 exhibit, Book Works (Living Learning Center Gallery, UVM campus, February 15 – March 18, 2016), and hope that everyone will be inspired to participate! |
October Meeting Reflections
Jill Dawson literally lit up our evening, both with her innovative bookworks and her circuit- making instructions. We all came away with paper works that actually did light up, and a small bit of knowledge of the tech world.
Jill inspired us to reach a little further into that world, and to explore the endless possibilities that new technology can afford the book and paper artist in all of us.
Thanks, Jill, for a dazzling evening.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
Spring Exhibit at UVM Living/ Learning Gallery
Announcing our Spring 2016 exhibit: Book Works, book-related works by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont! The exhibit will take place at the Living Learning Center gallery on the UVM campus from February 15 – March 18, 2016.
We encourage all members and friends to participate in this broadly themed show. Work can include new or time honored techniques, book-related pieces and sculpture, and generally any work that can be ‘read’. We would love to provide studio support at meetings prior to the show, where participants can seek help and advice on their projects, so bring in your work in progress to share with others.
For inspiration, try searching on Pinterest for book arts boards. Here are a few links to get you started:
After such a fantastic show last year at SEABA, we’re excited to see what comes next for everyone!
More details about the show to come!
Book Arts News
*** Now through December 13th, the Middlebury College Museum of Art is presenting The Art of Storytelling: Five Tales from Asia, Then and Now. The exhibit includes a beautiful combination of ancient and modern illustration.
The five Asian tales at the center of this exhibition have inspired artists for centuries and continue to capture the imaginations of comics writers and graphic designers today. This exhibit explores many of the painted and printed interpretations of these compelling narratives from the sixteenth century to the present.
The works are drawn from the collections of the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museums, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and Harvard-Yenching Library, and are complemented by contemporary comics, illustrations, and other digital media.
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers will have a booth at the upcoming Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair will be held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA.
Volunteers are needed to sit at the booth during the following hours:
- Friday, November 13: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 14: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday, November 15: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
It’s a great opportunity to meet interesting people, promote the GBW, and talk about books to other like-minded individuals.
They want to have two volunteers in the booth at all times. To volunteer please email Todd Pattison at bookandtile@att.net. All volunteers will get free entry into the Fair!
*** Also on November 14th is the Boston Book, Print and Ephemera Show, billed as the “other Boston book show”. The show will be held at the Back Bay Events Center (a.k.a. the Dorothy Quincy Suite at John Hancock Hall).
You can attend for free if you register online before November 13th.
*** The Paper Room (formerly known as Langdell Paper) at AVA Gallery and Art Center is holding its annual open studio on Saturday December 5th, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This event is part of AVA’s annual Open House.
Not only are there going to be 1,000’s of sheets of handmade paper available for purchase, but there will also be refreshments and fun paper-related conversation.
The AVA Art Center is located at 11 Bank Street in Lebanon, NH. The Paper Room is on the second floor in studio #209. For more information, please contact Richard at rlangdell@gmail.com.
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is looking for volunteers for an upcoming Girl Scout event. They will be partnering with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts offering programs for Cadette scouts (age 11-14) to earn a Book Artist badge. In addition, they will run a program for younger scouts.
The event will be held on Saturday November 7th at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham, MA. They will run a 3-hour program for Cadettes in the morning from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and then have a 2-hour program for younger girls from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. You can volunteer for just one program or make a day out of it and do both!
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. The younger girls will have similar programming in a shorter time frame with possibly only four rotations. 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.
Book Arts Classes
*** Valerie Carrigan will be teaching Book Ornaments at the Messenger Press Studio at the Beaver Mill in North Adams, MA. The workshop will be on Saturday November 21, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Learn to make miniature handmade books that also function as hanging ornaments. Through unique paper folding, hard covers, and the addition of a ribbon and bead, you will make beautiful structures that transform in shape from a book to an ornament. You will leave this workshop with a handful of book ornaments in a variety of sizes, colors and patterns! No experience necessary.
The workshop is sponsored by is 183 Art School of the Berkshires. To register, please call them directly at (413) 298-5252.
*** Masscribes is hosting a workshop with Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord on Saturday November 7th, at the Sportsman’s Club in Norwood, MA.
Book Play is an introduction to simple bookmaking and its possibilities for creative exploration. It is bookmaking at its most friendly and accessible – no rulers or precious papers, no designing or planning ahead. The emphasis is on freedom and possibility – how the simplest forms can be adapted, varied, and combined to unlock our creative juices. Using mostly recycled materials, we’ll make intimate books that fold and fan, hang and stand. Most of the time will be spent making books but there will be opportunities to add calligraphy.
For more information, please contact Nita Padamsee at padamseedesigns@verizon.net or Elissa Barr at penpusherink@gmail.com.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Coptic Binding with Ken Gilbert on December 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
With Coptic binding, sections of paper are sewn through their folds and attached with stitches across the spine, without any glue. Make a blank book using this ancient, elegant technique, and cover it with either cloth or decorative paper.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
by Elissa | Oct 7, 2015 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 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: Light Up Your Books: LEDS and Other Cool High-Tech Twists with Jill Dawson
Dazzling foliage, plump pumpkins, and things that go bump in the night are all hallmarks of autumn in Vermont. In the spirit of celebrating the season’s delights, you are invited to participate in an electrifying, hands-on session where we’ll be playing with paper circuitry to add some spark to a greeting card or single-sheet mini-booklet.
Come experiment and play to discover how paper circuitry – in combination with bookbinding and the writing process – may be used as a tool for brainstorming and communicating ideas. Come armed with an idea for an autumn inspiration that you’d like to illuminate (and possibly write about).
Please bring scissors, clear tape, a bone folder, and colored pencils. Optionally, you may also want to bring along paints, markers, or collage materials.
All basic circuitry supplies will be provided.
September Meeting Reflections
Our September meeting was BAG’s annual trip to Special Collections at the University of Vermont. Prudence Doherty, public services librarian, hosted our meeting. She introduced us to numerous art books that were recently acquired for the artist book collection. She explained the process of selecting books to complement and extend the vision of UVM’s collection.
Our members and quests enjoyed being able to touch and explore the new books. We all came away with new appreciation for the art of the book.
Thanks to Prudence for her selection and guidance and thanks to UVM for valuing and collecting artist books.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
Spring Exhibit at UVM Living/ Learning Gallery
Announcing our Spring 2016 exhibit: Book Works, book-related works by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont! The exhibit will take place at the Living Learning Center gallery on the UVM campus from February 15 – March 18.
We encourage all members and friends to participate in this broadly themed show. Work can include new or time honored techniques, book-related pieces and sculpture, and generally any work that can be ‘read’. We would love to provide studio support at meetings prior to the show, where participants can seek help and advice on their projects, so bring in your work in progress to share with others.
After such a fantastic show last year at SEABA, we’re excited to see what comes next for everyone!
More details about the show to come!
Book Arts News
*** The American Printing History Association will have their annual conference, Printing on the Handpress & Beyond, on Friday, October 23rd, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The conference, held at the Rochester Institute of Technology, will examine and show you the creative ways these earliest printing machines are employed today by printers, artists, scholars, and educators.
A vendor fair will take place at the Wallace Center on the 2nd floor. 21 vendors will be on selling their wares including rare books and limited editions, artists’ books, tools, supplies, crafts, and fine art related to paper, print, and book arts.
The event is free & open to the public. RIT is located in Rochester, NY.
*** On Thursday, October 22nd at 6:30 p.m., there will be an illustrated talk sponsored by The New England Chapter of The Guild of Book Workers and The Ticknor Society. Historical Bookbinding in the British Isles 1660-1800 will be presented by Stuart Bennett.
Bennett’s 2004 publication, Trade Bookbinding in the British Isles 1660-1800, examined booksellers’ and bookbinders’ records as well as thousands of historical bindings to offer a new analysis of how books came to be bound in early modern Britain. One reviewer called the study “a tool for the discerning book connoisseur [which] fills a long-standing gap in the bookbinding literature that, in retrospect, is as self-evident as a missing front tooth.”
The lecture is being held at the North Bennet Street School in Boston.
Book Arts Classes
*** Valerie Carrigan will be teaching Book Ornaments at the Messenger Press Studio at the Beaver Mill in North Adams, MA. The workshop will be on Saturday November 21, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Learn to make miniature handmade books that also function as hanging ornaments. Through unique paper folding, hard covers, and the addition of a ribbon and bead, you will make beautiful structures that transform in shape from a book to an ornament. You will leave this workshop with a handful of book ornaments in a variety of sizes, colors and patterns! No experience necessary.
The workshop is sponsored by is 183 Art School of the Berkshires. To register, please call them directly at (413) 298-5252.
*** Masscribes is hosting a workshop with Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord on Saturday November 7th, at the Sportsman’s Club in Norwood, MA.
Book Play is an introduction to simple bookmaking and its possibilities for creative exploration. It is bookmaking at its most friendly and accessible – no rulers or precious papers, no designing or planning ahead. The emphasis is on freedom and possibility – how the simplest forms can be adapted, varied, and combined to unlock our creative juices. Using mostly recycled materials, we’ll make intimate books that fold and fan, hang and stand. Most of the time will be spent making books but there will be opportunities to add calligraphy.
For more information, please contact Nita Padamsee at padamseedesigns@verizon.net or Elissa Barr at penpusherink@gmail.com.
*** On October 17 & 18, the North Bennet Street School is offering Medieval Long- and Link-Stitch Bindings with Bill Hanscom.
Long-and link-stitches connect the text block directly to the limp parchment cover and can be used individually or in combination to create striking exposed-sewing patterns on the spine. After examining models and images of historical bindings, participants choose from a number of templates and create two structures using traditional techniques and features such as fore-edge flaps and string-and-button closures.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** 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.
by Elissa | Sep 3, 2015 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The September 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 September 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.
August Meeting Reflections
The small but committed group of book arts enthusiasts who met in August had the great fortune to see some of the beautiful work that two of our members have done at conferences over the last several months. Elissa Campbell impressed us with the medieval girdle book she made in Karen Hanmer‘s four-day workshop at the 2015 Focus on Book Arts Conference, which took place in June. Penne Tompkins then delighted us with some of the beautiful calligraphic artist books she made in Marina Soria’s four-day Calligraphy in Blossom workshop at The Passionate Pen Calligraphy Conference in July.
We then moved on to creative work time. Jill Abilock shared supplies from her July Miniature Books presentation for people to try their hand at making a tiny accordion book, others worked on personal projects and shared ideas, and everyone enjoyed each other’s company! Whether we actually got something done or just enjoyed the spirit of the meeting, the time passed quickly.
Studio Support and Workshop Time is a new meeting format introduced this year. We would love your feedback on meetings held so far, as well as any ideas you might have on ways to make this format even more useful and inviting.
Book Arts News
*** New City Galerie in Burlington is accepting submissions for BOOKBODY, a juried exhibition of art and books relating to book forms and the human body. There are two sections for consideration: books that consider or reference the human body (preferably small press); and unique book objects or sculptures that relate to the forms and structures of both the human body and the book. The show is November 6, 2015 to January 26, 2016.
The submission deadline is September 15th. Please send submissions to newcitygalerie@gmail.com.
*** On Thursday, October 22nd at 6:30 p.m., there will be an illustrated talk sponsored by The New England Chapter of The Guild of Book Workers and The Ticknor Society. Historical Bookbinding in the British Isles 1660-1800 will be presented by Stuart Bennett.
Bennett’s 2004 publication, Trade Bookbinding in the British Isles 1660-1800, examined booksellers’ and bookbinders’ records as well as thousands of historical bindings to offer a new analysis of how books came to be bound in early modern Britain. One reviewer called the study “a tool for the discerning book connoisseur [which] fills a long-standing gap in the bookbinding literature that, in retrospect, is as self-evident as a missing front tooth.”
The lecture is being held at the North Bennet Street School in Boston.
Book Arts Classes
*** Valerie Carrigan will be teaching Handmade Books: Painted and Sewn at the Messenger Press Studio at the Beaver Mill in North Adams, MA. The workshop will be on Saturday September 26, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
In this workshop, you will construct a series of handmade books with watercolor covers and a variety of decorative sewing patterns. You will spend the first hour of our workshop making experimental watercolors – with pigment, salt and stencils – to be used as creative covers for our structures. Using these covers, you will learn how to create decorative sewing patterns exposed on the spines of your books. You will leave this workshop with a set of colorful and uniquely bound books and the knowledge of how to make more! No experience necessary.
The workshop is sponsored by is 183 Art School of the Berkshires. To register, please call them directly at (413) 298-5252.
*** Masscribes is hosting a workshop with Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord on Saturday November 7th, at the Sportsman’s Club in Norwood, MA.
Book Play is an introduction to simple bookmaking and its possibilities for creative exploration. It is bookmaking at its most friendly and accessible – no rulers or precious papers, no designing or planning ahead. The emphasis is on freedom and possibility – how the simplest forms can be adapted, varied, and combined to unlock our creative juices. Using mostly recycled materials, we’ll make intimate books that fold and fan, hang and stand. Most of the time will be spent making books but there will be opportunities to add calligraphy.
For more information, please contact Nita Padamsee at padamseedesigns@verizon.net or Elissa Barr at penpusherink@gmail.com.
*** From September 12 – October 5, the North Bennet Street School in Boston 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. The focus is on non-adhesive structures such as coptic, historical long stitch and case bindings such as flat back, rounded back.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** 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.
by Elissa | Nov 7, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 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: Mini Hands-On Workshops: Book Blitz and Card Tricks
Join us for our always-popular annual November tradition: Member-led mini hands-on workshops in the form of a card or mini-book exchange that we call Book Blitz and Card Tricks. Get prepared now and join in the fun!
Design a card or small/simple book structure that has a trick or two; maybe a pop-up, French doors or a window. Bring your completed card or mini-book, along with materials for six undecorated cards or mini-book structures to share. We will have an exchange and then engage in some decorating fun.
Please feel free to join in the fun even if you don’t have time to prepare cards or mini-books to bring. We do a similar program every November and there is more than enough to go around. As in years past, expect to go home with some great new ideas, several new tricks up your sleeve, and a few new cards for the season.
Things to bring:
- A decorated card/mini-book with a “trick” (optional)
- 6 card structures of your card/mini-book “trick” to exchange (optional)
- Glue
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Ruler
- Decorative punches
- Stamps and ink
- Pens, pencils, markers
- Decorative papers
- Fun stuff!
October Meeting Reflections
October brought us together at the wonderful Special Collections at the Bailey/Howe Library, where we were treated to a double whammy of a meeting.
First, the tag team of Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff wowed us with their insights into the stunning exhibit of book work from the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers. Deborah and Stephanie discussed their love of the craft, and shared details of their own work as well as the other exhibitors in the show, Geographies: New England Book Work. Stephanie gave us an in depth look at the creation of her work Sweet New England, showing us her painstaking process resulting in a sweet tribute to familiar candies made in New England.
The second whammy was a table full of fantastic artists’ books chosen to reflect the theme of ‘place’, by Prudence Doherty, Special Collections Librarian. After Prudence gave us an overview of the works, we were let loose to handle and enjoy the books. We are very lucky to have the artists’ book collection available to us, and to have such a knowledgeable keeper of the craft to help us understand and appreciate it.
Thanks to Deborah, Stephanie, and Prudence for a remarkable meeting!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
Book Arts News
*** Announcing our Spring 2015 exhibit: Book Works sponsored by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont!
The exhibit will take place at SEABA on Pine Street in Burlington during the month of April. We encourage all members to participate in this broadly themed show, 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’. So start thinking before you get into the holiday frenzy!
More info will be available soon.
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont participated in the Champlain Mini Maker Faire at Shelburne Farms in September, where members demonstrated and taught simple (and not so simple) folded book structures including the one page book, accordions, and pop-ups.
Thanks to all who participated and attended. We hope we inspired a new generation of book workers and paper lovers.
*** Geographies: New England Book Work, the New England Chapter of The Guild of Book Workers exhibition, is now on view at The University of Vermont’s Bailey/Howe Library in Burlington, Vermont through December 12, 2014.
Geographies: New England Book Work includes bookbindings and artist’s books that relate to the theme of New England created by 26 of our members. Included are classic regional texts, books that make personal connections to the region, and New England history from a variety of perspectives, among other topics.
For more information on the exhibition and the complete schedule please go to the post on the chapter blog.
*** Merrick Grutchfield has a large flat file in excellent condition that she is selling for $100.00 or best offer. It was made to hold standard sheets of paper. For more information or to snatch it up, please contact Merrick at merrickgrutchfield@gmail.com.
*** Tisch Library on the Medford campus of Tufts University has several flat files to give away. You would have to transport them on their own during the week of December 1st. Case dimensions: 54″ w x 17″ h x 42″. Each case has 5 drawers.
For more information, please contact Laura Walters at laura.walters@tufts.edu.
*** There will be a bookbinding yard sale at The Bindery in Somerville, MA on Sunday November 9, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Available goodies include a Kwikprint with chase, sewing frames, task lights, finishing press with plow, books, leather, paper, small tools & other things you can’t live without!
The Bindery is located at 11 Miller Street in room 204. No early birds, please. Cash strongly preferred.
*** Now through December 13, 2014, InsideOUT Contemporary Bindings of Private Press Books is on display in the Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library at Harvard University.
Fifty-nine binders and nine private presses from North America, Canada and Britain have collaborated to form an exhibition which demonstrates the relationship of the binding design to the printed book. Because many of the binders have chosen the same title to work on, it also highlights the differing approaches to the same text.
Harvard University is located in Cambridge, MA.
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers will have a booth at the upcoming Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. Volunteers are needed to sit at the booth during the following hours:
- Friday, November 14: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 15: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday, November 16: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
They want to have two volunteers in the booth at all times. To volunteer please email Todd Pattison at bookandtile@att.net. All volunteers will get free entry into the Fair!
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.
by Elissa | Oct 3, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The October 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 October we will not be meeting as usual on the second Wednesday at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.
Program: Special Visit to UVM Special Collections
This year, our visit to Special Collections will provide the unique opportunity to view the spectacular work of the members of the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, as their traveling exhibit – Geographies: New England Book Work – is currently on display at UVM’s Bailey/Howe Library.
Even more exciting, exhibitors Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff will be on hand to offer a guided tour of the exhibit! They will discuss the creation of their own books in the show, methods of construction used by other exhibitors, and contemporary bookbinding and book arts. The exhibition contains a variety of artist books, bindings, and manuscript books on the theme “New England.”
Deborah Howe is the Collections Conservator and a Book Arts Instructor at Dartmouth College Library, and board member of the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Stephanie Wolff is an artist, hand bookbinder, and book conservator. She teaches book arts to students of all ages, including at Dartmouth College Library’s Book Arts Workshop.
The Guild of Book Workers, a national organization founded in 1906, brings together people interested in all the book arts, including bookbinding, book conservation, calligraphy, decorative paper, papermaking, and printing. For more information visit negbw.wordpress.com and www.guildofbookworkers.org.
* Please bring a pencil, not a pen, if you plan to take notes.
September Meeting Reflections
Our September meeting was one of learning and giving. Judy Sgantas provided the group with first hand knowledge of the altruistic work provided by Team Heart. Our hearts opened as she described the culture and conditions in Rwanda. The medical team will return to Rwanda again in February to provide heart surgery for young patients. This year Judy will accompany them and work with the children in the orphanage. She will teach bookmaking and provide art supplies donated by our Book Arts Guild.
At our meeting Judy taught us the book structure of wallet books. We made several for Team Heart to give to patients and care givers in Rwanda. Jill Abilock provided beautiful paste papers for the books so each one is unique special.
Thank you Judy and Jill for providing us with a few hours away from our lives to learn about the needs of others and to have the opportunity to make a positive contribution through bookmaking.
Judy will accept more wallet books and donations through December for the work of Team Heart.
Book Arts News
*** The Champlain Mini Maker Faire will be held at Shelburne Farms Coach Barn on Saturday, October 4th from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 5th from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The Faire is a family-friendly event to MAKE, create, learn, invent, CRAFT, recycle, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science and technology.
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont will have a booth at the Faire where we will demonstrate simple book structures, and allow participants to try their hand at book arts. Stop by if you are at the Faire!
*** 
On October 4 & 5, 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:
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 2014 Fall Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file.
*** Fiber artist Marion Seasholtz generates a lot of cotton batting and fabric scraps in her work and is offering them to anyone interested in using them for papermaking. If you’re interested, please contact Marion at marion@windsedgestudio.com.
*** Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here is on exhibit at the Eliot D. Pratt Library Art Gallery at Goddard College now through October 10, 2014. The exhibit commemorates the 2007 bombing that resulted in the loss of a vibrant cultural and literary community in Baghdad.
The exhibit has been traveling the world since 2012 and includes artists’ books and broadsides by artists from 26 countries. Goddard College is in Plainfield, VT.
*** The McGrath Lecture in Contemporary Book Arts presents Twenty Years of the Double Elephant Press: Harnessing Influence & Ignorance on October 8, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. in the Neilson Browsing Room at Smith College, in Northampton, MA. To accompany this lecture, there is an exhibition of selected works from the Double Elephant Press, on view through December 15 at the entrance to the Mortimer Rare Book Room (Neilson Library, level 3).
Michael Kuch of Double Elephant Press began drawing in pen and ink at the age of eleven at home in northern Vermont; one year later he had a one-man show at a local museum. For the past twenty years Kuch has worked with book artisans in the Northampton area, notably the letterpress printer Art Larson, as well as numerous bookbinders. Lately, Kuch has delved into printing his own etched text and made forays into bookbinding.
For more information, please visit the Smith College Libraries website.
Book Arts Classes
*** On October 25, 2014, the North Bennet Street School, in collaboration with the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, is offering an Onion Skin Binding workshop with Benjamin Elbel.
Learn the complex sequence of scores, folds and gluings involved in the amazing Onion Skin binding, a structure that grows from the inside to the outside, gradually incorporating the single sheets into a continuous stub.
While you will learn in a traditional workshop setting, Benjamin’s instruction will be projected on a screen for students as he will be located at his studio in London.
For more information or to register, please visit the Guild of Book Workers website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Fold & Stitch Books with Annie Silverman on Sunday, October 19 & 26, 2014 from 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Using simple techniques that build upon each other, learn a variety of essential book forms: sewn pamphlets, multiple-signature books, accordion and flag books, along with simple wrappers and envelopes.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
by Elissa | Apr 2, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 9, 2014, 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: Meet the Dremel – A Book Artist’s Dream Tool with Elissa Campbell and Jill Abilock
The Dremel is an amazing handheld rotary tool that can cut, grind, drill, etch, carve, polish, buff and trim materials ranging from bookboard, wood and linoleum to glass, ceramic tile, and metal.
Inspired by Jill Timm and her Amazing Dremel workshop, Jill Abilock and Elissa Campbell will share what makes the Dremel such a valuable tool in their studios. The first part of the presentation will include Dremel basics and how-tos, as well as live demonstrations on a variety of materials.
You will see how the Dremel can be used to:
- Carve linoleum into a handmade stamp
- Quickly and accurately drill holes in bookboard for intricate hand-sewn binding patterns
- Carve, cut, sand and finish wood
- Etch designs into ceramic tiles
- Buff, polish, deboss and distress metal
Elissa and Jill will also bring the sample books of materials they worked with in Jill Timm’s workshop, which, in addition to the above, include glass, mirrors, Plexiglas, and polymer clay.
In the later portion of the meeting, you will have an opportunity to try out a Dremel and experience for yourself what a handy tool it is!
What to bring:
- Dremel tool: Jill and Elissa each have only one Dremel. In order to enable the greatest number of people to get a hands-on feel for the tool, they have requested that anyone who has a Dremel and is willing to allow others to try it out please bring it to the meeting.
- Safety gear: There will be protective eyewear and face masks at the demo table. Anyone wishing to try out a Dremel will be required to wear both. Please note that regular eyeglasses alone are not considered sufficiently protective (there will be safety glasses available that fit over regular eyeglasses). In addition, there may not be enough face masks for everyone to have their own. If, for hygienic purposes, you prefer not to share, you may wish to bring your own face mask.
One final note: Anyone who suffers from asthma or other respiratory issues might want to bring a good quality face mask to wear during the meeting as there will inevitably be a fair amount of dust in the air.
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.
The deadline for submission has been changed to April 21st. Click here to download the exhibit entry form.
Book Arts News
*** Dan St. John of Chena River Marblers is hosting a Warehouse Sale on May 17th from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at 59 North Street in Hatfield, MA. Dan has amassed a large collection of paper, board and other materials from the historic paper mills of the Pioneer Valley, many of which are no longer in operation.
Included in this sale will be Neuman’s acid-free binder’s board in .08” and .09” thickness, lots of .010” Bristol, 4-ply mat board, paper in rolls, Chena River marbled paper, Mohawk text paper, and a variety of other text weight paper in a range of colors. Some marbling equipment is expected to be available for sale as well.
*** ArtisTree Gallery is looking for submissions for their upcoming exhibit, Unbound Vol IV. The broad theme of UNBOUND: VOL IV 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 14, 2014. For more information, please visit the ArtisTree Gallery’s website.
*** The New England Guild of Book Workers is looking for volunteers for an upcoming Girl Scout event on Saturday April 12th. The event will run from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Camp Maude Eaton at 141 Abbott Street in Andover, MA, which is about 20 miles north of Boston. This 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 and decorating paper. 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 at the University of Southern Maine’s Wishcamper Center will take place on Sunday, April 6th. The Bazaar is a festival with book artists, papermakers, bookbinders, printmakers, educators, writers, and all things related to the book.
The Bazaar is free and open to the public from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The Wishcamper Center is located on Bedford Street on USM’s Portland Campus. USM’s Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts is sponsoring the Book Arts Bazaar and profits from this event support the center.
If you are interested in being a vendor at the Bazaar, there are still some tables available. The table rental cost is $45.00 and the deadline is March 15th. For registration information, contact Rebecca Goodale at goodale@maine.edu or (207) 228-8014
(207) 228-8014.
*** The Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College in Northampton, MA will be hosting the first of a new book arts lecture series on Thursday, April 10. Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book & Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress, will present Single Voice, Many Hands: the Nature of Vision and Collaboration in Contemporary Book Arts. The lecture will be followed by a gala reception.
The lecture will be held in the Browsing Room in Neilson Library at 4:30 p.m. For further information, please call (413) 585-2906(413) 585-2906.
Book Arts Classes
*** On April 19 – 20, the North Bennet Street School is offering Natural Dyes and Decorative Paper Techniques with Tatiana Ginsberg in Boston.
Working from the Japanese tradition of dyeing paper with natural dyes, students explore creative methods of coloring and patterning handmade papers. Experiment with dyes derived from natural materials such as cochineal, cloves, lotus and much more. The bright and subtle colors derived from plant materials are safe and pleasant to work with and harmonize well with natural fibers.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** Jill Timm will be presenting her fabulous workshop The Amazing Dremel on May 10-11 at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA. The workshop will be hosted by the New England Guild of Book Workers. The registration fee is $250.00 with an additional material fee of $50.00, which includes your own deluxe Dremel kit with over 100 various attachments.
In this workshop, Jill will demonstrate the limitless options of the Dremel tool. Each student will provide their own Dremel and learn about the various attachment options while using the tool to drill, cut, carve, etch, shape, polish and grind into non-traditional book materials. Students can expect to experiment on materials such as glass, plastic, metals, wood, tile and more.
To register for the workshop, please contact Todd Pattison at bookandtile@att.net.
