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 | Mar 3, 2016 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Box Making with Elizabeth Rideout
Join the Book Arts Guild for an evening of box-making with Boston based bookbinder and former B.A.G. chair Elizabeth Rideout. Elizabeth will show samples and discuss a variety of common structures for custom enclosures and book boxes.
Elizabeth’s presentation wouldn’t be complete without a hands-on component; everyone will build a small box model to take home.
Please bring along your favorite hand tools, including:
- Ruler
- Glue brush
- X-Acto knife or scalpel and blades
- Cutting mat
- Pencil and eraser
- Small, sharp scissors
- Bone folder
February Meeting Reflections
The opening reception of the B.A.G. spring show, BookWorks, was well attended by family, friends, artists, and students. After a short introduction about the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and the show, we all had time to chat with old and new friends, and take a close look at the wonderful work displayed.
The artists’ talks were enlightening and inspiring, and brought whole new meaning to the works – the time and effort applied, the methods and materials used, and the interplay between the concept, the ‘story’, and the structure.
Thank you all for participating in the show, and thanks to the Living/Learning Center Gallery for hosting! On to next year’s show!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Our Spring 2016 exhibit Book Works: Artists’ Books by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is currently on display at the Living/Learning Center gallery at the University of Vermont until March 18, 2016.
The exhibit includes a wonderful variety of work, ranging from altered books to calligraphy, letterpressed editions to historical models.
B.A.G.’s Exhibits Chair Marcia Vogler did an amazing job of curating the show. Get yourself to the exhibit and check out the work of your fellow B.A.G. members – you won’t be disappointed!
The Living/Learning Center gallery is located on the UVM campus in Burlington, VT. Click here for directions.
If you can’t make it to the show, click here to view pieces included in the exhibit.
*** 
On March 26th, the Book Arts Guild of Vermont proudly presents the Chinese Sewing Box Book, a one-day workshop with the awesome Erin Sweeney. Erin is a dynamic teacher and artist, and fills a room with excitement and inspiration. Sign up now, as space is limited!
The Chinese Sewing Box Book is a book structure created by the amazing Hedi Kyle – made entirely of folded boxes and enclosures based on paper wallets, and used to store sewing supplies – an origami lovers’ dream! Many things can be housed in this finished structure: surprises, stories, drawings, and prints. Students will leave with one finished book, a pattern to make another, and hopefully the start of a second book!
Erin Sweeney lives and works in southern New Hampshire, where she runs Lovely In The Home Press, and teaches Book Arts and Letterpress printing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Here’s the scoop:
- Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
- Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Location: Ridgewood Clubhouse, South Burlington
- Cost: $75.00, including materials (payment is due in full with your registration to reserve a spot)
You can download the registration form here.
Book Arts News
*** In collaboration with Abecedarian Gallery, Saint Anselm College is presenting CONTEMPORARY BOOK ARTS: 100+ Works, an exhibit of artists’ books co-curated by Kimberly Kersey-Asbury and Alicia Bailey. The exhibit is on view at the Living Learning Commons Galleries at the college and runs now through March 16.
The exhibit includes 85 works on loan to Saint Anselm from Abecedarian Gallery, along with selections from Manchester book artist Erin Sweeney and students at Saint Anselm College. You can view the pieces included in the exhibit on the Abecedarian Gallery website.
For more information about the exhibit, please contact Kimberly Kersey-Asbury at kasbury@anselm.edu. The Living Learning Commons Galleries at Saint Anselm College are located in Manchester, NH.
*** The Movable Book Society and the Ticknor Society are hosting the Movable Book Conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel on September 15-17. The conference agenda is available for viewing online.
The conference includes speakers, hands-on activities, presentations, a silent auction, and a book sale. This year’s speakers include Shawn Sheehy, Matthew Reinhart, and Emily Martin. In addition, area institutions and libraries in and around Boston will be mounting pop-up “Pop-Up Book” exhibits of materials in their collections.
For more information or to register for the conference, please visit the Movable Book Society website.
*** ONE Arts Center invites the public to drop off printed single pages or small zines of creative writing to be part of a month-long art show that explores the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication.
Bring work to the center at 72 North Champlain St. in Burlington, VT from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The deadline for submissions is March 31.
For more information, please call (802) 338-0028.
Book Arts Classes
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Join the Fold: Origami Books at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on March 17 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
In this workshop, you’ll be playing in the intersection between origami and bookmaking, creating folded books that require no adhesive. Many of the forms can be created from a single sheet of paper.
One of the pieces you’ll be making can be used as either a book cover or as a signature in a sewn book, and other pieces include hidden pockets. Structures include the Blizzard Book, Crown Binding, and the Turkish Map Fold.
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or email.
*** Kelly McMahon of May Day Studio is teaching Introduction to Letterpress in Montpelier, VT on Saturday, March 26 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The cool touch of decades-old metal type. A firm two-handed impression roll for a copy proof. A deft transfer from composing stick to imposing stone. A gentle tap of the planer. Two quick twists of the locking key and the chase with form is secure. The press is inked, the guides aligned, the chase slips into position, paper is correctly placed and your very first impression is ready to print.
Participants set type, lockup and print on a Chandler and Price Pilot and a Vandercook SP-15 – we’ll be printing limited edition notesets, as well as posters! Each participant will leave with 10 cards and envelopes, and 5 8-1/2″ x 11″ posters as lifetime keepsake of their first letterpress experience.
For more information or to register, please visit the May Day Studio website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Pop-Up Travel Journal with Susan Porter on April 17 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Incorporate photos, tickets, labels and other ephemera from your travels to create a pop-up book. The book begins as a simple square but opens into a dramatic, multifaceted container that includes pockets, windows, pop-outs and other paper forms. A variety of media and techniques will be used including printmaking, collage, painting and drawing.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
*** On April 9-10, the North Bennet Street School is offering Paper “Leather” Bindings with Fionnuala Gerrity.
Love the look of leather but hate the expense? Learn how to use paper as an alternative covering material to leather in this two-day class. This material is also great for conservation applications and for those who prefer to avoid animal products. Students make a blank book sewn on raised cords with a paper covering material molded around the spine and toned to simulate the look and feel of leather. No paring required!.
Students are responsible for supplying their own tools. A tool list will be sent at least 2 weeks prior to class start.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
by Elissa | Oct 3, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The October meeting will be held at UVM’s Special Collections in the basement of Bailey Howe Library. Click here to download a pdf of the directions to Special Collections.
Please note that in October we will not be meeting as usual on the second Wednesday at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.
Program: Special Visit to UVM Special Collections
This year, our visit to Special Collections will provide the unique opportunity to view the spectacular work of the members of the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, as their traveling exhibit – Geographies: New England Book Work – is currently on display at UVM’s Bailey/Howe Library.
Even more exciting, exhibitors Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff will be on hand to offer a guided tour of the exhibit! They will discuss the creation of their own books in the show, methods of construction used by other exhibitors, and contemporary bookbinding and book arts. The exhibition contains a variety of artist books, bindings, and manuscript books on the theme “New England.”
Deborah Howe is the Collections Conservator and a Book Arts Instructor at Dartmouth College Library, and board member of the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Stephanie Wolff is an artist, hand bookbinder, and book conservator. She teaches book arts to students of all ages, including at Dartmouth College Library’s Book Arts Workshop.
The Guild of Book Workers, a national organization founded in 1906, brings together people interested in all the book arts, including bookbinding, book conservation, calligraphy, decorative paper, papermaking, and printing. For more information visit negbw.wordpress.com and www.guildofbookworkers.org.
* Please bring a pencil, not a pen, if you plan to take notes.
September Meeting Reflections
Our September meeting was one of learning and giving. Judy Sgantas provided the group with first hand knowledge of the altruistic work provided by Team Heart. Our hearts opened as she described the culture and conditions in Rwanda. The medical team will return to Rwanda again in February to provide heart surgery for young patients. This year Judy will accompany them and work with the children in the orphanage. She will teach bookmaking and provide art supplies donated by our Book Arts Guild.
At our meeting Judy taught us the book structure of wallet books. We made several for Team Heart to give to patients and care givers in Rwanda. Jill Abilock provided beautiful paste papers for the books so each one is unique special.
Thank you Judy and Jill for providing us with a few hours away from our lives to learn about the needs of others and to have the opportunity to make a positive contribution through bookmaking.
Judy will accept more wallet books and donations through December for the work of Team Heart.
Book Arts News
*** The Champlain Mini Maker Faire will be held at Shelburne Farms Coach Barn on Saturday, October 4th from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 5th from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The Faire is a family-friendly event to MAKE, create, learn, invent, CRAFT, recycle, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science and technology.
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont will have a booth at the Faire where we will demonstrate simple book structures, and allow participants to try their hand at book arts. Stop by if you are at the Faire!
*** 
On October 4 & 5, the statewide Open Studio Weekend is offering a wonderful selection of book artsy studios for you to visit.
If you’re up for a tour, you can find your comrades in the following locations:
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour. You can find maps and directions to studios on the VT Crafts Council website. You can also download a pdf of the 2014 Fall Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file.
*** Fiber artist Marion Seasholtz generates a lot of cotton batting and fabric scraps in her work and is offering them to anyone interested in using them for papermaking. If you’re interested, please contact Marion at marion@windsedgestudio.com.
*** Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here is on exhibit at the Eliot D. Pratt Library Art Gallery at Goddard College now through October 10, 2014. The exhibit commemorates the 2007 bombing that resulted in the loss of a vibrant cultural and literary community in Baghdad.
The exhibit has been traveling the world since 2012 and includes artists’ books and broadsides by artists from 26 countries. Goddard College is in Plainfield, VT.
*** The McGrath Lecture in Contemporary Book Arts presents Twenty Years of the Double Elephant Press: Harnessing Influence & Ignorance on October 8, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. in the Neilson Browsing Room at Smith College, in Northampton, MA. To accompany this lecture, there is an exhibition of selected works from the Double Elephant Press, on view through December 15 at the entrance to the Mortimer Rare Book Room (Neilson Library, level 3).
Michael Kuch of Double Elephant Press began drawing in pen and ink at the age of eleven at home in northern Vermont; one year later he had a one-man show at a local museum. For the past twenty years Kuch has worked with book artisans in the Northampton area, notably the letterpress printer Art Larson, as well as numerous bookbinders. Lately, Kuch has delved into printing his own etched text and made forays into bookbinding.
For more information, please visit the Smith College Libraries website.
Book Arts Classes
*** On October 25, 2014, the North Bennet Street School, in collaboration with the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, is offering an Onion Skin Binding workshop with Benjamin Elbel.
Learn the complex sequence of scores, folds and gluings involved in the amazing Onion Skin binding, a structure that grows from the inside to the outside, gradually incorporating the single sheets into a continuous stub.
While you will learn in a traditional workshop setting, Benjamin’s instruction will be projected on a screen for students as he will be located at his studio in London.
For more information or to register, please visit the Guild of Book Workers website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Fold & Stitch Books with Annie Silverman on Sunday, October 19 & 26, 2014 from 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Using simple techniques that build upon each other, learn a variety of essential book forms: sewn pamphlets, multiple-signature books, accordion and flag books, along with simple wrappers and envelopes.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
by Elissa | Sep 4, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Art with a Heart: Creating Journals for Team Heart Patients in Africa with Judy Sgantas
Join us for a very special meeting in September when we come together as a group and make books to help Judy Sgantas support the efforts of Team Heart, a non-profit group of volunteer physicians, nurses, and technicians dedicated to providing life-saving cardiac surgeries in Rwanda, primarily to children suffering from rheumatic heart disease, a preventable condition.
Judy’s husband Mark is a cardio-thoracic nurse at Fletcher Allen Health Care. Last year, he and six other volunteers from Fletcher Allen became part of the 40 members of Team Heart in Rwanda, performing valve surgeries on 16 patients over a two week period. He will be participating again this year and Judy will be joining him, working to support Team Heart’s efforts at an orphanage near the hospital.
Last year, Judy made “wallet books” (pamphlet-stitched journals with pockets folded into the covers) for all of Team Heart’s patients and a few of the Rwandan nurses, so they would each have a book that would hold their stories, pictures and even medical instructions. The books were such a huge success that this year Judy has invited the Book Arts Guild to help create the books that she will bring with her to Rwanda this fall.
So come to the September meeting prepared to learn an easy but interesting and useful new book structure as Judy leads us in creating wallet books for the Rwandan care givers and patients served by Team Heart!
Please bring the following:
- Bone folder
- Awl
- Scissors
- X-Acto knife/cutting blade
- Cutting mat
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Bookbinding or tapestry needle
- Waxed linen thread
Optional:
- Judy puts index cards for medical instructions in one of the book pockets, along with a postcard of one of her illustrations. If you would like to bring a personal card to place in the book that you make, that would be lovely!
August Meeting Reflections
Our August meeting was full of fun and hands-on experimenting. Jen Alderman and Gwen Morey came well prepared with demonstrations, written suggestion and loads of materials for us to explore. They believe in recycling trash and found objects into exciting stamping possibilities and they made believers out of us.
Some highlights included bubble wrap, ramen noodles and marbles. Their expertise and experience was appreciated as we got tips on the different types of inks, refill systems, punches and sponges to improve our techniques.
Thanks Jen and Gwen, what a wonderful way to learn and play on a summer’s evening.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
Book Arts News
*** On October 4 & 5, the statewide Open Studio Weekend is offering a wonderful selection of book artsy studios for you to visit.
If you’re up for a tour, you can find your comrades in the following locations:
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour. You can find maps and directions to studios on the VT Crafts Council website. You can also download a pdf of the 2014 Fall Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file.
*** Fiber artist Sandy Jefferis is selling her stash of handmade papers. Here’s what’s for sale:
- 83 sheets of Thai Lama Li Lokta, assorted colors, 20″ x 30″
- 29 sheets of Thai Unryu Marbled Momi, 24″ x 36″
- 21+ sheets of assorted bark and other handmade papers
The retail price for the batch is about $636.00. She is asking for $350.00 for all of it. If you are interested, please contact Sandy at sandyjefferis@gmail.com
*** Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here is on exhibit at the Eliot D. Pratt Library Art Gallery at Goddard College now through October 10, 2014. The exhibit commemorates the 2007 bombing that resulted in the loss of a vibrant cultural and literary community in Baghdad.
The exhibit has been traveling the world since 2012 and includes artists’ books and broadsides by artists from 26 countries. Goddard College is in Plainfield, VT.
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers has organized a mini-conference in northern Maine during September 12 – 14, 2014. Spend a weekend in Northern Maine with a community of local artists working in the field of bookbinding, paper making and calligraphy.
The conference will be held at the Cobscook Community Learning Center near Whiting, ME. Programming includes a visit to the Book Arts Studio at UMaine Machias Friday afternoon, evening lectures by Alan Furth, Walter Tisdale and Gray Parrot Friday night, half-day workshops by Katie MacGregor and Nancy Leavitt on Saturday followed by a special presentation by David Yarborough.
For more information or to register, please visit the Guild of Book Workers website.
*** The exhibit UNBOUND VOL. IV: Art Using books as a material/format will be open from July 25 – August 23, 2014 at the Artistree Gallery in Woodstock, VT. This juried 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.
Book Arts Classes
*** On September 22-26, 2014, the North Bennet Street School is offering Fundamentals of Bookbinding I with Erin Fletcher in Boston.The course covers non-adhesive structures and case bindings, students learn about structural elements, sewing variations, covering and cutting techniques using various materials, and tools and equipment. The focus is on non-adhesive structures such as coptic, historical long stitch and case bindings such as flat back, rounded back.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Fold & Stitch Books with Annie Silverman on Sunday, October 19 & 26, 2014 from 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Using simple techniques that build upon each other, learn a variety of essential book forms: sewn pamphlets, multiple-signature books, accordion and flag books, along with simple wrappers and envelopes.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
