by Elissa | Apr 9, 2023 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 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 Movable Books for 2023.
Movable books are structures with 3-dimensional pages that make a book or card come alive in your hands. These include pop-ups, volvelles, tunnel books, pull-outs, crankies, and animated structures.
Put on your hard hat, because we are going to become Paper Engineers!
We will have a series of guest presenters to familiarize you with the varied structures, and to guide you through techniques that will turn your flat two-dimensional work into exciting pop-up fun!
In the movable book world, there is of course the Movable Book Society, which promotes all things movable. A look at their website and references should be all it takes to get you warmed up for the new year. Here are some other resources to get your brain churning:
Websites to drool over:
Books to pore over:
If that’s not enough for you, just google ‘tunnel books’ or ‘pop up books’, and prepare to spend some time in the rabbit hole. Take a look – the possibilities are kind of endless!
Program: Flower Power Pop-ups! with Linda Whelihan
We’ll be celebrating spring during our April meeting! B.A.G. member Linda Whelihan will be teaching you three fun, floral pop-up forms.
Here’s what you’ll need to participate in the project:
- White and colored cardstock (cut in half: 5.5” x 8.5”)
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
- PVA or glue stick
- Decorative papers, flower catalogues for inspiration, etc.
You’ll also need to print out this template (it’s a pdf file).
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa so she can send you the details.
March Meeting Reflections
It’s always a pleasure when Dorsey Hogg presents to the group. I love how calmly and easily she works. While some of us have made tunnel books, there is always something new to learn, and a trick to pick up. My takeaways from the meeting? It does not have to be complicated, you can just trim a bit where you need to.
Dorsey showed us some of her own work using altered books and book pages to create layered tunnel structures that bring the scenes to life. It has inspired me to think in a new way about ‘layers’ and how to create movement through the perspective that the tunnel provides.
Thanks, Dorsey! You’re the best!
Thanks to everyone who showed up and participated along with us. I’m just loving this year’s theme, aren’t you?
B.A.G. Library Corner
Hi everyone, Elissa here. Sally’s taking a well-deserved month off. But don’t worry, I’ve got your monthly book fix!
I thought that you might be interested in expanding your library to include more reference books on movables. Here are a few cool books that I own, but haven’t been mentioned before:
If you have ideas for books to feature or if you have a B.A.G. library book in your possession from which you’d like to share something, email Sally at salblanch@gmail.com.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce our annual exhibition, Bookworks: the Art of the Book! The show this year will be held at the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery on Pine Street in Burlington. Members and friends are encouraged to submit up to 2 entries. B.A.G. will cover the entry fee for members.
Here are some important dates:
- Deadline for submissions: June 26, 2023. No entries will be accepted after this date.
- Exhibit dates: July 1 – 30, 2023
- Opening reception: First Friday Art Walk, July 7, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Artists’ Talk: TBD. This will take the place of our regular monthly meeting.
More details to come. A link to the entry form will be included in next month’s newsletter.
*** Susan Smereka will be teaching Creative Bookmaking with Jane Ploughman on 5 Wednesdays, April 19 – May 17, 2023.
This workshop is ideal for the newbie and for those with some experience. Learn the process of paste paper, Gelli plate printing, and Japanese marbling; Suminagashi. These decorative papers will be incorporated into book structures such as single sheet, a single flag, and an accordion with a hardcover. In your final book projects, you will also work on the content (words, drawings, collages, etc).
Jane Ploughman is a bookmaker and printmaker from New Haven, Vermont with 20 years of experience. Susan Smereka is a printmaker and visual artist with 13 years of experience with bookmaking. With two instructors you are guaranteed plenty of one-on-one instruction.
For more information or to register, click here.
*** Elissa Campbell will be teaching Pop-Up Basics at CraftStudies on April 16.
If you want to add more magic to your cards and artist books, then give pop-ups a try! Also known as paper engineering, pop-ups use cuts and folds to create motion and energy in paper structures.
Through the creation of a series of pop-up cards, students will learn the basics of three-dimensional construction, including box supports, props, and straddles, then bind these cards into a book, which will become a handy reference for future work. In addition, students will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use. No previous experience is required.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** 23 Sandy Gallery is currently accepting submissions for its upcoming exhibition, Dreams. This exhibition is open to handmade book and paper arts and related works created as either an edition or one-of-a-kind. Artist books, sculptural books, book objects, altered books, zines, and broadsides are all encouraged.
Dreams allow us to experience worlds beyond borders, barriers, and binaries. They are narratives that grow out of our waking experiences into the fantastical, unexpected, and strange. Sometimes vivid, other times elusive, dreams can immerse us in hope and beauty. Their meaning and mechanics are a mystery. In dreams, we can encounter the impossible. This call for entries invites artists to submit book and paper art about the cognitive, sensory, and emotional nature of dreams, your personal dreams, or dreams you hold for others.
The deadline for entries is June 9, 2023. For more information or to view the prospectus, please visit the 23 Sandy Gallery website.
*** Abecedarian Gallery is currently accepting submissions for its upcoming exhibition, Westward Bound II. Eligible are artists’ book works either created by artists living/working in The American West or artists’ book works with content relevant to The American West.
Virtually every part of the United States except the Eastern Seaboard has been “the West” at some point in American history, linked in popular imagination with the last frontier of American settlement. For purposes of this exhibition, The American West refers to that vast stretch of plains, mountains, and deserts west of the Mississippi and so includes states now considered the mid-west (such as the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, and so forth).
The deadline for entries is June 18, 2023. For more information, please visit the Abecedarian Gallery website.
*** Now through April 21, the North Bennet Street School is hosting Beyond Bookbinding, an exhibition including the work of students, alumni, current and former faculty, and program advisors.
The work answers a question they often get, “What do you do after you study bookbinding?” That answer includes the classic Fine Bindings often seen in bookbinding exhibitions (these works, sometimes known as “Design Bindings” or “Artistic Bindings” are exhibition oriented staples). But Beyond Bookbinding also includes book repair and conservation, historical binding structure models, period-style re-bindings, artists’ books, decorated paper, letterpress printing… and even some stone carved lettering.
The North Bennet Street School is located in Boston, MA. The exhibit is being held in the Windgate Gallery.
*** Now through April 29, the Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts is hosting Building Books: New England Book Artists Members Exhibition. The exhibition is located in the Great Reading Room, 7th floor, Glickman Family Library at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.
NEBA is a professional organization of book artists and bibliophiles. It celebrates, promotes, and supports the book arts and its makers, fosters public education, and nurtures an understanding and enjoyment of the discipline through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and related activities.
For more information, please visit the KCCCBA website.
*** The Rochester Public Library is currently accepting submissions for its 12th juried international exhibit, Art of the Book: Artist Books, Altered Books, & Paper Sculpture. The deadline for entries is May 15.
In 2011, the first Art of the Book exhibit was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Rochester Public Library. At the time, they wanted to celebrate what has been at the core of libraries for centuries – the book. They marveled over the intricate interpretations of this humble format and were thrilled with the response to the exhibit from the community.
In subsequent years, the exhibit has grown to include entries from all over the world, featuring well-known artists for their exquisite work. Books continue to ensnare the imagination, both for their form and content. Artists manipulate those two components to create breathtaking, mind-bending works of art that tease and cajole people to consider the intricacies of paper, ink, words, and meaning.
For more information or to view the prospectus, please visit the Rochester Public Library’s website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Drum Leaf Binding and its Precedents with Scott McCarney on Thursdays, April 27 – May 11.
In this workshop, participants will learn to make three types of lay-flat books ideal for displaying photographs and prints. The three techniques – a Japanese Album, a Japanese Butterfly book, and a Drum-Leaf binding – have similarly easy and ingenious modes of assembly. All three books join single folded folios in distinct ways using a minimum of glue, limiting the amount of moisture to speed the binding process considerably.
Participants will case their Drum-Leaf books into easily assembled quarter-cloth covers with throw-back spines. Since each page spread is a single folded folio, participants can print their images across the gutter with no interruption, making these techniques very popular with printmakers and photographers. Once completed, these books lie flat when opened, making them easy and comfortable to view.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Dos-à-Dos Binding with Rosae Reeder on April 29.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create books that are bound together – sharing a back cover – and open in opposite directions. First, create a simple single-page dos-à-dos to get familiar with the concept of the structure. Next, make a softcover book with two sections sewn in. Finally, create a hardcover dos-à-dos structure with a sewn open spine.
The stories or imagery in these versatile books can be viewed as one continuous story, or as two parallel stories. Basic binding skills are helpful, but not required.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** Erin Fletcher of Herringbone Bindery is offering the Tue-Mouche binding on May 23 & 25.
Translated to “flypaper”, the Tue-Mouche was developed by Ben Elbel as a variation to the Dos Rapporté structure (another one of his innovations). The Tue-Mouche is an easy and economical form of bookbinding. The covers are constructed entirely from heavyweight paper, layered to create rigidity and strength, while the flexible spine allows the binding to open without constraints. In this workshop students will learn how to create the Tue-Mouche structure from start to finish.
For more information or to register, please visit Erin’s website.
by Elissa | Dec 2, 2021 | B.A.G. Book Swap, B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 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
Program: Zine Swap Sharing
Our December meeting will be a sharing of your amazing ZINES.
Come prepared to guide us through your zine creation and share your process. The variety of zines made by our 20+ participants is so creative and full of surprises. Get ready for an evening of inspiration and fellowship.
Zine you there!
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
November Meeting Reflections
Traditionally, the November meeting (formerly Book Blitz and Card Tricks) has been one of my favorites. Participation is always at a high and ideas flow freely. The new program, simply called Paper Tricks, did not disappoint. Volunteers showed their simple, complicated, or just plain fun ideas using their awesome paper skills.
We also caught up with Gail Martin and her collection of miniature books that was in the show at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild. Wonderful all around.
Thanks, everyone, for presenting, participating, and just plain showing up. We continue to buoy each other up, and look forward to a future when we can meet in person.
You can download Elissa’s card template here.
B.A.G. Library Corner
We all know that food is the most important part of the holiday season. What about creating a journal to house your holiday recipes?
Jeannine Stein’s Adventures in Bookbinding gives us a step-by-step guide to creating a quirky coptic-bound, decoupage journal – that even incorporates real spoons! Whether you use this tutorial to create a junk journal of gathered recipes or to create a blank book to copy your recipes by hand, Stein’s method is fun to follow or easy to customize to your own vision.
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 project here.
B.A.G. News
*** Support the Book Arts Guild of Vermont by becoming a member!
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is supported by its members and you have kept us going for more than fifteen years. Our organization is solely run by volunteers and we do what we do because we love the book arts and we love B.A.G.. We continue to be inspired by our community, and the enthusiasm and talents that you bring to our meetings.
Membership dues are our main source of income and we hope that you will show that you value what we have to offer – quality programming, future exhibits, and more – by becoming a member. You get so much value out of your $35.00 and attending just one meeting can give you your full money’s worth.
Just to give you an idea of where membership dues go, here’s a breakdown of B.A.G.’s annual expenses:
- Zoom subscription: $149.90 per year
- Vimeo subscription: $84.00 per year
- Rent: $50.00 per month when we can return to in-person attendance
- Presenter honorarium: $35.00 per meeting
- Website and email newsletter: $100.00 per year
- Presenter reimbursement for supplies: Varies
We hope that you will renew your membership to help us with our annual expenses. You can download our membership form and send it in with your payment by check of $35.00 made out to the Book Arts Guild of Vermont:
Book Arts Guild of Vermont
c/o Ann Joppe-Mercure
10 Brookwood Dr
South Burlington, VT 05403
Thank you so much for your continued support of the guild. We wouldn’t be here without you.
*** Mary Ellen Manock is offering up her stash papermaking supplies to anyone interested. She’s got a blender, instructions, straw, and cellulose materials to wet down and make paper. She also has some color aid paper (glossy brilliant color).
The catch is that she needs to get everything out of her garage by this weekend as she is closing on her house. If she can’t get any takers, then she will bring everything to the ReStore.
If you’re interested, please contact Mary Ellen at memanock@mac.com.
Book Arts News
*** Join the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center for their 14th annual Illustrated Accordion exhibition.
Each year the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) sponsors a non-juried exhibition The Illustrated Accordion, showing in the KBAC Gallery in spring. Open to all emerging and established artists, this exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form.
The Illustrated Accordion exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form. The structure of an accordion book is simple: a long piece of paper is folded into pages that can be read like a book or spread open and displayed like a banner. Featuring works of book artists from all over the world, the books in this exhibit take this book form to a new level.
Entries are being accepted online, now through January 24, 2022.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact Katie Platte at katie@kalbookarts.org or (269) 373-4938.
*** Now through December 6, Abecedarian Artists’ Books is accepting submissions for its upcoming show, Lettered & Bound. The exhibit will be on view at Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, in Denver, CO in February 2022 and Tallyn’s Reach Public Library in Aurora, CO in March 2022.
Eligible are book works that include calligraphy (the art of beautiful writing) as a primary element. Book works can be unique, editioned, traditionally bound, created using experimental forms (e.g. folded forms), wall mounted (e.g. scrolls) or loose sheets presented in a portfolio or box. Calligraphy is here defined as human mark making that draws upon traditional forms of calligraphy or modern, gestural, or abstract forms.
For more information or to submit work for consideration, please visit the Abecedarian Artists’ Books website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Austin Book Arts Center is offering the Watercolor Sketchbook with Beatrice Baldwin on December 10.
Learn some basic bookbinding skills in this 3-hour workshop. Students will create a hard-cover book with pages of watercolor paper (140 lb Arches cold press). It is an accordion fold construction, so the book opens wide and the pages lay flat, perfect for sketching or watercolor.
For more information or to register, please visit the ABAC website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering A Wardrobe of Paper Cases with Karen Hanmer on December 11,
In this one session online workshop you will quickly construct a text block using a very speedy sewing technique. This will free up the remainder of our time together to concentrate on folding a variety of paper cases to dress this text block ”mannequin.” As each case is presented, suggestions will be given on appropriate sewing techniques and endsheet constructions for that particular structure.
All structures are low or no adhesive. All can be constructed in a sparsely-equipped home studio with minimal specialized equipment.
This workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders, beginners who are ready for a fast-paced workout, and anyone who wants to add more paper cases to their repertoire.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Zines, Zines, Zines! with Beth Sheehan on December 16.
In this two-hour virtual workshop for beginners, the instructor will give an overview of the multifaceted history of zines and teach participants to make their own!
Participants will learn simple image-making techniques like pochoir and easy-to-do zine structures including variations on the accordion book.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
by Elissa | Nov 4, 2021 | B.A.G. Book Swap, B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 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
Program: Paper Tricks – Books, Cards, and Garlands
We have rebranded our annual November tradition from Book Blitz and Card Tricks to Paper Tricks! Member-led mini demonstrations can include any paper-centric item, including mini books, holiday cards, ornaments, garlands, or any other form you come up with.
While we are unable to be together IRL, we can still celebrate each others’ creativity. Your task – design an item that has a trick or two; maybe a pop-up, French doors, a window, or unusual material or structure.
Here’s where we need YOU.
We are seeking volunteers to share their paper manipulation during our Zoom meeting. You will simply hold up your creation for us to see and demonstrate how you made your paper item. We can post follow up references on Chat if desired.
Contact Marcia to secure a spot in the spotlight. The more members who participate, the richer our meeting will be.
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
October Meeting Reflections
We are all missing IRL meetings and the socializing that we enjoyed during those times. But I really felt the camaraderie in our group at our meeting in October where artists shared work from the NEKAG show.
There was a lot of giving going on in the form of positive feedback, helpful ideas, and general admiration. And what’s not to admire? We had very positive feedback from the gallery, and succeeded in one of our main missions, to further the public knowledge of book arts.
So thank you to all the artists who participated in the show, and special thanks to those who shared their work more intimately at the meeting. It’s always inspiring to me to know where ideas come from, and how they make it into book form. How does that happen for you? What makes you create a book? Ah, these questions deserve discussion.
B.A.G. Library Corner
We’re entering the holiday season once again and beginning to put our gift lists together. And what could make a gift giving prettier than Naomi Shiek’s leafy gift set?
In her book, Fold It and Cut It, Shiek provides templates and instructions for creating intricate hand-cut leaf designs for gift tags, gift wrap, and ribbon. Together, these designs make any gift something special.
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 project here.
B.A.G. News
*** We have over 20 participants in the B.A.G. Zine Swap Challenge!
Remember to mail your 10 zines by November 20th to:
Ann Joppe-Mercure
10 Brookwood Drive
South Burlington, VT 05403
Here’s a recap of the details:
- Create your zine using an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper – it should be an 8 page origami structure (one-sheet book).
- The final zine size should be 4.25″ x 2.75″.
- Make 10 copies of your zine and fold them.
- Optional fun – create a box or wrap to contain your zines.
We will mail packets of 10 assorted zines to you in late November, just in time to share them at our December B.A.G. meeting
*** B.A.G. Co-Founder Nancy Stone will selling her book 251 Vermont Vistas from a booth at the Made in Vermont Marketplace put on by Vermont Business Magazine. The book is a collection of original watercolor ‘postcards’ that she painted over several years as she and her husband visited each of Vermont’s 251 towns and cities. To preview the book or to order on-line, visit Nancy’s website.
The Marketplace will take place on Saturday, November 20th from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday, November 21 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Double Tree by Hilton Burlington on Williston Road. It will welcome exhibitors who make unique Vermont products, from food to spirits to woodworking to Vermont clothing and more.
The timing of the event, a week before Thanksgiving, enables people to start shopping for holiday gifts early. With all the talk of supply chain shortages, now is the time to buy local for Christmas.
For more information please visit the Made in Vermont Marketplace website.
*** Emma Percy is teaching Zines & Book Arts at River Arts in Morrisville on December 5.
Zines have a recent but rich history as an underground mode of sharing information, art, and new ideas with other like-minded creative folks. This workshop will explore what zines and artist’s books are and what they can be, introductory layout, printing, and bookbinding techniques to get you started, as well as things to consider when beginning a do-it-yourself publishing or bookmaking project.
A zine can be anything from a folded sheet of paper to a beautifully crafted booklet, and with help and inspiration from Emma’s extensive zine library and scrap paper collection, we will all make a few small zines as well as the foundation for a larger artist’s book where you can let your creativity shine!
For more information or to register, visit the River Arts website.
*** This one comes to us from Nancy Stone:
Gwendolyn Evans is seeking someone to help her with technology for creating pages of her own writing that can be put into a handmade book. Due to vision loss, she is unable to do this herself. She has “always wanted” to make a book using her original content that would be bound within covers created from her work with polymer clay.
She can be reached at (802) 879-2706 or at gwendolynvt@gmail.com.
Book Arts News
*** Now through November 16th, the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH is hosting The New England Guild of Book Workers 40th Anniversary Exhibition.
This exhibition highlights the creative range and skills of the current members. The work bridges traditional fine binding to innovative design binding where book forms are re-imagined using unconventional materials in new experimental ways.
If you can’t make it to the exhibit, you can view a catalog of the work online.
For more information, please visit the Baker-Berry website.
*** Now through November 20, 23 Sandy Gallery is presenting UNSEEN, and exhibition of book arts featuring 76 works juried by Fulbright recipient and book arts educator Barb Tetenbaum, Jordan Eddy (director of form & concept), and Erin Mickelson (owner of 23 Sandy).
Artists were asked to consider the invisible forces that can shape our lives and surface in unexpected ways – physically, psychologically and philosophically. Work ranges from traditional codexes and interactive and exquisite corpse-style works to reactive sound art books and sculptures.
You can view all of the included work on the 23 Sandy Gallery website.
*** Now through December 6, Abecedarian Artists’ Books is accepting submissions for its upcoming show, Lettered & Bound. The exhibit will be on view at Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, in Denver, CO in February 2022 and Tallyn’s Reach Public Library in Aurora, CO in March 2022.
Eligible are book works that include calligraphy (the art of beautiful writing) as a primary element. Book works can be unique, editioned, traditionally bound, created using experimental forms (e.g. folded forms), wall mounted (e.g. scrolls) or loose sheets presented in a portfolio or box. Calligraphy is here defined as human mark making that draws upon traditional forms of calligraphy or modern, gestural, or abstract forms.
For more information or to submit work for consideration, please visit the Abecedarian Artists’ Books website.
*** Now through December 11, the Center for Book Arts is hosting CBA 2021 Faculty Fellow Colette Fu‘s exhibition, What the Butterfly Dragon Taught Me, Dimensional Stories in Paper.
The exhibition showcases Fu’s mastery of complex three-dimensional compositions engineered from paper and her own photographs – a practice she has honed over almost two decades.
CBA recorded an artist talk with Fu, where she both discussed the individual stories of each work and spoke to the overall series they are part of – We Are Tiger Dragon People.
You can watch Fu’s talk on YouTube.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Sewn Boards Binding with Karen Hanmer on November 13.
This variation on the Sewn Boards Binding is based on Gary Frost’s first prototype. It is held in University of Iowa Library Historical Bookbinding Model Collection. A quick and utilitarian notebook, the outer card folios are glued shut, the spine lined, and a breakaway spine wrapper is added while covering the book in sturdy bookcloth.
Expect a fast-paced workshop; some binding experience and familiarity with basic concepts like folding and paper grain direction will be helpful.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Intro to Tunnel Books with Maria G. Pisano on November 17 & 18.
In this workshop, students of all experience levels will learn how to make tunnel books. A tunnel book is a wonderful book structure that creates the optical illusion of perspective through accumulated layers.
Traditionally a tunnel book is accompanied by supporting concertinas sides, which make the work collapsible, portable, and easily viewable. The reader is able to hold a tunnel at eye level and marvel at it!
Students will work with their own images to create the book. The images should all be related in theme and subject matter to facilitate a successful outcome.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Austin Book Arts Center is offering the Secret Belgian Binding with Kevin Auer on three Mondays, November 29, December 6, and December 13.
Developed by the Belgian artist Anne Goy in 1986 this binding has a similar appearance to a Japanese stab binding. The structure uses a primary and secondary sewing. The sewing creates a distinct thread pattern on the cover and it is a very sturdy binding that allows the book to open completely flat.
In this class we will create a three-piece cover using book board. This board will be covered in paper. The cover pieces will then be sewn together to create the case and the unique sewing pattern. Once the case is completed the textblock will be sewn directly onto the cover using the existing sewing to anchor it in place. We will explore two different sewing methods for connecting the textblock to the case.
For more information or to register, please visit the ABAC website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Fuzzy Books with Joanna Manning on two Tuesdays, November 30 and December 7.
Chase away the cold pricklies with some warm, fuzzy, hand-felted artist’s books! In this interactive workshop, get acquainted with needle felting materials and turn wool into a miniature artist’s book of your design.
Craft your own miniature book creation with simple techniques and minimal materials. Learn basic wool felting techniques including how to create and use stencils, fill in shapes, blend colors, and master fine details like thin lines, sharp edges, and dots.
This beginner-friendly workshop doesn’t require any previous knowledge or skills. A materials list will be provided and you’ll walk away with your own unique finished project, plus techniques to continue making more after the workshop.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
by Elissa | Mar 3, 2016 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 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: Box Making with Elizabeth Rideout
Join the Book Arts Guild for an evening of box-making with Boston based bookbinder and former B.A.G. chair Elizabeth Rideout. Elizabeth will show samples and discuss a variety of common structures for custom enclosures and book boxes.
Elizabeth’s presentation wouldn’t be complete without a hands-on component; everyone will build a small box model to take home.
Please bring along your favorite hand tools, including:
- Ruler
- Glue brush
- X-Acto knife or scalpel and blades
- Cutting mat
- Pencil and eraser
- Small, sharp scissors
- Bone folder
February Meeting Reflections
The opening reception of the B.A.G. spring show, BookWorks, was well attended by family, friends, artists, and students. After a short introduction about the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and the show, we all had time to chat with old and new friends, and take a close look at the wonderful work displayed.
The artists’ talks were enlightening and inspiring, and brought whole new meaning to the works – the time and effort applied, the methods and materials used, and the interplay between the concept, the ‘story’, and the structure.
Thank you all for participating in the show, and thanks to the Living/Learning Center Gallery for hosting! On to next year’s show!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Our Spring 2016 exhibit Book Works: Artists’ Books by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is currently on display at the Living/Learning Center gallery at the University of Vermont until March 18, 2016.
The exhibit includes a wonderful variety of work, ranging from altered books to calligraphy, letterpressed editions to historical models.
B.A.G.’s Exhibits Chair Marcia Vogler did an amazing job of curating the show. Get yourself to the exhibit and check out the work of your fellow B.A.G. members – you won’t be disappointed!
The Living/Learning Center gallery is located on the UVM campus in Burlington, VT. Click here for directions.
If you can’t make it to the show, click here to view pieces included in the exhibit.
*** 
On March 26th, the Book Arts Guild of Vermont proudly presents the Chinese Sewing Box Book, a one-day workshop with the awesome Erin Sweeney. Erin is a dynamic teacher and artist, and fills a room with excitement and inspiration. Sign up now, as space is limited!
The Chinese Sewing Box Book is a book structure created by the amazing Hedi Kyle – made entirely of folded boxes and enclosures based on paper wallets, and used to store sewing supplies – an origami lovers’ dream! Many things can be housed in this finished structure: surprises, stories, drawings, and prints. Students will leave with one finished book, a pattern to make another, and hopefully the start of a second book!
Erin Sweeney lives and works in southern New Hampshire, where she runs Lovely In The Home Press, and teaches Book Arts and Letterpress printing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Here’s the scoop:
- Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
- Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Location: Ridgewood Clubhouse, South Burlington
- Cost: $75.00, including materials (payment is due in full with your registration to reserve a spot)
You can download the registration form here.
Book Arts News
*** In collaboration with Abecedarian Gallery, Saint Anselm College is presenting CONTEMPORARY BOOK ARTS: 100+ Works, an exhibit of artists’ books co-curated by Kimberly Kersey-Asbury and Alicia Bailey. The exhibit is on view at the Living Learning Commons Galleries at the college and runs now through March 16.
The exhibit includes 85 works on loan to Saint Anselm from Abecedarian Gallery, along with selections from Manchester book artist Erin Sweeney and students at Saint Anselm College. You can view the pieces included in the exhibit on the Abecedarian Gallery website.
For more information about the exhibit, please contact Kimberly Kersey-Asbury at kasbury@anselm.edu. The Living Learning Commons Galleries at Saint Anselm College are located in Manchester, NH.
*** The Movable Book Society and the Ticknor Society are hosting the Movable Book Conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel on September 15-17. The conference agenda is available for viewing online.
The conference includes speakers, hands-on activities, presentations, a silent auction, and a book sale. This year’s speakers include Shawn Sheehy, Matthew Reinhart, and Emily Martin. In addition, area institutions and libraries in and around Boston will be mounting pop-up “Pop-Up Book” exhibits of materials in their collections.
For more information or to register for the conference, please visit the Movable Book Society website.
*** ONE Arts Center invites the public to drop off printed single pages or small zines of creative writing to be part of a month-long art show that explores the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication.
Bring work to the center at 72 North Champlain St. in Burlington, VT from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The deadline for submissions is March 31.
For more information, please call (802) 338-0028.
Book Arts Classes
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Join the Fold: Origami Books at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on March 17 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
In this workshop, you’ll be playing in the intersection between origami and bookmaking, creating folded books that require no adhesive. Many of the forms can be created from a single sheet of paper.
One of the pieces you’ll be making can be used as either a book cover or as a signature in a sewn book, and other pieces include hidden pockets. Structures include the Blizzard Book, Crown Binding, and the Turkish Map Fold.
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or email.
*** Kelly McMahon of May Day Studio is teaching Introduction to Letterpress in Montpelier, VT on Saturday, March 26 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The cool touch of decades-old metal type. A firm two-handed impression roll for a copy proof. A deft transfer from composing stick to imposing stone. A gentle tap of the planer. Two quick twists of the locking key and the chase with form is secure. The press is inked, the guides aligned, the chase slips into position, paper is correctly placed and your very first impression is ready to print.
Participants set type, lockup and print on a Chandler and Price Pilot and a Vandercook SP-15 – we’ll be printing limited edition notesets, as well as posters! Each participant will leave with 10 cards and envelopes, and 5 8-1/2″ x 11″ posters as lifetime keepsake of their first letterpress experience.
For more information or to register, please visit the May Day Studio website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Pop-Up Travel Journal with Susan Porter on April 17 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Incorporate photos, tickets, labels and other ephemera from your travels to create a pop-up book. The book begins as a simple square but opens into a dramatic, multifaceted container that includes pockets, windows, pop-outs and other paper forms. A variety of media and techniques will be used including printmaking, collage, painting and drawing.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
*** On April 9-10, the North Bennet Street School is offering Paper “Leather” Bindings with Fionnuala Gerrity.
Love the look of leather but hate the expense? Learn how to use paper as an alternative covering material to leather in this two-day class. This material is also great for conservation applications and for those who prefer to avoid animal products. Students make a blank book sewn on raised cords with a paper covering material molded around the spine and toned to simulate the look and feel of leather. No paring required!.
Students are responsible for supplying their own tools. A tool list will be sent at least 2 weeks prior to class start.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
by Elissa | Feb 4, 2016 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Thursday, February 18, 2016, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The February meeting will be held at the Living/Learning Center gallery on the UVM campus. Click here for directions to the gallery and here for a map of visitor parking at UVM.
Please note that in September we will not be meeting as usual on the second Wednesday at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.
Program: Spring Exhibit at UVM Living/Learning Gallery
Our Spring 2016 exhibit Book Works: Artists’ Books by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont will take place at the Living/Learning Center gallery on the UVM campus from February 15 – March 18, 2016.
The opening reception and artists’ talk will be on February 18th at 5:30 p.m. This will be in place of our usual February meeting at the Unitarian Church.
We invite anyone with a piece or pieces in the show to talk briefly about their work. Time may be limited in order to give everyone a chance to speak.
The deadline for submissions has passed. However, if you have a piece that you would like to have included in the show, please email Marcia your paperwork by FEBRUARY 9th. That is the final final final date.
For special arrangements for your piece, please contact Marcia. Address and contact info are on the entry form, which can be downloaded here.
January Meeting Reflections
Our January meeting brought out everyone’s creative spirit in the Build-a-Book Round Robin program. Using materials passed on in an envelope, participants assembled these into unique books using a basic pamphlet structure or variation. With each passing of the envelope, the books took on the quirky, surprising results of collaboration.
We all left with a one of a kind journal that expressed the varied nature of our group. I love mine, and can’t wait to do it again!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Rebecca Boardman has been busily working on our collaborative Exquisite Corpse book so that it may be included in our upcoming exhibit. She has two pieces with unidentified artists and would like to credit them for their work.
Please look at the images below and contact Becky if either belongs to you.
*** On March 26th, the Book Arts Guild of Vermont proudly presents the Chinese Sewing Box Book, a one-day workshop with the awesome Erin Sweeney. Erin is a dynamic teacher and artist, and fills a room with excitement and inspiration. Sign up now, as space is limited!
The Chinese Sewing Box Book is a book structure created by the amazing Hedi Kyle – made entirely of folded boxes and enclosures based on paper wallets, and used to store sewing supplies – an origami lovers’ dream! Many things can be housed in this finished structure: surprises, stories, drawings, and prints. Students will leave with one finished book, a pattern to make another, and hopefully the start of a second book!
Erin Sweeney lives and works in southern New Hampshire, where she runs Lovely In The Home Press, and teaches Book Arts and Letterpress printing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Here’s the scoop:
- Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
- Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Location: Ridgewood Clubhouse, South Burlington
- Cost: $75.00, including materials (payment is due in full with your registration to reserve a spot)
You can download the registration form here.
*** Many thanks to everyone who folded origami cubes for the Genesis Project. In total, we contributed 168 cubes!
Valerie Hird will be using our cubes, along with thousands of other origami pieces from around the world, to assemble a tree at the Nohra Haime Gallery (730 Fifth Avenue, New York). The exhibition of the tree (including the two weeks when Valerie will be documenting its assembly) will run from March 4 through May 7, 2016.
The official opening reception will be held on Tuesday, March 22. If you can’t attend in person, Valerie is also organizing a live webcast of the reception “where we’ll upload pics, comments and clink wine glasses in real time!”
If anyone is considering heading down to New York for the reception on March 22, or would like to participate in a small gathering locally to join the virtual webcast, please contact Jill.
| It’s time to renew your annual membership!
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 in the sidebar of this newsletter), 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. In addition, 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.
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Book Arts News
*** In collaboration with Abecedarian Gallery, Saint Anselm College is presenting CONTEMPORARY BOOK ARTS: 100+ Works, an exhibit of artists’ books co-curated by Kimberly Kersey-Asbury and Alicia Bailey. The exhibit is on view at the Living Learning Commons Galleries at the college and runs now through March 16.
The exhibit includes 85 works on loan to Saint Anselm from Abecedarian Gallery, along with selections from Manchester book artist Erin Sweeney and students at Saint Anselm College. You can view the pieces included in the exhibit on the Abecedarian Gallery website.
The opening reception will take place on Thursday, February 11 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, please contact Kimberly Kersey-Asbury at kasbury@anselm.edu.
The Living Learning Commons Galleries at Saint Anselm College are located in Manchester, NH.
*** 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 March 26, 2016 at Camp Maude Eaton in Andover, 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
*** On Sundays February 28 – March 20, the North Bennet Street School is offering Single Signature Binding with Erin Fletcher.
Students begin by making a simple softcover pamphlet booklet then use this basic bookbinding technique and create two different hardcover single signature bindings. The first is a modified stub binding, which pushes the signature away from the spine, allowing the text to open flat. The second is a modified Bradel binding with a leather spine. Prerequisite: Fundamentals of Bookbinding I or equivalent experience, no leather experience necessary.
This is an advanced beginner class. Students should feel comfortable with the basics of bookbinding: measuring, cutting and sewing a textblock on tapes; and gluing.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** From April 1 – 3, the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers presents Single Section Staple Binding in Stone with Coleen Curry. The workshop will be held at Third Year Studios in Boston.
This three-day class will explore binding structures using real stone veneer in the techniques created by Sün Evrard. Students will construct a modified historical structure with conservation principles in mind, using the stone veneer.
This single-section staple binding is simple but is executed with a lot of care and attention to detail. The pamphlet binding is sewn and then attached to the boards using copper wire as secondary sewing. You will decorate the bindings by cutting into the stone and painting with acrylic. Students will create one binding, and if time allows, we will explore uses of the stone as a decorative element for bindings or boxes.
For more information or to register, please visit the GBW website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Case Binding: Flatback Journal with Joshua Crotty on February 20 & 21, 2016 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Learn the fundamentals of basic case binding, including signature construction, a common sewing structure, lining up, case making with cloth and decorative paper and casing in. Go home with a small journal and the skills to produce your own case-bound books using a basic set of tools.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
