by Elissa | Jul 8, 2026 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 8, 2026, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 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.
We look forward to seeing you!
The B.A.G. Board
Announcing Our Theme for 2026!
In 2026, we’re returning to our tradition of choosing an annual theme for our meetings. The B.A.G. Board is happy to announce our theme for this year, Interaction.
Cornell University said it well in Wake the Form: Artists’ Books in Context: “An important characteristic of artists’ books is their interactivity. The artist often creates an experience for the reader that encourages performance, either in constructing or staging the piece, or in rehearsing parts of the text. A book can become a miniature stage set, unfolding to reveal sequences that can be extended, figures added, scenes reorganized.”
With artists’ books, the reader is invited to participate in the work – intimacy between the viewer and the book distinguishes our art form from other types of art.
Throughout the year, we’ll look at the ways one can interact with a book, whether it’s through form (structure, materials used), content (text, imagery), or a combination of both.
Get ready because it will be an exciting year!
Program: Fishbone Binding with Elissa Campbell
At July’s B.A.G. meeting, Elissa Campbell will teach you how to make the Fishbone Binding, a fascinating structure developed by Hedi Kyle.
You’ll also have the opportunity to create a cover for your text block. All materials will be provided to those attending the meeting in person.
If you wish, you can also bring your own papers using the measurements provided below.
For those at home, here are the tools and materials you’ll need to participate in making the project:
- Metal ruler
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Awl
- Pencil
- Needle
- Linen thread (or embroidery thread if that’s all you have): 21”
- 1 piece of cover weight paper: 7.75” x 13.5” (grain short)
- 1 piece of cover weight paper: 1” x 1” (optional – this can be used for a button)
- 1 piece of text weight paper: 11.25” x 21.75” (grain short)
- Note: If you don’t have a piece of paper 21.75” long, there’s a workaround!
- Piece together two pieces measuring 11.25” x 10” and 11.25” x 12.25” (both grain short) by overlapping them by 0.5”.
- Attach the pieces with a glue stick and you’ll be all set.
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa and she’ll send you the details.
June Meeting Reflections
Slow stitching and happy sewers!
At last month’s B.A.G. meeting, Vera Ryersbach led us into the bliss of the running stitch, complete with a bit of history and an informative zine.
After her lovely intro we were off and “running”. We used 8” x 6” heavyweight paper that Vera will collect and bind into a book. The calming effect of stitching was felt by all. Vera encouraged our creativity with the endless variations of the running stitch and the possible additions of paint or collage.
Thanks Vera! We’re going slow and it feels good.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Elissa here, tapping in for Sally!
When I think of the theme of interaction, I can’t help but think of the Jacob’s Ladder structure. I find the flip-flappiness and click-clackiness of it very satisfying.
Did you know that there’s also a way to create this structure in box form? The lid opens in both directions and offers you the opportunity to both conceal and reveal as you interact with it.
In Roger Green’s book, A Comprehensive Guide to Box Making for Bookbinders, Artists and Amateurs, you can construct your very own four-section Magic Box.
And it really is as magical as it sounds.
You can check out and download the selection here.
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 Retrospective is still up! You still have through the end of July to see it for yourself.
There are plans in the works for book arts related events during the month of July that will pique interest in the show. One may be an event in which a limited number of interested community members would be given the opportunity to have a private viewing of books that were not included in the show – an exclusive look behind the curtain!
If you’re unable to make it to the exhibit in person, never fear! Elissa took pictures of all the pieces in the exhibition! You can check out the full exhibition here.
*** Congratulations to Karen Krieger for winning Best in Show at the Morgan Conservatory’s 14th Annual Juried Exhibition, A Hand of One’s Own. The exhibition highlighted paper as a creative medium and active substrate and featured 60 artworks from talented artists across Ohio and representing 30 states nationwide.
Ranging from fashion, sculptural works, book forms, ephemera, and other traditional methods, the show embodied the capabilities of the artistic hand and how paper has no limits.
Book Arts News
*** Helen Hiebert‘’s paper-loving community, The Paper Year, is open for enrollment now through July 12.
Each month, you’ll receive project instructions designed to spark ideas that keep you creating. You’ll explore creative paper techniques, including origami, pop-ups, paper weaving, book arts, paper cutting and more.
When you join, you’ll gain access to all past projects in The Paper Year Library.
For more information, please visit Helen’s website.
*** The American Bookbinders Museum is presenting a virtual lecture, Buried Alive! Books Unearthed in Our Time, with Michael Burke on July 18. This lecture tells the story of three ancient books that were buried underground, lost for centuries and then found again.
The Nag Hammadi Codices were discovered in Egypt in 1945 a clay pot. These books, written in the Coptic language, contain the infamous Gnostic Gospels. Within a short time some had been smuggled and sold, and sent all over the world to various libraries. They have now been reunited and live in the library at Cairo. Michael will tell the story of their discovery, which involves murder, cannibalism and international scholarly squabbling.
St. Cuthbert’s Gospel was made by the monks of Lindisfarne in 692, buried with Cuthbert when he died, and discovered in his coffin in the year 1104 in exceptionally good condition. It is the earliest known decorated European binding, and was acquired for the nation in 2005 for £9 million. It is now on permanent exhibition in the treasures room of the British Library. You’ll learn about St Cuthbert’s extraordinary life, the monks of Lindisfarne, why they had to move on to new houses over the years, and how the book was made and decorated.
The Fadden More Psalter is one of the earliest surviving British manuscripts. It was found in a peat bog in Tipperary in 2005, an appalling mess of squashed and crumpled parchment and leather. You’ll learn the story of how it took over four years of painstaking work to unpick the damaged pages, removing 1,300 years of soil, moss and seed pods, before the book could be studied by the scholars.
For more information or to register, please visit the ABA website.
*** Every graduating class from the full-time Bookbinding Department at North Bennet Street School completes a design binding, in their own unique style, of an assigned text. This is referred to as the set book.
Since graduating from NBBS in 2012, Erin Fletcher of Herringbone Bindery has been conducting annual interviews of each student about their binding, discussing the concept and the process.
The text selected for 2026 was Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Erin’s interviews of this year’s graduating class can be read on her website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Camera-less Eco-Photography: From Plant to Print for Book Artists with Iviva Olenick on July 16 & 23.
Learn how to use household materials and plants to make camera-less eco-photographs in this two-part workshop. Transform food waste (purple cabbage leaves, turmeric spice, water from soaking black rice, spinach leaves) into photographic emulsions to make anthotypes, or plant-based sun-prints, similar to cyanotypes.
Learn how to take plant cuttings and use them to make a safe developer for printing plants on B&W photo paper, known as phytograms. Add embroidery to your phytograms, crafting unique, mixed media artworks, and begin to plan new book arts projects incorporating these techniques.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Frederick Book Arts Center is offering Pop-Up Mini Creatures with Shawn Sheehy on July 22.
Pop-ups are all about the “wow” factor. Building pop-ups in miniature maximizes the “wow” factor, as dramatic structures emerge from tiny spaces. In this workshop, you’ll build three miniature pop-up cards featuring charming woodland creatures.
Using just card stock, glue and a handful of simple tools, you will build three miniature pop-up cards that feature a snail, a snake, and a robin (plus a sneaky little worm).
All levels are welcome.
For more information or to register, please visit the FBAC website.
*** Erin Fletcher of Herringbone Bindery is teaching the Box with Telescoping Lid on August 4, 6, & 11.
In contrast to the clamshell box, this style of enclosure has a completely separate lid that slides off the base. In this workshop, students will construct an inner tray set within a frame for the object to rest. A ribbon will be added for easy retrieval of the object.
Students will be able to customize the inner tray to fit an object from their own library. Your object should be no larger than 145 x 100 x 20mm (h x w x d).
For more information or to register, please visit the Erin’s website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Make Your Own Binding Tools with Rachel Payne on Tuesdays August 4, 11, & 18.
Many bindery tools are specialized, making them difficult to find or expensive to purchase. In this virtual workshop, you’ll make a few tools and discuss how to make more.
Through live demonstration and guided discussion, you will discuss the construction of tools such as a laying press, press boards (wood and plexi), bone folders, and box corner jigs. You will make a punching cradle, corner trimming jigs, faux brass edged boards, bent needles, and soft weights.
There will be ample time for questions, troubleshooting, and discussion of alternative materials and methods. By the end of the workshop, you’ll understand how to construct your own bindery tools and adapt designs to suit your workspace and needs.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
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 | Nov 9, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
This month’s meeting will be held IN PERSON at the University of Vermont’s Silver Special Collections – yay!
We will meet in the Marsh Room in Billings Library (room 308). Visitors should enter through the front doors and proceed straight ahead to the Marsh Room behind the fireplace.
Parking is at the lot behind Ira Allen Chapel (Votey lot), or in the visitors’ lot on College Street. Click here to access directions and parking information on the UVM website.
We are currently trying to figure out how to Zoom the meeting for those unable to attend in person. If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa and she’ll keep you in the loop.
We look forward to seeing you!
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: Visit to UVM’s Silver Special Collections
It’s my favorite meeting of the year!
The November meeting will be our annual visit to UVM’s Silver Special Collections hosted by our own Prudence Doherty, Special Collections Librarian, where we will actually meet in person for the first time in who knows how long. Prudence has a wonderful line up of exciting books for us, so bring a pencil if you’re taking notes.
We will meet in the Marsh Room in Billings Library (room 308). Visitors should enter through the front doors and proceed straight ahead to the Marsh Room behind the fireplace.
Parking is at the lot behind Ira Allen Chapel (Votey lot), or in the visitors’ lot on College Street. Click here to access directions and parking information on the UVM website.
We are trying to figure out how to Zoom the meeting for those unable to attend in person. If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa and she’ll keep you in the loop.
October Meeting Reflections
Marcia Vogler led our October meeting, sharing a wonderful improvisational approach to paper weaving. She showed us a “sample” accordion book that she had started as a showcase for different styles of paper weaving that ultimately she found pleasing in and of itself as a book!
She demonstrated a very fluid way of working with creating either horizontal or vertical slits in the warp and then weaving in strips, including a way to position secondary cuts to hold in strips. It was both fascinating and fun. She also suggested ways to stamp, write or otherwise embellish paper to use for the weaving strips which creates more visual interest, often creating patterns on both sides of the page.
Many members worked along with Marcia once she started working on a new piece and there were plenty of exciting and interesting pieces created during the meeting. Everyone who attended left feeling inspired to try new techniques and let themselves play with paper weaving!
Thank you Marcia!
B.A.G. Library Corner
The holiday season is upon us and, this year, the ability to spend time (in person!) with our loved ones.
Celebrate the harvest season with apples and pears created from old books! Clare Youngs‘ tutorial from Creative Book Art provides an easy-to-follow tutorial that will create lovely decorations for your Thanksgiving table.
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.
You can check out and download the selection 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 seventeen (!) 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.
*** Deborah Stuart has some cardstock and paper that’s looking for a new home! She writes:
I would to share some of my extra, particularly those just starting out in bookmaking, without much in the way of supplies. So many of us talk about having too much in our files and cupboards! I am trying to simplify and have more than I need. Lots of colors and shades of cardstock and colors of text-weight and others interesting papers.
I am glad to meet (Springfield/Lebanon/Keene) or have you come to my studio (Springfield) or to mail. Write me at debstuart1@msn.com if you want more details.
*** Susan Smereka and Jane Ploughman are co-teaching two classes this month:
- Haiku Bookmaking will take place on 3 Saturdays, November 19 – December 3.
During this 3 session workshop, participants will create an artists’ book in a small edition. Beginning with a haiku (yours or someone else’s), you will learn simple print and image making techniques including linocuts and collographs to illustrate the poem. These images will be either hand-printed or printed via a press. When the prints are completed they will be assembled into an innovative book structure called the Australian Reverse Piano Hinge binding. The workshop is open to all interested; printers, bookmakers and those curious to experiment with text and image.
- The Generative Book will take place on 3 Mondays, November 14 – 28.
Create a unique artist book while learning new bookmaking and printmaking techniques. This workshop will guide you through a three-part creative process to generate text and images using Gelli plate printmaking and collage. Your completed project will combine your edited and refined creations in a hardcover book with 8 spreads bound with a long stitch variation.
For more information or to register for a workshop, please visit Susan’s website.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching Paste Paper Gift Wrap on November 19 & 20 at MakerSphere in Waterbury, Vermont.
Tired of the same old gift wrap? Then this workshop is for you!
Paste papers are made by applying a mixture of paste and pigment to damp paper and then using tools to create pattern and texture on the surface. Different methods will be demonstrated to guide you as you create your own paste papers with vibrant colors. We’ll use methyl cellulose in a paste recipe that’s easy to recreate on your own. We’ll be working with acid-free paper, so you can even use the papers in your bookmaking or other craft projects.
For more information or to register, please visit the MakerSphere website.
Book Arts News
*** PhotoBookWorks 2023 is now open for submissions. This international, juried exhibition will be held March 2-26, 2023 at Spark North Gallery in Denver’s thriving Santa Fe Art District. It is part of a statewide, bi-annual Month of Photography celebration.
The deadline to submit is January 12, 2023. Selections will be made by Gregory Robl, Curator, Special & Distinct Collections, University of Colorado Libraries and Alicia Bailey, Director, Abecedarian Artists’ Books.
Eligible are any hand-crafted bookworks (editioned or unique) that feature photography as primarily element. Photographs may be digital but commercially printed works won’t be accepted into this show.
Full details are online or you can email alicia@abecedariangallery.com for a PDF prospectus.
*** The traveling exhibition Pulped Under Pressure will be hosted by the University of Southern Maine from September 7 – December 22, 2022. With traditional hand papermaking at its core, the exhibition underscores important contemporary issues steeped in history and craft. Enticed through touch, these works encourage a contemplative slowing down even as they urge acknowledgment of some of the most pressing issues (environmental crisis to global marginalization) facing civilization today.
The artists’ multifaceted works incorporate a rich range of printmaking, letterpress, papercutting, and installation with a diversity of recycled disposable materials (junk mail, egg cartons, old cotton t-shirts, ripped denim jeans) as well as old bedsheets, beetroot, heirloom plants, and illuminated el wires. In very unique ways, these artists consider paper beyond its most common function as a passive surface of record or craft. Instead, the material is transformed and embedded with content that turns communication into a public practice.
For more information, please visit the USM website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering the Secret Belgian Binding with Erin Fletcher on November 12 & 13.
The Secret Belgian binding is a popular structure, used primarily for artist books. This style of binding is simple and easy to construct; it opens flat and is perfect for thinner text blocks. Students will learn 2 different finishing techniques for the Secret Belgian.
For more information or to register, please visit the Maine Media website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Digital File Preparation for Binding with Kevin Brown on Wednesdays, November 16 & 30.
Imposition is the process of organizing pages so they appear in the correct sequence when printed and bound. Learn the digital process of imposition using Adobe InDesign so you can print book pages and bind them in whatever book structure you choose, from a simple 16-page pamphlet to a 50+-page multi-signature binding. This virtual workshop is a guide to printing pages for books digitally, including file preparation, paper selection, printer and service bureau options, and binding recommendations based on the number of pages and the edition size (or number of books you’d like to print).
This workshop is designed for folks with binding experience who need training in digital imposition and guidance on printing options from an expert in the industry. Participants must have a general knowledge of bindings they hope to use as well as access to and familiarity with Adobe InDesign.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Holiday & Everyday: A Quick Stack of Notebooks with Karen Hanmer on November 30.
If you’re planning a homemade holiday this year, we’ve got the perfect quickly made handmade present for you! You can construct a bevy of these elegant notebooks in just a few hours. The binding is a Double Pamphlet with Tipped Wrapper, and it is a most satisfying solution for a two-signature text block. The signatures are sewn back-to back with a single pamphlet stitch.
A simple wrapper of text-weight paper is tipped to the text block at the spine and at the fore edges. The spine is square and crisp. The sewing is covered and protected. This simple notebook is easily adaptable from a large-page size to a tiny purse or pocket size. The cover is made from text-weight paper. Choose any color, texture or pattern that would delight you.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
by Elissa | Oct 2, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The October meeting will be held at UVM’s Silver Special Collections in Billings Library at 48 University Place. Click here for directions.
Please note that in October we will not be meeting as usual at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.
Program: Field Trip to UVM’s Silver Special Collections
The October meeting will be our annual visit to UVM’s Silver Special Collections hosted by our own Prudence Doherty. This year we will highlight the work of Ellen Dorn Levitt; artist, printmaker and extraordinary teacher.
The collection of her work was gifted to UVM by her husband and curated by Linda Lembke. This is not to be missed as it is a wonderful opportunity to admire and learn from the best.
Prudence will also share books with collage and sewing to reflect our postcard focus.
* Please bring a pencil, not a pen, if you plan to take notes.
Directions: UVM Special Collections is in the Billings Center. The Special Collections Library is on the second floor but we will meet in the conference room on the first floor just as you enter the front main doors. Parking available at the top of College Street across from Waterman.
September Meeting Reflections
Our September meeting was full to the brim. We first shared our postcard challenge books as each book artist explained their inspiration and techniques. The time we set aside to examine the books was rich with conversation and admiration. Well done B.A.G. members!
You can view images of the challenge books on the B.A.G. blog.
The second part of our meeting was the tag team of Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins sharing how to design creative uppercase letters. The challenge and fun began as we all took off designing our own letters with coaching and support from Meta and Penne.
Their two part workshops with lettering have made us all more aware or our style and consistency. Perfect for book artists.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Looking for something to do this weekend? The statewide Fall Open Studio Weekend is taking place on October 5 – 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The event is a great way to combine fall foliage viewing and harvest activities with visits to artists across Vermont.
You can download a pdf of the complete Fall Event & Resource Guide from the VT Crafts Council website (this is a really big file). If you’re looking for something closer to you, county-specific maps and directions to studios are also available online.
Book artists Kelly McMahon (#74) and Elissa Campbell (#75) are both participating this time around and are conveniently located within a 5-minute drive of each other. Be sure to stop by!
Book Arts News
*** The current exhibit at UVM’s Silver Special Collections features a selection of miniature books from their Rare Book collection. Librarians and collectors often define miniatures as books that measure 4 inches or less in either direction, although the miniatures on their shelves can measure up to 5.5 inches.
Like their collection, which has grown organically rather than intentionally, books in the exhibit are diverse, ranging from a 16th-century Bible to 21st-century artists’ books. Many of the selections reflect the demand for portable and affordable reading material. The exhibit also includes miniature artists’ books that display creative and innovative ways to work within small dimensions.
Visit Special Collections on the second level of Billings Library to see the exhibit.
*** On Tuesday November 5th at 7:00 p.m., the Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts will host Touching, Seeing, Knowing: Movable Books in Nineteenth-Century America, a free lecture presented by Juliet Sperling.
Juliet Sperling researches and writes about American art and visual culture from the 18th to the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the history of moving images. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, and is a Faculty Fellow in American Art at Colby College.
Her current book project explores how engineered paper – books and prints with kinetic features including layered anatomical illustrations, mechanical political ephemera, and hidden-paneled religious books – revolutionized American encounters with a swiftly changing media landscape. Her research has been supported by institutions including the Luce/ACLS Foundation, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.
The Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts is located in Portland, Maine. The lecture will be held in the University Events Room on the 7th floor of the Glickman Family Library.
For more information, please contact Rebecca Goodale at (207) 228-8014 or goodale@maine.edu.
Book Arts Classes
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Travel Journals with Amy Lapidow on October 20th. All tools and supplies are provided for this class.
Books that fit in your pocket! Add a pen loop, picture or pocket for memorabilia. Make it waterproof with Tyvek. Tie it up with beads and buttons, or close it with a magnet. This one day workshop explores the possibilities of a versatile book that goes wherever you go.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** Also at the North Bennet Street School is Fundamentals of Bookbinding, taught by Erin Fletcher from November 4 – 8. Students will learn the foundations of bookbinding by combining hands-on exercises and discussion.
The class starts by exploring non-adhesive structures: soft cover pamphlet, Coptic, historical longstitch and link stitch. The class ends with a look at case bindings, with the creation of two hardcover flatback bindings. Students also learn different structural elements, sewing variations, covering and cutting techniques using various materials, tools and equipment.
Throughout the course discussions will cover terminology, paper grain and folding, selecting proper materials and tools, and adhesives and their properties.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
by Elissa | Sep 5, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 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: Developing Your Personal Writing Style, Part 2 and Sharing Books from Postcard Swap
Our meeting will have two parts this month!
Bring in your postcard challenge book to share. Get ready to be amazed!
AND
Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins will continue our development of hand-written text on the page with an exploration of Capitals. These large single letters have many centuries of history. We will have lots of examples, and we will provide a step-by-step process for making your own fancy, dramatic initials, sometimes called versals.
For our members who have examples of Decorated Capitals that they wish to share, please bring them.
If you have been practicing your individual lettering style and would like to bring it, Penne and Meta will be happy to look at it, provide feedback, and offer enthusiastic appreciation.
Please bring the following:
- A few sheets of unlined paper
- A pencil
- Some colored markers.
- Optional: small set of pan watercolors, a brush, and a small water cup
August Meeting Reflections
Hand lettering experts Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins gave us a crash course in personalizing our own handwriting at the August meeting.
With tips and tricks, they allowed participants to feel more comfortable with their own hand lettering skills and encouraged everyone to use this new skill in art projects. But of course, the key to all of this is practice, practice, practice!
Even in the short meeting session, we saw how repetition can lead to expertise (or at least improvement).
It was a record turnout in August! Thanks to everyone who attended and participated, and a big thanks to Meta and Penne! We are looking forward to the continuation of the letter arts program in September.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is proud to be once again participating in this year’s Burlington Book Festival on Saturday, September 28th at the Fletcher Free Library. This annual event celebrates the written word by offering readings, book signings, panels, demos, workshops, family activities, and special events.
We’ll be manning a table from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and during that time, we’ll be offering two mini workshops at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. We’re looking for volunteers to man the table for two-hour time slots – 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We also have display space available for member work.
Please contact Marcia to volunteer and/or if you have any work to show.
*** Carolyn Shattuck has a retrospective show, Into My Space, open now through September 7th at Compass Music and Arts Center. The exhibit covers the 30+ years of her career as an artist. Work on display ranges from paintings to prints, collages to handmade books, and small to large works.
Compass Music and Arts Center is located at 333 Jones Drive in Brandon, VT.
*** Elissa Campbell recently participated in a group bookbinding project sponsored by Janine Vangool, publisher, editor and designer for Uppercase Magazine.
Vangool gave unbound copies of Ephemera, a volume in her Encyclopedia of Inspiration series, to sixteen bookbinders who had to create covers based on the contents.
Each book is unique in approach, incorporating different covering materials, bookbinding structures and ornamentation techniques. You can check out the bindings online.
Book Arts Classes
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Secret Belgian Binding – Three Ways with Erin Fletcher on September 14 & 15. The Secret Belgian binding can be constructed quickly with few tools and virtually no equipment. It opens flat and works best with thinner text blocks.
This workshop explores the Secret Belgian structure and ways to modify it. On day one, students put together two variations of this non-adhesive structure: one with exposed stitches and one with hidden stitches. On day two, students explore modified versions of the Secret Belgian binding developed by book artist, Anne Goy by playing with the length of stitching and incorporating Tyvek.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** Also at the North Bennet Street School is Traditional Ethiopian Bookbinding, taught by Bill Hanscom on September 28 & 29. This two-day workshop will begin with a presentation detailing the traditional methods and materials of the Ethiopian scribe and bookbinder. Students will then construct two historical models.
The first will be a basic binding with bare wooden boards demonstrating the fundamentals of the unsupported link stitch, board attachment and repair, and the construction of a ləbas (a protective cloth over-cover). The second will be a full leather binding with inlays of patterned cloth and traditional endbands of interwoven leather strips.
Basic tooling techniques as well as common designs and motifs will be discussed and demonstrated. Students will be given the opportunity to decorate their bindings as time allows.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** On Sunday, September 22nd, The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts in Boston 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 or click here to download the complete catalog.
