by Elissa | Mar 3, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 2022, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
This month’s meeting will once again be held via Zoom, an online conference program. If you’ve never attended a Zoom meeting before, check out this video – it will go over the basics of how to join a meeting.
Stay safe!
The B.A.G. Board
In continuing with our tradition of choosing a theme for our meetings every year, the B.A.G. Board has selected the theme of Woven for 2022.
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in history, and is an integral part of all of our lives. We wear woven clothing, we sit on woven seats, we use and admire woven baskets.
In the paper and book world, there are many examples of paper weaving, woven book covers, and woven structures. Here are a few resources to get your brain churning:
The possibilities are kind of endless!
During the meetings this year, guest presenters will guide you through techniques to get you started on your woven explorations. The simplest methods can produce exciting results and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Program: The Woven Accordion with Becky Boardman
At this month’s B.A.G. meeting, our own Becky Boardman will be leading us in a hands-on project that goes perfectly with this year’s theme, The Woven Accordion.
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the fun:
Materials:
- 1 piece – 11″ x 4.25″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- 1 piece – 14″ X 3.25″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- A Strathmore 11″ x 14″ drawing pad has grain short pages and is a good weight.
- 1 piece – 11″ x 2″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- 2 pieces – 3.25″ x 4.5″ mat board (or something similar for covers)
- 2 pieces – 4.5 x 4 5/8″ heavy text or light cardstock weight
- Drawing paper as mentioned above would work.
- Note: Paper can be any color but you might want to choose different colors that look good together.
Tools:
- X-Acto knife (sharp blade)
- Cutting mat
- Metal straight edge or ruler to cut against
- C-thru ruler (preferably) or other ruler
- Bone folder
- Stylus (or T-pin or fat needle)
- Glue stick and/or 1/4″ double sided tape (can be found at dollar stores)
- Foam or corrugated cardboard to stick stylus into
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
February Meeting Reflections
I have been thinking lately about collaboration in the world today. How could we get along without each other, since our past, present and future are all interwoven? Perhaps it’s been on my mind since the last meeting when University of Vermont librarian Prudence Doherty of the Silver Special Collections Library lead us through a group of books that speak to our woven theme.
Many of the beautiful pieces she showed us had some kind of collaboration, either between people responding to each other’s art, or weaving together text and words to create content. Certainly the most powerful piece to me is Julie Chen‘s Memento, which represents a reaction to the violence of a car bomb in Baghdad in 2007. The response seems equally meaningful to the violence we are witnessing today.
Many thanks to Prudence for giving us a specially curated vision of woven, and thanks to everyone for showing up. I think I counted 50 visitors, a new record! I will continue my thoughts about collaboration and interweaving, and I urge you to do the same
B.A.G. Library Corner
Keith Smith’s Woven Spine Tab tutorial is the perfect way to add a touch of weaving to your book’s exterior. Constructed with the non-adhesive long stitch binding, you have the option of including the woven tab with or without a book jacket. This construction, along with other variations of the long stitch binding, are included in Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding, Vol. 1: Books without Paste or Glue.
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
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce our annual member show at Grand Isle Art Works! The tentative dates of the exhibit are June 15 – August 1.
We are currently working on the submission form and will include it in the next newsletter. In the meantime, keep June 6th in mind, as that’s when submissions will be due. No exceptions!
Members can submit up to three pieces for the show. We’ll have a space devoted to zines, and you can submit zines in addition to the three pieces, without any limit.
Ann Joppe-Mercure will be doing a workshop at GIAW in conjunction with the show. If you’re interested in doing something similar, please contact Ann at joppemercure@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for more details in the next newsletter and we’d love to have your work in the show!
*** B.A.G. member, illustrator, and cartoonist Amy Burns will have her work on display from February 16 – March 31 at Espresso Bueno in Barre, VT. Alongside Amy’s framed works, originals, prints, cards and comics will be work by mixed media painter Keilani Lime.
Work is available for viewing and purchase during the following hours:
- Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Saturday – Sunday: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Espresso Bueno is located at 248 N Main Street.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching The Block Printed Journal at CraftStudies on March 12 & 13. The class will take place at A Lucky Girl Studio in Norwich, VT.
Block printing is an ancient method of printmaking that can be used to create beautiful, decorated papers. Not only is it fun, but it’s something you can easily do at home. In this two-day class, students will experiment with printing and use personalized papers to cover a handmade journal.
On the first day, learn how to design and carve rubber stamps that will be used to create your own decorated papers. We will focus on basic shapes that can be used for layering and repeating to create rich and complex patterns.
On the second day, select one of your papers as a cover for a hand-made book using a binding that allows the book to remain flat when opened, making it perfect for use as a sketchbook or journal.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** On March 10, Professor Janice Radway will deliver the 36th annual Louis Faugères Bishop Lecture for the Rutgers University Libraries. Her topic is Girls, Zines, and Their Travels: Imagining Lives, Crafting Archives for a New Century.
Radway is the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Communication Studies and a professor of American studies and gender studies within the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. Radway is widely known for her scholarship on readers, reading, books, and the history of middlebrow culture.
Currently, Radway is working on an oral history of girls, their underground publishing efforts during the 1990s, and their subsequent lives.
For more information or to register for the lecture, please visit the Rutgers University Libraries website.
*** On March 15, the Puget Sound Book Artists will start accepting submissions for their 2022 PSBA Annual Exhibition. You have to be a member to be able to submit work, but membership is open to everyone.
This year’s suggested theme is Peaks and Valleys. Peaks and Valleys invoke many connotations. You are encouraged to explore your own highs and lows, literal and metaphorical.
For more information, visit the PSBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is currently holding a zine maker contest, Navigating 2020 – 2021. It’s been a crazy past two years, many of us dealing with illness, isolation, confusion, and turmoil on so many different levels. So, we want to know: How did you Navigate 2020/2021?
Were there changes in your life, your relationships, your health, or habits during the past couple of years? Have your philosophies, feelings, or views of the world changed?
Produce and submit (via email or in person) a zine by March 31, 2022. Your submission and all the others we receive will become part of a boxed set that will become part of the permanent collection at FAU Libraries’ Jaffe Center for Book Arts.
For more information on how to submit your work, please visit the JCBA website.
*** Artistree Gallery is accepting submissions for their 10th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL X. The theme of the show is simple – art using books as a material or a format. Visitors will have an opportunity to examine curious folios, recent grimoires, tomes turned to sculpture and some works having a relation to “books” in concept only.
This exhibition is for artists working in all traditional and non-traditional 2D (wall mounted) and 3D media, who are working in Vermont or New Hampshire and are 18 years of age or older. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution.
The deadline for submission is June 4, 2022. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please visit the Artistree website. Please contact exhibits@artistreevt.org with any questions.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering The Elegant Slim Volume with Stephanie Wolff on March 13.
Simple bindings on small books? An opportunity for creativity! Variations in the sewing, finishing details, or materials can give a binder many options when binding small books. We will examine simple binding methods the instructor has gathered over her many years in bookbinding and conservation.
Using thread, wood, wire, beads, and paper, we will build on the basic pamphlet to expand the options of the humble small binding. By considering all the details and materials the most basic of bindings can be elevated to simple elegance. Rather than focusing solely on structure, this workshop is an exploration of variations and design and material possibilities.
Participants are encouraged to dig into their own art supplies and general household items to use in the workshop. We will make as many models as our time allows, with suggestions for adapting the basic forms to create many more after the workshop. Our models will be softcover bindings and will serve as inspiration for future work. Some bookbinding experience is helpful.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Storage Book with Rosae Reeder on March 19.
Want a fancy way to keep receipts, keepsake ephemera, and anything else you want to save? Construct a storage book! Using the accordion fold as a spine, this hardcover book structure features handmade envelopes sewn onto the folds of the accordion to create a structure that holds two-dimensional as well as small three-dimensional items.
In this virtual workshop, learn this unique book structure and explore many different ways to keep the book closed, including ribbon, a belly band (a paper strip that slides on and off), Velcro, and more. Use a variety of decorative papers to give this book a vibrant look.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft is offering Variation on a Pamphlet with Laura Gardner on March 27 & April 3.
Artists, writers, and those keeping journals love working in books open flat. This variation on a pamphlet does just that. The pamphlet book is one sheet of paper folded one time to create four sides. It is used to relay information familiar to most of us from concerts, religious services, or advertising.
For our variation, we will gather five sheets of paper into what is called a signature then make five signatures. We finish by using colored threads to weave the signatures together along the spines to create a book that opens flat– ready for writing, drawing, collecting, journaling, or note taking.
For more information or to register, please visit the Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering Pop-Up Native Wildflowers: Go West! with Shawn Sheehy on April 2 & 3.
Celebrate the beauty of the spring bloom by building fantastic pop-up wildflowers. In this workshop you’ll create models of California poppy, California buttercup, miner’s lettuce, Rocky Mountain columbine, prickly pear, and bloodroot. A kit of pre-cut pieces will be provided. You’ll assemble the structures, collect them into a simple, elegant binding, and gain insights into paper engineering and paper sculpture. All are welcome.
For more information or to register, please visit the SFCB website.
by Elissa | Mar 25, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Vermont
by Elissa | Mar 4, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 11, 2020, 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.
Welcome to According to Accordions!
Often underestimated, the accordion book has more to it than meets the eye. This structure provides endless possibilities for construction, and multiple options for display and presentation. In our March meeting, we will continue with our multi-meeting exploration of the accordion book structure.
Prepare to be inspired by the versatility and potential of accordions!
Program: According to Accordions, Part 3 – Flag Books with Marcia Vogler
At the next B.A.G. meeting, Marcia Vogler will be teaching us how to make Flag Books. This structure literally builds on the accordion fold.
Originally developed by Hedi Kyle for her work April Diary, the foundation of the deceptively simple Flag Book structure is an accordion folded spine. Rows of flags attached to opposing sides of each of the spine’s “mountain” folds allow the artist to fragment and layer a number of complementary or contrasting images and narratives.
When read page by page, the viewer sees disjointed fragments of image and text. When the spine is pulled fully open, these fragments assemble a panoramic spread. This transformation is accompanied by a delightful flapping sound. The spine and covers provide opportunities for additional imagery.
– Karen Hanmer
Please bring more samples of accordion books to share!
All materials will be provided but if you are able, please bring the following:
- Cutting mat
- Straight edge or ruler
- X-Acto knife or the like
- Bone folder
- PVA, Fast Tack or other white glue and/or a glue stick
- Scissors
- Double-sided tape
- Small stamps or images to attach to your flags (1″ high)
If you don’t have any of these things, don’t worry extras will be available.
February Meeting Reflections
It was a full house for our second installment of According to Accordions, which featured the Star/Carousel structure. Becky Boardman showed us models and examples, then led us through the steps to make this multi-layered structure.
May I say how much I loved this? And it was the perfect little Valentine’s gift for my Valentine! I will come back to this structure again and again.
Thanks, Becky, and thanks to everyone who showed up. You are all ‘stars’.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Announcement: Spring/Summer member exhibit, Page Turners: Artist’s Books by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont
Our spring/summer exhibit will take place in June at ArtHound Gallery in Essex, Vermont. The theme, Page Turners, is open-ended, allowing for unlimited interpretation. All members are invited and encouraged to contribute new or old work.
This new gallery offers a beautiful space for the exhibit, surrounded by work from artisans all over Vermont. All work must be FOR SALE.
Here are some important dates:
- Entry due date: May 27, 2020. No entries will be accepted after this date. Artists are encouraged to bring work and appropriate paperwork to the May 13th B.A.G. meeting.
- Exhibit dates: June 6 – 30, 2020
- Opening reception: June 6, 2020. Times to be determined.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching The Moving Book – Pop-Up Basics at the Bayside Activity Center in Colchester, VT on March 21st.
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, you’ll learn the basics of three-dimensional construction, including box supports, props, and straddles. You’ll then bind these cards into a book, which will become a handy reference for future work.
Register online or print out the registration form and mail it in.
Book Arts News
*** On April 3rd, Dartmouth College‘s Baker-Berry Library presents Skins to Draw on: A Parchment Making Demonstration with Jesse Meyer from Pergamena Leathers.
Parchment is a material made from animal skin; often calfskin, sheepskin, or goatskin. Its most common use is as a material for writing on, drawing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. Jesse will demonstrate the techniques involved in the production of parchment, with participants trying their hands in the process. He’ll have lots of samples of his work for you to peruse along the way.
No registration necessary. Feel free to stop by Book Arts Room 21 from 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. to check it out.
To learn more about Pergamena visit their website.
*** Dartmouth College is also hosting An Evening with Graham Patten and his Convolutingly Engineered Books on May 18th from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Come spend a bit of time with bookbinder and conservator Graham Patten as he shows us his work, including his invention, the Continuously Convoluting Carousel. This multiplex carousel structure is the first of its kind. It can be inverted on itself indefinitely, revealing a sequence of four different hidden openings or displays. A variation on the Jacob’s Ladder toy, the Continuously Convoluting Carousel employs the same double-action hinges that gave the original toy its characteristically illusive motion.
We will look at a number of Patten’s incredible design bindings, while he takes us through his design process and show us how to make a simplified version of the structure.
No registration necessary. The presentation is being held in Book Arts Room 21 of Baker-Berry Library.
Book Arts Classes
*** Juliayn Coleman is offering Hand Bookbinding from August 30 – September 5 at Sunset Lodge on Lake Damariscotta, ME.
In this hands-on workshop, you will create three non-adhesive books. The structures will range from the earliest binding styles to contemporary, and they are geared towards beginner through intermediate skill levels.
In addition to the binding, you will explore three different ways to decorate paper for the covers of your books: paste paper, suminagashi, and plant printing. The goal is to create a harmonious set of beautiful books, learn simple structures that you can take home and repeat on your own, and let your creative mind explore the medium of book binding.
For more information, please visit the Sunset Lodge Workshops website.
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Sewn Board & Drumleaf Binding with Amy Lapidow on Sunday, March 22nd.
The sewn board binding, is a great structure that uses minimal tools and is infinitely adaptable. Dress it up or down, and it opens flat! Its sibling, the drum leaf binding is akin to a board book and is perfect for images. You will make both in this course.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
by Elissa | Feb 27, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Vermont
Resources:
by Elissa | Feb 7, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 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.
Welcome to According to Accordions!
Often underestimated, the accordion book has more to it than meets the eye. This structure provides endless possibilities for construction, and multiple options for display and presentation. In our February meeting, we will continue with our multi-meeting exploration of the accordion book structure.
Prepare to be inspired by the versatility and potential of accordions!
Program: According to Accordions, Part 2 – Star Books with Becky Boardman
At the next B.A.G. meeting, Becky Boardman will be teaching us how to make Star/Carousel books. This structure uses accordion folds that are “nested”, making it a kind of tunnel book.
Please bring more samples of accordion books to share! If you have played with the woven accordion structure Dorsey taught us please show us what you did! The more books we look at the greater our repertoire becomes.
All materials will be provided but if you are able, please bring the following:
- Cutting mat
- X-Acto knife or the like
- Bone folder
- PVA, Fast Tack or other white glue and/or a glue stick
- Scissors
- Scraps of colored or decorative paper, can be as small as 3” x 3” or less
- Double-sided tape
If you don’t have any of these things, don’t worry extras will be available.
January Meeting Reflections
We were lucky enough to have the Queen of Complex Accordions kick off our special multi-meeting series. Dorsey Hogg gave us the basics and then introduced us to a twist, using interlocking layers to form multiple accordions into one structure. She wowed us with examples of her intricate altered book structures, and shared some insight into her start as a book artist.
Many other participants shared accordion books they had made as well, making it a lively and fun evening. For me, there is maybe nothing so satisfying as a nicely folded accordion made with smooth, crisp paper, so I am looking forward to the next meetings so we may all fold together again.
Thanks, Dorsey, and thanks to everyone who showed up and folded stuff.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
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 ten 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, field trips, 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:
- Rent: $50.00 per month
- Presenter honorarium: $35.00 per meeting
- Website and email newsletter: $100.00 per year
- Presenter reimbursement for supplies: Varies
If you’ve done the math, you’ll see that we need a minimum of $910.00 (not including supply reimbursement) to cover our annual expenses.
We hope that you will renew your membership or join us as a new member at the December meeting. If you will not be at the meeting, you can download our membership form and send it in with your payment.
Thank you so much for your continued support of the guild. We wouldn’t be here without you.
*** Announcement: Spring/Summer member exhibit, Page Turners: Artist’s Books by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont
Our spring/summer exhibit will take place later this year and all members are invited and encouraged to contribute new or old work. The theme, Page Turners, is open-ended, allowing for unlimited interpretation.
Our exhibit location has yet to be determined, so stay tuned for more details.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching the Secret Belgian Binding at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on February 10 & 11.
The not-so-mysterious Secret Belgian binding was developed to have the appearance of a Japanese stab binding, but also to have the ability of opening flat. The structure was invented by Anne Goy in the mid-1980’s and was relatively unknown until Hedi Kyle introduced it to the United States.
The text block is sewn is first, before attaching the covers with an intriguing woven sewing pattern – no glue is needed! This hard cover binding is perfect for use as a journal or sketchbook.
You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use. Some previous experience with bookbinding is helpful, but not required.
Register online or contact Studio Place Arts at (802) 479-7069.
Book Arts News
*** On Wednesday February 12th from 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., join the Dartmouth Library Book Arts Workshop in the East Reading Room in Baker Library for What Is Small Press and Where Is it Going? A Talk with Matvei Yankelevich of Ugly Duckling Presse.
Ugly Duckling Presse began its life as a xeroxed zine and slowly transformed into a Brooklyn-based nonprofit small press led by a volunteer collective that has brought out more than 250 titles to date. Throughout its history, UDP has favored emerging, international, and “forgotten” writers, and its books, chapbooks, artist’s books, broadsides, and periodicals often contain handmade and letterpress elements, calling attention to the labor and history of bookmaking.
Matvei Yankelevich is one of the founding members of the Ugly Duckling Presse editorial collective. At UDP, he curates the Eastern European Poets Series since 2002, and has co-edited 36 issues of the poetry magazine 6×6 and 40 issues of the Emergency Gazette, and has edited and designed countless books, chapbooks, and poetry broadsides. He teaches translation and book-making workshops, as well as literary seminars at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, among other institutions, and is a member of the Writing faculty of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College.
No registration is necessary for the event.
*** Now through March 20th, the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College is hosting Specimens: Artists Books and their Kin from the Dartmouth Collection. The exhibit was curated by Sarah Smith, Book Arts Workshop Program Manager.
Over the years, artists, designers and craftsmen working in the realm of “book arts” have influenced each other in many ways – sometimes without knowing. The works in this exhibit, whether called artist books, fine press books, zines, or examples of design bindings, involve an artistic approach to the book as a form and method of conveying beautiful design and/or provocative content and in so doing reveal the book as an art form itself.
These books can be found in Rauner Special Collections, Sherman Art Library‘s Special Collections as well as in the open stacks. They’ve included the call numbers and other information to help you find these books and others like them. Hopefully, you too will be inspired by these books to learn more and maybe even make one!
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is looking for volunteers to teach simple bookbinding techniques and creative content at two upcoming Girl Scout events. Through these events, NEGBW volunteers will be helping Cadettes earn their Book Artist badge and potentially inspiring future bookbinders.
The event will be held on Saturday, March 7th at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham, MA. There will be 2 sessions: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Carpooling can be arranged.
If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please contact Lauren Telepak at negbwprograms@gmail.com.
Book Arts Classes
*** On Sunday, February 9, 2020, The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Star Books with Cristina Hajosy.
A handmade star book can be presented as an artist’s book or as a hanging ornament. Excite viewers with the visual movement and performative qualities of this unusual book structure. Learn basic bookmaking techniques and experiment with hand-marbled papers, mixed media and collage scraps to customize your books.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website.
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Sewn Board & Drumleaf Binding with Amy Lapidow on Sunday, March 22nd.
The sewn board binding, is a great structure that uses minimal tools and is infinitely adaptable. Dress it up or down, and it opens flat! Its sibling, the drum leaf binding is akin to a board book and is perfect for images. You will make both in this course.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
