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 | Aug 4, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 10, 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: Crossed Structure Binding – Linked Variation, Part 2 with Elissa Campbell
The Crossed Structure binding is intriguing in that the sewing is done directly onto back cover straps that integrate into the front cover. This non-adhesive variation on the long stitch was developed by book artist Carmencho Arregui after studying pre-16th century bindings.
In August’s meeting, Elissa Campbell will teach you how to complete the book you started in June. If you didn’t attend June’s meeting, you can watch the recording and catch up. As time allows, you’ll add stitching to the covers to both reinforce the structure and add a decorative touch.
Here’s a reminder of what’s needed to complete the book:
Supplies:
- 4 pieces of text weight paper: 4.75″ x 6.25″
- 2 pieces cover material (leather, heavy fabric, vinyl): 8″ x 4.75″
- 3 pieces sewing thread in the following lengths: 62″, 6″, 25″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 4.75″ x 8″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 1.5″ x 4.75″
- 1 piece cover weight paper: 1″ x 2″
Tools:
- Bone folder
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife
- Metal ruler
- Awl
- Cutting mat
- Bookbinding or tapestry needle
- Japanese screw punch or other leather punch (optional)
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
July Meeting Reflections
I have followed paper artist extraordinaire Helen Hiebert for a very long time, and so was very excited to weave a house with her. She has a lovely way of making her techniques available and easy to follow for all participants. And the house project did not disappoint!
Judging by the houses that were held up at the end, and the ones that have been posted on Instagram, it seems that everyone enjoyed the project as well.
Thanks so much to Helen for her time and expertise, and thanks to all who showed up! We continue to have a strong attendance!
B.A.G. Library Corner
Building off the beautiful paper weavings we’ve made in our previous meetings, we look this month to a quick and fun tutorial in Clare Youngs’ Creative Book Art. With minimal supplies and just a few basic steps, Youngs walks us through how to create our own interesting geometric designs.
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
*** Vermont book artists and the Book Arts Guild of Vermont are well represented at Art of the Book at the Rochester Public Library this year. This international juried show runs from June 27 through November 1.
Dorsey Hogg took 1st place in the altered book category with her work titled Words are Unruly, Carolyn Shattuck‘s work Quilters received an honorable mention in the book sculpture category, and Marcia Vogler received an honorable mention for Bird Totem in the artist’s book category. Congratulations!
Book Arts News
*** B.A.G. member Laura Lacroix shared a post from Colossal that features a book on weaving that opens to reveal a fully functional loom. The book by Cai Wei Qun includes a history of the craft, techniques and tricks, and an entire loom tucked between its covers. Check it out!
*** The New England Art Book Fair will be taking place September 2 & 3 at SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME. The annual NEABF invites artists, booksellers and small presses to participate in a 2-day celebration of independent publishing across the arts.
For more information, visit the NEABF website.
*** If you’re a fan of the French Paper Company, then you’ll be happy to hear that they’re offering a discount on all text weight paper until the end of August. Just add the paper of your dreams to your cart and 10% will automatically be deducted from your order – no code needed
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Drum Leaf Binding Sampler with Karen Hanmer on August 13.
The Drum Leaf binding is the perfect structure for printmakers, photographers, or anyone who desires to present visual narratives with no sewing thread to interrupt the flow of imagery. Because a Drum Leaf is made of single-sided folios, not signatures, the complexities of imposition are not necessary when laying out text.
This workshop highlights the versatility of the Drum Leaf structure by presenting several variations on the familiar quarter cloth with breakaway spine. The workshop book is a sampler: one book will incorporate multiple techniques:
- One-piece Spine Wrapper of parchment or stiff handmade paper
- Hugging Spine: in this variation the spine wrapper does not break away from the spine. Rather when the book is opened the wrapper goes concave, conforming to the spine, providing support without restricting opening
- Dimensional Panels: this variation resembles a Bradel or Simplified binding: the decorative paper is wrapped around a thin board before being attached to the book.
All versions open flat, are perfect for edition work, and can be constructed quickly in a sparsely equipped home studio.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is also offering a workshop with Karen Hanmer – the Sewn Boards Binding on August 24.
The sewn boards binding is Gary Frost’s elegant, modern adaptation of an ancient method of board attachment. Stiffened outer signatures sewn along with the text block function as the book’s covers.
The book opens flat. It can be dressed up or down with a variety of spine treatments, board-covering materials, and edge decoration techniques. It can be constructed quickly, lends itself to edition work, and can be made in a sparsely equipped home studio.
In this workshop, instruction will include working with common bookbinding tools, materials, techniques, and principles such as grain direction, mark-up for sewing, tidy application of adhesive, and measuring one component of the book to fit another.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Bookmaking and Printmaking from Home with Maria Veronica San Martín from August 30 – September 2.
Want to make a special one-of-a-kind book to gift to someone (or yourself) this summer? This course will show you how to conceptualize and make your own artist book that is the perfect fit for you!
The course begins with a contextual lesson on the book as an artistic medium – helping provide students with inspiration for their own work.
Then the class transitions to art-making – including learning the do’s and don’t of accordion book structure, the technique of monoprints on plexiglass, and the creation and construction of a flag book.
By the end of the course, each student will have created their own artist book and the class will engage in a final critique and discussion of all the work produced!
For more information or to register please visit the CBA website.
by Elissa | Jul 6, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 13, 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: Weave a House with Helen Hiebert
Paper artist extraordinaire Helen Hiebert learned to weave paper strips in grade school, but it wasn’t until she was in her 20’s that she decided to make some deviations! She started out by cutting curved strips, and then she came up with a way of cutting windows to expose various parts of the paper that would otherwise be hidden. She hopes you’ll discover some new tricks as you make a woven paper house with her.
Supplies:
- 2 sheets of text weight (not too thin) 8-1/2” x 11” paper that look good together, one decorative, one plain
- Cutting mat
- X-Acto knife
- Ruler
- Glue stick or PVA glue + 1/8” – 1/4” glue brush
- Small (5” x 5”) piece of thin, flexible plastic – like a piece of a yogurt or laundry container, or a flexible kitchen cutting mat (this is optional and will be used for cutting windows in the weaving
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
June Meeting Reflections
We haven’t done a real hands-on meeting for a while, and so I was super excited to learn a new structure. Luckily, Elissa is a seasoned professional instructor and led us through the steps for the Crossed Structure Binding, making it doable and fun.
We didn’t get to the weaving part yet, but I’m looking forward to finishing it at the August meeting. In the meantime, I’m going to fancify my cover with some extra weaving or embroidery on it.
Thanks, Elissa, for the extra clear instructions that made the meeting fly by, and thanks to everyone who showed up for it.
B.A.G. Library Corner
We all know summer is busy, and it can be tough to find the space to create. But that means these summer months are a great time for using up scraps to create mini journals!
Find inspiration to use in your own stash from Tina Walker’s journals, showcased in the Somerset Studio November/December 2017 issue. Walker’s theme of “let there be love” is some added inspiration for these times.
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
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont’s annual member show is open now at Grand Isle Art Works through July 31. Our opening reception will be on July 6 from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Ann Joppe-Mercure will be leading a free zine-making workshop during the reception.
B.A.G. member Susan Smereka is teaching an Upcycled Journal Making workshop on July 17, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. For more information or to register, visit the GIAW website.
*** Artistree Gallery is hosting another show in conjunction with the UNBOUND: VOL X exhibit (see below) – Cover to Cover: Book Lab Explorations.
Book Lab is a group of nine Vermont-based women who specialize in book arts. They meet regularly to critique one another’s work, collaborate on projects, and provide support as they explore the many ways a book can be art.
Book Lab members exhibiting work include B.A.G. members Rebecca Boardman, Elissa Campbell, Dorsey Hogg, Marilyn Gillis, Debra Kraemer, Ann Joppe-Mercure, Vera Ryerbach, Penne Tompkins, and Marcia Vogler. Each artist is exhibiting her own work, along with collaborative pieces they have co-created.
For more information, visit the Artistree website.
*** Vermont book artists and the Book Arts Guild of Vermont are well represented at Art of the Book at the Rochester Public Library this year. This international juried show runs from June 27 through November 1.
Dorsey Hogg took 1st place in the altered book category with her work titled Words are Unruly, Carolyn Shattuck‘s work Quilters received an honorable mention in the book sculpture category, and Marcia Vogler received an honorable mention for Bird Totem in the artist’s book category. Congratulations!
Book Arts News
*** Now through July 16, Artistree Gallery is hosting their 10th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL X. This exhibit includes work by artists from the northeast looking to explore “the book” as concept, object, and format.
The broad theme of the exhibit encompasses all of the possibilities of what we may think or may not think a “book” is. Is it story? An entry to another world? An exploration? What does it indicate? This show looks to explore this idea of “the book” and all the ways artists use that format as a stepping-off point or as material to explore new ideas.
For more information, please visit the Artistree website.
*** North Country Studio Workshops in Bennington, VT is offering their next five-day intensive from January 24 -29, 2023 for artists and craftspeople in an atmosphere of discovery, energy, collaboration, and inspiration. There is a book artsy workshop that still has openings and may be of interest to you – The Artful Box with Mary Uthuppuru. Here’s the workshop description:
Construct a modified clamshell box. A box can enhance its contents or become an art piece of its own. Learn how to build a specific structure using a variety of decorative and assembly techniques. You will be encouraged to experiment and create components of the project drawing from personal inspiration. No special skills are required, just patience with a few techniques that require accuracy.
Registration is open now and historically, these workshops fill up fast. If you know that you want to take the workshop, don’t wait to enroll.
*** The Are You Book Enough theme for June was Weave, which worked out well with our theme for this year.
Whether you participated in last month’s challenge or not, it’s still worth checking out the submissions for some woven inspiration.
Check out hashtags #areyoubookenough and #areyoubookenough_weave to see the wonderful work that was created. The approaches are so varied!
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Rough & Tumble Ergonomic Notebook with Karen Hanmer on July 16 & 17.
More traditionally called a “limp paper case,” this binding has its origins in the limp parchment cases of antiquity. This update is flexible enough to read on the beach, yet sturdy enough to throw in a backpack. The rounded, breakaway spine feels great in the hand, keeps its shape with repeated use, and ensures the book will open fully. The folded “yapp” fore edge protects the pages at the open edge of the book.
Sewing on tapes keeps the text block square and organized while it is being constructed, and later fortifies the attachment of the text block to the case. The hooked endsheets allow complete opening at the title page.
Best of all, the book can be made in a sparsely-equipped home studio. You’ll have so much fun making and using this book you’ll forget you are learning foundational bookbinding skills. This workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders, beginners who are ready for a fast-paced workout, and anyone who wants to add another quick and sturdy binding to their repertoire.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering The Magic of Sewing Cards with Rosae Reeder on July 22 & 27.
The sewing card is a wonderful aid in learning how to master a simple to difficult sewing. Practicing the mechanics of any sewing on a piece of two-dimensional card is tantamount to working on an actual book.
Learn how to prepare and make sewing cards for a few different types of book structures in the first session. Take what you have learned and apply it to making an actual book in the second session. Students will choose which book to make once we have completed several types of sewing cards.
For more information or to register please visit the SFCB website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Pop-Up Curious? Explore Dimension! with Shawn Sheehy on July 26.
Do you look at pop-up books and wonder how they are engineered? Do you make greeting cards and harbor the desire to make your cards more spectacular? Do you make artist’s books and yearn to introduce dimension and animation? Even if you are simply compelled to read this description, you might be POP-UP CURIOUS.
This class—with a focus on dimension—will explore the fundamentals of paper engineering that address pop-ups. You’ll build a series of simple models using the tools, techniques, and materials of the trade. You’ll examine trade pop-up books that show how the structures have been used. When finished, you’ll bind your models into a simple case. This quick beginner class is an entertaining gateway into more advanced study. All are welcome!
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
by Elissa | Jan 9, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 12, 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: Woven Paper Hearts
At our January Zoom meeting we will start the theme for the year of Woven by making variations of woven paper hearts with Penne Tompkins and Becky Boardman. We will also look at some remarkable examples of where you can take these basic structures.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to complete the project:
- Text weight papers in contrasting colors and/or patterns. Origami paper works well too.
- Scissors or X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Some form of adhesive – glue stick, adhesive dots, etc.
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Templates (print these out in advance of the meeting)
- Hole punch and string if you want to make a hanging ornament (optional)
We hope to see you there!
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
December Meeting Reflections
Who wants to do that again?
Not only was it super fun to make a zine, it was even more fun to see and hear how others approached it. The end results were totally amazing and informative. We learned about QR codes, huipil, cricuts, alternative folds, and French doors – all just fabulous.
Best of all, we learned a lot about each other, which is the whole point of getting together!
Thanks to all who participated and attended. Each month seems to be a record for attendance, and as we enter the new year seemingly farther away from in-person meetings, the time we spend together seems more important.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Let’s kick off the new year with a tutorial from the Book Arts Guild’s own Amy Lapidow! Featured in her book Book Art Studio Handbook with co-author Stacie Dolan, the pretty Woven Album would be a great book to capture memories from throughout your year.
The structure is a modified Jacob’s Ladder construction, can be adjusted to fit as many leaves as you like, and is flexible enough to add inclusions and stay flat. The possibilities are endless with this project
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.
*** New this year – you can now pay your dues using Venmo!
Our account is BAGofVT, listed under businesses.
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.
*** 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.
*** B.A.G. member, bookmaker, and printer Jane Ploughman will be co-teaching Decorative Paper & Book Structures with artist Susan Smereka.
In this introductory workshop, you’ll learn the process for paste paper, Gelli plate printing, and Japanese marbling, called Suminagashi. The decorative paper you make will be incorporated into book structures such as single sheet, a single flag, and accordion with a hard cover.
For your final book project, you will be working on content. If you have some bookbinding experience, this workshop will not only refresh your knowledge, but give you some new skills.
The workshop will take place at Susan Smereka’s studio space in Burlington, VT (Howard Street off of Pine), with your choice of dates:
- January 21 – February 18, Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- March 1 – March 29, Tuesdays 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Susan at susansmereka@gmail.com.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching Pop-Up Basics: The Movable Book at CraftStudies on January 29. The workshop will take place at A Lucky Girl Studio in Norwich, VT.
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.
No previous experience is required. You’ll feel more comfortable in the workshop if you have experience using an X-Acto knife.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** Bech Evans is selling two hand-crafted book presses that were inspired by antique cast iron nipping presses.
The interior dimensions of the yellow press are 10″ high by 11 3/8″ wide. Bed and three platens are 3/4″ baltic birch and measure 11″ x 13″. A durable clear finish was applied over the paint and on the bed and platens.
The frame of the pink press is shaped from laminated baltic birch. A durable clear finish is applied over the paint. The screw is a Jorgensen 12″ press screw.
Both presses are available for purchase on Craigslist (click on the links above). Prices are negotiable.
For more information or to buy a press, please contact Bech at (601) 985-8482.
*** 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.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** Kit Davey has a number of online classes available during the month of January. Here are two of them:
On January 10, Kit is teaching How to Make a Pop Up and Out Book. When you open the pages of this book a card is pushed up and out, just like a toaster.
On January 15, Kit is teaching How to Make an Interlocking Folds Book. This sculptural book is made with two strips of folded paper which “lock” into each other.
In both classes, she will show you the easy steps to make the book and finish it in class.
For more information or to register, please visit Kit’s website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Exposed Sewing with Decorative Guards & Self-Locking Wrapper with Karen Hanmer on January 22.
For centuries paper has served as a quick, elegant, and economical covering material for books. This versatile material can create structures ranging from pocket notebooks to conservation friendly bindings to a case durable enough for a heavily-used manual.
Exposed Sewing with Decorative Guards features colorful link stitch sewing and slivers of decorative paper visible on the spine. The covers are hooked around the first and last signatures before sewing, then sewn normally along with rest of the text block. A quick-to-construct self-locking flap keeps the text block clean and secure.
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 Paper-cutting on Stage: Kamishibai and Paper Theaters with Béatrice Coron on January 27.
A paper-cut stage can take many forms including a tunnel book, multi-layered card, or an artist book. The class will draw inspiration from examples of paper stages from Japan, Victorian England, and more.
Students will consider how the kind of stories they want to tell can inform the structure they choose for their paper stage. Then Coron will share paper-cutting techniques that will allow students to create their own unique paper stages.
The class will also discuss various methods of activating a paper-cut stage like stop animation, video, and live performance. Finally, Coron will share tips, tricks, and resources to help students continue paper-stage-making in the future.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Paired Station Binding with Rosae Reeder on January 27.
Similar to a Coptic binding, the paired station binding has an exposed spine featuring a decorative sewing. With multiple sewing stations along the spine, the paired station binding can be used to sew sections or gatherings of pages, as well as single sheets.
In this virtual workshop, learn how to make a paired station binding using a combination of sections and single sheets with a soft paper cover. Traditional Coptic bindings, thread variations, and methods for adding boards to make a hardcover binding will be discussed.
While all skill levels are welcome, this multiple-section binding is technical and basic bookbinding experience may be helpful.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
by Elissa | Jan 8, 2021 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 13, 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: Winter Mail Art Swap sharing and Mennonite Foldnote activity
With seventeen B.A.G. members participating in our Winter Mail Art Swap, our January Zoom meeting will be a sharing of the mail we received. If you wish to share, have your Mail Art pieces ready to hold up to the camera for a quick show and tell.
And if that weren’t enough, we’re also going to have a hands-on project! Debra Kraemer will lead us through the process of making a Mennonite Foldnote, from Creative Correspondence (2003) by Michael and Judy Jacobs.
It was supposedly designed by Mennonites to eliminate the cost of an envelope. While having thrifty motives, this simple, clever foldnote requires no measuring or cutting.
Here’s what you’ll need to participate:
- 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ text weight or slightly heavier paper – plain or decorated on one side
- Ruler
- Bone folder
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
December Meeting Reflections
December’s meeting brought the promise of light to our world with Luminaries. Ann, Penne, and Becky shed light on 3 structures and their variations that can be illuminated with a tea candle (not a real candle, folks) to brighten our winter table.
Now that the solstice has arrived, we look forward to increasing daylight and the hope that we will be sharing our table together in the future.
Thanks to everyone for participating, and special thanks to our presenters for lighting the way.
B.A.G. News
*** Support the Book Arts Guild of Vermont by becoming a member!
Big News!
Our 2021 dues have been reduced from $35.00 to $25.00 for one year’s membership since we are saving on meeting rental space.
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is supported by its members and you have kept us going for 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 $25.00 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
- 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 $25.00 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.
*** Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT is hosting Consider the Book from January 26 – March 6, in the second floor gallery.
This group show highlights the joy and diversity of book arts, featuring work from the Book Lab artists group, whose members use the book form as a means of artistic expression.
Participating artists include B.A.G. members Carolyn Shattuck, Penne Tompkins, Vera Ryersbach, Dorsey Hogg, Marcia Vogler, Ann Joppe-Mercure, Rebecca Boardman, Debra Kraemer, Marilyn Gillis, Elissa Campbell, and Judy Sgantas.
Book Arts News
*** In conjunction with the New England Chapter of The Guild of Book Workers 40th Anniversary Exhibition, the University of Southern Maine is hosting a gallery talk, A Wider Purpose: Maker Talk with Members of the Guild of Book Workers, New England Chapter on February 3rd, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
The exhibition features works by 30 artists, some of which were completed as early as 2004, and one of which remains in progress. Exhibitor and GBW Board Member Jennifer Pellecchia will discuss some of the challenges and advantages of moving the exhibition online. Katrina Carye, Colin Urbina, and Stephanie Wolff, will speak about the works they submitted, and the ways that current events have shaped their creative lives.
Click here to register.
*** From February 18 – 20, Book Paper Thread is hosting a free virtual conference, Form & Function From Afar, featuring presentations and demonstrations in bookbinding, book conservation, surface design, letterpress printing, and more. The roster of speakers includes Todd Pattison, Nancy Jacobi, Shawn Sheehy, Georgia Deal, and Gina Pisello.
There will be three presentations scheduled each day at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 7:30 pm Eastern Time. The presentations will be live via Zoom, with recordings available on the conference website to registered participants.
The conference website will also be hosing a virtual tips and tricks sessions, where participants can share their favorite technique, tool, or tip.
Click here to register.
*** From February 12 – May 9, the San Francisco Center for the Book is hosting the online exhibition Rising Together: an Exhibition of Zines, Artists’ Books and Prints with a Social Conscience. The show was juried by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Chandler O’Leary, and Jessica Spring.
The work in Rising Together demonstrates how artist books give activism a visual voice, and can serve as powerful agents in effecting positive social change on issues encompassing social justice, power, politics, the environment and more. Rising Together showcases the potential of the book arts to engage – through messaging, through critique, through action – and to speak truth to power in an era when such truth is direly needed.
For more information, visit the SFCB website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Book Biz with Karen Hanmer on January 20.
Join artist and fine binder Karen Hanmer as she shares an overview of her career and varied practice through the lens of running a business. Topics covered will include: networking; planning editioned work; pricing, exhibiting, and promoting that work; professional development; and the value of community.
For more information or to register visit the MCBA website.
*** The MCBA is also offering Roll-Up/Pop-Up Books with Shawn Sheehy on 4 Wednesdays from January 27 – February 17.
You have explored how-to books on making pop-ups. You’re ready to make your own pop-up project. You are stymied by the question: “How do I adapt these classic, foundational structures to make MY OWN structures?” This virtual workshop will help you think through that problem by exploring nine different structures at four levels: foundational, transitional, transformational, and personal.
To add to the fun, you will employ an innovative roll-up binding approach (think scroll rather than codex) for the pop-up folios. In the end you will have a tidy bound collection of study models that will propel you to the next step of pop-up invention. While all skill levels are welcome, pop-ups are technical and some basic experience may be helpful.
For more information or to register, visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Generative Measures: Research and Writing for Artist Books with Ellen Sheffield on February 1, 3, & 5.
This workshop will focus on non-traditional approaches to developing original content for artist’s books. A wide range of research tools will first be demonstrated to jump start ideas for projects. From these research seeds participants will respond to writing prompts and engage in experimental creative writing techniques to grow these ideas into prototypes for artist’s books.
Processes will be taught for getting text onto the pages of simple folded book structures including alternative mark making, transfers, rub-on type, stencils, rubber stamps and pressure printing.
This workshop is for visual artists who want to expand their writing skills and for writers who want to explore the artist book as a time-based medium and go beyond their usual writing practice.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering Making Multiples: The Artist’s Book in an Edition online workshop with Matt Runkle on February 1, 8,15, & 22.
In the first of four sessions, we’ll look at an overview of artist’s books – books where form and content work together – discussing definitions, concepts, and numerous examples from the form’s history. We’ll also learn a simple book structure, which students will then develop into a “book sketch” as homework.
Students will share their book sketches in the second session. We’ll also begin talking about tools, materials, and techniques as we learn several book models and structures.
In the third session, we’ll continue to explore bookmaking techniques, as well as a couple low-tech printing techniques (stenciling, image transfers) that students can do at home. Students will be asked to make a mockup that they may hope to later develop into a more finished edition.
In the final session, students will share their works in progress. The instructor will help them address any hurdles they face on their way to completing an artist book edition, discussing strategies for furthering and expanding concepts developed during the class. We’ll wrap up by talking about some of the practical considerations when embarking on a content-based book project and how they relate to the book artist’s many roles: author, illustrator, editor, publisher, printer, and binder.
For more information or to register, visit the SFCB website.
