by Elissa | Apr 9, 2023 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 12, 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!
In the movable book world, there is of course the Movable Book Society, which promotes all things movable. A look at their website and references should be all it takes to get you warmed up for the new year. Here are some other resources to get your brain churning:
Websites to drool over:
Books to pore over:
If that’s not enough for you, just google ‘tunnel books’ or ‘pop up books’, and prepare to spend some time in the rabbit hole. Take a look – the possibilities are kind of endless!
Program: Flower Power Pop-ups! with Linda Whelihan
We’ll be celebrating spring during our April meeting! B.A.G. member Linda Whelihan will be teaching you three fun, floral pop-up forms.
Here’s what you’ll need to participate in the project:
- White and colored cardstock (cut in half: 5.5” x 8.5”)
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
- PVA or glue stick
- Decorative papers, flower catalogues for inspiration, etc.
You’ll also need to print out this template (it’s a pdf file).
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa so she can send you the details.
March Meeting Reflections
It’s always a pleasure when Dorsey Hogg presents to the group. I love how calmly and easily she works. While some of us have made tunnel books, there is always something new to learn, and a trick to pick up. My takeaways from the meeting? It does not have to be complicated, you can just trim a bit where you need to.
Dorsey showed us some of her own work using altered books and book pages to create layered tunnel structures that bring the scenes to life. It has inspired me to think in a new way about ‘layers’ and how to create movement through the perspective that the tunnel provides.
Thanks, Dorsey! You’re the best!
Thanks to everyone who showed up and participated along with us. I’m just loving this year’s theme, aren’t you?
B.A.G. Library Corner
Hi everyone, Elissa here. Sally’s taking a well-deserved month off. But don’t worry, I’ve got your monthly book fix!
I thought that you might be interested in expanding your library to include more reference books on movables. Here are a few cool books that I own, but haven’t been mentioned before:
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.
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 2 entries. B.A.G. will cover the entry fee for members.
Here are some important dates:
- Deadline for submissions: June 26, 2023. No entries will be accepted after this date.
- Exhibit dates: July 1 – 30, 2023
- Opening reception: First Friday Art Walk, July 7, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Artists’ Talk: TBD. This will take the place of our regular monthly meeting.
More details to come. A link to the entry form will be included in next month’s newsletter.
*** Susan Smereka will be teaching Creative Bookmaking with Jane Ploughman on 5 Wednesdays, April 19 – May 17, 2023.
This workshop is ideal for the newbie and for those with some experience. Learn the process of paste paper, Gelli plate printing, and Japanese marbling; Suminagashi. These decorative papers will be incorporated into book structures such as single sheet, a single flag, and an accordion with a hardcover. In your final book projects, you will also work on the content (words, drawings, collages, etc).
Jane Ploughman is a bookmaker and printmaker from New Haven, Vermont with 20 years of experience. Susan Smereka is a printmaker and visual artist with 13 years of experience with bookmaking. With two instructors you are guaranteed plenty of one-on-one instruction.
For more information or to register, click here.
*** Elissa Campbell will be teaching Pop-Up Basics at CraftStudies on April 16.
If you want to add more magic to your cards and artist books, then give pop-ups a try! Also known as paper engineering, pop-ups use cuts and folds to create motion and energy in paper structures.
Through the creation of a series of pop-up cards, students will learn the basics of three-dimensional construction, including box supports, props, and straddles, then bind these cards into a book, which will become a handy reference for future work. In addition, students will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use. No previous experience is required.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** 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.
*** Abecedarian Gallery is currently accepting submissions for its upcoming exhibition, Westward Bound II. Eligible are artists’ book works either created by artists living/working in The American West or artists’ book works with content relevant to The American West.
Virtually every part of the United States except the Eastern Seaboard has been “the West” at some point in American history, linked in popular imagination with the last frontier of American settlement. For purposes of this exhibition, The American West refers to that vast stretch of plains, mountains, and deserts west of the Mississippi and so includes states now considered the mid-west (such as the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, and so forth).
The deadline for entries is June 18, 2023. For more information, please visit the Abecedarian Gallery website.
*** Now through April 21, the North Bennet Street School is hosting Beyond Bookbinding, an exhibition including the work of students, alumni, current and former faculty, and program advisors.
The work answers a question they often get, “What do you do after you study bookbinding?” That answer includes the classic Fine Bindings often seen in bookbinding exhibitions (these works, sometimes known as “Design Bindings” or “Artistic Bindings” are exhibition oriented staples). But Beyond Bookbinding also includes book repair and conservation, historical binding structure models, period-style re-bindings, artists’ books, decorated paper, letterpress printing… and even some stone carved lettering.
The North Bennet Street School is located in Boston, MA. The exhibit is being held in the Windgate Gallery.
*** Now through April 29, the Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts is hosting Building Books: New England Book Artists Members Exhibition. The exhibition is located in the Great Reading Room, 7th floor, Glickman Family Library at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.
NEBA is a professional organization of book artists and bibliophiles. It celebrates, promotes, and supports the book arts and its makers, fosters public education, and nurtures an understanding and enjoyment of the discipline through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and related activities.
For more information, please visit the KCCCBA website.
*** The Rochester Public Library is currently accepting submissions for its 12th juried international exhibit, Art of the Book: Artist Books, Altered Books, & Paper Sculpture. The deadline for entries is May 15.
In 2011, the first Art of the Book exhibit was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Rochester Public Library. At the time, they wanted to celebrate what has been at the core of libraries for centuries – the book. They marveled over the intricate interpretations of this humble format and were thrilled with the response to the exhibit from the community.
In subsequent years, the exhibit has grown to include entries from all over the world, featuring well-known artists for their exquisite work. Books continue to ensnare the imagination, both for their form and content. Artists manipulate those two components to create breathtaking, mind-bending works of art that tease and cajole people to consider the intricacies of paper, ink, words, and meaning.
For more information or to view the prospectus, please visit the Rochester Public Library’s website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Drum Leaf Binding and its Precedents with Scott McCarney on Thursdays, April 27 – May 11.
In this workshop, participants will learn to make three types of lay-flat books ideal for displaying photographs and prints. The three techniques – a Japanese Album, a Japanese Butterfly book, and a Drum-Leaf binding – have similarly easy and ingenious modes of assembly. All three books join single folded folios in distinct ways using a minimum of glue, limiting the amount of moisture to speed the binding process considerably.
Participants will case their Drum-Leaf books into easily assembled quarter-cloth covers with throw-back spines. Since each page spread is a single folded folio, participants can print their images across the gutter with no interruption, making these techniques very popular with printmakers and photographers. Once completed, these books lie flat when opened, making them easy and comfortable to view.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Dos-à-Dos Binding with Rosae Reeder on April 29.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create books that are bound together – sharing a back cover – and open in opposite directions. First, create a simple single-page dos-à-dos to get familiar with the concept of the structure. Next, make a softcover book with two sections sewn in. Finally, create a hardcover dos-à-dos structure with a sewn open spine.
The stories or imagery in these versatile books can be viewed as one continuous story, or as two parallel stories. Basic binding skills are helpful, but not required.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** Erin Fletcher of Herringbone Bindery is offering the Tue-Mouche binding on May 23 & 25.
Translated to “flypaper”, the Tue-Mouche was developed by Ben Elbel as a variation to the Dos Rapporté structure (another one of his innovations). The Tue-Mouche is an easy and economical form of bookbinding. The covers are constructed entirely from heavyweight paper, layered to create rigidity and strength, while the flexible spine allows the binding to open without constraints. In this workshop students will learn how to create the Tue-Mouche structure from start to finish.
For more information or to register, please visit Erin’s website.
by Elissa | Sep 12, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 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 Woven for 2022.
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in history, and is an integral part of all of our lives. We wear woven clothing, we sit on woven seats, we use and admire woven baskets.
In the paper and book world, there are many examples of paper weaving, woven book covers, and woven structures. Here are a few resources to get your brain churning:
The possibilities are kind of endless!
During the meetings this year, guest presenters will guide you through techniques to get you started on your woven explorations. The simplest methods can produce exciting results and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Program: The Woven Codex with Dorsey Hogg
In September’s meeting, Dorsey Hogg will be teaching us how to make the Woven Codex from Alisa Golden‘s Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms.
You’ll be weaving together 4 signatures using 2 long strips of material that will bind the pages together without adhesive or sewing. The covers can be made from any heavyweight paper you have around, for example an old watercolor painting.
Supplies:
- 1 12″ x 7″ piece of heavy paper for the cover
- 8 8″ x 4″ pieces of medium weight paper
- 4 4″ x 4″ pieces of medium to heavy weight paper
- 2 10″ x 0.75″ strips of tyvek (I used a USPS priority mailer, you need a material that can fold, is thin, but strong enough to hold the book together.
- Glue (only a little is needed)
Tools:
- Measuring tool
- X-Acto knife
- Cutting mat
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
August Meeting Reflections
For our August meeting Elissa Campbell presented the second half of the Crossed Structure Binding Linked lesson. This structure is very doable and at the same time is so impressive when completed. I never tried it before Elissa demonstrated because it seemed intimidating but it really isn’t difficult!
Elissa’s instructions were very clear and at the end of the meeting participants showed variations that they created using some different materials and stitching designs. The structure lends itself to designing different weaving patterns and stitch patterns. Cover materials that were successfully used were leather, Tyvek, and stiff paper. I would also recommend Kraft-Tex paper. It is a material that can be made to look like and feel like leather and can be painted/dyed or printed on.
I hope participants will share what they do with this wonderful structure in subsequent meetings! Thanks, Elissa.
B.A.G. Library Corner
It’s back to school time, so let’s get back to basics! Keith Smith’s primer on book covers in Non-Adhesive Binding, Vol. 1 gives us tips on papers and measuring techniques to use, as well as describing methods for creating more complex covers with slots, layers, overhangs, and reinforced spines. Let these basic tools of the trade inspire your next book’s cover!
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 selection here.
B.A.G. News
*** Susan Smereka and Jane Ploughman are co-teaching two classes at Susan’s Burlington studio in September:
- Creative Bookmaking will take place on Tuesdays, September 20 – October 18. Learn the process of paste paper, Gelli plate printing, and Japanese marbling; Suminagashi. These decorative papers will be incorporated into book structures such as single sheet, a single flag, and an accordion with a hardcover. In your final book project, you will also work on the content (words, drawings, collage, etc) for your book.
- The Generative Book will take place on Thursdays, September 22 – October 6. Create a unique artist book while learning new bookmaking and printmaking techniques. This workshop will guide you through a three-part creative process to generate text and images using Gelli plate printmaking and collage. Your completed project will combine your edited and refined creations in a hardcover book with 8 spreads bound with a long stitch variation.
For more information or to register, please visit Susan’s website.
*** B.A.G. member Laura Lacroix is looking for recommendations for a printing service local to East Charleston, Vermont. If you have any ideas, please contact Laura at lacroix.laura@yahoo.com.
*** Vermont Fall Open Studio Weekend is coming up on October 1 & 2 and it’s a great way to combine fall foliage viewing and harvest activities with visits to artists across Vermont.
There are a few opportunities for you to visit B.A.G. member studios:
You can download a pdf of the complete Fall Event & Resource Guide from the Vermont Crafts Council website (this is a really big file). Studios have been organized into loops to help you plan your travels and you can see them here.
Book Arts News
*** The traveling exhibition Pulped Under Pressure will be hosted by the University of Southern Maine from September 7 – December 22, 2022. With traditional hand papermaking at its core, the exhibition underscores important contemporary issues steeped in history and craft. Enticed through touch, these works encourage a contemplative slowing down even as they urge acknowledgment of some of the most pressing issues (environmental crisis to global marginalization) facing civilization today.
The artists’ multifaceted works incorporate a rich range of printmaking, letterpress, papercutting, and installation with a diversity of recycled disposable materials (junk mail, egg cartons, old cotton t-shirts, ripped denim jeans) as well as old bedsheets, beetroot, heirloom plants, and illuminated el wires. In very unique ways, these artists consider paper beyond its most common function as a passive surface of record or craft. Instead, the material is transformed and embedded with content that turns communication into a public practice.
For more information, please visit the USM website.
*** On September 29, the University of Southern Maine’s Special Collections and the Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts are co-sponsoring What is Book Arts: A Panel Discussion. The discussion will be moderated by Susie R. Bock, Coordinator of Special Collections and Director of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine. The event is free and open to the public.
Panelists include Liz Brown, Rachel Church, Anna Low, and Angel Simoneau. The event will be held on the 7th floor in the University Events Room at the Glickman Family Library, USM Portland Campus.
For more information, please visit the KCCCBA website.
*** Thanks to Helen Hiebert‘s amazing newsletter, I discovered the work of artist Jonpaul Smith. He creates complex paper weavings using (in his words) “discarded consumer packaging, original traditional and non-traditional prints, gouache paintings, smoke transfers and other paper ephemera.” Check him out!
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Alternative Printmaking at Home with Rosae Reeder on Wednesdays, September 14 – 28.
This virtual printmaking workshop focuses on using accessible materials to make prints and embellish existing art projects. Explore several techniques including packing tape transfer, Matte Medium transfer, watercolor monoprint, and Gelli plate printing. All of these processes can be done safely at home without caustic materials, chemicals, or printing presses.
After learning printing techniques, participants will construct a single-page book structure to experiment with creating simple artist’s books from prints. No prior bookbinding or printmaking experience is needed.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Long Stitch Binding At Home with Scott McCarney on Thursdays, September 22 – 29. In this workshop, participants will learn how to create a book using the long stitch binding technique two different ways. This binding technique is versatile and can be applied to multiple materials, making it an excellent option for any book project.
Long stitch bindings are non-adhesive and require no paste or glue. They are relatively easy and quick to sew, adaptable to small edition binding. The finished books can lay flat, making them suitable for sketchbooks and journals. The sewing technique is centuries-old, originating in medieval Germany, and historically can be found on limp parchment bindings (though we will be sewing sections onto reinforced paper covers).
On the first session, you will learn how to tailor a reinforced paper cover to a stack of folded sections, prepare sewing stations in the cover and sections, and sew a basic long stitch that creates an alternating pattern of thread along the spine. In the second session, you will learn a variation on the basic long stitch where the threads are parallel across the spine. Some exterior sewn thread reinforcements will be introduced that reinforce the spine and can be quite decorative.
For more information or to register please visit the CBA website.
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering the Sewn Board Binding with Suzanne Glémot on September 24 & 25, 2022.
The sewn board binding is a light and versatile book structure that opens flat – an appealing structure for artists working in a variety of 2-D media, including drawing, painting, printmaking, digital printing, and collage (it also makes for a great journal). Its materials are quite adaptable, too, making it a great binding to explore at home or with a small studio set-up.
Workshop participants will complete this structure, from text block preparation to covering the layered boards with decorative papers, over the course of two sessions. Working with an instructor-provided book kit, students will sew the covers into the text block using a French link stitch; learn how to line a spine; and build a fitted, cloth-covered spine piece.
For more information or to register, please visit the Maine Media website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering The Road Book with Stephanie Wolff on October 1. Participants should have solid basic bookbinding skills to get the most out of the workshop.
This workshop covers an historical book structure useful for maps, prints, or other material, inspired by an example the instructor observed while working as a book conservator. The Road Book (the title of this 1904 New England road atlas) is a pamphlet bound single-signature structure, but the configuration and attachment of the pages allows for clear double-page spreads.
A simple (and perhaps obvious) idea once learned, it’s a useful structure. We will talk about a few adaptations, materials, and share our ideas for its use. Our model will be softcover, but easily adapted to a hardcover version.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
by Elissa | Jul 6, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 13, 2022, 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 Woven for 2022.
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in history, and is an integral part of all of our lives. We wear woven clothing, we sit on woven seats, we use and admire woven baskets.
In the paper and book world, there are many examples of paper weaving, woven book covers, and woven structures. Here are a few resources to get your brain churning:
The possibilities are kind of endless!
During the meetings this year, guest presenters will guide you through techniques to get you started on your woven explorations. The simplest methods can produce exciting results and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Program: Weave a House with Helen Hiebert
Paper artist extraordinaire Helen Hiebert learned to weave paper strips in grade school, but it wasn’t until she was in her 20’s that she decided to make some deviations! She started out by cutting curved strips, and then she came up with a way of cutting windows to expose various parts of the paper that would otherwise be hidden. She hopes you’ll discover some new tricks as you make a woven paper house with her.
Supplies:
- 2 sheets of text weight (not too thin) 8-1/2” x 11” paper that look good together, one decorative, one plain
- Cutting mat
- X-Acto knife
- Ruler
- Glue stick or PVA glue + 1/8” – 1/4” glue brush
- Small (5” x 5”) piece of thin, flexible plastic – like a piece of a yogurt or laundry container, or a flexible kitchen cutting mat (this is optional and will be used for cutting windows in the weaving
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
June Meeting Reflections
We haven’t done a real hands-on meeting for a while, and so I was super excited to learn a new structure. Luckily, Elissa is a seasoned professional instructor and led us through the steps for the Crossed Structure Binding, making it doable and fun.
We didn’t get to the weaving part yet, but I’m looking forward to finishing it at the August meeting. In the meantime, I’m going to fancify my cover with some extra weaving or embroidery on it.
Thanks, Elissa, for the extra clear instructions that made the meeting fly by, and thanks to everyone who showed up for it.
B.A.G. Library Corner
We all know summer is busy, and it can be tough to find the space to create. But that means these summer months are a great time for using up scraps to create mini journals!
Find inspiration to use in your own stash from Tina Walker’s journals, showcased in the Somerset Studio November/December 2017 issue. Walker’s theme of “let there be love” is some added inspiration for these times.
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 selection here.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont’s annual member show is open now at Grand Isle Art Works through July 31. Our opening reception will be on July 6 from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Ann Joppe-Mercure will be leading a free zine-making workshop during the reception.
B.A.G. member Susan Smereka is teaching an Upcycled Journal Making workshop on July 17, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. For more information or to register, visit the GIAW website.
*** Artistree Gallery is hosting another show in conjunction with the UNBOUND: VOL X exhibit (see below) – Cover to Cover: Book Lab Explorations.
Book Lab is a group of nine Vermont-based women who specialize in book arts. They meet regularly to critique one another’s work, collaborate on projects, and provide support as they explore the many ways a book can be art.
Book Lab members exhibiting work include B.A.G. members Rebecca Boardman, Elissa Campbell, Dorsey Hogg, Marilyn Gillis, Debra Kraemer, Ann Joppe-Mercure, Vera Ryerbach, Penne Tompkins, and Marcia Vogler. Each artist is exhibiting her own work, along with collaborative pieces they have co-created.
For more information, visit the Artistree website.
*** Vermont book artists and the Book Arts Guild of Vermont are well represented at Art of the Book at the Rochester Public Library this year. This international juried show runs from June 27 through November 1.
Dorsey Hogg took 1st place in the altered book category with her work titled Words are Unruly, Carolyn Shattuck‘s work Quilters received an honorable mention in the book sculpture category, and Marcia Vogler received an honorable mention for Bird Totem in the artist’s book category. Congratulations!
Book Arts News
*** Now through July 16, Artistree Gallery is hosting their 10th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL X. This exhibit includes work by artists from the northeast looking to explore “the book” as concept, object, and format.
The broad theme of the exhibit 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 show looks to explore this idea of “the book” and all the ways artists use that format as a stepping-off point or as material to explore new ideas.
For more information, please visit the Artistree website.
*** North Country Studio Workshops in Bennington, VT is offering their next five-day intensive from January 24 -29, 2023 for artists and craftspeople in an atmosphere of discovery, energy, collaboration, and inspiration. There is a book artsy workshop that still has openings and may be of interest to you – The Artful Box with Mary Uthuppuru. Here’s the workshop description:
Construct a modified clamshell box. A box can enhance its contents or become an art piece of its own. Learn how to build a specific structure using a variety of decorative and assembly techniques. You will be encouraged to experiment and create components of the project drawing from personal inspiration. No special skills are required, just patience with a few techniques that require accuracy.
Registration is open now and historically, these workshops fill up fast. If you know that you want to take the workshop, don’t wait to enroll.
*** The Are You Book Enough theme for June was Weave, which worked out well with our theme for this year.
Whether you participated in last month’s challenge or not, it’s still worth checking out the submissions for some woven inspiration.
Check out hashtags #areyoubookenough and #areyoubookenough_weave to see the wonderful work that was created. The approaches are so varied!
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Rough & Tumble Ergonomic Notebook with Karen Hanmer on July 16 & 17.
More traditionally called a “limp paper case,” this binding has its origins in the limp parchment cases of antiquity. This update is flexible enough to read on the beach, yet sturdy enough to throw in a backpack. The rounded, breakaway spine feels great in the hand, keeps its shape with repeated use, and ensures the book will open fully. The folded “yapp” fore edge protects the pages at the open edge of the book.
Sewing on tapes keeps the text block square and organized while it is being constructed, and later fortifies the attachment of the text block to the case. The hooked endsheets allow complete opening at the title page.
Best of all, the book can be made in a sparsely-equipped home studio. You’ll have so much fun making and using this book you’ll forget you are learning foundational bookbinding skills. This workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders, beginners who are ready for a fast-paced workout, and anyone who wants to add another quick and sturdy binding to their repertoire.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering The Magic of Sewing Cards with Rosae Reeder on July 22 & 27.
The sewing card is a wonderful aid in learning how to master a simple to difficult sewing. Practicing the mechanics of any sewing on a piece of two-dimensional card is tantamount to working on an actual book.
Learn how to prepare and make sewing cards for a few different types of book structures in the first session. Take what you have learned and apply it to making an actual book in the second session. Students will choose which book to make once we have completed several types of sewing cards.
For more information or to register please visit the SFCB website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Pop-Up Curious? Explore Dimension! with Shawn Sheehy on July 26.
Do you look at pop-up books and wonder how they are engineered? Do you make greeting cards and harbor the desire to make your cards more spectacular? Do you make artist’s books and yearn to introduce dimension and animation? Even if you are simply compelled to read this description, you might be POP-UP CURIOUS.
This class—with a focus on dimension—will explore the fundamentals of paper engineering that address pop-ups. You’ll build a series of simple models using the tools, techniques, and materials of the trade. You’ll examine trade pop-up books that show how the structures have been used. When finished, you’ll bind your models into a simple case. This quick beginner class is an entertaining gateway into more advanced study. All are welcome!
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
by Elissa | Jan 9, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 12, 2022, 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 Woven for 2022.
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in history, and is an integral part of all of our lives. We wear woven clothing, we sit on woven seats, we use and admire woven baskets.
In the paper and book world, there are many examples of paper weaving, woven book covers, and woven structures. Here are a few resources to get your brain churning:
The possibilities are kind of endless!
During the meetings this year, guest presenters will guide you through techniques to get you started on your woven explorations. The simplest methods can produce exciting results and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Program: Woven Paper Hearts
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.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to complete the project:
- Text weight papers in contrasting colors and/or patterns. Origami paper works well too.
- Scissors or X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
- Some form of adhesive – glue stick, adhesive dots, etc.
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Templates (print these out in advance of the meeting)
- Hole punch and string if you want to make a hanging ornament (optional)
We hope to see you there!
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
December Meeting Reflections
Who wants to do that again?
Not only was it super fun to make a zine, it was even more fun to see and hear how others approached it. The end results were totally amazing and informative. We learned about QR codes, huipil, cricuts, alternative folds, and French doors – all just fabulous.
Best of all, we learned a lot about each other, which is the whole point of getting together!
Thanks to all who participated and attended. Each month seems to be a record for attendance, and as we enter the new year seemingly farther away from in-person meetings, the time we spend together seems more important.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Let’s kick off the new year with a tutorial from the Book Arts Guild’s own Amy Lapidow! Featured in her book Book Art Studio Handbook with co-author Stacie Dolan, the pretty Woven Album would be a great book to capture memories from throughout your year.
The structure is a modified Jacob’s Ladder construction, can be adjusted to fit as many leaves as you like, and is flexible enough to add inclusions and stay flat. The possibilities are endless with this project
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 project here.
B.A.G. News
*** Support the Book Arts Guild of Vermont by becoming a member!
The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is supported by its members and you have kept us going for more than fifteen years. Our organization is solely run by volunteers and we do what we do because we love the book arts and we love B.A.G.. We continue to be inspired by our community, and the enthusiasm and talents that you bring to our meetings.
Membership dues are our main source of income and we hope that you will show that you value what we have to offer – quality programming, future exhibits, and more – by becoming a member. You get so much value out of your $35.00 and attending just one meeting can give you your full money’s worth.
*** New this year – you can now pay your dues using Venmo!
Our account is BAGofVT, listed under businesses.
Just to give you an idea of where membership dues go, here’s a breakdown of B.A.G.’s annual expenses:
- Zoom subscription: $149.90 per year
- Vimeo subscription: $84.00 per year
- Rent: $50.00 per month when we can return to in-person attendance
- Presenter honorarium: $35.00 per meeting
- Website and email newsletter: $100.00 per year
- Presenter reimbursement for supplies: Varies
We hope that you will renew your membership to help us with our annual expenses. You can download our membership form and send it in with your payment by check of $35.00 made out to the Book Arts Guild of Vermont:
Book Arts Guild of Vermont
c/o Ann Joppe-Mercure
10 Brookwood Dr
South Burlington, VT 05403
Thank you so much for your continued support of the guild. We wouldn’t be here without you.
*** B.A.G. member, illustrator, and cartoonist Amy Burns will have her work on display from February 16 – March 31 at Espresso Bueno in Barre, VT. Alongside Amy’s framed works, originals, prints, cards and comics will be work by mixed media painter Keilani Lime.
Work is available for viewing and purchase during the following hours:
- Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Saturday – Sunday: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Espresso Bueno is located at 248 N Main Street.
*** B.A.G. member, bookmaker, and printer Jane Ploughman will be co-teaching Decorative Paper & Book Structures with artist Susan Smereka.
In this introductory workshop, you’ll learn the process for paste paper, Gelli plate printing, and Japanese marbling, called Suminagashi. The decorative paper you make will be incorporated into book structures such as single sheet, a single flag, and accordion with a hard cover.
For your final book project, you will be working on content. If you have some bookbinding experience, this workshop will not only refresh your knowledge, but give you some new skills.
The workshop will take place at Susan Smereka’s studio space in Burlington, VT (Howard Street off of Pine), with your choice of dates:
- January 21 – February 18, Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- March 1 – March 29, Tuesdays 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Susan at susansmereka@gmail.com.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching Pop-Up Basics: The Movable Book at CraftStudies on January 29. The workshop will take place at A Lucky Girl Studio in Norwich, VT.
If you want to add more magic to your cards and artist books, then give pop-ups a try! Also known as paper engineering, pop-ups use cuts and folds to create motion and energy in paper structures.
Through the creation of a series of pop-up cards, students will learn the basics of three-dimensional construction, including box supports, props, and straddles, then bind these cards into a book, which will become a handy reference for future work.
No previous experience is required. You’ll feel more comfortable in the workshop if you have experience using an X-Acto knife.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** Bech Evans is selling two hand-crafted book presses that were inspired by antique cast iron nipping presses.
The interior dimensions of the yellow press are 10″ high by 11 3/8″ wide. Bed and three platens are 3/4″ baltic birch and measure 11″ x 13″. A durable clear finish was applied over the paint and on the bed and platens.
The frame of the pink press is shaped from laminated baltic birch. A durable clear finish is applied over the paint. The screw is a Jorgensen 12″ press screw.
Both presses are available for purchase on Craigslist (click on the links above). Prices are negotiable.
For more information or to buy a press, please contact Bech at (601) 985-8482.
*** Join the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center for their 14th annual Illustrated Accordion exhibition.
Each year the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) sponsors a non-juried exhibition The Illustrated Accordion, showing in the KBAC Gallery in spring. Open to all emerging and established artists, this exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form.
The Illustrated Accordion exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form. The structure of an accordion book is simple: a long piece of paper is folded into pages that can be read like a book or spread open and displayed like a banner. Featuring works of book artists from all over the world, the books in this exhibit take this book form to a new level.
Entries are being accepted online, now through January 24, 2022.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact Katie Platte at katie@kalbookarts.org or (269) 373-4938.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** Kit Davey has a number of online classes available during the month of January. Here are two of them:
On January 10, Kit is teaching How to Make a Pop Up and Out Book. When you open the pages of this book a card is pushed up and out, just like a toaster.
On January 15, Kit is teaching How to Make an Interlocking Folds Book. This sculptural book is made with two strips of folded paper which “lock” into each other.
In both classes, she will show you the easy steps to make the book and finish it in class.
For more information or to register, please visit Kit’s website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Exposed Sewing with Decorative Guards & Self-Locking Wrapper with Karen Hanmer on January 22.
For centuries paper has served as a quick, elegant, and economical covering material for books. This versatile material can create structures ranging from pocket notebooks to conservation friendly bindings to a case durable enough for a heavily-used manual.
Exposed Sewing with Decorative Guards features colorful link stitch sewing and slivers of decorative paper visible on the spine. The covers are hooked around the first and last signatures before sewing, then sewn normally along with rest of the text block. A quick-to-construct self-locking flap keeps the text block clean and secure.
This workshop is appropriate for intermediate binders, beginners who are ready for a fast-paced workout, and anyone who wants to add more paper cases to their repertoire.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Paper-cutting on Stage: Kamishibai and Paper Theaters with Béatrice Coron on January 27.
A paper-cut stage can take many forms including a tunnel book, multi-layered card, or an artist book. The class will draw inspiration from examples of paper stages from Japan, Victorian England, and more.
Students will consider how the kind of stories they want to tell can inform the structure they choose for their paper stage. Then Coron will share paper-cutting techniques that will allow students to create their own unique paper stages.
The class will also discuss various methods of activating a paper-cut stage like stop animation, video, and live performance. Finally, Coron will share tips, tricks, and resources to help students continue paper-stage-making in the future.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Paired Station Binding with Rosae Reeder on January 27.
Similar to a Coptic binding, the paired station binding has an exposed spine featuring a decorative sewing. With multiple sewing stations along the spine, the paired station binding can be used to sew sections or gatherings of pages, as well as single sheets.
In this virtual workshop, learn how to make a paired station binding using a combination of sections and single sheets with a soft paper cover. Traditional Coptic bindings, thread variations, and methods for adding boards to make a hardcover binding will be discussed.
While all skill levels are welcome, this multiple-section binding is technical and basic bookbinding experience may be helpful.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
