by Elissa | Jun 6, 2020 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 10, 2020, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
The B.A.G. board has determined that at this time, we will not be having in-person meetings through the summer, at the very least. We do have online programs planned for the next three months, so be sure to check out the newsletter sidebar for the schedule.
This month’s meeting will once again be held via Zoom, an online conference program. If you’ve never attended a Zoom meeting before, check out this video – it will go over the basics of how to join a meeting.
Stay safe!
The B.A.G. Board
Program: Share What You’ve Been Working on During Quarantine
Have you been busy making cool stuff during Vermont’s stay-at-home order? Perhaps you’ve got a piece that you made for our sadly-canceled annual exhibit. We’d love to see what you’ve been up to!
During this month’s B.A.G. meeting, we’ll be shining the spotlight on our members and their fantastic creations. There are limited spots available, so please let Elissa know if you’d like to be a presenter.
No worries if you haven’t made anything, we’d stlll love to have you join us for a hang. Either way, if you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Elissa so she can send you the Zoom meeting details.
We hope to see you online and look forward to seeing whatever you have to share with us!
May Meeting Reflections
At our May meeting, Elissa Campbell taught Peter and Donna Thomas‘ Nested Accordion Pop-Up Fold Book. This structure can be found in Peter and Donna’s book More Making Books by Hand: Exploring Miniature Books, Alternative Structures, and Found Objects (ISBN: 978-1592530748).
As it was our first Zoom meeting, we learned a lot from the experience. Over two dozen people attended!
We hope that future meetings go more smoothly and for that reason, the B.A.G. board is currently developing guidelines for our online programs. More information is coming in next week’s meeting reminder.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** Shawn Sheehy is offering the online workshop The Roll-Up/Pop-Up Book on July 17th – 19th. Shawn is a very skilled paper engineer and this workshop is a great opportunity to learn from him in the comfort of your own home.
You have explored the pop-up how-to books. You’re ready to make your own pop-up project. You are stymied by the question: “How do I adapt these classic, foundational structures to make MY OWN structures?” This workshop will help you think through that problem by exploring five different structures at three levels: foundational, transitional, and transformed.
And if that weren’t enough, you will explore an innovative roll-up binding approach (think scroll rather than codex) for the fifteen pop-up folios. In the end, you will have a compact, bound collection of study models that will propel you to the next step of pop-up invention. Beginners are welcome!
For more information, visit Shawn’s website.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering a free weekly fold-along every Friday at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Facebook Live.
Each week, MCBA Lead Teaching Artist Madeline Garcia will teach you a unique book structure using simple household materials. Past structures have included the flag book, tunnel book, and the petal fold book.
For more information and to access the project archives, visit the MCBA website.
*** Sadly this year’s Paper and Book Intensive (PBI) was canceled due to COVID-19. The organizers of the event have kindly offered access to past workshop handouts in hopes of easing the loss. Links to these documents can be found on the PBI Facebook page.
*** On July 22nd, the Special Collections department at the J.Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah is presenting a Long-Stitch Binding workshop with Emily Tipps. Instruction will be given via Zoom.
The elegant long-stitch has been used for inventive artists’ books and beautiful journals, but don’t be fooled by the apparent complexity of this exposed-sewing binding. Participants receive one set of materials (included in the $45.00 fee), and the instructor shares examples with an assortment of thread, buttons, covers, and closures to ensure that the long-stitch never gets old.
For more information or to register, visit the Book Arts Program website.
*** Love letterpress? Grab your popcorn and settle in for an evening of Proceed and Be Bold!, a documentary about the life and work of letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy is known for his bold use of typography and untraditional approach to letterpress. He focuses his work on exploring themes of race, politics, and art and offers his work to the public at affordable prices to make it more accessible.
In light of current events, his work is especially relevant. You can view the documentary on YouTube.
*** Want more letterpress? The Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum is hosting the Hamilton Hang on Zoom on a weekly basis.
“We miss you on a normal basis, but with all this social distancing we really want to see your smiling faces. So, please plan to join us for a Zoom call (or two or three) so we can chat for a bit. We are asking some of our friends from the print, design, and type worlds to be our guest and co-host for each zoom call. So we can see what they are up to and find out how you’re doing.”
For more information, including the list of currently scheduled speakers, please visit the Hamilton Museum’s website.
by Elissa | Jul 6, 2018 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Gallery Talk meets Show and Tell – Prepare to be Inspired!
Pats on the back and hugs all around – the Book Arts Guild just concluded two amazing exhibitions of members’ work. Both shows (at Studio Place Arts in Barre and at Frog Hollow Craft Gallery in Burlington) feature pieces that intrigued and delighted viewers.
Please join us in July as we explore together the wonderful pieces that appeared in both shows. Contributing artists are invited to talk about the pieces that were displayed, sharing their inspirations, their aspirations and their processes.
Expect to take home new ideas and an invigorated appreciation of the creative process.
Things to bring:
- Curiosity
- A sense of adventure!
June Meeting Reflections
In June, Jill Abilock took us on a two-hour hands-on adventure into the world of Coptic bindings, a stitch dating back to the 2nd century AD.
She guided us through the steps of a method that is her own personal twist on both the binding and cover attachment: her method requires punching fewer holes in the cover, has no thread lines on the inside of the cover that might mar the first or last pages of the book, and delightfully incorporates embellishments as an intrinsic part of the binding.
Jill brought in samples of her own work, which were both elegant and inventive, incorporating unusual materials like wire, fancy paper clips and beads. She provided upcycled materials cut to size from discarded library books for everyone to use to create their own mini artist journal, and templates to take home should they want to make another one.
Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting and even more to Jill for sharing her talents!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** We’re so sad that both B.A.G. exhibits are over now, but we can always dream about next year!
All pieces that were shown in both the Frog Hollow and SPA exhibits will be at the July meeting for pickup…unless you sold them, in which case – good for you!
* If you are unable to pick up your work at the meeting, please contact Marcia to make alternative arrangements.
For those of you who missed our exhibits, don’t worry! You can view images of all of the pieces in both the SPA exhibit and the Frog Hollow exhibit on the B.A.G. blog.
Book Arts News
*** ArtisTree Gallery‘s 8th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL VIII, will open on July 27th and run through August 25, 2018. This exhibit is opening in conjunction with the kick off of the 10th annual Bookstock Literary Festival in Woodstock, VT.
The broad theme of UNBOUND: VOL VIII 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 juried 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.
An opening reception will be held on Friday July 27th, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please send an email to gallery@artistreevt.org or visit the ArtisTree Gallery’s website.
*** Now through July 22nd, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord has fourteen of her Spirit Books on exhibition in the Hunnewell Building Visitors center at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.
The Spirit Books connect my experience of the inherent spirituality and mystery of nature with the long-standing tradition of books as testaments of faith and belief. I gather twigs, branches, vines, and roots and use them to cradle stitched wordless books made of handmade papers from around the world.
The Arnold Arboretum is located at 125 Arborway in Boston, MA (Google map). For more information, please visit The Harvard Gazette’s website.
*** From June 11 – October 1, 2018, the John J. Burns Library at Boston College is hosting the exhibit Dreams of Art & Glory: Book Arts by the Roycrofters.
Roycroft, a reformist community of craftspeople and artists, was created by Elbert Hubbard in 1895, in the village of East Aurora, NY. The artisans who worked there were known as Roycrofters. When Hubbard was unable to find a publisher for his book Little Journeys, he set up a private press to print the book himself, founding Roycroft Press.
His championing of the Arts and Crafts philosophy of work attracted many craftspeople to East Aurora, and he formed a community of printers, furniture makers, metalsmiths, leathersmiths, and bookbinders.
The exhibition focuses on the printing and bookbindings executed by the Roycrofters, and includes an array spanning the modest *Little Journeys* pamphlet series, to beautifully printed and hand-decorated text-blocks, as well as books bound in stunning modelled leather bindings.
The John J. Burns Library is located at 140 Commonwealth Avenue in Chestnut Hill, MA.
*** Now through October 31st, artist Crystal Cawley has work on display in the Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT.
Cawley merges materials and ideas ranging from collections of old greeting cards and puzzle pieces to discarded library books and worn household textiles, drawing our attention to objects that might otherwise be overlooked. Visitors will encounter more than two dozen works combining the artist’s interests in the form and history of clothing and the possibilities of paper and fabric sculpture with traditional handiwork like embroidery, spinning, and letterpress printing.
For more information, please visit the Shelburne Museum’s website.
Book Arts Classes
*** The second annual Artist Book Intensive will be held at 26 Split Rock Cove in South Thomaston, ME from August 3 – 5, 2018. The event is sponsored by Midcoast Book Arts.
What is an Artist Book? Do artist books require words? Or images? What about structure as a part of the content? Yes, yes, and yes. Because artists’ books are works of art that use the form of the book. They may be published in small editions, though they are often produced as one-of-a-kind objects. And their subject matter is as varied as any other art form.
Three book making structures and two decorative techniques for book covers and/or content in your books will be taught. All materials will be provided, along with a notebook containing the instructional information covered in the workshops and additional resources.
For more information, please visit the Artist Book Intensive website.
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering Pop-Ups for Miniature Books with Shawn Sheehy from August 12 to 18, 2018.
By definition, a miniature book cannot be more than three inches in length, width, or depth. Working within this small format, students will learn how to bring drama and excitement to their pop-up book by inserting impossibly large images into a small package. Students will use cardstock and simple hand tools to build and bind, using a pop-up specific technique, a variety of structures that move above, beyond, and behind the page. Students will have time to experiment with their own ideas and recieve engineering advice from the instructor.
No experience is necessary, but previous experience in fiber arts and/or paper craft will speed your progress. This content readily accommodates beginners and advanced makers alike. You will leave the class with a completed popup book and a good understanding of the basics of popup engineering. Once you’ve tackled the skills in small format, you’ll be able to scale up for future projects!
For more information or to register, please visit the Maine Media website.
*** The Women’s Studio Workshop is currently running its Summer Art Institute with workshops focusing on printmaking, papermaking, and book arts. They offer you time to focus on your work, become energized and inspired, learn new skills, and meet a new community of like-minded artists.
Here’s a sampling of what’s coming up:
Unfolding Practice with Arzu Mistry will take place from August 6 – August 10. This workshop is based on the artist book Unfolding Practice: Reflections on Learning and Teaching, created by Arzu Mistry and Todd Elkin.
This workshop is for artists from a variety of disciplines, who are interested in sharing and developing processes of reflective practice, and to take a deep dive together into methods of using accordion books as sites for multi-disciplinary reflection, inquiry and art practice. Using a range of book forms and screen-printing techniques, you will document, reflect, plan, and think expansively about your practice as artists.
We’ve Got the Blues: Indigo Dyeing for Paper & Cloth with Mary Hark will take place from August 20 – August 24.
Participants will be immersed in studio production, making use of this powerful and historic color on handmade paper and a variety of textiles. Experienced dyers are encouraged to bring works-in-progress and ideas for new projects. Beginners will be introduced to the process of papermaking with fibers that are appropriate for this immersion dye process – such as Asian fibers, flax, abaca, and linen cloth – as well as shibori resist dye techniques.
Each participant will be supported and encouraged as they use these processes and materials to expand their creative practice with the breadth of possibility offered by the indigo vat. Studio work will be complemented by discussion of the historic and contemporary use of indigo; informal critiques of works-in-progress; and technical information for papermaking and dyeing in home studios and classrooms.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of what this color can mean, a portfolio of beautiful samples of indigo blue on cloth and handmade paper, completed work, and the information necessary to continue on this path.
For more information about the workshops or to register, please visit the Women’s Studio Workshop website.
by Elissa | May 4, 2018 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Exhibiting, Pricing and Photographing Your Work – You Are Worth It! with Marcia Volger
Exhibiting, pricing, and photographing your workIn anticipation of our upcoming shows, several B.A.G. members have raised the following questions:
- How do I price my work?
- How do I know if it’s good enough to exhibit?
- How should I photograph my work?
At May’s meeting, B.A.G. Exhibit Chair Marcia Vogler will share basic strategies she has developed for pricing her own work and will lead a discussion on the topic. She’ll also share tips for photographing your work.
In her own words:
I hear groans when people talk about pricing their work for a show. Why? It’s so simple! Let’s review the basic strategy, then get into the nitty gritty of the artist’s age old question: Is my work good enough? We will find the answer: You are worth it.
In addition, let’s discuss presenting your work through photographs. Many shows require photos for submissions, or for publicity. We’ll review some basic considerations and make a checklist for success.
If there is time after the discussion, we will shift into hands-on bookmaking mode. Bring one of the tunnel book model templates from the last meeting to work on, bring a project you are currently working on, or bring something you’ve been hoping to get creative collaboration on, and create in warm and convivial company!
Things to bring:
- A tunnel book model or project to work on
- Personal supplies and tools
April Meeting Reflections
Oh wow. So. Many. Ideas.
Members and friends really came through with exciting structures and innovative ways to execute them. While some of us shared work in progress, plenty of us shared models and instructions of different forms of tunnel books.
The meeting couldn’t have gone any faster; there was so much to see and learn. We even had a husband and wife team who showed how collaboration between the engineer and the artist can be transformative.
Thank you all for your participation, encouragement, and inspiration. And welcome and happy birthday to our new members!
You can view images from the meeting on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Book Arts Guild of Vermont 2018 exhibits opening within the next month!
Your work never fails to amaze and impress us and we’re looking forward to seeing what new pieces you’ve cooked up.
Entry forms are available online for both of the exhibits (see below for details). Feel free to bring your work to the May B.A.G. meeting to avoid having to put it into the mail.
Here’s the scoop on the exhibits to refresh your memory:
Beyond Words: Artworks by the Book Arts Guild of Vermont will be held at Studio Place Arts in Barre from May 22 – June 30, where we will be exhibiting in the second floor gallery. Here’s the description for the exhibit:
Books can take on a language of their own, as shown in the multimedia work of this group of artists that use shape, structure, and materials to get their message across.
Important dates:
- Entry deadline:May 9, 2018. Click here to download the entry form.
- Opening: May 22, 2018
- Opening Reception: Thursday, May 24, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
-
Closing: June 30, 2018
The Art of the Book will be held at Frog Hollow Craft Gallery on Church Street from June 1 – June 30. This will be a great opportunity to get exposure for our group in the heart of Burlington. Since the theme of the show is wide open to interpretation, you are free to submit the work of your choice.
Important dates:
- Entry deadline: May 22, 2018. Click here to download the entry form.
- Opening: June 1, 2018, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Closing: June 30, 2018
We’re looking forward to seeing your submissions!
*** On May 26 & 27 (Memorial Day Weekend), the statewide Open Studio Weekend is offering a wonderful selection of book and paper arts studios for you to visit.
If you’re up for a tour, you can find members of your tribe in the following locations:
Copies of the the 2018 Spring Event & Resource Guide will be available at the May B.A.G. meeting.
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour. Maps and directions to studios will be available on the VT Crafts Council website in the next week or so.
Book Arts News
*** ArtisTree Gallery is accepting submissions for their 8th annual juried exhibit, UNBOUND: VOL VIII. The theme of the show is simple – an exploration of what a book can be…art using books as a material or a format. The exhibit will be presented in conjunction with the Bookstock Literary Festival in Woodstock, VT.
This call for submissions is open to all 2D, 3D, installation, assemblage, film and video artists who are working in New England or New York who are 18 years of age or older. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution. Note: Reproductions, if used as mixed media, will be considered.
The deadline for submission is June 29, 2018. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please read the online exhibit prospectus.
You can also contact Gallery Director Adrian Tans at gallery@artistreevt.org.
*** Artist Guylaine Couture is curating an exhibition and sale of Papertoys from October 27 to December 1st, 2018 at Arprim, centre d’essai en art imprimé in Montreal.
Papertoys are paper objects (or, as their name suggests, toys), often related to urban culture. They may represent diverse things such as characters, plants or modern artworks. They are often useless, but generate an emotional response that triggers the need to collect them.
Creating a Papertoy design is a great challenge for an artist. This type of creation is usually popular and widely circulated, as people enjoy the manual labour at the heart of assembling a Papertoy. The techniques used to create the toys include, without restrictions, laser or ink printing, silkscreen, risograph printing, etc. All pieces to be cut, folded and assembled, as well as the instructions, are printed on a few sheets of paper.
The proposal deadline is June 16th. Criteria for selection include creativity, originality and design, allowing an easy manipulation and assembly.
Requirements for submission:
- All parts of the Papertoy must be printed on paper, cardboard or any other material of 8.5″ x 11″ and be easy to cut, fold and assemble.
- Plan pages must include assembly instructions.
- The assembled Papertoy must not be bigger than 20 x 20 x 20 cm.
- Sale prices for the works must be under $100.00. Artists will receive 60% of the profits from sales.
The registration form is available online. Once completed, please send your proposal to Guylaine Couture at gycouture@gmail.com.
*** Editions Studio in Seattle recently hosted its first Business of Book Arts webinar focusing defining your product, your target market, and your style.
You can access the webinar on YouTube. The next webinar in this quarterly series will air in July.
Editions Studio is also the facilitator of the Are You Book Enough challenge on Instagram.
Book Arts Classes
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering Pop-Ups for Miniature Books with Shawn Sheehy from August 12 to 18, 2018.
By definition, a miniature book cannot be more than three inches in length, width, or depth. Working within this small format, students will learn how to bring drama and excitement to their pop-up book by inserting impossibly large images into a small package. Students will use cardstock and simple hand tools to build and bind, using a pop-up specific technique, a variety of structures that move above, beyond, and behind the page. Students will have time to experiment with their own ideas and recieve engineering advice from the instructor.
No experience is necessary, but previous experience in fiber arts and/or paper craft will speed your progress. This content readily accommodates beginners and advanced makers alike. You will leave the class with a completed popup book and a good understanding of the basics of popup engineering. Once you’ve tackled the skills in small format, you’ll be able to scale up for future projects!
For more information or to register, please visit the Maine Media website.
*** From June 11 – 15, the North Bennet Street School is offering Miniature Bookbindings with James Reid-Cunningham.
Miniature books present difficult design and structural challenges to the bookbinder. A true miniature is less than three inches tall, and during this course, the student will construct three books of diminishing size: a long stitch binding with decorated boards, a lapped component binding, and an accordion in a wrapper with a tongue and slot enclosure.
The course will contrast the utility of case binding, accordion, and non-adhesive structures for miniature books, with a concentration on flexibility and book action. We will analyze materials and techniques suitable for small format books. The limitations inherent in small-scale books will challenge students to do precisely executed and finely detailed work.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
*** The North Bennet Street School is also offering Traditional Ethiopian Bookbinding with Bill Hanscom on June 16 & 17. This two-day workshop will begin with a presentation detailing the traditional methods and materials of the Ethiopian scribe and bookbinder. Students will then construct two historical models.
The first model will be a basic binding with bare wooden boards demonstrating the fundamentals of the unsupported link stitch, board attachment and repair, and the construction of a l?bas (a protective cloth over-cover). The second will be a full leather binding with inlays of patterned cloth and traditional endbands of interwoven leather strips.
Basic tooling techniques as well as common designs and motifs will be discussed and demonstrated. Students will be given the opportunity to decorate their bindings as time allows.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBSS website.
