by Elissa | Jul 5, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, MailB.A.G., Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The B.A.G. board has determined that at this time, we will not be having in-person meetings through the summer, at the very least. We do have online programs planned for the next few months, so be sure to check out the newsletter sidebar for the schedule.
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: Accordion Album with Frames with Amy Lapidow
Join us in July as Amy Lapidow leads us in making a variation on an accordion book, the Accordion Album with Frames. Cloth hinges join panels of matted items, for infinite length and possibilities. You will make a 4 panel model and discuss variations.
This is a great book for both storing and displaying 2-dimensional artwork. You can find directions for the structure on pages 62 – 69 of her book: The Book Art Studio Handbook (ISBN: 9781592538188).
Here’s what you need to prepare for the meeting:
Tools:
- X-Acto or mat knife
- Bone folder
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue stick or glue + brush
- Cutting mat
- Waste paper for gluing
Materials prep:
- 8 pieces of 4 ply mat board (2 ply is fine too) or equivalent 5″ x 5″ or 12.5 cm x 12.5.cm
- 4 things to mat (picture, drawing, etc.) Nothing too thick, 3″ x 3″ or 7.5 cm x 7.5 cm
- 4 pieces of Japanese paper for hinges or equivalent (tissue – thin paper is ok) 0.5″ x just under 5″ or 1.5 cm x 12 cm
- Bookcloth 1 piece that we will cut – around 5.5″ x 7″ or 14 cm x 17 cm
June Meeting Reflections
It was great to be in the same room as everyone, well, I mean it looked like you were all in my room, and to have everyone introduce themselves and share something short and sweet. We actually got to meet some of our out-of-town members and friends.
In the sharing portion of the meeting, we heard what Judy, Dorsey, Marilyn, Diana, and Nancy have been up to. How wonderful to have a group where we can share both the excitement of creating and the emotional expression of life’s dealings.
Thank you all for allowing us to admire your work and thoughts.
B.A.G. Member News
*** Spacious Studio Space Available (with access to lots of bookbinding equipment!) beginning August 1
Jill Abilock is looking for someone to share her large, light-filled 625-square-foot studio and bindery, located at Shelburne Pond Studios in a bucolic, rural area of Shelburne, Vermont. The building is a quintessential Vermont dairy barn that has been converted into studios and houses a diverse community of artists.
Fully half of the studio is empty and available to set up, furnish, and equip as you like. As an added bonus, Jill has several book presses, a Kuttrimmer, and other bookbinding equipment that you would be welcome to use.
If interested, please contact Jill at sixloonsstudio@gmail.com for more information.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** On July 7th, 4:00 p.m. EDT the New England Historic Genealogical Society will host the virtual talk Women in 19th Century American Bookbinderies by Dr. Elizabeth DeWolfe and Todd Pattison. The talk will highlight the extensive use of female labor in American binderies during the 19th century and challenge the narrative that the industrialization of bookbinding was solely the result of mechanization.
You can get more information or register for this free talk by clicking here.
*** Shawn Sheehy is offering the online workshop The Roll-Up/Pop-Up Book on July 17th – 19th. Shawn is a very skilled paper engineer and this workshop is a great opportunity to learn from him in the comfort of your own home.
You have explored the pop-up how-to books. 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 workshop will help you think through that problem by exploring five different structures at three levels: foundational, transitional, and transformed.
And if that weren’t enough, you will explore an innovative roll-up binding approach (think scroll rather than codex) for the fifteen pop-up folios. In the end, you will have a compact, bound collection of study models that will propel you to the next step of pop-up invention. Beginners are welcome!
For more information, visit Shawn’s website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering a series of live online demonstrations focusing on a range of processes. Here’s the schedule of what’s available during the month of July:
Wednesday, July 22: Pulp Painting with Kelly Taylor Mitchell
Join artist Kelly Taylor Mitchell as she demonstrates her pulp painting process and shares about her work. Kelly is an artist and educator who lives and works in Atlanta, GA where she is currently an Artist-in-Residence with the Studio Artist Program at The Atlanta Contemporary, as well as an Assistant Professor of Art and Visual Culture and the Art Program Director at Spelman College.
Kelly’s multidisciplinary practice centers oral history and ancestral memory woven into the fabric of the Africana Diaspora, in order to present speculative futures, specifically related to concepts of community autonomy, swamp marronage, and inherited identity.
Utilizing printmaking, papermaking, sculpture, and textiles her work manifests as immersive installations, performative objects, and partnered artists books offering a venue for the sensorial –specifically smell- to connect to, convey, and reimagine rituals and rites of autonomous kin, collectives, and individuals of the Africana Diaspora.
Tuesday, July 28: Letterpress with Molly Poganski
Join MCBA’s Studio Technician Molly Poganski for a brief introduction to letterpress printing with hand-set wood type. Learn a little print history while watching Molly arrange type on the press, mix and apply ink to the rollers, and print! A finished print will be mailed to you after the demonstration.
Wednesday, July 29: Vegetable Papyrus with Yuka Petz
This demonstration-only workshop will be an introduction to making vegetable papyrus, a proto-paper made solely from fruits and vegetables.
Vegetable papyrus is created by cooking out non-cellulose materials and drying under pressure. This organic and non-toxic artform provides ample opportunities to create stunning patterns and compositions that reveal the delicate veining and organic structures of the fruits and vegetable you work with. Discussion will include different techniques and potential uses and participants will receive detailed instructions and tips for making papyrus at home.
For more information or to register, visit the MCBA website.
*** During the month of July, the Center for Book Arts has two opportunities for taking a workshop with papercutter Béatrice Coron:
Tuesday, July 28: Papercutting Basics
During this two-hour workshop, participants will discover the multiple facets of papercutting by making their own samples of different techniques. Learning basic principles of designing with full and empty shapes, each student will explore adapting pictures they collected to papercutting. Tips and tricks will be shared.
We will start the class with a presentation of the art of papercutting, then we will make one exercise outlining what papercutting is and how it can be used. The second exercise will be a study to adapt any image to papercutting. For the third exercise, we will use origami papers to design a four color mini-book.
Thursday, July 30: Make Your Own Botanical Papercut
In this two-hour workshop, we will design and cut a wall of leaves and flowers for all seasons. Different settings will be shown through slides, offering various options for your cut out. The instructor will demonstrate a variety of paper cutting techniques. Each participant will make their own large-scale botanical cut out.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Both workshops are being offered with a suggested donation. For more information or to register, visit the Center for Book Arts website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is also offering a number of online workshops via Zoom. Here is a selection of what’s available during the month of July:
July 7: Budgeting for Book Arts with Nikki Thompson
It’s time for taxes. Or you have to do a budget for a grant. Or you’re trying to price your book. Yep, a budget will save you in all of these cases.
As a printmaker or book artist working in editions, she’ll teach (and give you a handy Google Sheet) you how to budget. You’ll also go over comparative shopping and diagramming the project. There will be math involved (groan!).
Having a project in mind is helpful for this class. Students should have some familiarity with Google Sheets.
July 16: Exploring the Accordion with Nina Eve Zeininger
Dive into the wide world of accordion bindings with three foundational varieties!
Beloved by bookbinders and artists for their versatility, accordion books come in a variety of formats. In this class students will tackle three styles of accordion bindings: a basic model made from three sheets tabbed together, a tipfolio with cover, and a Leporello structure.
The books made in class will be small in scale but the instructor will discuss how the techniques learned in class can be adjusted to fit accordion books of varying sizes. Students will gain the skills to continue making books on their own and the instructor will provide a PDF handout.
For more information or to register, visit the SFCB website.
by Elissa | Jan 2, 2014 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 8, 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: Waterfall Flip Book with Rebecca Boardman
Join us in January to ring in the New Year with a hands-on program in which we explore the creative possibilities of waterfall flip books and cards. Rebecca will share models she has created of some of the variations that are possible, and show videos of commercially made cards.
She’ll then lead us in constructing at least one version of this structure. As time allows we’ll all be challenged to come up with our own unique way of using this moveable structure, and then have fun sharing what we’ve all created.
Rebecca will bring templates for at least a couple versions of the waterfall flip book. Please bring the following tools and materials:
- X-Acto knife/cutting blade
- Cutting mat
- Straight edge to cut against
- Bone folder
- Quick Dry glue if you have it handy – (Rebecca will also bring some for us to use)
- Drawing implements, stamps, small punches, ideas for brief text – whatever you might want to use to create the content of this book.
December Meeting Reflections
December’s meeting brought out our brave members on a snowy evening. We shared resources, ideas, challenges and creative work. We created an informal support group to help each other work though problems with work in process. The feedback was generous and welcomed.
Our Guild members have such enthusiasm and appreciation of each other and our creative book projects. We are a lucky group!
You can view the list of resources on the B.A.G. blog.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is happy to announce that the Spring exhibit will be hosted by the Rae Harrell Gallery in Hinesburg, in May. The show’s theme will be Nature: Beasts and Botanicals.
This broad theme can inspire fantastical, outlandish ideas as well as environmental, natural concepts. Find inspiration everywhere: on your daily walk, at your birdfeeder, on Pinterest, and at the library. Whether or not you have exhibited with us in the past, all members and friends are encouraged to submit work.
Deadline for submission will be April 1st, and we’re not kidding.
*** Vermont artist Jane Davies will be teaching a one day workshop in South Burlington on February 22, 2014. The workshop, Text and Image Collage, will allow us to explore the power of image/ word relationships as well as learn basic techniques and principles of collage.
We will create expressive pages that can be used for books, with found and created text, personal photos, and found/altered imagery. This will be a great way to jump start your ideas for the Spring exhibit, and to lose those winter blues.
- Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Location: Ridgewood Clubhouse, South Burlington
- Cost: $55.00
Click here to download the registration form.
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching The Recycled Accordion Book at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on February 20, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
In this workshop, we will create an accordion book using recycled papers, books, and other found materials. This structure can stand up and be stretched out, making it perfect for display. You don’t have to spend lots of money on supplies to make a book – your recycle bin offers lots of creative possibilities!
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or Email.
*** We want to know how we can best serve you! Within the next few weeks, you will be receiving a short survey about B.A.G. It is an online survey so there will be nothing to print out and mail – simply click on the link and answer a few short questions. We are striving to best meet the needs of our book arts community, and your feedback is both vital and greatly appreciated!
Book Arts News
*** The New England Historic Genealogical Society cordially invites you to a reception on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the 2013 opening of its conservation lab for the care and repair of materials held in its Library and Special Collections. A presentation by Deborah Rossi, NEHGS Conservation Technician, will be followed by group tours of the lab.
The Genealogical Society is located at 99 Newbury Street, Boston, MA in the first floor of the Treat Rotunda. Directions to NEHGS can found at AmericanAncestors.org/directions. R.S.V.P. by January 2, 2014 to drossi@nehgs.org.
Book Arts Classes
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Carousel Books with Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer on Sunday, February 23, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This sculptural book opens to form several shadow box-style pages in the round, like a carousel or zoetrope. Create images by cutting, drawing and painting, then precisely cut, fold and assemble accordion pages.
For more information the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
*** Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has announced their 2014 summer workshop lineup:
If you would like to receive a course catalog or be added to their Email list, please contact them at haystack@haystack-mtn.org or (207) 348-2306. Haystack is in Deer Isle, ME.
*** Now celebrating its 31st year, the Paper & Book Intensive is a working sabbatical for practitioners and motivated beginners in the book arts, papermaking, and conservation. PBI will be held at Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, MI from May 11 – 22. Available classes include:
Applications are being accepted online until April 15th, but acceptance letters are sent out in mid-February, so timely application is encouraged. For more information, please visit PBI’s website.
*** The Penland School of Crafts has announced their 2014 spring and summer workshop lineup:
- 4/20 – 4/26: The Artist as Traveler with Gail Rieke
- 5/25 – 6/6: Eastern Papermaking Possibilities with Aimee Lee
- 5/25 – 6/6: Forms in Paper with Elizabeth Alexander
- 6/8 – 6/20: Word, Image, Text, Books with Julie Leonard
- 6/22 – 7/4: Living Inside the Book with Sara Glee Queen & Kathy Steinsberger
- 7/6 – 7/18: Books with Bulk with Daniel Essig & Dolph Smith
- 7/20 – 8/5: Sculpting with Handmade Paper with Jo Stealey
- 8/10 – 8/22: Box Making & Enclosure Design with Sarah Bryant
- 8/24 – 8/30: Onion Skin Binding with Benjamin Elbel
Registration is available online. For more information, please visit Penland’s website.
by Elissa | Dec 6, 2013 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 11, 2013, 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: Celebrating Book Arts
Join us in December as we celebrate our personal successes, challenges and inspirations in the vast field of book arts.
Bring along your creations to show and tell, share a useful tip, technique or tool you’ve discovered, tap into the collective knowledge of the group to puzzle out a challenge you may be having with a project, or bring us all in on what’s inspired you in the past year – anything from books you’ve read or classes you’ve taken to Pinterest boards, blogs and YouTube videos.
You are also welcome to simply come and soak it all in. In either case, expect to leave energized, inspired and eager to entertain your own creative muse!
November Meeting Reflections
Our third annual Card Tricks and Book Blitz meeting drew a large audience, and delivered on the promise of learning new tricks and simple (or maybe a little complex) structures.
Participants shared stories about where their techniques, cards, and structures came from, and followed with demonstrations. Variations on pop-ups, tunnel structures, and flag books were some of the ideas presented to start off the holiday season with good spirits.
Thank you everyone for sharing your talent, time, and enthusiasm.
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont Needs You!
The primary mission of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont is to act as both an educational and creative resource in the field of book arts. One of the main ways we strive to achieve this is by offering interesting, enriching and inspiring presentations at our monthly meetings. Your presence at meetings goes a long way to supporting this effort – every presentation is enhanced by everyone who attends.
There are two additional – and crucial – ways that you can help us continue to provide high-quality programs every month. The first would be to recognize that you have a skill, a passion, a favorite technique or a body of work that others would love to learn about, and then take the leap and volunteer to share it with us as a presenter. We are truly a group of eager learners, and your efforts will be rewarded with respect, admiration and gratitude.
The second way that you can help keep our programming strong is by becoming a member. In addition to the benefits you receive (outlined in the sidebar of this newsletter), your paid membership enables us to cover expenses such as the fee for our wonderful, well-lit meeting space (which includes free parking!). It also allows us to reimburse presenters for travel expenses and materials, and pays for our website and email newsletter – key tools for keeping our book arts community in touch and informed.
If you would like to become a presenter (or would even just like to explore the possibility), please contact Programs and Events Chair Jill Abilock.
If you would like to become a supporting B.A.G. member, click here to download our membership form – when completed, send it to:
Book Arts Guild of Vermont
c/o Elissa Campbell
846 Gallison Hill Rd,
Montpelier, VT 05602
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is happy to announce that the Spring exhibit will be hosted by the Rae Harrell Gallery in Hinesburg, in May. The show’s theme will be Nature: Beasts and Botanicals.
This broad theme can inspire fantastical, outlandish ideas as well as environmental, natural concepts. Find inspiration everywhere: on your daily walk, at your birdfeeder, on Pinterest, and at the library. Whether or not you have exhibited with us in the past, all members and friends are encouraged to submit work.
Deadline for submission will be April 1st, and we’re not kidding.
*** Vermont artist Jane Davies will be teaching a one day workshop in the Burlington area on February 22, 2014. The workshop, Text and Image Collage, will allow us to explore the power of image/ word relationships as well as learn basic techniques and principles of collage.
We will create expressive pages that can be used for books, with found and created text, personal photos, and found/altered imagery. This will be a great way to jump start your ideas for the Spring exhibit, and to lose those winter blues.
- Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014
- Location: Burlington area, exact location to be determined
- Cost: $55.00 (note revised cost)
Click here to download the registration form.
*** B.A.G. member Amy Burns is showing 2 pieces at Aprons-R-Us, an exhibit in the gallery at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury, VT. The exhibit celebrates the apron through personal response and historical and cultural artifacts.
The show is open now through January 1, 2014. The opening reception is Friday, December 6, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
*** We want to know how we can best serve you! Within the next several weeks, you will be receiving a short survey about B.A.G. It is an online survey so there will be nothing to print out and mail – simply click on the link and answer a few short questions. We are striving to best meet the needs of our book arts community, and your feedback is both vital and greatly appreciated!
Book Arts News
*** The Boston Athenæum will be holding a conservation open house on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. A panel discussion, Beyond the Athenæum: Life After the Laboratory, will take place at noon.
Behind the glass doors of the Conservation Laboratory, Athenæum staff work to stabilize, preserve, and restore the Athenaeum’s antiquarian and contemporary treasures. Stop by to get a behind-the-scenes look at treatments at the Athenæum, and watch as conservators demonstrate conservation and bookbinding techniques throughout the day – washing paper, paring and gilding leather with antique brass tools, and mending damaged paper documents.
This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. The Athenæum is located at 10½ Beacon Street in Boston, MA.
*** Chena River Marblers is holding an open studio on December 14 & 15 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. There will be marbling and bookbinding demonstrations, along with an end-of-year overstock and seconds sale.
The studio is located at 70 Justice Drive in Amherst, MA. For more information, please call (413) 253-2835.
*** The New England Historic Genealogical Society cordially invites you to a reception on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the 2013 opening of its conservation lab for the care and repair of materials held in its Library and Special Collections. A presentation by Deborah Rossi, NEHGS Conservation Technician, will be followed by group tours of the lab.
The Genealogical Society is located at 99 Newbury Street, Boston, MA in the first floor of the Treat Rotunda. Directions to NEHGS can found at AmericanAncestors.org/directions. R.S.V.P. by January 2, 2014 to drossi@nehgs.org.
Book Arts Classes
*** The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA is offering Carousel Books with Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer on Sunday, February 23, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This sculptural book opens to form several shadow box-style pages in the round, like a carousel or zoetrope. Create images by cutting, drawing and painting, then precisely cut, fold and assemble accordion pages.
For more information the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
*** The North Bennet Street School is offering Copperplate Script with Maryanne Grebenstein on Saturday – Sunday, December 14 – 15, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The beautiful business ‘hand’ of the 18th and early 19th centuries known as Copperplate Script will be taught in this hands-on workshop. Developed centuries after the broad-edged style of traditional calligraphy, this pointed pen style is useful for wedding invitations and other stationery items, as well as poetry and other framable pieces.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBBS’s website.
