by Elissa | Oct 2, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The October meeting will be held at UVM’s Silver Special Collections in Billings Library at 48 University Place. Click here for directions.
Please note that in October we will not be meeting as usual at the Unitarian Church in Burlington.
Program: Field Trip to UVM’s Silver Special Collections
The October meeting will be our annual visit to UVM’s Silver Special Collections hosted by our own Prudence Doherty. This year we will highlight the work of Ellen Dorn Levitt; artist, printmaker and extraordinary teacher.
The collection of her work was gifted to UVM by her husband and curated by Linda Lembke. This is not to be missed as it is a wonderful opportunity to admire and learn from the best.
Prudence will also share books with collage and sewing to reflect our postcard focus.
* Please bring a pencil, not a pen, if you plan to take notes.
Directions: UVM Special Collections is in the Billings Center. The Special Collections Library is on the second floor but we will meet in the conference room on the first floor just as you enter the front main doors. Parking available at the top of College Street across from Waterman.
September Meeting Reflections
Our September meeting was full to the brim. We first shared our postcard challenge books as each book artist explained their inspiration and techniques. The time we set aside to examine the books was rich with conversation and admiration. Well done B.A.G. members!
You can view images of the challenge books on the B.A.G. blog.
The second part of our meeting was the tag team of Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins sharing how to design creative uppercase letters. The challenge and fun began as we all took off designing our own letters with coaching and support from Meta and Penne.
Their two part workshops with lettering have made us all more aware or our style and consistency. Perfect for book artists.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Looking for something to do this weekend? The statewide Fall Open Studio Weekend is taking place on October 5 – 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The event is a great way to combine fall foliage viewing and harvest activities with visits to artists across Vermont.
You can download a pdf of the complete Fall Event & Resource Guide from the VT Crafts Council website (this is a really big file). If you’re looking for something closer to you, county-specific maps and directions to studios are also available online.
Book artists Kelly McMahon (#74) and Elissa Campbell (#75) are both participating this time around and are conveniently located within a 5-minute drive of each other. Be sure to stop by!
Book Arts News
*** The current exhibit at UVM’s Silver Special Collections features a selection of miniature books from their Rare Book collection. Librarians and collectors often define miniatures as books that measure 4 inches or less in either direction, although the miniatures on their shelves can measure up to 5.5 inches.
Like their collection, which has grown organically rather than intentionally, books in the exhibit are diverse, ranging from a 16th-century Bible to 21st-century artists’ books. Many of the selections reflect the demand for portable and affordable reading material. The exhibit also includes miniature artists’ books that display creative and innovative ways to work within small dimensions.
Visit Special Collections on the second level of Billings Library to see the exhibit.
*** On Tuesday November 5th at 7:00 p.m., the Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts will host Touching, Seeing, Knowing: Movable Books in Nineteenth-Century America, a free lecture presented by Juliet Sperling.
Juliet Sperling researches and writes about American art and visual culture from the 18th to the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the history of moving images. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, and is a Faculty Fellow in American Art at Colby College.
Her current book project explores how engineered paper – books and prints with kinetic features including layered anatomical illustrations, mechanical political ephemera, and hidden-paneled religious books – revolutionized American encounters with a swiftly changing media landscape. Her research has been supported by institutions including the Luce/ACLS Foundation, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.
The Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts is located in Portland, Maine. The lecture will be held in the University Events Room on the 7th floor of the Glickman Family Library.
For more information, please contact Rebecca Goodale at (207) 228-8014 or goodale@maine.edu.
Book Arts Classes
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Travel Journals with Amy Lapidow on October 20th. All tools and supplies are provided for this class.
Books that fit in your pocket! Add a pen loop, picture or pocket for memorabilia. Make it waterproof with Tyvek. Tie it up with beads and buttons, or close it with a magnet. This one day workshop explores the possibilities of a versatile book that goes wherever you go.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** Also at the North Bennet Street School is Fundamentals of Bookbinding, taught by Erin Fletcher from November 4 – 8. Students will learn the foundations of bookbinding by combining hands-on exercises and discussion.
The class starts by exploring non-adhesive structures: soft cover pamphlet, Coptic, historical longstitch and link stitch. The class ends with a look at case bindings, with the creation of two hardcover flatback bindings. Students also learn different structural elements, sewing variations, covering and cutting techniques using various materials, tools and equipment.
Throughout the course discussions will cover terminology, paper grain and folding, selecting proper materials and tools, and adhesives and their properties.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
by Elissa | Sep 29, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding
by Elissa | Sep 5, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Developing Your Personal Writing Style, Part 2 and Sharing Books from Postcard Swap
Our meeting will have two parts this month!
Bring in your postcard challenge book to share. Get ready to be amazed!
AND
Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins will continue our development of hand-written text on the page with an exploration of Capitals. These large single letters have many centuries of history. We will have lots of examples, and we will provide a step-by-step process for making your own fancy, dramatic initials, sometimes called versals.
For our members who have examples of Decorated Capitals that they wish to share, please bring them.
If you have been practicing your individual lettering style and would like to bring it, Penne and Meta will be happy to look at it, provide feedback, and offer enthusiastic appreciation.
Please bring the following:
- A few sheets of unlined paper
- A pencil
- Some colored markers.
- Optional: small set of pan watercolors, a brush, and a small water cup
August Meeting Reflections
Hand lettering experts Meta Strick and Penne Tompkins gave us a crash course in personalizing our own handwriting at the August meeting.
With tips and tricks, they allowed participants to feel more comfortable with their own hand lettering skills and encouraged everyone to use this new skill in art projects. But of course, the key to all of this is practice, practice, practice!
Even in the short meeting session, we saw how repetition can lead to expertise (or at least improvement).
It was a record turnout in August! Thanks to everyone who attended and participated, and a big thanks to Meta and Penne! We are looking forward to the continuation of the letter arts program in September.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is proud to be once again participating in this year’s Burlington Book Festival on Saturday, September 28th at the Fletcher Free Library. This annual event celebrates the written word by offering readings, book signings, panels, demos, workshops, family activities, and special events.
We’ll be manning a table from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and during that time, we’ll be offering two mini workshops at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. We’re looking for volunteers to man the table for two-hour time slots – 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We also have display space available for member work.
Please contact Marcia to volunteer and/or if you have any work to show.
*** Carolyn Shattuck has a retrospective show, Into My Space, open now through September 7th at Compass Music and Arts Center. The exhibit covers the 30+ years of her career as an artist. Work on display ranges from paintings to prints, collages to handmade books, and small to large works.
Compass Music and Arts Center is located at 333 Jones Drive in Brandon, VT.
*** Elissa Campbell recently participated in a group bookbinding project sponsored by Janine Vangool, publisher, editor and designer for Uppercase Magazine.
Vangool gave unbound copies of Ephemera, a volume in her Encyclopedia of Inspiration series, to sixteen bookbinders who had to create covers based on the contents.
Each book is unique in approach, incorporating different covering materials, bookbinding structures and ornamentation techniques. You can check out the bindings online.
Book Arts Classes
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Secret Belgian Binding – Three Ways with Erin Fletcher on September 14 & 15. The Secret Belgian binding can be constructed quickly with few tools and virtually no equipment. It opens flat and works best with thinner text blocks.
This workshop explores the Secret Belgian structure and ways to modify it. On day one, students put together two variations of this non-adhesive structure: one with exposed stitches and one with hidden stitches. On day two, students explore modified versions of the Secret Belgian binding developed by book artist, Anne Goy by playing with the length of stitching and incorporating Tyvek.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** Also at the North Bennet Street School is Traditional Ethiopian Bookbinding, taught by Bill Hanscom on September 28 & 29. This two-day workshop will begin with a presentation detailing the traditional methods and materials of the Ethiopian scribe and bookbinder. Students will then construct two historical models.
The first will be a basic binding with bare wooden boards demonstrating the fundamentals of the unsupported link stitch, board attachment and repair, and the construction of a ləbas (a protective cloth over-cover). The second will be a full leather binding with inlays of patterned cloth and traditional endbands of interwoven leather strips.
Basic tooling techniques as well as common designs and motifs will be discussed and demonstrated. Students will be given the opportunity to decorate their bindings as time allows.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** On Sunday, September 22nd, The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts in Boston is offering Star Books with Cristina Hajosy.
A handmade star book can be presented as an artist’s book or as a hanging ornament. Excite viewers with the visual movement and performative qualities of this unusual book structure. Learn basic bookmaking techniques and experiment with hand-marbled papers, mixed media and collage scraps to customize your books.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
by Elissa | Aug 29, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding
by Elissa | Aug 7, 2019 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Developing Your Personal Writing Style, Part 1
Meta Strick, along with the assistance of Penne Tompkins, will lead you through some straightforward exercises to reveal your handwriting patterns and how to make them more uniform. The goal is to help you become comfortable with the idea and practice of using your own hand lettering in your books or any art projects.
It’s a low stress, fun approach that we hope will be useful to all!
Please bring the following:
- Pencil and eraser
- Pens and markers
- Lined sheets of paper
- Ruler
July Meeting Reflections
The postcard challenge has really brought out some great and diverse talent. Using the new skills acquired over the last few months of programs, participants went wild with the small format, producing postcards to share and swap. It was a swapping frenzy at the meeting. Now, looking forward to September, I can’t wait to see what you do with them!
The artists’ talk with work from the recent S.P.A.C.E. exhibit gave everyone a chance not only to learn more about each other as artists, but also to talk about purpose, inspiration and method in general. Thanks to everyone for participating, listening, and inspiring.
You are all wonderful. You are my people.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Nancy Stone’s watercolor postcards are now in a published book that documents the 2.5 year adventure she shared with her husband as they visited each of Vermont’s 251 towns. Originally begun as a book arts project with original paintings and journal entries, the idea of publishing the artwork resulted from many friends requesting a book.
On Wednesday, August 21st, the Williston library is sponsoring a celebration of Vermont’s 251 Club to be held off-site at the Williston Central School auditorium. From 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Nancy’s postcards will be on display as an installation and the book will be available for sale. At 7:00 p.m., Mike Leonard will screen his film One Town At A Time followed by Q & A. The documentary features diverse voices from members of the 251 Club highlighting the spirit that makes each town uniquely Vermont.
Completion of Mike and Nancy’s personal creative projects happened to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the Vermont 251 Club. Begun in 1954, the club has over 6,000 members including residents as well as visitors.
*** Carolyn Shattuck has a retrospective show, Into My Space, open now through September 7th at Compass Music and Arts Center. The exhibit covers the 30+ years of her career as an artist. Work on display ranges from paintings to prints, collages to handmade books, and small to large works.
Compass Music and Arts Center is located at 333 Jones Drive in Brandon, VT.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching another installment of Find Closure at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on August 19 & 20.
Consider this workshop the equivalent of a Closure Dressy Bessy. First you’ll complete a soft cover, leather book using a variation of the long stitch binding. Then comes the fun part – you’ll experiment with a variety of ways to secure those books. You’ll explore ways to use buttons, leather straps, and metal hardware to create up to 5 closures per book (as time allows).
Bring your own embellishments (buttons, ribbons, etc.) that you’d like to use for closures – there will be time for discussion and problem-solving as a group.You’ll leave this workshop with one book measuring 9.5″ x 6.5″, along with a detailed handout and resource list for all materials used.
Register online or contact Studio Place Arts at (802) 479-7069.
Book Arts News
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is holding its annual meeting on Saturday, August 10th at Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton, MA. Non-members are welcome to attend.
Here’s the event schedule:
- 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.: Traditional Water Gilding demo on a parchment panel with Sarah Pringle of Cinch Custom Finishes
- 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: NEGBW Annual meeting with light refreshments at Praxis Bindery (Room 4-24)
- 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Cottage Street Studios Open House and Tag Sale with:
- Peter Geraty of Praxis Bindery (Room 4-24)
- Sarah Creighton and Sarah Pringle (#42)
- Carol Blinn of Warwick Press (#36)
- Daniel Kelm (#5)
There will be some small demos and lots of bindery equipment and materials for sale.
Cottage Street Studios is located at One Cottage Street. Please email newenglandgbw@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
*** UNBOUND IX, a juried book arts show at Artistree Gallery in South Pomfret, VT is open now through August 24th.
The show features 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.
Several B.A.G. members have work in the exhibit, so sure to stop by!
*** Kolaj Magazine and ARCMTL seek collage artists who make books as part of their broader practice to present their book-centered projects as part of a symposium on the subject of collage and the book. The full-day symposium will take place on October 4th in Montreal.
In addition to making a brief presentation, book projects will be profiled in a special publication that will accompany the symposium. The deadline for submissions is August 31st.
For more information, please check out the call to artists.
*** In conjunction with the symposium, ARCMTL is hosting VOLUME 2 MTL: Art and the Book, Montreal’s annual conference and fair devoted to art publishing and artists’ books. The conference takes place from October 1 – 6, while the fair will be held on October 5 – 6.
VOLUME 2 MTL presents works and programming in both English and French, including artists and publishers from all over Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere.
For more information, please visit the VOLUME 2 MTL website.
Book Arts Classes
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering Letterpress Projects for Books with Richard Reitz Smith from August 25 – 31.
The idea of letterpressing content for your artist book can be overwhelming – the decisions are endless and the stakes are high. This project oriented course is designed to provide mentorship that will help you tackle all the details with confidence.
Each student will create a production plan and begin by cutting down their paper and making polymer plates or setting type. On the press, you’ll learn how to arrange your content and align your paper, then run test prints and finally move into production. We will have guest book artists throughout the week present work and offer tips and advice on book making.
In addition to the printed output of this course, students will leave with a better understanding of how to convert images and type into letterpress books and how to develop an efficient workflow when tackling a letterpress edition.
Click here to register. Maine Media Workshops + College is located in Rockport, ME.
*** The North Bennet Street School in Boston is offering Secret Belgian Binding – Three Ways with Erin Fletcher on September 14 & 15. The Secret Belgian binding can be constructed quickly with few tools and virtually no equipment. It opens flat and works best with thinner text blocks.
This workshop explores the Secret Belgian structure and ways to modify it. On day one, students put together two variations of this non-adhesive structure: one with exposed stitches and one with hidden stitches. On day two, students explore modified versions of the Secret Belgian binding developed by book artist, Anne Goy by playing with the length of stitching and incorporating Tyvek.
For more information, please visit the NBSS website.
*** On Sunday, September 22nd, The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts in Boston is offering Star Books with Cristina Hajosy.
A handmade star book can be presented as an artist’s book or as a hanging ornament. Excite viewers with the visual movement and performative qualities of this unusual book structure. Learn basic bookmaking techniques and experiment with hand-marbled papers, mixed media and collage scraps to customize your books.
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
