VT Book Arts Guild “MailB.A.G.” May 2023
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 10, 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!
Program: Pop-ups Shadowbox Book with Kit Davey
We are excited to have Kit Davey as our guest presenter this month. Kit is an Instagram phenomena, posting exciting book work almost every day! Her work is playful, humorous, and she is gracious enough to share her time with us.
Learn how to make this fun five-page pop-up book. When you turn the pages of the book a “box” forms to create a 3-dimensional effect. You can install images to the front or underneath each frame. Once you learn the basic mechanism you can add pages or scale the book up or down.
Tools needed:
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil and eraser
- X-Acto knife and cutting mat
- Bone folder
- Glue, brushes, rag, water container
- Scoring board, if you have one
Ingredients to make the book:
Note: You must cut out the ingredients in advance of the class! There will not be time to cut things out during class.
For the pages:
- 10 pieces single- or double-sided card stock: 2.5” by 6”
- 5 images that can fit inside a 1.5” by 1.5” opening.
- For the covers: 2 pieces of mat board: 2.5” by 3”
- Paper to cover the covers: 2 pieces paper 3.75” by 4.5”
- For the spine: 1 pc. card stock 2.5” by 2.5”
To learn more about Kit’s work, check out her Instagram.
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa so she can send you the details.
April Meeting Reflections
They may say that April showers bring May flowers, but our April meeting brought those flowers early!
We were lucky to have skilled presenter Linda Whelihan to guide us as we created three different types of flower pop-up cards. She presented each pop-up in such a way that seemingly complicated arrangements became easy to construct.
I’m not sure which card is my favorite, but I do know that when my daughter asked if she could have them, I quickly hid them away in my studio – sorry Anna, those are mine! Perhaps I’ll surprise her with one on her birthday…
Many thanks to Linda for sharing her talent and creativity with us.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Book artist Carol Barton says “There’s magic in a book that pops up!” She describes how she engineers the magic in her chapter of The Penland Book of Handmade Books. Discussing her inspiration, her methods, and how she got into pop-ups, Barton tells a compelling story that can help inspire our own paper engineering creations.
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 chapter here.
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 3 entries, although not all may be accepted. New this year, entries will be made online, and artists will be notified of acceptance on or before July 26. B.A.G. will cover the entry fee for members.
Here are some important dates:
- Deadline for online submissions: June 18, 2023. No entries will be accepted after this date.
- Exhibit dates: July 7 – August 4, 2023
- Opening reception: First Friday Art Walk, July 7, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Artists’ Talk: July 12, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This will take the place of our regular monthly meeting.
- Closing reception: First Friday Art Walk, August 4, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Click here to access the exhibit entry form.
*** Congratulations to Marcia Vogler for being accepted into the juried exhibition, Paper Made, which will be featured in the summer issue of Fiber Art Now magazine. Selections from the exhibit will be on display at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, VT from October 14, 2023 – February 11, 2024.
*** Elissa Campbell will be teaching The Lidded Pencil Box at CraftStudies on May 21.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make your own decorative boxes, then this class is a great place to start! This decorative lidded box is the perfect size to hold your pens and pencils – or perhaps future boxmaking tools?
During this workshop, you’ll make a box that measures 8” (l) x 3” (w) x 2.25” (h). You’ll learn basic boxmaking techniques, including how to measure and cut materials, wrapping a box with paper, and the best way to apply adhesives. We’ll also talk about how to scale the size of the box to fit differently-sized items.
Not only will this class offer you the foundation and confidence needed to continue making boxes, but it will also provide you with a variety of bookbinding skills. You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
*** Susan Smereka will be teaching the Upcycled Journal on May 23 & 30 at her studio in Burlington, VT. Whether you are new to bookbinding or not, this workshop is appropriate for all skill levels and interests.
You will rebuild an old book and give it new life as a unique journal to inspire you to write and capture your precious ideas, collages and drawings. And they make great gifts too!
You will take apart an old book, and rebind it with blank pages interleaved with text from the original. Build your knowledge and skills around bookbinding as you learn the parts of a book and how to do a long stitch binding with waxed linen thread.
For more information or to register, click here.
*** On May 27 & 28 (Memorial Day Weekend), the statewide Open Studio Weekend is offering a wonderful selection of book and paper arts studios for you to visit.
If you’re up for a tour, you can find members of your tribe in the following locations:
- Meta Strick: Fairfield, studio #1
- Carolyn Shattuck: Rutland, studio #52
- Carole McNamee: Quechee, studio #99
- Kelly McMahon: Montpelier, studio #125
- Elissa Campbell: Montpelier, studio #126
- Ken Leslie: Hardwick, studio #137
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour.
Maps and directions to studios are available on the VT Crafts Council website.
Book Arts News
*** ArtisTree Gallery is currently accepting submissions for their 11th annual book arts exhibit, UNBOUND Vol. XI. Works will be on display from June 22 – July 15, 2023 at the gallery in South Pomfret, Vermont.
The theme of the show is simple – art using books as a material or a format. Visitors will have an opportunity to examine curious folios, recent grimoires, tomes turned to sculpture and some works having a relation to “books” in concept only.
This exhibition is for artists working in all traditional and non-traditional 2D (wall mounted) and 3D media. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution, and must strictly adhere to the theme of the show. Note: reproductions can be used in mixed media work. Submissions are open to Vermont and New Hampshire residents who are 18 years of age or older.
The deadline for submission is June 7, 2023. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please read the online exhibit prospectus. You can also contact the gallery at exhibits@artistreevt.org.
*** 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.
*** Registration for Wells College Book Arts Center‘s Book Arts Summer Institute is now open. The week-long intensive courses include letterpress printing, bookbinding, calligraphy, typecasting, and font design. Week 1 runs from July 9 – 15 and Week 2 runs from July 16 – 22.
This year’s instructors include Tom Balbo, Scott McCarney, Leah Mackin, and Sonja Rossow. Wells College is located in Aurora, NY.
For more information, please visit the Wells College website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Zines: Exploring Narrative through Lists! with Hope Amico on May 10, 17, & 24.
Using a list to frame a personal narrative is a playful and accessible writing format. Handwritten and illustrated 8-page zines are a fun and approachable book format. In this virtual workshop, get introduced to these two art forms and begin by brainstorming story ideas – with pen and paper – using prompts as inspiration. Then, draft your story – with pen and paper or on an electronic device. Return the following week to share your work and engage in friendly group feedback.
In the last session, learn the process of laying out your story as a 4.25 x 5.5 inch zine (quarter-size, meaning a quarter of a piece of copy paper) and tips for analog layout, with opportunities to add visual elements.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Travel Journals with Susan Joy Share on May 17 & 24.
Create a series of soft-cover travel journals with paper covers for writing, drawing, collage, etc., and several compartments for tucking away collected items. You’ll learn basic folding and sewing techniques as you make pocket-sized books, perfect for walks or hikes, and a larger one for when you are settled in with time to reflect.
Students will learn several variations on pamphlet binding and 3 or 4 ways to score and fold soft-cover books. These journals travel especially well as they are light weight and easy to pack. You’ll have fun making pockets, folders and a collapsible origami box. Paper selections, closures, and decorative cover elements give students an opportunity add their personal touch. Making a travel journal is a great way to prepare for and get excited about a trip.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Microfiction Mini Books with Stephanie Wolff on May 24.
A very short story will be the content of a mini artists’ book. Participants will write a story in six words and create illustrations. Then bind it into a very simple but versatile book structure. The writing is meant to be a fun exercise, but participants are welcome to use existing stories should they choose.
This structure could be used for any kind of content: text or image or both, and can be scaled up in size. To learn more about this writing form, search the internet for “six-word stories” or “six-word memoirs”. A famous example, allegedly by Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.”
For more information or to register, please visit the JCBA website.
In continuing with our tradition of choosing a theme for our meetings every year, the B.A.G. Board has selected the theme of 
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.
Who wants to do that again?
***
