by Elissa | Sep 3, 2021 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 8, 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: Make a Zine and Prepare to Swap!
September brings a different kind of energy to life, doesn’t it? Let’s get together and make a zine!
In our June meeting, Emma Percy introduced us to zine culture and showed us examples from their collection. Now is our chance to practice the craft.
Our own Amy Burns will share some of her own comic zines and ideas on how to create your own. We will then make a one page fold book together, that can be printed on any home printer, and share a variety of versions to stimulate your creativity.
Ann Joppe-Mercure will introduce a new mail art challenge with a Zine Swap, that will enable us to see each other’s work in real life.
Here’s what you will need:
- A print out of this template at actual size
- 2 – 4 sheets of plain 8.5″ X 11″ paper
- Drawing/writing tools – your favorite pen is good, markers, etc.
- Subject matter – optional, but if you want to start some content, it’s nice to have a subject
B.A.G. Library Corner
Summer is ending, the holidays will be here before we know it, and with another mail art challenge on the horizon it’s a good time to review our envelope making skills. In her book Ultimate Cardmaking, Sarah Beaman shows us three different ways of crafting handmade envelopes.
The tutorials show how to use a template, trace an existing envelope, or create a pillow envelope to house three-dimensional contents. These easy to follow instructions will be sure to inspire the perfect enclosure for any mail art creations.
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 selection here.
B.A.G. News
*** Now through September 25th, the Book Arts Guild of Vermont’s group show, THE ART OF THE BOOK: IS IT A BOOK? will be on view at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
NEKAG is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and is located at 430 Railroad Street.
Our reception is being rescheduled, at which time we hope that participating artists will be able to speak about their work. Stay tuned for more information.
*** Speaking of our exhibit, be sure to check out page 50 in this week’s issue of Seven Days. We received a great review:
A current show at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury, were it an actual book, would have to be called a page-turner. Unputdownable. A best seller.
Our own Ann Joppe-Mercure also got a special mention for her work Written in Stone.
Can’t get your hands on a copy of the paper? Never fear – you can read the issue online.
*** The Rochester Public Library‘s 10th anniversary international exhibit, Art of the Book & Paper, is open now through November 1. The opening reception will be held on September 29 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
B.A.G. members Carolyn Shattuck, Debra Kraemer, and Dorsey Hogg have work that was juried into the exhibit. Dorsey’s pieces Bound to History won 2nd place and Delicious won Honorable Mention, both in the Altered Books category.
All of the work can be viewed in the online exhibit program.
Book Arts News
*** The Vermont Folklife Center is currently accepting applications for its Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. The program works to sustain and pass down traditional art forms (bookbinding included!) in the state of Vermont .
The purpose of the program is to provide funding to help compensate the master artist for their time and to cover the cost of travel and of materials used during the apprenticeship. Accepted master artist/apprentice pairs are supported with up to $2,000.00 of funding.
Applications for the 2021-2022 cycle are due by September 17, 2021. For more information and to access the application, please visit the VFC website.
*** The Museum of Printing in Haverill, MA is offering free admission on September 18 as part of Smithsonian Magazine’s 17th annual Museum Day.
The museum is dedicated to preserving the rich history of the graphic arts, printing and typesetting technology, and printing craftsmanship. In addition to many special collections and small exhibits, the museum contains hundreds of antique printing, typesetting, and bindery machines, as well as a library of books and printing-related documents.
The on Museum Day, the museum will be hosting the Alphabet Factory, an interactive printing experience for all ages. While admission is free, you will need a Museum Day ticket for admission. Each ticket is valid for two visitors. You can download a ticket here.
September 18th is also the day of the museum’s Garage Sale. There will be lots of letterpress items for sale – printing presses, printing equipment, metal cuts, halftones, books, and other goodies.
*** The third annual Peace Paper Project street intervention will take place at City Hall Park in Burlington on Saturday, September 25 from 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Johnny LaFalce and Drew Matott with their bicycle powered paper pulp beater team up with A Revolutionary Press to pedal-pulp contemporary issues into messages of empowerment, peace, and love.
The public is invited to hand pull a sheet of paper made from a unique blend of pulped material and fibers. The identity of the mystery fiber source in the pulp vat will be revealed that day. A Revolutionary Press will set up its mobile letterpress print station for those wanting a free print on this paper. The selected quote will relate to the mysterious material incorporated in the pulp mixture.
*** The American Precision Museum in Windsor is hosting a temporary exhibit from now until September 13. Letters and Stitches features rarely seen typewriters and sewing machines from the museum collection.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Moving Circles: Volvelles with Stephanie Wolff on September 18.
Volvelles, sometimes known as wheel charts, have a centuries-long history. They have been used in historic books, in promotional materials, and in devices to aid computation. Two or more circles turn to show information through cut out windows. This workshop covers a basic version of a volvelle and discussion of variations and ideas about incorporating content.
Our focus in this workshop will be on making models and learning how these function in order to create more complex and finished versions after the workshop. Volvelles are fun to make as cards, personalized gifts or to include in artists’ books.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Suminagashi Marbling with Sheryl Oppenheim on September 21.
Suminagashi is the oldest form of marbling, dating back to at least the 12th century. It is totally distinct, both in material and methods, from the size-based marbling practiced in Turkey, Iran, and Europe.
In this class you will learn about the history of Suminagashi, materials, and techniques, and you will each work at home to make your own Suminagashi marbled paper.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Slotted Tape Binding with Rachel Schend on September 28.
In this virtual workshop, learn how to construct a Slotted Tape Binding, a multiple-section binding sewn on tapes (thin strips paper) that features a decorative paper cover. Learn how to sew book pages onto paper tapes using a French web-sewing technique. Then, make a paper cover while considering a number of unique design possibilities.
Each technical step in the process will be demonstrated and participants will come away with a completed book. Some historical background and design alternatives will also be presented.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
by Elissa | Oct 6, 2016 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 12, 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: Mini Leather Journals with Elissa Campbell
In this hands-on presentation, Elissa will teach you Keith Smith‘s Broken Herringbone binding, using soft leather for the cover. This three signature binding creates a lovely decorative pattern on the spine. The book also has an integrated closure that coordinates with the sewing.
Leather, paper and thread will be provided. Please bring the following with you to the workshop:
- Bone folder
- Awl
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Bookbinding or tapestry needle
Optional (for punching small holes in leather):
September Meeting Reflections
Our annual visit to the Special Collections Department of the Bailey/Howe Library proved to be particularly fascinating this September. Prudence Doherty, Public Services Librarian, chose handmade paper and papermaking as her theme for the evening.
She presented books about paper and books made with handmade paper, and created a lively discussion about both. For a roomful of paper lovers, it was magic.
Thanks to everyone who participated in oohing and ahing, and special thanks to Prudence for a wonderful experience.
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 introduce our first ever book swap!
In a nutshell, participants will be randomly assigned a person for whom they will anonymously create a book – it’s a bit like Secret Santa, but more like Confidential Codex.
The focus of each swap will vary. We want to encourage our members to step outside their comfort zones, have fun, and experiment with new materials, structures, etc. For the first swap, you’ll have to create a blank book that incorporates recycled materials.
If the swap generates enough interest and folks enjoy it, then we’d love to continue the project on an ongoing basis.
Here are the details:
- Sign up deadline: 10/15/16
- Assignment of names: 10/20/16
- Book swap (and deadline for book completion): 12/14/16 (December B.A.G. meeting)
If you’d like to participate or have questions, please contact Elissa by October 15th. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the December meeting – you can always mail your book.
We can’t wait to see the final books!
*** B.A.G. member Nancy Stone wrote the following about her recent experience working with the Visiting Nurse Association’s Respite House:
The Joy of Donating Artwork
Last autumn I took a workshop on Your Art Legacy, a thought-provoking discussion about planning for dispersal of our artwork upon our death. That was a good wake-up call for someone in her 70’s! I realized that as my husband and I worked at ‘down-sizing’, I would have to figure out what to do with my remaining art sooner than later.
After letting our kids select paintings, I thought about the Visiting Nurse Association’s Respite House that was moving from my town of Williston to a larger place being built in Colchester. It was delightful to find that they wanted more than a couple of donated pieces; they accepted 11 works and asked if I could do a large one for the entrance!
That completed work, titled Sanctuary, is a 2′ X 6′ diptych of a woodland path with the destination brighter and more detailed than the soft dappled sunlight in the foreground. I felt very honored that an older piece titled Serenity is hanging in the Meditation Room and will hopefully soothe staff, patients and families. Since many of my paintings have a spiritual quality, they fit well into a place where people come to live until they die.
I came to realize that the holiday song Little Drummer Boy holds a good message…though artists may not be able to make significant donations of gold, myrrh or frankincense to a good cause, we can offer our gift of creativity.
*** Jill Abilock reports that Shelburne Pond Studios has an artist’s studio for rent. The size is 27′ x 13′ and it has good lighting. Rent is $275.00 per month with all utilities included. Shelburne Pond Studios is a community of 12 supportive artists located in a converted dairy barn in a quiet rural setting across from Shelburne Pond, in Shelburne, VT.
Please contact Kathy Stockman for more information.
Book Arts News
*** On October 11th at 5:30 p.m., UVM’s Special Collections Department of the Bailey/Howe Library presents Breaking the Deckle: Using the Paper Arts for Social Justice, a lecture with Drew Matott, Director of the Peace Paper Project.
Matott is a master papermaker with an expertise using traditional papermaking as a form of trauma therapy, social engagement, and community activism. In this presentation, he will discuss how he became involved with the paper arts and describe the genesis of the community papermaking programs he has co-founded, including Green Door Studio, Combat Paper Project, Peace Paper Project, Papermaking as Art Therapy, and Panty Pulping.
The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department at uvmsc@uvm.edu or (802) 656-2138.
*** On October 12 & 13 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Peace Paper Project’s Artists-in-Residence at Champlain College will offer hands-on Panty Pulping workshops in the Rozendaal courtyard. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to contribute a piece of clothing and make paper out of clothing.
An opening reception will be held on October 13th at 5:00 p.m. in the Champlain College Gallery Lounge. The workshops are pesented in collaboration with the Champlain College Women’s and Gender Center.
For more information, please contact Chris Thompson.
*** The North Bennet Street School is hosting a free public lecture on October 25th with Luigi Castiglioni entitled Binding a Livre de Peintre. The lecture will take place from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Castiglioni will share the process of binding an important “livre de peintre” in the French tradition. Using images from his recent project creating a binding for a copy of Jaime Sabartès’s Dans l’Atelier de Picasso, with 6 original lithographies of Pablo Picasso and 30 reproductions, the presentation will cover the full process from the design stage through the final finishing techniques. It is only by knowing every aspect of the work that one can fully take pleasure in a binding from the great French tradition.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website. The NBSS is located in Boston, MA.
*** From October 29 – December 4, 2016 the Pucker Gallery in Boston will present Of Light and Shadow: New Work by Andrea Dezsö.
Andrea Dezsö is a visual artist who works across a broad range of media including drawing, painting, artist’s books, embroidery, cut paper, animation, sculpture, site-specific installation and public art. She has been creating one-of-a-kind tunnel books since 2004.
The opening reception will be on October 29th from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Pucker Gallery is located at 240 Newbury Street on the 3rd floor.
For more information, please contact the Pucker Gallery.
*** Claire Van Vliet and Elizabeth Steiner announce that their book Woven and Interlocking Book Structures is now available free at the Internet Archive. Published in 2002 and no longer in print, this book is a self-teaching manual with directions for making basic models of 16 book structures designed for Janus, Steiner, and Gefn Press publications.
Claire suggests printing the pages of the digital version 2-sided and binding them in a 3-ring binder to function as a bench top manual. Here are the directions:
- Click here to access the files.
- Under Download Options (lower right), choose PDF and download the file.
- Save this file to your computer.
- Open the file in Acrobat.
- Open the Print menu and print all 152 pages 2-sided on 8.5″ x 11” paper.
*** Beyond Words, a collaborative exhibition taking place at three different venues, highlights Medieval and Renaissance illumination manuscripts in Boston collections. The exhibits may be seen at the Boston College’s McMullen Museum, Harvard University’s Houghton Library, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Outstanding manuscripts and printed books dating from the ninth to seventeenth centuries have been selected from eighteen Boston-area repositories. The three exhibits combined are offering the largest display of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts ever shown in the United States.
Please visit the individual venue websites for details on the days and hours they’re open.
Book Arts Classes
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Leather Pocket Journals at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on October 13 & 20, 2016 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
You’ll learn how to create 5 bindings that use only leather, paper, and thread – no glue needed! For each binding, you will sew 3 sections of folded papers into covers cut from one piece of leather. These bindings are very flexible and allow the books to open completely flat, making them perfect for use as sketchbooks or journals.
Each sewing technique creates a different decorative sewing pattern on the spine and we will try out different closure methods. No previous experience required – this is a great class for a beginner.
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or email.
*** The Eliot School is offering the series Wild Journals with Susan Porter in October and November. Sessions will be held on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Transform plain, store-bought, hardbound sketchbooks into gorgeously rich, densely colored, printed, cut and folded journals. These dramatic works of art can incorporate text, collage, found objects, windows, flaps and surface design.
The skills you learn can also be used in any form of handmade book. Expect to get messy. Bring an apron or work shirt to protect your clothing.
You can sign up for individual sessions or the whole series.
- Getting Started – Color & Paint: October 6, 2016
- Cut-outs, Pop-ups & Extensions: Thursday October 13, 2016
- Stamps, Stencils & Simple Printmaking: October 20, 2016
- Layers, Pockets, Windows & Tags: October 27, 2016
- Collaged Covers & Pages: November 3, 2016
- Story, Text & Narrative: November 10, 2016
For more information about the class, please visit the Eliot School’s website or click here to download the complete catalog.
by Elissa | Jun 14, 2012 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 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.
Photo by Christopher J. Campbell
Program: Open Bindery
Join us for Open Bindery in June!
Unfortunately, Margery Cantor is not able to present at our June meeting, but we look forward to having her share her letterpress expertise with us in the future. Instead, we have a program designed to get your summer bookbinding endeavors off to a roaring start.
This month, we invite you to bring a project to work on and join us for the Book Arts Guild’s first-ever Open Bindery! We hope to create a collaborative space where we can work on our own projects while at the same time sharing ideas, offering each other assistance, and inspiring each other. It also provides an opportunity to get to know each other better, to catch up with old friends, and to share what we’ve been working on.
Our mini-bindery will offer equipment such as book presses; a Kutrimmer™; a Xyron™ (a non-heat, non-spray alternative to wet adhesives), sewing frames, a Zutter Bind It All™ spiral binder, cutting mats, and various hand tools. There will also be a mini-library of books on bookbinding and book arts for instruction and inspiration, and materials available for purchase, such as bookboard and PVA glue.
We think it will be a very enjoyable and productive evening, and look forward to seeing you there!
Reflections on May’s Meeting
Our May meeting was such fun with Robin Cooper Collins leading us all on the makings of a very special movable mechanism that she discovered during a restoration project. Robin first provided us with an introduction of her work with the restoration and conservation of antiquarian children’s books. We were all fascinated by the detective skills, technology and wealth of art techniques Robin applies to her projects.
Robin, thank you for sharing your unique expertise with us on antique children’s books and for guiding us though the makings of challenging movable mechanism.
We have pictures from the meeting, but they’re not on the blog yet. As soon as they’re posted, we’ll let you know.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce that book artist Daniel Kelm will be coming to Vermont to offer The Book Restructured: Wire Edge Binding, a two-day workshop from 7/28/12 – 7/29/12.
Book artists produce a truly remarkable range of books – some diverging wildly from what we recognize as traditional book form. Wire edge binding, which employs a thin metal wire along the hinging edge of each page, was developed by master bookbinder, artist, and innovator Daniel Kelm to meet the challenge of creating a nontraditional book that opens exceptionally well and allows for unusual shapes.
During this two-day intensive workshop, which includes two projects, you will master basic wire edge skills for producing highly functional bindings of both traditional and unusual shapes. The first project – a simple codex of six identical page panels – teaches you the basics of integrating metal wire into a paperboard construction. The second project – an accordion with triangular pages that fold to form a tetrahedron – teaches you how to make books of various geometric shapes.
All experience levels welcome!
Dates: July 28 – 29, 2012 (Saturday – Sunday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (including lunch break)
Location: The Bindery Place, Shelburne Pond Studios, Shelburne, VT
Cost (all-inclusive!): $210.00 B.A.G. members, $225.00 non-members
Space is limited and B.A.G. members are getting a head start on registering, so sign up as soon as possible! Click here to download the registration form.
For further information about the workshop, please contact Jill Abilock at (802) 238-0883 or SixLoonsStudio@gmail.com.
*** The May/June exhibition at the Creative Space Gallery in Vergennes, VT includes work from our 2012 spring exhibit, Shaping Pages. Featured work includes handmade books by B.A.G. members Jill Abilock, Janet Ballantyne, Eloise Beil, Elissa Campbell, Elizabeth Rideout, Maryann Riker, Nancy Stone, Annie Watson, and Cynthia Weiss.
There will be a reception with the artists on Friday June 2nd from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can also visit during gallery hours on Thursday – Sunday, now through June 24th.
Book Arts News
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is holding their annual meeting on Tuesday, June 26th, at 6:00 p.m. This meeting is open to all current chapter members. The primary item of business is the election of an entirely new chapter committee. The presumptive committee members will be happy to speak with members about ideas for upcoming chapter activities. Outgoing Chapter Chair, Jeffrey Altepeter, will give one last annual report.
The meeting will be held at The Independent at 75 Union Square in Somerville, MA. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Jeffrey Altepeter.
*** The Museum of Printing in North Andover, MA will be having its Ninth Annual Printing Arts Fair on Sunday, June 17th, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The Fair is free and open to the public.
The Printing Arts Fair brings together printers, artisans, booksellers, graphic designers, specialty paper vendors – anyone interested in the printing arts – in a family atmosphere. Live demonstrations of turning molten lead into type, letterpress printing, intaglio printing, paper making and more.
For more information, please visit please visit The Museum of Printing’s website.
*** The Photo-Bookworks Symposium, presented by the Visual Studies Workshop, will take place from June 28 – 30, 2012 in Rochester, NY.
For the 2012 Photo-Bookworks Symposium, Visual Studies Workshop has invited national and international artists, critics, curators, and publishers to discuss some of the most challenging and innovative photobooks being created in the world today. Learn about the history of the medium, about being published and self-publishing, how artists and bookbinders are expanding the form, and much more.
There will also be a special pop-up bookstore by ARTBOOK as part of the symposium. Titles by the presenters and numerous other photobooks and artists’ books, including recent titles from VSW Press, will be available for purchase at discounted prices. There will be book signings by all the presenters throughout the symposium weekend.
For further information or to register contact Kristen Merola at workshops@vsw.org.
Book Arts Classes
*** Art New England is offering Artists Books To Go with Aimee Lee from 7/29/12 – 8/4/12 at Bennington College. In this workshop, students learn key ways to build artists’ books with a minimum amount of equipment and environmental impact, and explore the book form as a repository for images, text, and ideas.
Students experiment with a variety of folded and sewn structures that can easily be made at home or on the road. They also learn how to manipulate paper into pop-ups and unconventional pages that draw from fiber techniques. Transfers and mark-making techniques will convey content and students will gather tips on how to maintain a portable tool kit. Participants will leave with an armful of books and the knowledge and confidence to make books anywhere and anytime. This class is suitable for all levels of experience.
Registration is available online. To learn more about Aimee Lee, please visit her website.
*** Book Arts at the Stone House will be offering workshops from July 23 – 29, 2012 in Freeport, Maine. Spend seven days beside the sea attending a series of book arts related workshops, filled with a wide range of topics including printmaking, cyanotypes, paper-making, marbling, sequential images, inventive fold books, book design, and box making.
During the course, each student will have the opportunity to work with 8 different instructors in half day and full day workshops. Every participant will be exposed to a variety of approaches and opinions from a stimulating group of professional artists.
Please visit the website for more details on the location and how to register.
*** From 8/3/12 – 8/5/12, Velma Bolyard will be teaching Pulp Clouds: Hand Papermaking at the Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH. In this workshop, you’ll gather plants, cook pulp, form and dry sheets of your own papers.
Expect to make strong, useable, and beautiful waterleaf (un-sized) sheets. You’ll make a book from your papers, binding sheets into sample books utilizing structures that allow you to explore bookbinding as well. Each participant may expect to make a portfolio of sheets of various sizes from at least five different plants.
The fee for the workshop is $500.00 with a limited materials list. For more information, please contact Long Ridge Farm.
*** From 8/27 – 8/31, Erin Sweeney of Lovely In The Home Press will be teaching Book School 2012 in Peterborough, NH.
From 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. each day, you’ll tackle a new structure, and discuss form and content appropriate for each. Simple writing exercises will be explored to create and organize ideas for future projects. Projects include the Piano Hinge structure, several album structures, a traditional long-stitch structure, boxes, and a Plunder Book to wrap it all up and utilize our newly learned techniques.
For more information or to register, please contact Erin at erin@erinsweeney.net.
by Elissa | May 12, 2012 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 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: Paper Engineering with Robin Cooper Collins
Please join us in May when Robin Cooper Collins shares her expertise in pop-up and movable books.
During the first part of the meeting, Robin will present From a Sows Ear to a Silk Purse, a talk she gave at the Movable Book Society conference in Portland, OR. The talk focuses on movable books that came across her work bench as complete train wrecks, and how they were brought back to life. She will also offer a glimpse at several unique and unusual books.
After the talk, everyone will have the opportunity to build a plate using one of the more unusual mechanisms she has encountered. The base papers will be provided but, but you will need to bring:
- Scissors
- Glue (White glue, PVA, and Elmers, etc. are fine, but not glue stick, because we will be gluing wood to paper.)
- Embellishments (decorative papers, paints, pencils, etc., as well as decorative cutting tools)
Robin Cooper Collins’ hand bookbinding practice is focused on the restoration and conservation of antiquarian children’s books. Her specialty is the restoration of pop-up and movables from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Reflections on April’s Meeting
Deborah Howe gave a fascinating presentation at our April meeting. She chronicled her investigation and work on the conservation of Dartmouth’s 15th century manuscript called the Brut Chronicle. This legendary and historical chronicle of England is valued as a working text and will be used for research.
Deborah led us thorough her investigation with slides and a working model that she created to bind the text. The final decision for conserving this manuscript came as a bit of a surprise to our group as a simple cover was chosen over the historical binding that Deborah reproduced and we greatly admired. We all gained new insight and appreciation for the work of a conservator and the choices made for academic conservation.
Thank you Deborah for traveling up to Burlington and sharing your presentation with us.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce that book artist Daniel Kelm will be coming to Vermont to offer The Book Restructured: Wire Edge Binding, a two-day workshop from 7/28/12 – 7/29/12.
Book artists produce a truly remarkable range of books – some diverging wildly from what we recognize as traditional book form. Wire edge binding, which employs a thin metal wire along the hinging edge of each page, was developed by master bookbinder, artist, and innovator Daniel Kelm to meet the challenge of creating a nontraditional book that opens exceptionally well and allows for unusual shapes.
During this two-day intensive workshop, which includes two projects, you will master basic wire edge skills for producing highly functional bindings of both traditional and unusual shapes. The first project – a simple codex of six identical page panels – teaches you the basics of integrating metal wire into a paperboard construction. The second project – an accordion with triangular pages that fold to form a tetrahedron – teaches you how to make books of various geometric shapes.
All experience levels welcome!
Dates: July 28 – 29, 2012 (Saturday – Sunday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (including lunch break)
Location: The Bindery Place, Shelburne Pond Studios, Shelburne, VT
Cost (all-inclusive!):
– Paid by 5/16/12: $195.00 (members), $210.00 (non-members)
– Paid after 5/16/12: $210.00 (members), $225.00 (non-members)
Space is limited and B.A.G. members are getting a head start on registering, so sign up as soon as possible! Click here to download the registration form.
For further information about the workshop, please contact Jill Abilock at (802) 238-0883 or SixLoonsStudio@gmail.com.
*** The May/June exhibition at the Creative Space Gallery in Vergennes, VT includes work from our 2012 spring exhibit, Shaping Pages. Featured work includes handmade books by B.A.G. members Jill Abilock, Janet Ballantyne, Eloise Beil, Elissa Campbell, Elizabeth Rideout, Maryann Riker, Nancy Stone, Annie Watson, and Cynthia Weiss.
There will be a reception with the artists on Friday June 2nd from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can also visit during gallery hours on Thursday – Sunday, now through June 24th.
*** B.A.G. members Carolyn Shattuck, Meta Strick, Ken Leslie, Marianna Holzer, Elizabeth Rideout, Jill Abilock, and Elissa Campbell are opening their studios as part of the state-wide Open Studio Weekend sponsored by the Vermont Crafts Council. The Creative Space Gallery is hosting books from our Shaping Pages exhibit during the event, so if you missed it in Burlington, you now have another chance to see it.
If you want to visit fellow book artists on May 26 – 27 (Memorial Day weekend), you can find them in the following locations:
- Carolyn: Rutland, studio #88
- Creative Space Gallery: Vergennes, studio #125
- Jill: Shelburne, studio #130
- Elizabeth: Shelburne, studio #130
- Marianna: Hinesburg, studio #135
- Meta: Fairfield, studio #172
- Ken: Hardwick, studio #186
- Elissa: Montpelier, studio #211
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 2012 Spring Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file – 13.5 M
Book Arts News
*** Chemically Altered: Historic Paper Marbling, a lecture by Gretchen and Garrett Dixon from The Marbler’s Apprentice, will take place on May 14, 2012 at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA. The lecture, sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is free and open to the public.
There will be discussion of the history, patterns, and fabrication techniques for chemically-altered patterns of marbled paper – Stormont, Shell, Broken, Romantic, Schroetel, and Tiger Eye. These patterns all involve the use of chemical additives to the watercolor paint in order to achieve their effect. These patterns were popular from the end of the 18th century through the 19th century.
For directions, please visit the North Bennet Street School’s website.
*** ArtisTree Gallery and Pentangle Arts Council, in conjunction with the Bookstock Festival, are looking for submissions for their upcoming exhibit, Unbound Vol II: Art using the book as a material/format. The show will be juried by Daniel E. Kelm, founder of the Garage Annex School for Book Arts in Easthampton, MA.
The broad theme of UNBOUND Vol II 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 2nd annual juried show looks to explore these ideas of “the book” and all the ways artists use its format as a stepping off point or as a material to explore new ideas.
The exhibit is open to all 2D and 3D, installation, and assemblage artists working in New England and New York. Submissions must be postmarked by mail or Emailed by June 9, 2012. For more information, please visit the ArtisTree Gallery’s website.
Book Arts Classes
*** From 8/3/12 – 8/5/12, Velma Bolyard will be teaching Pulp Clouds: Hand Papermaking at the Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH. In this workshop, you’ll gather plants, cook pulp, form and dry sheets of your own papers.
Expect to make strong, useable, and beautiful waterleaf (un-sized) sheets. You’ll make a book from your papers, binding sheets into sample books utilizing structures that allow you to explore bookbinding as well. Each participant may expect to make a portfolio of sheets of various sizes from at least five different plants.
The fee for the workshop is $500.00 with a limited materials list. For more information, please contact Long Ridge Farm.
*** The Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA is offering a Shockingly Good Book Arts Course with Sarah Smith from June 4 – June 8, 2012. This course is designed to teach you the basics of two traditional techniques that are enjoying a modern resurgence: bookbinding and letterpress.
Along with mastering the art of setting metal and wood type, students will also have the opportunity to convert their own imagery into a printable format by creating polymer plates. Additionally, learn to sew, fold and glue some simple binding structures to bring images, text and three-dimensional ideas together. By the end of the course, you will have produced bound and printed models as well as a simple artist book of your own.
The fee for the workshop is $795.00 and you can register online. For more information, please contact either Kathleen Burke or Chelsea Sams.
*** The North Bennet Street School is offering a Bookbinding Intensive with Stacie Dolin from June 25 – July 27, 2012. The five-week program meets Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This class is designed for individuals interested in an intensive, hands-on bookbinding experience and is suitable for book artists and novice binders wishing to learn or enhance fundamental bookbinding skills. Explore a variety of book structures and binding techniques and the process for determining what materials and structures to use for a given project.
Field trips and other specific topics are part of the curriculum and will be based on student interests. The tuition includes a materials fee for paper, board, and other basic supplies; students are expected to provide some materials and all hand tools.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBBS’s website.
