At the June workshop Kenzie Mullen will teach us how to make an Origami Screen Structure that was designed by Margo Klass. This is a great structure to display beautiful photographs or art work.
Monday, May 29, 2023
Sunday, May 14, 2023
NEWPORT PAPER & BOOK ARTS FESTIVAL
The 2023 Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival (NPBAF) was held April 13-15 in Newport, Oregon. Of the almost 100 attendees, 21 were members of NORBAG. We were lucky to experience beautiful sunny (but still chilly) weather for all three days. Seven instructors taught 11 different classes that included book and box making, paper embellishment & marbling, animated pop-ups, and using different plant matter for inks and dyes. The Instructor's Exhibition and talks by some of the instructors were very inspiring. It's not too early to start thinking about next years festival which will take place over three days between April 11-14, 2024. For more information contact Sara at ssiggelkow@coastarts.org.
Here are some photographs from the festival. The first group of photos are from the Instructor's Exhibition at the Visual Arts Center.
Margo Klass - Solstice Moon, Unfolding Box Book |
Connie Stricks - Birch Journal |
Connie Stricks |
Randi Parkhurst - Rainbow Boxes |
Moe Snyder - Three Tiers |
Moe Snyder - Picture This |
Some of the instructors and local artists shared their work at one of the evening events.
Shawn Sheehy |
Shawn taught the animated pop-up classes |
One page from Shawn's Fresh Cut Xmas book |
The Popbox Cabinet |
Cheri Aldrich is a NORBAG member from Newport who also had an exhibit at the Visual Arts Center during the festival.
Cheri described some of her pieces in her - It's Just My Nature exhibit |
Another view of Cheri's wonderful creations |
The following photographs are from one of the classes and also include some of the items made by class participants.
Busy making pop-ups |
Shawn Sheehy's Pop-up class |
Bonnie Julien took both of Shawn's classes |
Three days of classes = two books of pop-ups |
Dolores Guffey's beautiful dragonfly display box made in Margo Klass' workshop. |
Monday, May 1, 2023
STILT BOOKS
Our May workshop will be taught by Edge Gerring. This will be a very different structure for us, but it should be great fun to make. Edge uses the term, stilt, for books that are mounted on sticks. The sticks, or stilts, can be any material from natural branches, dowels, skewers, popsicle sticks to blown glass, chopsticks, or straws! This class will introduce you to a variety of ways to mount panels on sticks with show and tell presentation. Then we will make a stilt book!
![]() |
This is the size Stilt Book we will make. |
The other photos show different sizes and ways to attach the panels to the stilts.
Tools:
- PVA (or other white glue) and toothpick
- Waxed embroidery floss, waxed thread, etc. for tying the panels to the stilts
- Scissors and awl or very small hole punch (1.0-1.5 mm screw punch)
- A piece of thick paper to make a hole punching template
- Pencil
- A needle with an eye that will accommodate the thread you are using
- A small weight is helpful, but not required to hold things down while you tie knots
- Optional: a straight edge and clamps to make a bumper at the edge of your work surface. This is helpful in making sure all the stick bottoms are lined up with each other.
Materials:
- Four (4) panels of heavy card stock, playing cards or thin cardboard 3-1/2" high by 2-1/2" wide. You can use a larger (or smaller) size, as you wish, square or rectangular
- Decorate your panels before class, or use them plain and this can be a prototype
- Five (5) sticks (Edge will be using thin skewers that are 6" long. The length of yours is up to you, but they should be at least 2" longer than the height of your panels.
- Beads or other decorative stuff if desired
When: Saturday May 13 at 10 a.m. PDT
Where: On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom
RSVP: To Dolores Guffey by May 8 to receive the password
Workshop Questions: Edge Gerring
Zoom Questions: Bobbie Hayes
Contact information for everyone is in the newsletter
Monday, April 10, 2023
ROOMS, SCRIBES AND SCRIBBLES
Many thanks to Diane Williams who taught us a very clever and adaptable one page structure at our April workshop. If you enjoy decorating rooms, like for a dollhouse, then this structure is for you! All you need to get started is a square piece of paper that you fold into 16 even squares and you're halfway there. Of course you don't have to use the four spaces as "rooms", but many of us were intrigued by how Dolores Guffey decorated hers using photographs of dollhouse rooms. Here are photographs of her "rooms".
![]() |
Dolores did not glue her "rooms" together so that they could also be displayed in an accordion orientation. |
![]() |
The kitchen |
![]() |
The Living Room |
![]() |
The bathroom |
![]() |
The bedroom |
![]() |
The structure can still be arranged together for display. |
![]() |
Margaret also left her book in accordion format so that it can be displayed different ways. |
Scripts, Scribes & Scribbles
Those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest are very lucky that book art and other endeavors relating to the making and sharing of books and zines is so prevalent. There are multiple book art organizations, museums and libraries with wonderful collections and various exhibitions showcasing the art. One can almost always find an exhibit to visit.
Currently, until April 26th, Scripts, Scribes & Scribbles is on display at Collins Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Puget Sound. This exhibit "brings together examples of handwriting and illustrates how handwriting has been taught, reproduced, and reimagined over the past five hundred years. Displaying a range of books and manuscripts from the Collins Memorial Library collection and many private donors and collectors, the exhibition makes the role of handwriting in the age of print, newly legible.
The exhibit also includes artifacts and tools used in the act of writing, including a central part of the exhibition, a 19th century ladies writing desk (Bonheur du jour), inkwells, pens, quills and much more."
Here are a few photographs from the exhibition.
![]() |
Changes by Bonnie Larson |
![]() |
Pocketbook by Nancy Brones. This book was sized to fit into a typical pocket of a women from the 18th century. The text is from the nursery rhyme "Lucy Locket". |
Monday, March 27, 2023
ONE SHEET HOUSE BOOK
Spring is here and our April workshop will provide us with the opportunity to decorate a little "house" book. Diane Williams will teach us this quick and easy structure, but the "decor" will be up to each individual. It doesn't even have to be a "house" although the structure does allow for four different "rooms" or spaces. It could be garden areas or decorate for each season. It lends itself to many great possibilities. Below you will see Diane's example.
Diane will be demonstrating using a 12" x 12" piece of medium weight cardstock. This size will create a 3" square book. You could also use an 8" x 8" piece of cardstock to make a 2" square book. Other materials needed are:
- Scissors or a craft knife
- Ruler
- Your choice of glue: glue stick or liquid glue
- Cutting mat (optional)
- Scoreboard (optional)
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Itty Bitty Workshop Review
Miniature books are so much fun to look at and to make. We would like to thank one of our newest members, Miss Amy Hand, for teaching us her Itty Bitty Book structure. This cute little book can easily be reduced or enlarged depending upon the size of paper you use. The fun part is how one changes an accordion folded strip of paper into a case bound style of book without doing any stitching. We enjoyed this so much and the structure was so easy, that some members made several books during the workshop. I suspect we'll be seeing more of these structures in upcoming exchange books.
![]() |
Amy gives a "thumbs up" to the participants in the workshop. |
The following photos show some of the books made during the workshop.
![]() |
Margaret Beech made these three books. |
![]() |
Sherril Story also made three books. |
![]() |
Beth McIlraith shows her book with the belly band she added. |
Three little books from Bonnie Julien |
Michele Kamprath's book |
The inside of Michele's book is a gelli print. |