by Elissa | Jul 5, 2013 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 10 2013, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Artist Talk and Hands-on Activity with Erin Sweeney
Join us in July when book artist, printmaker, and installation artist Erin Sweeney presents her work and practice, which currently explores, among other themes, the notion of home.
Her studio, Lovely In The Home Press, is in Peterborough, NH, the town that playwright Thornton Wilder used as inspiration for his Grover’s Corners in the play Our Town. Erin has a love/hate relationship with her small town, as many people do, and much of her work is centered around this relationship.
In addition to sharing her inspiring work, Erin will lead us in a hands-on exploration of the magic of one-sheet folded books, demonstrating how they can be used as building blocks to make sculptural work, tell longer stories, and bring your viewer into your pieces in unexpected ways.
Erin will supply the paper, but asks that everyone bring the following tools:
- Scissors
- Bone folder
- Pencil
- X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
B.A.G. News
*** Are you looking for an opportunity to participate in the Burlington Art Hop but don’t know how? Do you have work that you think could sell at an artists’ market but maybe you don’t have enough inventory to have your own table?
Here is a great opportunity to help represent the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and participate in the Art Hop at the same time – join us in a group table at the Art Hop Artist Market Extravaganza on September 7, 2013!
Participation is limited to the first 10 members responding by August 1st. Please be aware that you must agree to our guidelines before committing to participation – please download the Art Hop exhibition sheet and review the terms before agreeing to participate.
*** B.A.G. member Nancy Stone will exhibit her handmade books in the exhibit Drawn to Music. Nancy’s work will include Line Notes, a window installation of seven translucent accordion books traced from her sketches of performing musicians; Vibrations, a suite of six triptych-books of watercolor paintings developed from Line Notes; and Ecclesiastes III, a suite of diverse pop-up, white-on-white books based on “A time for war; a time for peace”, etc.
The show runs from June 4, 2013 – August 29, 2013 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. The opening is on Friday June 7, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with an artists’ talk at 6:30 p.m. Summer hours are Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 pm. Jazz, folk and classical musical events will correlate with the exhibit.
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Book Arts Open Studio, at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on July 8, 15, & 22, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
This experimental workshop is like a mini retreat, where students who have taken some book arts classes in the past can explore taking their artist books to a new level. Enjoy the creative environment of working with other artists – it’s like a book arts play date!
In this 3-part workshop, the use of both standard and unconventional materials will be demonstrated, along with creative ways to apply them to the book arts. A wide range of tools and materials will be available for you to try, including collage, carved block stamps, image transfer, Dremel, and paper cutting. Different binding techniques will also be explored.
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or Email.
*** Elizabeth Rideout‘s workshop Bookbinding Intensive: Simplified Binding With Leather Relief Cover, scheduled for June 22 – 23, 2013, has been postponed until further notice. We will let you know when the workshop has been rescheduled.
Book Arts Classes
*** On August 9-11, 2013, Velma Bolyard will teach the traditional Japanese art of shifu, a spun and woven paper textile, both a quiet and meditative art at Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH.
You’ll learn all aspects of the process, from paper to finished small weavings. Beginning with a large sheet of lokta or kozo paper the process moves through preparing and spinning paper into thread or yarn, wet or dry for comparison, to ultimately weaving the threads on a simple loom that each student creates from repurposed materials.
During free moments, a bouquet of simple book structures will be taught, one of which can showcase each student’s workshop samples and thoughts. For more information or to register, please visit the Long Ridge Farm website.
*** Carol Barton will be teaching Book Arts: Paper Engineering and Sculptural Binding at the North Country Studio Workshops from January 28, 2014 – February 2, 2014. This is an ideal session for book artists, teachers, graphic designers, and anyone who likes to play with paper.

Discover the magic of the sculptural book through exploration of three-dimensional and pop-up forms. Learn how to use book structures to help convey your message. Participants will construct a series of pop-ups from simple to more complex glued structures, along with an accordion book, a carousel book, and a tunnel book.
Registration for 2014 opened on June 15, 2013.
*** Richard Horton is teaching Handmade Photo Album Structures and Strategies on July 27 – 28, 2013 at White Square Books in Easthampton, MA. The purpose of the workshop is to teach you to design albums that are beautiful, safe for real photos, and easy to look through, with pages that lie flat.
You will take with you from the course a finished model of a 10-leaf album with its paper cover and box. You will take a small stiff-leaved sewed codex, and you’ll take at least 2 large leaf models demonstrating multiple mounts on both sides of the page.
For an expanded course description and list of what to bring, please contact Richard at albumsandsuch@gmail.com.
*** Daniel Kelm is offering The Leather Intensive at his studio, The Wide Awake Garage, in Easthampton, MA from July 21 – 26, 2013. During this six-day intensive each participant will produce a full-leather binding using techniques traditional to English and French construction.
Variations in structure and the characteristics of materials will be discussed extensively. Endsheet configuration, text sewing, rounding and backing, hand-sewn endbanding, spine lining, leather paring (both with knife and manual paring machine), covering, and leather joint application will be explored.
For more details, please visit Daniel’s website.
by Elissa | Jun 5, 2013 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 10 2013, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement. Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Artist Talk and Hands-on Activity with Erin Sweeney
Join us in July when book artist, printmaker, and installation artist Erin Sweeney presents her work and practice, which currently explores, among other themes, the notion of home.
Her studio, Lovely In The Home Press, is in Peterborough, NH, the town that playwright Thornton Wilder used as inspiration for his Grover’s Corners in the play Our Town. Erin has a love/hate relationship with her small town, as many people do, and much of her work is centered around this relationship.
In addition to sharing her inspiring work, Erin will lead us in a hands-on exploration of the magic of one-sheet folded books, demonstrating how they can be used as building blocks to make sculptural work, tell longer stories, and bring your viewer into your pieces in unexpected ways.
Erin will supply the paper, but asks that everyone bring the following tools:
- Scissors
- Bone folder
- Pencil
- X-acto knife
- Cutting mat
Reflections on June’s Exhibit Opening
The opening reception for the Book Arts Guild of Vermont show, There’s No Place Like Home, was an exciting and inspiring evening. The gallery was abuzz with members of the guild as well as interested observers, enjoying our show as well as the wonderful show, Tell us a Tale, in the main galleries at Studio Place Arts in Barre.
We shared details about the construction, materials, problems, and surprising outcomes of our pieces with the appreciative audience, enjoyed some great snacks, and connected with old and new friends.
The show, set up by Sue Higby of SPA, looked amazing and filled the gallery with energy. Thanks to all the artists who participated- what a talented group we are. And thanks to SPA for hosting the show.
Our exhibit is open now through July 6, 2013.
You can view images from the exhibit and the opening on the B.A.G. blog.
B.A.G. News
*** Are you looking for an opportunity to participate in the Burlington Art Hop but don’t know how? Do you have work that you think could sell at an artists’ market but maybe you don’t have enough inventory to have your own table?
Here is a great opportunity to help represent the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and participate in the Art Hop at the same time – join us in a group table at the Art Hop Artist Market Extravaganza on September 7, 2013!
Participation is limited to the first 10 members responding by August 1st. Please be aware that you must agree to our guidelines before committing to participation – please download the Art Hop exhibition sheet and review the terms before agreeing to participate.
*** Congrats to B.A.G. member Carolyn Shattuck for her recent feature on the Center for Book Arts blog. CBA intern Kate Burns had the opportunity to visit Carolyn during this spring’s Open Studio Weekend.
Carolyn spoke about her bookmaking and printing processes as well as her inspirations while allowing Kate and her father, Dave, who was visiting the east coast from Montana, to nose around her workspace and take some pictures.
*** B.A.G. member Nancy Stone will exhibit her handmade books in the exhibit Drawn to Music. Nancy’s work will include Line Notes, a window installation of seven translucent accordion books traced from her sketches of performing musicians; Vibrations, a suite of six triptych-books of watercolor paintings developed from Line Notes; and Ecclesiastes III, a suite of diverse pop-up, white-on-white books based on “A time for war; a time for peace”, etc.
The show runs from June 4, 2013 – August 29, 2013 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. The opening is on Friday June 7, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with an artists’ talk at 6:30 p.m. Summer hours are Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 pm. Jazz, folk and classical musical events will correlate with the exhibit.
*** B.A.G. member Elissa Campbell is teaching Book Arts Open Studio, at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT on July 8, 15, & 22, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
This experimental workshop is like a mini retreat, where students who have taken some book arts classes in the past can explore taking their artist books to a new level. Enjoy the creative environment of working with other artists – it’s like a book arts play date!
In this 3-part workshop, the use of both standard and unconventional materials will be demonstrated, along with creative ways to apply them to the book arts. A wide range of tools and materials will be available for you to try, including collage, carved block stamps, image transfer, Dremel, and paper cutting. Different binding techniques will also be explored.
To register, contact SPA via phone (802) 479-7069 or Email.
*** Elizabeth Rideout‘s workshop Bookbinding Intensive: Simplified Binding With Leather Relief Cover, scheduled for June 22 – 23, 2013, has been postponed until further notice. We will let you know when the workshop has been rescheduled.
Book Arts News
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers members Stacie Dolin and Amy Lapidow’s book, Book Art Studio Handbook: Techniques and Methods for Binding Books, Creating Albums, Making Boxes and Enclosures, and More provides the inspiration or the text block for an online exhibition now available for viewing.
The exhibit features the work of 12 NEGBW members, including McKey Berkman, Brittany Fay, Samuel Feinstein, Karen Hanmer, Barbara Hebard & students, Dana Kull, Amy Lapidow, Anne McLain, John Nove, Todd Pattison, and Janine Wong.
Book Arts Classes
*** On August 9-11, 2013, Velma Bolyard will teach the traditional Japanese art of shifu, a spun and woven paper textile, both a quiet and meditative art at Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH.
You’ll learn all aspects of the process, from paper to finished small weavings. Beginning with a large sheet of lokta or kozo paper the process moves through preparing and spinning paper into thread or yarn, wet or dry for comparison, to ultimately weaving the threads on a simple loom that each student creates from repurposed materials.
During free moments, a bouquet of simple book structures will be taught, one of which can showcase each student’s workshop samples and thoughts. For more information or to register, please visit the Long Ridge Farm website.
*** Carol Barton will be teaching Book Arts: Paper Engineering and Sculptural Binding at the North Country Studio Workshops from January 28, 2014 – February 2, 2014. This is an ideal session for book artists, teachers, graphic designers, and anyone who likes to play with paper.

Discover the magic of the sculptural book through exploration of three-dimensional and pop-up forms. Learn how to use book structures to help convey your message. Participants will construct a series of pop-ups from simple to more complex glued structures, along with an accordion book, a carousel book, and a tunnel book.
Registration for 2014 opened on June 15, 2013.
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is hosting two workshops in June with Paul Johnson in Maine (one workshop will be repeated):
- Spirit House – A Three Dimensional Pop-Up Model: In this workshop, you will make a 3D pop-up spirit house from paper. There are no folds – the whole structure (comprising over thirty separate parts) is made from hinges and dovetails joints and will fold down flat.
- Book as Architecture: In this workshop, you will make a pop-up gazebo in which there are no folds and therefore no paper ‘fatigue’. All sections are fastened together using a range of paper hinges, locks, and dovetail joints. Sections can be modified and redesigned as the model develops – you simply take out one section and replace it with another.
For more information, please download the registration form(s) below or contact Todd Pattison via Email: bookandtile@att.net.
*** Richard Horton is teaching Handmade Photo Album Structures and Strategies on July 27 – 28, 2013 at White Square Books in Easthampton, MA. The purpose of the workshop is to teach you to design albums that are beautiful, safe for real photos, and easy to look through, with pages that lie flat.
You will take with you from the course a finished model of a 10-leaf album with its paper cover and box. You will take a small stiff-leaved sewed codex, and you’ll take at least 2 large leaf models demonstrating multiple mounts on both sides of the page.
For an expanded course description and list of what to bring, please contact Richard at albumsandsuch@gmail.com.
*** Daniel Kelm is offering The Leather Intensive at his studio, The Wide Awake Garage, in Easthampton, MA from July 21 – 26, 2013. During this six-day intensive each participant will produce a full-leather binding using techniques traditional to English and French construction.
Variations in structure and the characteristics of materials will be discussed extensively. Endsheet configuration, text sewing, rounding and backing, hand-sewn endbanding, spine lining, leather paring (both with knife and manual paring machine), covering, and leather joint application will be explored.
For more details, please visit Daniel’s website.
*** Bill Hanscom is teaching Album Structures at the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science in Boston on Saturday, June 29, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. In this workshop you will explore the construction and mechanics of a variety of album structures from the traditional to the intriguingly unconventional.
You will learn several structures, including a Simple Board Book Album, the Storage Book, Pocket Album, Spider Book, Multi-leaf Accordion, and an Accordion Album.
For more information or to register, please visit the Simmons GSLIS website.
by Elissa | Jun 14, 2012 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Exhibitions, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement.
Click here for more information on directions/parking.

Photo by Christopher J. Campbell
Program: Open Bindery
Join us for Open Bindery in June!
Unfortunately, Margery Cantor is not able to present at our June meeting, but we look forward to having her share her letterpress expertise with us in the future. Instead, we have a program designed to get your summer bookbinding endeavors off to a roaring start.
This month, we invite you to bring a project to work on and join us for the Book Arts Guild’s first-ever Open Bindery! We hope to create a collaborative space where we can work on our own projects while at the same time sharing ideas, offering each other assistance, and inspiring each other. It also provides an opportunity to get to know each other better, to catch up with old friends, and to share what we’ve been working on.
Our mini-bindery will offer equipment such as book presses; a Kutrimmer™; a Xyron™ (a non-heat, non-spray alternative to wet adhesives), sewing frames, a Zutter Bind It All™ spiral binder, cutting mats, and various hand tools. There will also be a mini-library of books on bookbinding and book arts for instruction and inspiration, and materials available for purchase, such as bookboard and PVA glue.
We think it will be a very enjoyable and productive evening, and look forward to seeing you there!
Reflections on May’s Meeting
Our May meeting was such fun with Robin Cooper Collins leading us all on the makings of a very special movable mechanism that she discovered during a restoration project. Robin first provided us with an introduction of her work with the restoration and conservation of antiquarian children’s books. We were all fascinated by the detective skills, technology and wealth of art techniques Robin applies to her projects.
Robin, thank you for sharing your unique expertise with us on antique children’s books and for guiding us though the makings of challenging movable mechanism.
We have pictures from the meeting, but they’re not on the blog yet. As soon as they’re posted, we’ll let you know.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce that book artist Daniel Kelm will be coming to Vermont to offer The Book Restructured: Wire Edge Binding, a two-day workshop from 7/28/12 – 7/29/12.
Book artists produce a truly remarkable range of books – some diverging wildly from what we recognize as traditional book form. Wire edge binding, which employs a thin metal wire along the hinging edge of each page, was developed by master bookbinder, artist, and innovator Daniel Kelm to meet the challenge of creating a nontraditional book that opens exceptionally well and allows for unusual shapes.
During this two-day intensive workshop, which includes two projects, you will master basic wire edge skills for producing highly functional bindings of both traditional and unusual shapes. The first project – a simple codex of six identical page panels – teaches you the basics of integrating metal wire into a paperboard construction. The second project – an accordion with triangular pages that fold to form a tetrahedron – teaches you how to make books of various geometric shapes.
All experience levels welcome!
Dates: July 28 – 29, 2012 (Saturday – Sunday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (including lunch break)
Location: The Bindery Place, Shelburne Pond Studios, Shelburne, VT
Cost (all-inclusive!): $210.00 B.A.G. members, $225.00 non-members
Space is limited and B.A.G. members are getting a head start on registering, so sign up as soon as possible! Click here to download the registration form.
For further information about the workshop, please contact Jill Abilock at (802) 238-0883 or SixLoonsStudio@gmail.com.
*** The May/June exhibition at the Creative Space Gallery in Vergennes, VT includes work from our 2012 spring exhibit, Shaping Pages. Featured work includes handmade books by B.A.G. members Jill Abilock, Janet Ballantyne, Eloise Beil, Elissa Campbell, Elizabeth Rideout, Maryann Riker, Nancy Stone, Annie Watson, and Cynthia Weiss.
There will be a reception with the artists on Friday June 2nd from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can also visit during gallery hours on Thursday – Sunday, now through June 24th.
Book Arts News
*** The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is holding their annual meeting on Tuesday, June 26th, at 6:00 p.m. This meeting is open to all current chapter members. The primary item of business is the election of an entirely new chapter committee. The presumptive committee members will be happy to speak with members about ideas for upcoming chapter activities. Outgoing Chapter Chair, Jeffrey Altepeter, will give one last annual report.
The meeting will be held at The Independent at 75 Union Square in Somerville, MA. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Jeffrey Altepeter.
*** The Museum of Printing in North Andover, MA will be having its Ninth Annual Printing Arts Fair on Sunday, June 17th, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The Fair is free and open to the public.
The Printing Arts Fair brings together printers, artisans, booksellers, graphic designers, specialty paper vendors – anyone interested in the printing arts – in a family atmosphere. Live demonstrations of turning molten lead into type, letterpress printing, intaglio printing, paper making and more.
For more information, please visit please visit The Museum of Printing’s website.
*** The Photo-Bookworks Symposium, presented by the Visual Studies Workshop, will take place from June 28 – 30, 2012 in Rochester, NY.
For the 2012 Photo-Bookworks Symposium, Visual Studies Workshop has invited national and international artists, critics, curators, and publishers to discuss some of the most challenging and innovative photobooks being created in the world today. Learn about the history of the medium, about being published and self-publishing, how artists and bookbinders are expanding the form, and much more.
There will also be a special pop-up bookstore by ARTBOOK as part of the symposium. Titles by the presenters and numerous other photobooks and artists’ books, including recent titles from VSW Press, will be available for purchase at discounted prices. There will be book signings by all the presenters throughout the symposium weekend.
For further information or to register contact Kristen Merola at workshops@vsw.org.
Book Arts Classes
*** Art New England is offering Artists Books To Go with Aimee Lee from 7/29/12 – 8/4/12 at Bennington College. In this workshop, students learn key ways to build artists’ books with a minimum amount of equipment and environmental impact, and explore the book form as a repository for images, text, and ideas.
Students experiment with a variety of folded and sewn structures that can easily be made at home or on the road. They also learn how to manipulate paper into pop-ups and unconventional pages that draw from fiber techniques. Transfers and mark-making techniques will convey content and students will gather tips on how to maintain a portable tool kit. Participants will leave with an armful of books and the knowledge and confidence to make books anywhere and anytime. This class is suitable for all levels of experience.
Registration is available online. To learn more about Aimee Lee, please visit her website.
*** Book Arts at the Stone House will be offering workshops from July 23 – 29, 2012 in Freeport, Maine. Spend seven days beside the sea attending a series of book arts related workshops, filled with a wide range of topics including printmaking, cyanotypes, paper-making, marbling, sequential images, inventive fold books, book design, and box making.
During the course, each student will have the opportunity to work with 8 different instructors in half day and full day workshops. Every participant will be exposed to a variety of approaches and opinions from a stimulating group of professional artists.
Please visit the website for more details on the location and how to register.
*** From 8/3/12 – 8/5/12, Velma Bolyard will be teaching Pulp Clouds: Hand Papermaking at the Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH. In this workshop, you’ll gather plants, cook pulp, form and dry sheets of your own papers.
Expect to make strong, useable, and beautiful waterleaf (un-sized) sheets. You’ll make a book from your papers, binding sheets into sample books utilizing structures that allow you to explore bookbinding as well. Each participant may expect to make a portfolio of sheets of various sizes from at least five different plants.
The fee for the workshop is $500.00 with a limited materials list. For more information, please contact Long Ridge Farm.
*** From 8/27 – 8/31, Erin Sweeney of Lovely In The Home Press will be teaching Book School 2012 in Peterborough, NH.
From 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. each day, you’ll tackle a new structure, and discuss form and content appropriate for each. Simple writing exercises will be explored to create and organize ideas for future projects. Projects include the Piano Hinge structure, several album structures, a traditional long-stitch structure, boxes, and a Plunder Book to wrap it all up and utilize our newly learned techniques.
For more information or to register, please contact Erin at erin@erinsweeney.net.
by Elissa | May 12, 2012 | B.A.G. Meetings, bookbinding, Call to artists, Exhibitions, Lecture, MailB.A.G., Member News, Vermont, Workshops
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We meet at the Unitarian Universalist Society Church located at 152 Pearl Street in Burlington, VT. We will be in the Sophia Fahs Community Room, a large room located in the basement.
Click here for more information on directions/parking.
Program: Paper Engineering with Robin Cooper Collins
Please join us in May when Robin Cooper Collins shares her expertise in pop-up and movable books.
During the first part of the meeting, Robin will present From a Sows Ear to a Silk Purse, a talk she gave at the Movable Book Society conference in Portland, OR. The talk focuses on movable books that came across her work bench as complete train wrecks, and how they were brought back to life. She will also offer a glimpse at several unique and unusual books.
After the talk, everyone will have the opportunity to build a plate using one of the more unusual mechanisms she has encountered. The base papers will be provided but, but you will need to bring:
- Scissors
- Glue (White glue, PVA, and Elmers, etc. are fine, but not glue stick, because we will be gluing wood to paper.)
- Embellishments (decorative papers, paints, pencils, etc., as well as decorative cutting tools)
Robin Cooper Collins’ hand bookbinding practice is focused on the restoration and conservation of antiquarian children’s books. Her specialty is the restoration of pop-up and movables from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Reflections on April’s Meeting
Deborah Howe gave a fascinating presentation at our April meeting. She chronicled her investigation and work on the conservation of Dartmouth’s 15th century manuscript called the Brut Chronicle. This legendary and historical chronicle of England is valued as a working text and will be used for research.
Deborah led us thorough her investigation with slides and a working model that she created to bind the text. The final decision for conserving this manuscript came as a bit of a surprise to our group as a simple cover was chosen over the historical binding that Deborah reproduced and we greatly admired. We all gained new insight and appreciation for the work of a conservator and the choices made for academic conservation.
Thank you Deborah for traveling up to Burlington and sharing your presentation with us.
B.A.G. News
*** The Book Arts Guild of Vermont is pleased to announce that book artist Daniel Kelm will be coming to Vermont to offer The Book Restructured: Wire Edge Binding, a two-day workshop from 7/28/12 – 7/29/12.
Book artists produce a truly remarkable range of books – some diverging wildly from what we recognize as traditional book form. Wire edge binding, which employs a thin metal wire along the hinging edge of each page, was developed by master bookbinder, artist, and innovator Daniel Kelm to meet the challenge of creating a nontraditional book that opens exceptionally well and allows for unusual shapes.
During this two-day intensive workshop, which includes two projects, you will master basic wire edge skills for producing highly functional bindings of both traditional and unusual shapes. The first project – a simple codex of six identical page panels – teaches you the basics of integrating metal wire into a paperboard construction. The second project – an accordion with triangular pages that fold to form a tetrahedron – teaches you how to make books of various geometric shapes.
All experience levels welcome!
Dates: July 28 – 29, 2012 (Saturday – Sunday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (including lunch break)
Location: The Bindery Place, Shelburne Pond Studios, Shelburne, VT
Cost (all-inclusive!):
– Paid by 5/16/12: $195.00 (members), $210.00 (non-members)
– Paid after 5/16/12: $210.00 (members), $225.00 (non-members)
Space is limited and B.A.G. members are getting a head start on registering, so sign up as soon as possible! Click here to download the registration form.
For further information about the workshop, please contact Jill Abilock at (802) 238-0883 or SixLoonsStudio@gmail.com.
*** The May/June exhibition at the Creative Space Gallery in Vergennes, VT includes work from our 2012 spring exhibit, Shaping Pages. Featured work includes handmade books by B.A.G. members Jill Abilock, Janet Ballantyne, Eloise Beil, Elissa Campbell, Elizabeth Rideout, Maryann Riker, Nancy Stone, Annie Watson, and Cynthia Weiss.
There will be a reception with the artists on Friday June 2nd from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can also visit during gallery hours on Thursday – Sunday, now through June 24th.
*** B.A.G. members Carolyn Shattuck, Meta Strick, Ken Leslie, Marianna Holzer, Elizabeth Rideout, Jill Abilock, and Elissa Campbell are opening their studios as part of the state-wide Open Studio Weekend sponsored by the Vermont Crafts Council. The Creative Space Gallery is hosting books from our Shaping Pages exhibit during the event, so if you missed it in Burlington, you now have another chance to see it.
If you want to visit fellow book artists on May 26 – 27 (Memorial Day weekend), you can find them in the following locations:
- Carolyn: Rutland, studio #88
- Creative Space Gallery: Vergennes, studio #125
- Jill: Shelburne, studio #130
- Elizabeth: Shelburne, studio #130
- Marianna: Hinesburg, studio #135
- Meta: Fairfield, studio #172
- Ken: Hardwick, studio #186
- Elissa: Montpelier, studio #211
Elissa created a Google Map with all of the locations to help you with your tour. You can find maps and directions to studios on the VT Crafts Council website. You can also download a pdf of the 2012 Spring Vermont Open Studio Tour Guide. Please note that this is a really big file – 13.5 M
Book Arts News
*** Chemically Altered: Historic Paper Marbling, a lecture by Gretchen and Garrett Dixon from The Marbler’s Apprentice, will take place on May 14, 2012 at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA. The lecture, sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers is free and open to the public.
There will be discussion of the history, patterns, and fabrication techniques for chemically-altered patterns of marbled paper – Stormont, Shell, Broken, Romantic, Schroetel, and Tiger Eye. These patterns all involve the use of chemical additives to the watercolor paint in order to achieve their effect. These patterns were popular from the end of the 18th century through the 19th century.
For directions, please visit the North Bennet Street School’s website.
*** ArtisTree Gallery and Pentangle Arts Council, in conjunction with the Bookstock Festival, are looking for submissions for their upcoming exhibit, Unbound Vol II: Art using the book as a material/format. The show will be juried by Daniel E. Kelm, founder of the Garage Annex School for Book Arts in Easthampton, MA.
The broad theme of UNBOUND Vol II encompasses all of the possibilities of what we may think or may not think a “book” is. Is it story? An entry to another world? An exploration? What does it indicate? This 2nd annual juried show looks to explore these ideas of “the book” and all the ways artists use its format as a stepping off point or as a material to explore new ideas.
The exhibit is open to all 2D and 3D, installation, and assemblage artists working in New England and New York. Submissions must be postmarked by mail or Emailed by June 9, 2012. For more information, please visit the ArtisTree Gallery’s website.
Book Arts Classes
*** From 8/3/12 – 8/5/12, Velma Bolyard will be teaching Pulp Clouds: Hand Papermaking at the Long Ridge Farm in Westmoreland, NH. In this workshop, you’ll gather plants, cook pulp, form and dry sheets of your own papers.
Expect to make strong, useable, and beautiful waterleaf (un-sized) sheets. You’ll make a book from your papers, binding sheets into sample books utilizing structures that allow you to explore bookbinding as well. Each participant may expect to make a portfolio of sheets of various sizes from at least five different plants.
The fee for the workshop is $500.00 with a limited materials list. For more information, please contact Long Ridge Farm.
*** The Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA is offering a Shockingly Good Book Arts Course with Sarah Smith from June 4 – June 8, 2012. This course is designed to teach you the basics of two traditional techniques that are enjoying a modern resurgence: bookbinding and letterpress.
Along with mastering the art of setting metal and wood type, students will also have the opportunity to convert their own imagery into a printable format by creating polymer plates. Additionally, learn to sew, fold and glue some simple binding structures to bring images, text and three-dimensional ideas together. By the end of the course, you will have produced bound and printed models as well as a simple artist book of your own.
The fee for the workshop is $795.00 and you can register online. For more information, please contact either Kathleen Burke or Chelsea Sams.
*** The North Bennet Street School is offering a Bookbinding Intensive with Stacie Dolin from June 25 – July 27, 2012. The five-week program meets Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This class is designed for individuals interested in an intensive, hands-on bookbinding experience and is suitable for book artists and novice binders wishing to learn or enhance fundamental bookbinding skills. Explore a variety of book structures and binding techniques and the process for determining what materials and structures to use for a given project.
Field trips and other specific topics are part of the curriculum and will be based on student interests. The tuition includes a materials fee for paper, board, and other basic supplies; students are expected to provide some materials and all hand tools.
For more information or to register, please visit the NBBS’s website.