Thanks to Marylee Bytheriver

As you may have read in December's newsletter, a former member of Norbag, Marylee Bytheriver, closed her studio and donated many materials to the Guild. She passed away November 29. It was important to her that she give away items from her studio while she was well enough to do so. Some materials will be kept in a toolkit for members who need to borrow items for a workshop and other materials are being sold to members with the proceeds to be saved for a guest artist. 

As with many of us, Marylee’s focus on book arts came later in life. After a twenty-year break between her sophomore and junior years in college, Marylee return to academia to complete her B.A. in Book Arts at Mills College, Oakland, California. She graduated with honors in 1991. She established Lunation Press in Oakland, California, where she created books that were a tribute to her imagination and dedication to the environment. Her books can be seen in public collections nationwide including the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Some books can still be purchased at Vamp and Tramp Booksellers, Birmingham, Alabama.
  

Beans by Marylee Bytheriver, Vamp and Tramp

Marylee was a skilled printmaker. Many of her books feature her linoleum block prints. Today we honored her at our annual Holiday Card Exchange and enjoyed her beautiful book Venus on the Half Shell. Much of the research for this was done while she was attending Mills College.

Venus on the Half Shell by Marylee Bytheriver

 She spent time in Tibet and later created notes from a Tibetan Journey.

notes from a Tibetan Journey by Marylee Bytheriver

notes from a Tibetan Journey by Marylee Bytheriver

Marylee called this book Outsider Art and the tunnel book was created from photos of the Coso Range in Inyo County, California.

Outsider Art by Marylee Bytheriver

Finally, she created a print of her beloved Lost Coast in Northern California.
 

Apologies for my photographs! Lighting conditions were very challenging.  
I will miss her enthusiasm for my new efforts at woodblock printing.
  

Guest blogger: Michele Olsen