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 | Mar 3, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 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 Accordion with Becky Boardman
At this month’s B.A.G. meeting, our own Becky Boardman will be leading us in a hands-on project that goes perfectly with this year’s theme, The Woven Accordion.
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the fun:
Materials:
- 1 piece – 11″ x 4.25″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- 1 piece – 14″ X 3.25″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- A Strathmore 11″ x 14″ drawing pad has grain short pages and is a good weight.
- 1 piece – 11″ x 2″ cardstock (grain short if possible)
- 2 pieces – 3.25″ x 4.5″ mat board (or something similar for covers)
- 2 pieces – 4.5 x 4 5/8″ heavy text or light cardstock weight
- Drawing paper as mentioned above would work.
- Note: Paper can be any color but you might want to choose different colors that look good together.
Tools:
- X-Acto knife (sharp blade)
- Cutting mat
- Metal straight edge or ruler to cut against
- C-thru ruler (preferably) or other ruler
- Bone folder
- Stylus (or T-pin or fat needle)
- Glue stick and/or 1/4″ double sided tape (can be found at dollar stores)
- Foam or corrugated cardboard to stick stylus into
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
February Meeting Reflections
I have been thinking lately about collaboration in the world today. How could we get along without each other, since our past, present and future are all interwoven? Perhaps it’s been on my mind since the last meeting when University of Vermont librarian Prudence Doherty of the Silver Special Collections Library lead us through a group of books that speak to our woven theme.
Many of the beautiful pieces she showed us had some kind of collaboration, either between people responding to each other’s art, or weaving together text and words to create content. Certainly the most powerful piece to me is Julie Chen‘s Memento, which represents a reaction to the violence of a car bomb in Baghdad in 2007. The response seems equally meaningful to the violence we are witnessing today.
Many thanks to Prudence for giving us a specially curated vision of woven, and thanks to everyone for showing up. I think I counted 50 visitors, a new record! I will continue my thoughts about collaboration and interweaving, and I urge you to do the same
B.A.G. Library Corner
Keith Smith’s Woven Spine Tab tutorial is the perfect way to add a touch of weaving to your book’s exterior. Constructed with the non-adhesive long stitch binding, you have the option of including the woven tab with or without a book jacket. This construction, along with other variations of the long stitch binding, are included in Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding, Vol. 1: Books without Paste or Glue.
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
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce our annual member show at Grand Isle Art Works! The tentative dates of the exhibit are June 15 – August 1.
We are currently working on the submission form and will include it in the next newsletter. In the meantime, keep June 6th in mind, as that’s when submissions will be due. No exceptions!
Members can submit up to three pieces for the show. We’ll have a space devoted to zines, and you can submit zines in addition to the three pieces, without any limit.
Ann Joppe-Mercure will be doing a workshop at GIAW in conjunction with the show. If you’re interested in doing something similar, please contact Ann at joppemercure@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for more details in the next newsletter and we’d love to have your work in the show!
*** 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.
*** Elissa Campbell is teaching The Block Printed Journal at CraftStudies on March 12 & 13. The class will take place at A Lucky Girl Studio in Norwich, VT.
Block printing is an ancient method of printmaking that can be used to create beautiful, decorated papers. Not only is it fun, but it’s something you can easily do at home. In this two-day class, students will experiment with printing and use personalized papers to cover a handmade journal.
On the first day, learn how to design and carve rubber stamps that will be used to create your own decorated papers. We will focus on basic shapes that can be used for layering and repeating to create rich and complex patterns.
On the second day, select one of your papers as a cover for a hand-made book using a binding that allows the book to remain flat when opened, making it perfect for use as a sketchbook or journal.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
Book Arts News
*** On March 10, Professor Janice Radway will deliver the 36th annual Louis Faugères Bishop Lecture for the Rutgers University Libraries. Her topic is Girls, Zines, and Their Travels: Imagining Lives, Crafting Archives for a New Century.
Radway is the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Communication Studies and a professor of American studies and gender studies within the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. Radway is widely known for her scholarship on readers, reading, books, and the history of middlebrow culture.
Currently, Radway is working on an oral history of girls, their underground publishing efforts during the 1990s, and their subsequent lives.
For more information or to register for the lecture, please visit the Rutgers University Libraries website.
*** On March 15, the Puget Sound Book Artists will start accepting submissions for their 2022 PSBA Annual Exhibition. You have to be a member to be able to submit work, but membership is open to everyone.
This year’s suggested theme is Peaks and Valleys. Peaks and Valleys invoke many connotations. You are encouraged to explore your own highs and lows, literal and metaphorical.
For more information, visit the PSBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is currently holding a zine maker contest, Navigating 2020 – 2021. It’s been a crazy past two years, many of us dealing with illness, isolation, confusion, and turmoil on so many different levels. So, we want to know: How did you Navigate 2020/2021?
Were there changes in your life, your relationships, your health, or habits during the past couple of years? Have your philosophies, feelings, or views of the world changed?
Produce and submit (via email or in person) a zine by March 31, 2022. Your submission and all the others we receive will become part of a boxed set that will become part of the permanent collection at FAU Libraries’ Jaffe Center for Book Arts.
For more information on how to submit your work, please visit the JCBA website.
*** Artistree Gallery is accepting submissions for their 10th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL X. The theme of the show is simple – art using books as a material or a format. Visitors will have an opportunity to examine curious folios, recent grimoires, tomes turned to sculpture and some works having a relation to “books” in concept only.
This exhibition is for artists working in all traditional and non-traditional 2D (wall mounted) and 3D media, who are working in Vermont or New Hampshire and are 18 years of age or older. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution.
The deadline for submission is June 4, 2022. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please visit the Artistree website. Please contact exhibits@artistreevt.org with any questions.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering The Elegant Slim Volume with Stephanie Wolff on March 13.
Simple bindings on small books? An opportunity for creativity! Variations in the sewing, finishing details, or materials can give a binder many options when binding small books. We will examine simple binding methods the instructor has gathered over her many years in bookbinding and conservation.
Using thread, wood, wire, beads, and paper, we will build on the basic pamphlet to expand the options of the humble small binding. By considering all the details and materials the most basic of bindings can be elevated to simple elegance. Rather than focusing solely on structure, this workshop is an exploration of variations and design and material possibilities.
Participants are encouraged to dig into their own art supplies and general household items to use in the workshop. We will make as many models as our time allows, with suggestions for adapting the basic forms to create many more after the workshop. Our models will be softcover bindings and will serve as inspiration for future work. Some bookbinding experience is helpful.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering the Storage Book with Rosae Reeder on March 19.
Want a fancy way to keep receipts, keepsake ephemera, and anything else you want to save? Construct a storage book! Using the accordion fold as a spine, this hardcover book structure features handmade envelopes sewn onto the folds of the accordion to create a structure that holds two-dimensional as well as small three-dimensional items.
In this virtual workshop, learn this unique book structure and explore many different ways to keep the book closed, including ribbon, a belly band (a paper strip that slides on and off), Velcro, and more. Use a variety of decorative papers to give this book a vibrant look.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft is offering Variation on a Pamphlet with Laura Gardner on March 27 & April 3.
Artists, writers, and those keeping journals love working in books open flat. This variation on a pamphlet does just that. The pamphlet book is one sheet of paper folded one time to create four sides. It is used to relay information familiar to most of us from concerts, religious services, or advertising.
For our variation, we will gather five sheets of paper into what is called a signature then make five signatures. We finish by using colored threads to weave the signatures together along the spines to create a book that opens flat– ready for writing, drawing, collecting, journaling, or note taking.
For more information or to register, please visit the Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering Pop-Up Native Wildflowers: Go West! with Shawn Sheehy on April 2 & 3.
Celebrate the beauty of the spring bloom by building fantastic pop-up wildflowers. In this workshop you’ll create models of California poppy, California buttercup, miner’s lettuce, Rocky Mountain columbine, prickly pear, and bloodroot. A kit of pre-cut pieces will be provided. You’ll assemble the structures, collect them into a simple, elegant binding, and gain insights into paper engineering and paper sculpture. All are welcome.
For more information or to register, please visit the SFCB website.
by Elissa | Feb 7, 2022 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 9, 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: Visit to UVM’s Silver Special Collections
At this month’s B.A.G. meeting, University of Vermont librarian Prudence Doherty of the Silver Special Collections Library, has graciously offered to present to us once again as we kick off our series of meetings focusing on Woven.
She has selected examples from the collection that illustrate the many creative and different ways artists have integrated weaving into their book arts work. We look forward to seeing her choices
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
January Meeting Reflections
Woven!
Weaving is so much fun, so easy to learn, and the results are so satisfying! Penne Tompkins and Becky Boardman started off our exploration of Woven with simple and sophisticated ways to make a woven heart. The techniques are easily transferable to many projects. I’ll bet there will be some amazing Valentines sent out this February!
Thanks to everyone for showing up, being present, and sharing the evening. Special thanks to Penne and Becky for their skill and patience.
If you were unable to attend the meeting, but want to make some woven hearts of your own, you can access the templates here.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Our “woven” theme continues this month with Jeannine Stein’s Woven Mini Book. This project makes weaving the focal point by using a woven piece as the cover. Stein provides a quick and dirty lesson on the basics of weaving and demonstrates how to transform that resulting piece into a showstopper soft cover for your book.
She shows two other examples of the project – a shortcut with a store-bought woven placemat and a master version that showcases the piece of a fiber artist.
If you have ideas for books to feature or if you have a B.A.G. 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
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.
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is considering holding a daylong summer retreat/workshop for members and friends, depending on the interest.
We’d love to get your feedback about the idea, so please complete this brief survey and let us know what you think!
*** 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) from March 1 – March 29, on Tuesdays from 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 February 26. 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
*** After two years of being canceled due to the pandemic, the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts‘ Book Arts Bazaar will again be hosted in Wishcamper Center on the Portland Campus of the University of Southern Maine. The Bazaar will take place on Sunday April 3, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Annie Lee-Zimerle at aemin.leezimerle@maine.edu.
*** The Rochester Public Library is currently accepting entries for their 11th juried international exhibit, Art of the Book & Paper: Artists Books, Altered Books & Paper Sculpture. The deadline for entries is February 28.
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.
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.
*** After a 2-year hiatus, the UNBOUND exhibit will make its return to the Artistree Gallery in South Pomfret in June and July.
The show features art using books as a material or a format. Visitors will have an opportunity to examine curious folios, recent grimoires, tomes turned to sculpture and some works having a relation to “books” in concept only.
Submission details have not yet been published on the Artistree website. Stay tuned to the B.A.G. newsletter and we’ll give you the most up-to-date information when it’s made available.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is currently holding a zine maker contest, Navigating 2020 – 2021. It’s been a crazy past two years, many of us dealing with illness, isolation, confusion, and turmoil on so many different levels. So, we want to know: How did you Navigate 2020/2021?
Were there changes in your life, your relationships, your health, or habits during the past couple of years? Have your philosophies, feelings, or views of the world changed?
Produce and submit (via email or in person) a zine by March 31, 2022. Your submission and all the others we receive will become part of a boxed set that will become part of the permanent collection at FAU Libraries’ Jaffe Center for Book Arts.
For more information on how to submit your work, please visit the JCBA website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Non-Linear Artist’s Books with Yuka Petz on February 17 & 24, and March 3, 10, 17, & 24.
Explore artist’s books that defy conventional front-to-back reading. In this virtual workshop, make six non-linear artist’s books, including one-sheet books, flexagons, dos-à-dos, French door, flag books, and volvelles. Each week, learn a new book structure and techniques for adding content that work in tandem with the non-traditional book form to create meaning.
Examples of artists’ books that use these structures will be discussed. The group will also engage in brief idea generation exercises and friendly critique. Participants will have the option to exchange books with one another to begin or grow a personal collection of artists’ books.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Artist Books: Concept & Making with Maria Veronica San Martín on February 22–24.
This online course will show you how to conceptualize and make your own artist book. The course begins with a contextual lesson on the book as an artistic medium – helping provide students with inspiration for their own work.
Then the class transitions to art-making – including learning the dos and don’ts of the accordion book structure, the technique of monoprints on plexiglass, and the creation and construction of a flag book.
By the end of the course, each student will have created their own artist book and the class will engage in a final critique and discussion of all the work produced!
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering Circle Accordion with Pockets with Stephanie Jucker on February 23.
This decorative and functional book can be made with materials you probably have lying around at home. With a little paper-folding, cutting, and tape this simple structure can be created in a short amount of time, no special tools required.
Lightweight, with useful pockets, it makes a great travel journal, place to store mementos, index card holder or personalized gift. Using two-sided paper (a different color or pattern on each side) adds a lot of interest to the book; the instructor will also show ways to add surface design to your paper at the beginning of class, or you can bring your own patterned/decorated paper.
For more information or to register, please visit the SFCB website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Design in the Details: Adaptations & Variations with Stephanie Wolff on February 26 & 27.
Over the course of this full weekend workshop, you will learn a collection of inventive page structures suitable for a variety of bindings, while creating a reference model for inspiration. Making a book by hand allows opportunities for the design and material choices of the book. And it’s those details that can elevate your work from the commonplace and set it apart.
Binder-artists often have ideas that challenge the successful execution of traditional binding forms, whether from the use of unconventional materials or alterations of the structure. This workshop offers some approaches to designing pages that go beyond the regular printed page, but are easily bound into traditional forms.
We’ll cover a range of techniques, with many based on historic structures, including how to incorporate photos or prints, oversized pages, loose material, as well as pockets, foldouts, envelopes, mounting options, and other display possibilities. We’ll discuss ways to incorporate content using these page possibilities.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
by Elissa | Jun 5, 2021 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 9, 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: DIY Publishing & Zines as Art with Emma Percy
Zines have a recent but rich history as an underground mode of disseminating information, art, and new ideas, often from marginalized makers in working-class creative communities.
These works run the gamut from quick, sketchy single-sheet mini-booklets to beautifully detailed handmade artist’s books, and anyone can make them.
Emma Percy has been immersed in zine culture for many years, and will present an overview of small-scale DIY publishing, share a variety of diverse examples from their personal collection, and offer suggestions and strategies for making your own zines and getting them out into the world.
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
May Meeting Reflections
Another well attended Zoom meeting! I don’t know about you, but I was intrigued by the description of the program in the newsletter, sometimes a piece of writing needs a book and sometimes a book needs some content. I struggle with both, trying to find meaning and express it in my artwork.
In her presentation, B.A.G. member Deborah Stuart gave us new ideas and possibilities to help generate our own writing. I didn’t take many notes, because I was so caught up in the exercises, writing lists and figuring out how to put the words together.
And wondering why no one wanted to read their writing. So here goes, this is the story of my life in one minute: I was a happy child, an unhappy teenager, a lost young person, and finally an anxious adult with a wonderful lucky life. I never thought about it that way before, and that is the whole point of stepping outside yourself and finding new approaches.
Thanks to Deborah for leading us through the exercises that will give us some muscle, and thanks to everyone who attended.
You can download a copy of Deborah’s writing prompts here.
B.A.G. Library Corner
In the introductory pages of the great Keith Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding, Vol. 1, we are given much to ponder about how the form, structure, and concept of a book all inform each other. He takes us on a reflective journey through the world of bookmaking by exploring the possibilities provided by different numbers of folds and pages while simultaneously revisiting basic book terminology.
Through his beautiful use of language, Smith reminds us that “…text can be so written that the words create the pages. The pages, as well as the writing relate back and forth, tying together all the elements into a unified flow. One would ask no less cooperation from all the elements of an orchestra (pg. 15).”
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 chapter here.
You can also purchase a copy of the book here.
B.A.G. News
*** We are pleased to announce that the Book Arts Guild of Vermont will be having an exhibit at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury from August 6th – September 18th! The exhibit title is The Art of the Book: Is This a Book?
This is a great time of year for this exhibit as a lot of tourists are in the area at that time and it’s good to spread our book arts further afield to new parts of the state! Work to be displayed on surfaces as well as on walls will be greatly appreciated.
Entries are open to all members and can include up to 2 works. The exhibit entry form will be available in the next newsletter. Although we have been highlighting text in our recent meetings, exhibit entries do not need to include text.
Important dates:
- Entries Due Date: July 17, 2021
- Exhibit Opening Date: August 6, 2021
- Opening Reception: August 14, 2021
- Exhibit End Date: September 18, 2021
- Pickup Work Date: TBD
We can’t wait to see your submissions!
*
** For the July meeting, we’ll wrap up our concentration on making and using text in our work. We’ll review the methods, tools, and techniques we acquired from our last meetings, and then take a look at what our members have done with them.
We invite you to share the work you’ve created with your new skills! Please let us know by email if you would like to participate in the evening so we can arrange a line up. Sharing and positive feedback is always welcome.
Book Arts News
*** The New England Chapter of The Guild of Book Workers currently has an exhibit at the Boston Athenæum through August 7th. 40 Years: Celebrating the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers showcases a broad spectrum of tradition and innovation, spanning expertly crafted fine and design bindings, as well as beautifully sculpted artists’ books and boxes.
With rich holdings in the contemporary and historic book arts, and with overlaps in our collections, membership, and staff, the Boston Athenæum is pleased to support the NEGBW by serving as the opening venue for the exhibition.
If you are unable to visit Boston, you can view the work online.
For more information, visit the Boston Athenæum website.
*** Registration is now open for the free virtual 2021 Focus On Book Arts conference, Where We Live, taking place July 15 – 17. There are three events and registration is required:
- Artists from around the world have created books that fit the theme of Where We Live. On July 15th from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (PDT), there will be a welcome reception and a panel discussion with the 4 winners of the juried exhibit. The exhibit will be available for viewing 7/15 – 8/31. Register for the panel discussion here.
- On July 16th from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (PDT), featured speaker Tia Blassingame will present Book Arts Futures: Musings on the Future of the Field. A book artist and printmaker exploring the intersection of race, history, and perception, Blassingame often incorporates archival research and her own poetry in her artist’s book projects for nuanced discussions of racism in the United States. Register for the featured speaker here.
- Artists have created books that fit the theme Where We Live: Where Our Hearts Reside and submitted those works to the Challenge Book exhibit. On July 17th from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (PDT), FOBA will host a Challenge Book Roundtable for a review and discussion of many of the books. It is a chance for the creators of these books to talk about their process, inspiration, and answer questions about them. The Challenge Book exhibit will be available for viewing 7/15 – 8/31. Register for the roundtable here.
For more information about the conference, visit the FOBA website.
*** Artists Book House is hosting an online series of conversations with book artists, illustrators, cartoonists, writers, poets, librarians and book collectors. Recent guests include Emily Martin, Helen Hiebert, and Don Widmer. They’ve also got free online video tutorials that include longstitch variations, interactive mail art, and making a mold and deckle.
For more information, visit the Artists Book House website.
*** Love zines? Check out the Sherwood Forest Zine Library! They’ve got hundreds of free downloadable zines and links to online zines.
Their goal is to host and provide access to information, stories, and voices that are often buried in the mainstream media. Their collection ranges from art, poetry, and fiction to political theory, social issues, and historical discussion, and everything in between!
For more information, visit the Sherwood Forest Zine Library website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Artist Books: From Idea to Execution with Elizabeth Castaldo on June 14, 21, 28, and July 5.
In this four-session workshop series, students will be introduced to the artist’s book creation process. Starting from idea and working toward execution, students will develop strategies for brainstorming and working with sequential and image-based content, bridging the gap between concept, material, process, form, and finished work of art.
Students will learn to make three book structures, accordion, pamphlet, and drum leaf binding, and then create their own one-of-a-kind artist’s book. This class is ideal for artists who want an introduction into the world of artist’s books or for those curious about artistic expression with the book form.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering the Woven Accordion Window Book with Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder on June 24.
Elevate your accordions through dynamic depth and movement with the Woven Accordion Window book. This deceptively simple structure expands to create a dramatic three-dimensional effect with layered cut-out windows. This workshop includes a materials kit to create a model of the structure and is suitable for all levels (even beginners).
You will learn tips and tricks for folding “the best” accordion, how to cut out windows, basic book sewing, creating a removable cover, plus instruction on how to alter or scale the design for your future projects.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** BookArtsLA is offering The Jacob’s Ladder with Karen Hanmer on June 26th.
This artists’ book structure functions on numerous levels: as a codex held in the hand and read page by page in sequence, as a sculpture, and as a delightful object to play with. It can be made in a home studio with minimal specialized equipment. Instruction will focus on both craft and content. Students will have the opportunity to examine a variety of finished pieces and models. Importance of creating and refining prototypes will be stressed. Your finished book, plus detailed instructions, will be a valuable reference for future work.
Some binding experience helpful.
For more information or to register, visit the BookArtsLA website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering the ABCs of Lark’s Head Binding with Dorothy Yuki on July 7th.
A Lark’s Head knot (also known as a Cow Hitch) is often used in jewelry making and many other applications. It can also be used to bind single sheets together! The exposed spine also allows for plenty of opportunity to play with adding decorative elements such as colored threads and beads.
In this workshop, students will learn to bind different kinds and different weights of papers using the Lark’s Head knot. Students will receive an instructional handout for later reference.
The workshop fee includes a kit containing prepared pages, tyvek strips, threads, grid paper, clips and assorted findings.
For more information or to register, visit the SFCB website.
by Elissa | May 5, 2021 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 12, 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
Text Me!
Text is an important consideration when creating a piece, just as imagery, structure, and materials are. Our members often tell us that they struggle with incorporating text in their work.
We’ve heard you!
Our 2021 series of themed meetings – Text Me! – will focus on how to approach text in the book arts.
We’ll look at how to choose text, methods for adding text to the page, and determining where to put it. This month, B.A.G. member Deborah Stuart will lead exercises prompting us to both generate text and create simple book structures
We hope you’ll join us as we journey into the world of text!
Program: Text Me, Part 4 – Putting Our Writing into Our Books with Deborah Stuart
Sometimes a piece of writing needs a book and sometimes a book needs some content. Putting those two thing together can present challenges!
For some of us writing is the easy part – finding the right books to put them in is harder. For some of us bookmaking is the natural skill – finding or creating the words and ideas which will fill the pages is the challenge. Even for those who comfortably do both, having new approaches and ideas can open up different possibilities.
We’ll do some quick writing exercises to give us short written material to use, and then we’ll do several simple folded book structures in which to capture what we’ve written. There will be examples of steps to take to make the text-to-page process easier and less daunting. We’ll take a bit of time to share ideas back and forth about what works well for us so we can learn from one another.
Materials list:
- Paper on which to write (lined or unlined)
- Favorite writing pen or pencil
- Colored marker or crayon
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Glue stick or tape
- 6-8 pages text paper (white or solid color)
- Favorite line of poetry and/or a favorite quote (preferably printed out, but handwritten would also work)
If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
April Meeting Reflections
As I went back through the notes I took from the meeting with Erin Sweeney, I was surprised to see how much we learned, not only in technique but also in materials and tools! It was enlightening!
I am pochoiring all the time now, and can’t wait to make some gelli prints using Yupo as my stencils. It was an evening that set off some sparks for me in terms of ideas and fun stuff. I hope it was the same for you.
Thanks, Erin Sweeney, for your enthusiasm and your gift for sharing that with us. Thanks to the B.A.G. board for sending out the ‘text kits’ so we could all follow along, and thanks to everyone who attended.
You can download a copy of Erin’s resource list here.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Calligraphy artists Jane Ewing, Marijo Carney, Kimberly Dixon, Tina Lee-Cronkhite, Christine Orsolini, and Karen Vosburg showed the “power of words” in their two-year art collaboration for ArtPrize, the world’s largest juried art exhibition.
Their painstaking process is detailed in Bound and Lettered (vol. 10, no. 3) from the preparation of the vellum, through the selection and application of text, to the final exhibition of the piece.
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 article here.
You can also purchase a copy of the issue here.
B.A.G. News
*** We are pleased to announce that B.A.G. will be having an exhibit at the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury from August 6th to September 18th! This is a great time of year for this exhibit as a lot of tourists are in the area at that time and it’s good to spread our book arts further afield to new parts of the state!
More information will be forthcoming, so please begin thinking of work you would like to exhibit. Work to be displayed on surfaces as well as on walls will be greatly appreciated.
Book Arts News
*** On May 22, the American Bookbinders Museum is presenting a lecture with Samuel Feinstein, Going for the Gold.
Feinstein is a bookbinder and finisher working in Chicago. While the basic tenets of gold finishing have not changed much over the years, approach in terms of design, precision of placement of individual tools, and utilization of different gilding sizes has. In his work Sam aspires to work seamlessly in all styles, historical and modern, to bring to the surface some of the essence of what is inside the covers.
In his presentation, Feinstein will talk about how his traumatic brain injury left him unable to do other work, but introduced him to the world of hand bookbinding, the aspects of bookbinding history that truly inspired him to want to follow this path, and the one binding that set him on his course to want to do fine leather bookbinding and specialize in gold finishing.
In his slides he will demonstrate one of the many approaches to gold finishing that he employs in his work and teaching, as well as the philosophy behind his tooling method.
He will then take a tour through a few of his favorite and most engaging bindings that he has had the opportunity to work on and talk about what went into each one, not all of which have gold as the center of attention.
For more information, visit the American Bookbinders Museum website.
*** The virtual 2021 Focus on Book Arts conference has announced their featured speaker. Tia Blassingame will present Book Arts Futures: Musings on the Future of the Field on Friday, July 16.
A book artist and printmaker exploring the intersection of race, history, and perception, Blassingame often incorporates archival research and her own poetry in her artist’s book projects for nuanced discussions of racism in the United States.
In 2019, Blassingame founded the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color collective to bring Book History and Print Culture scholars into conversation and collaboration with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) book artists, papermakers, curators, letterpress printers, printmakers for building community and support systems.
Blassingame is an Assistant Professor of Book Arts at Scripps College and serves as the Director of Scripps College Press.
Virtual conference registration is free, but space is limited. For more information, visit the FOBA website.
*** The upcoming 2021 Ladies of Letterpress Conference will be held online September 24 – 26 and everyone is welcome.
They’re currently developing new workshops, talks, and demos covering a wide range of letterpress topics. They’ll continue a few themes that have percolated from last year’s conference but they’d really love to hear from you. What are you curious about? Send them an email or message on Instagram.
Workshops, talks, and demos from around the letterpress world will be announced in the coming weeks. For the latest information, visit the Ladies of Letterpress website.
*** Each year the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) sponsors a non-juried exhibition The Illustrated Accordion, showing in the KBAC Gallery in late spring. Open to all emerging and established artists, this exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form.
The books in their 13th anniversary exhibit can be viewed online, now through June 18.
For more information, visit the KBAC website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Small Paper, Long Accordions with Stephanie Wolff on May 13.
Accordion books are great structures for exhibitions, as content can be revealed all at once without having a viewer handle the work. But large paper can be a challenge to find or to print on. This workshop covers the basic accordion form, methods of using small paper to create long accordions (and the benefits of doing so), along with a handful of ways to join strips of any length together.
We’ll discuss some of the challenges when working with the accordion form, and some work-arounds and opportunities these limitations present. Participants will complete a set of models to serve as inspiration and reference for future projects.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering The Drum Leaf Binding and Its Precedents with Scott McCarney on May 17, 24 & 31.
In this three-session workshop, we will be making three books that are related in their ease and ingenuity of assembly: a Japanese Album, a Japanese Butterfly book, and a Drum-Leaf binding.
All three books join single folded folios in distinct ways, the Drum-Leaf being a hybrid combination of the Album and Butterfly. All three use a minimum of glue, limiting the amount of moisture introduced to the book block which speeds the binding process considerably. The Drum-Leaf book is cased into an easily assembled quarter-cloth cover with a throw-back spine. Since each page spread is a single folded folio, it allows images to be printed across the gutter with no interruption, making it very popular with printmakers and photographers. Once completed, the book lies flat when opened, making it very popular with viewers.
In session one, we will make a Japanese album and a Japanese butterfly book. We’ll also make covers for these books using the “drumming” technique. In session two, we will “drum” a stack of folded folios to create the book block for the Drum-Leaf binding. in session three, we will make the cover and case-in the Drum-Leaf book block.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** BookArtsLA is offering the Paper Case with Locking Spine with Karen Hanmer on May 19.
The Paper Case with Locking Spine is a good solution when a temporary binding is needed now for a book that will be rebound using a more robust method when time permits. Double folio endsheets are reinforced at the fold, sewn on, and later slit at the head and tail about an inch down through the reinforced fold. The head and tail turn-ins of the case are folded into the slits, locking the text block into the case without adhesive.
The text block can be removed from the case quickly and easily by snipping the threads in the center of each signature. This case is also notable for its interesting fold pattern resulting in envelope-like flaps on the inside at front and rear.
For more information or to register, visit the BookArtsLA website.
*** The San Francisco Center for the Book is offering The Magic of Sewing Cards with Rosae Reeder on May 20 & 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 the 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, visit the SFCB website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Box Building for Beginners with Erin Maurelli on June 1, 8, 15, & 22.
This workshop is perfect for anyone new to book arts who would like to learn something a little different. Building boxes, with high-density board often called “book board,” is a time-honored tradition within book arts. Hand-built boxes serve many functions, from holding tools to preserving fragile books. Participants will learn the basics of box building while creating two unique boxes with lids.
For more information or to register, visit the MCBA website.
