by Elissa | May 5, 2023 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 10, 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!
Program: Pop-ups Shadowbox Book with Kit Davey
We are excited to have Kit Davey as our guest presenter this month. Kit is an Instagram phenomena, posting exciting book work almost every day! Her work is playful, humorous, and she is gracious enough to share her time with us.
Learn how to make this fun five-page pop-up book. When you turn the pages of the book a “box” forms to create a 3-dimensional effect. You can install images to the front or underneath each frame. Once you learn the basic mechanism you can add pages or scale the book up or down.
Tools needed:
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil and eraser
- X-Acto knife and cutting mat
- Bone folder
- Glue, brushes, rag, water container
- Scoring board, if you have one
Ingredients to make the book:
Note: You must cut out the ingredients in advance of the class! There will not be time to cut things out during class.
For the pages:
- 10 pieces single- or double-sided card stock: 2.5” by 6”
- 5 images that can fit inside a 1.5” by 1.5” opening.
- For the covers: 2 pieces of mat board: 2.5” by 3”
- Paper to cover the covers: 2 pieces paper 3.75” by 4.5”
- For the spine: 1 pc. card stock 2.5” by 2.5”
To learn more about Kit’s work, check out her Instagram.
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa so she can send you the details.
April Meeting Reflections
They may say that April showers bring May flowers, but our April meeting brought those flowers early!
We were lucky to have skilled presenter Linda Whelihan to guide us as we created three different types of flower pop-up cards. She presented each pop-up in such a way that seemingly complicated arrangements became easy to construct.
I’m not sure which card is my favorite, but I do know that when my daughter asked if she could have them, I quickly hid them away in my studio – sorry Anna, those are mine! Perhaps I’ll surprise her with one on her birthday…
Many thanks to Linda for sharing her talent and creativity with us.
B.A.G. Library Corner
Book artist Carol Barton says “There’s magic in a book that pops up!” She describes how she engineers the magic in her chapter of The Penland Book of Handmade Books. Discussing her inspiration, her methods, and how she got into pop-ups, Barton tells a compelling story that can help inspire our own paper engineering creations.
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 chapter here.
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 3 entries, although not all may be accepted. New this year, entries will be made online, and artists will be notified of acceptance on or before July 26. B.A.G. will cover the entry fee for members.
Here are some important dates:
- Deadline for online submissions: June 18, 2023. No entries will be accepted after this date.
- Exhibit dates: July 7 – August 4, 2023
- Opening reception: First Friday Art Walk, July 7, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Artists’ Talk: July 12, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This will take the place of our regular monthly meeting.
- Closing reception: First Friday Art Walk, August 4, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Click here to access the exhibit entry form.
*** Congratulations to Marcia Vogler for being accepted into the juried exhibition, Paper Made, which will be featured in the summer issue of Fiber Art Now magazine. Selections from the exhibit will be on display at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, VT from October 14, 2023 – February 11, 2024.
*** Elissa Campbell will be teaching The Lidded Pencil Box at CraftStudies on May 21.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make your own decorative boxes, then this class is a great place to start! This decorative lidded box is the perfect size to hold your pens and pencils – or perhaps future boxmaking tools?
During this workshop, you’ll make a box that measures 8” (l) x 3” (w) x 2.25” (h). You’ll learn basic boxmaking techniques, including how to measure and cut materials, wrapping a box with paper, and the best way to apply adhesives. We’ll also talk about how to scale the size of the box to fit differently-sized items.
Not only will this class offer you the foundation and confidence needed to continue making boxes, but it will also provide you with a variety of bookbinding skills. You will receive a detailed handout and resource list for all materials we use.
For more information or to register, please visit the CraftStudies website.
*** Susan Smereka will be teaching the Upcycled Journal on May 23 & 30 at her studio in Burlington, VT. Whether you are new to bookbinding or not, this workshop is appropriate for all skill levels and interests.
You will rebuild an old book and give it new life as a unique journal to inspire you to write and capture your precious ideas, collages and drawings. And they make great gifts too!
You will take apart an old book, and rebind it with blank pages interleaved with text from the original. Build your knowledge and skills around bookbinding as you learn the parts of a book and how to do a long stitch binding with waxed linen thread.
For more information or to register, click here.
*** On May 27 & 28 (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:
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour.
Maps and directions to studios are available on the VT Crafts Council website.
Book Arts News
*** ArtisTree Gallery is currently accepting submissions for their 11th annual book arts exhibit, UNBOUND Vol. XI. Works will be on display from June 22 – July 15, 2023 at the gallery in South Pomfret, Vermont.
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. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution, and must strictly adhere to the theme of the show. Note: reproductions can be used in mixed media work. Submissions are open to Vermont and New Hampshire residents who are 18 years of age or older.
The deadline for submission is June 7, 2023. All submissions must be made through their online entry form.
For more information, please read the online exhibit prospectus. You can also contact the gallery at exhibits@artistreevt.org.
*** 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.
*** Registration for Wells College Book Arts Center‘s Book Arts Summer Institute is now open. The week-long intensive courses include letterpress printing, bookbinding, calligraphy, typecasting, and font design. Week 1 runs from July 9 – 15 and Week 2 runs from July 16 – 22.
This year’s instructors include Tom Balbo, Scott McCarney, Leah Mackin, and Sonja Rossow. Wells College is located in Aurora, NY.
For more information, please visit the Wells College website.
Stay-at-Home Fun
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Zines: Exploring Narrative through Lists! with Hope Amico on May 10, 17, & 24.
Using a list to frame a personal narrative is a playful and accessible writing format. Handwritten and illustrated 8-page zines are a fun and approachable book format. In this virtual workshop, get introduced to these two art forms and begin by brainstorming story ideas – with pen and paper – using prompts as inspiration. Then, draft your story – with pen and paper or on an electronic device. Return the following week to share your work and engage in friendly group feedback.
In the last session, learn the process of laying out your story as a 4.25 x 5.5 inch zine (quarter-size, meaning a quarter of a piece of copy paper) and tips for analog layout, with opportunities to add visual elements.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** The Center for Book Arts is offering Travel Journals with Susan Joy Share on May 17 & 24.
Create a series of soft-cover travel journals with paper covers for writing, drawing, collage, etc., and several compartments for tucking away collected items. You’ll learn basic folding and sewing techniques as you make pocket-sized books, perfect for walks or hikes, and a larger one for when you are settled in with time to reflect.
Students will learn several variations on pamphlet binding and 3 or 4 ways to score and fold soft-cover books. These journals travel especially well as they are light weight and easy to pack. You’ll have fun making pockets, folders and a collapsible origami box. Paper selections, closures, and decorative cover elements give students an opportunity add their personal touch. Making a travel journal is a great way to prepare for and get excited about a trip.
For more information or to register, please visit the CBA website.
*** The Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering Microfiction Mini Books with Stephanie Wolff on May 24.
A very short story will be the content of a mini artists’ book. Participants will write a story in six words and create illustrations. Then bind it into a very simple but versatile book structure. The writing is meant to be a fun exercise, but participants are welcome to use existing stories should they choose.
This structure could be used for any kind of content: text or image or both, and can be scaled up in size. To learn more about this writing form, search the internet for “six-word stories” or “six-word memoirs”. A famous example, allegedly by Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.”
For more information or to register, please visit the JCBA website.
by Elissa | Mar 3, 2023 | B.A.G. Book Swap, B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 8, 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: Tunnel Books with Dorsey Hogg
Among the movables we’re exploring this year are tunnel books, which are made from a set of panels attached to an accordion on each side and viewed through a hole in the front. This type of book dates from the mid-18th century and was inspired by theatrical stage sets.
According to Wikipedia, “the term ‘tunnel book’ derives from the fact that many of these books were made to commemorate the building of the tunnel under the Thames River in London in the mid-19th century.” (Who knew?)
In our March meeting, you’ll learn the basics of creating a tunnel book with our own Dorsey Hogg.
Here’s what you’ll need to participate in the project:
- 5: 4″ x 6″ pieces of cardstock or similar weight paper for the pages
- 2: 4′ x 8″ strips of paper, I used 80lb drawing paper for the side bindings
- 1: 4.25″ x 18.25″ strip of paper, I used the same 80lb drawing paper for the wrap around cover.
- Glue stick
- Measuring tool
- X-Acto knife
- Bone folder
If you’d like to attend the meeting over Zoom, please contact Elissa so she can send you the details.
February Meeting Reflections
Some people just bring joy to everything they touch, and Ed Hutchins is one such person. What started as a show and tell, with charming videos of Ed leading us through some highlights of his artist book collection, ended with a hands-on reflection on Valentine pop-ups just in time for Valentine’s Day. Ed makes pop-ups look easy and accessible to everyone!
His presentation was a whirlwind introduction to the world of movable books, ranging from different cultures such as the Zhen Xian Bao, or Chinese thread box, to different structures such as tunnel books and flexagons. One of my personal favorites was the work of Paul Johnson, an English book artist who uses slotted structures without glue, and incorporates foldouts and pop-ups with sweet, brightly colored illustrations.
Oh, and then there were hearts, many hearts. There were accordion hearts, wiggle hearts, spiral hearts, interlocking hearts, and floating hearts. The eight different valentines Ed showed us in roughly 8 minutes was pure magic. I hope everyone took advantage of his challenge to send him a valentine and get one from him in return. There’s such joy in receiving an envelope covered with cute stickers from our friend.
Thanks so much, Ed! And thanks also to everyone who showed up and participated in this magical evening.
B.A.G. Library Corner
As we continue this year’s exploration of movable books and interactive structures, I began to think about what if a book was something else entirely – like a doll?
Mimi Kirchner’s plush doll sketchbook, featured in Jeannine Stein’s Adventures in Bookbinding: Handcrafting Mixed-Media Books, is a whimsical slipcover for a handmade sketchbook. But what if the pages were actually sewn into the slipcover? Could you turn a doll, or another unexpected object, into a book?
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
*** Due to the success of our last Zine Swap, B.A.G. is hosting another one!
What’s a zine? A zine (short for fanzine or magazine) is a self-published booklet, usually made on paper and reproduced with a photocopier or printer. Our previous Zine Swap was fun and participants enjoyed receiving 10 zines from fellow members. Sally Knight and Marilyn Gillis have agreed to organize the swap.
Here are the steps for participating in this next Zine Swap:
- Join the swap by emailing Marilyn Gillis at marilyngillis@gmail.com by March 31, 2023 to state your desire to participate.
- Create an 8-page folded zine. This is a structure using one 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper which is folded and cut to create a 4.25″ x 2.75″ booklet. Copy paper is fine for making a zine. The structure is simple, fast and easy to make. There are many YouTube instructional videos, just search for how to make a one-page zine. If you need help you can email Marilyn.
- Create your zine content. Make a master copy.
- Copy your zine 11 times. One copy is for you to keep.
- Fold each of your copies.
- Send 10 copies to Marilyn Gillis, 9 Arthur Court, Burlington, VT 05401 by May 31.
- Receive a packet of 10 participant zines in June!
*** Susan Smereka will be teaching Generative Book with Jane Ploughman on March 22 & 29, and April 5, 2023.
Create a unique artist’s 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 (approximately 3.5″ x 5”) with 8 spreads (30 sides) handbound with a long stitch variation.
The workshop will take place at Susan Smereka’s studio space in Burlington, VT (Howard Street off of Pine).
For more information, please contact Susan at susansmereka@gmail.com.
*** Elissa Campbell will be teaching Blizzard of Blizzards at Studio Place Arts on March 11.
If this winter is giving you the blues, here’s a reason to like it a bit more – book artist Hedi Kyle‘s famous Blizzard Book was invented during a snowstorm! This gem of a book has a spine made of folded pockets that lock pages into place without using adhesive. The folded components can be modified to create other structures that Hedi affectionately refers to as the Blizzard Clan.
In this workshop, you’ll start by making the book that started it all, the Blizzard Book. As time allows, you’ll complete up to five variations including the Blizzard Box, the Blizzard Pocket, and the amazing Wheel of Fortune. All of these structures are intended to house your choice of content – for example, business cards, ticket stubs, or fortune cookie fortunes.
For more information or to register, please visit the SPA website.
Book Arts News
*** Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Vermont is hosting Femmezine, now through March 4. Zine makers from all over (with a focus on local artists) will have their work and message on display and available for reading.
The show celebrates the Femme (An identity or presentation that leans towards femininity) DIY spirit as well as the necessity to shout out the message of “We are here, we exist, acknowledge us!”
The Do It Yourself (DIY) movement started with music, but would branch out into the rest of the arts. Fanzines (fan•zeenz) were a way for kids to distribute their message to others, helping to grow the culture, the community, and their chosen family.
For more information, please visit the Chandler website.
*** On March 24, The Grolier Club is hosting an online, full-day symposium in celebration of the Pattern and Flow, A Golden Age of American Decorated Paper, 1960s to 2000s exhibition, sponsored by the Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The free event will start with introductions and the keynote address, then offer panel presentations on 1. Techniques and materials in decorated paper; 2 the expansion of decorated paper in the U.S. (programs, outreach, education, publications); 3. earning a living in decorated paper (building a business, products); and 4. distributing and collecting decorated paper (trends and sales).
For more information or to register, please visit the event website.
*** 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 Jaffe Center for Book Arts is offering One Sheet Books with Stephanie Wolff on March 9.
A few folds, a cut or two and presto, a book! Participants will create a selection of simple folded “books” made from one piece of paper in this workshop. They are great for zines, comics, cards, and other self-publishing ventures, as well as artists’ books.
Paper choices, layout, and duplication methods will all be covered. Simple, inexpensive means of duplication or more complex artmaking methods can be combined with these forms. Our focus will be on making a set of models as reference for future work after the workshop.
For more information or to register, please email John Cutrone at jcutrone@fau.edu.
*** The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is offering Mini Modeled Books with Amanda D’Amico on March 14 & 28.
What happens when you combine historical Coptic bindings with contemporary craft materials? You get small, playful book objects! For the bookbinder who loves sculpture, this virtual workshop will cover how to make a three-dimensional book cover using Crayola Model Magic, a non-toxic, lightweight modeling material.
Part one of the workshop will cover tips and tricks for working with the modeling material, as well as how to design your book object for success. Part two of the workshop will cover instruction on the two-needle Coptic stitch binding, a traditional and wonderfully adaptable sewing technique that can be used for many sculptural structures.
Note that this workshop has two weeks between the two sessions to allow the Crayola Model Magic to fully dry and shrink to its permanent size.
For more information or to register, please visit the MCBA website.
*** Maine Media Workshops + College is offering Japanese Boro Stitch for Bookbinding with Marsha Shaw on April 1 & 8.
In this workshop, students will learn to make an accordion book that uses a Japanese Boro mending stitch. What is so exciting about this structure is that you can work on the pages separately and then bind them together to make a book of any length. For example, a continuing photographic series can be added over time.
Students will learn the skills necessary to keep making these books and written instructions will be provided (The instructions are for a 3.5″ x 2.5″ playing card but the instructor will show you how to adjust the holes to your size pages). Students will be provided a small kit with two master sheets of collage paper to play with, or you can use your own papers or photographs.
For more information or to register, please visit the Maine Media 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 | 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.
