HOLIDAY DISPLAY at the LIBRARY

 On December 10 our Zoom meeting was not a workshop, but an opportunity to view all of the cards that were in the 2022 Holiday Exchange. This is the one event of the year when members sign up in advance to participate and then make an edition of their original card...one for each participant and one for the NORBAG library. As usual, there was a great display of different structures and techniques with some cards celebrating Christmas, others the Solstice and other December events. Keep checking this site as the cards, in all their colorful glory, will soon be available to view on our Flickr site.

Meanwhile, if you are in the Eureka area, be sure to drop by the Humboldt County Library to see a kiosk display of holiday cards from previous years. Thank you Kenzie for coordinating the display.

 

2022 Holiday Card Exchange

2022 is quickly coming to an end and our final exchange of the year is almost here. The Holiday Card exchange is the one event where members must sign up in advance and then make an edition of their card, one for each person participating and one for our library. Before the pandemic we would usually celebrate this exchange at Sandy V’s lovely home where we could enjoy refreshments as well as look at the cards. While that was a great event for local members, it totally excluded the out-of-towners. Now that we have been using Zoom for our workshops, we invite all of our members, near and far, to watch the unveiling of the Holiday Cards. Please join Dolores Guffey on Zoom December 10 as she presents the 2022 Holiday Cards. Many thanks to everyone who participated in the exchange. We hope that they will be present to share with us the inspiration for their card’s structure and design. Those unable to join us will have their colophons read as the card is shown on the screen. After the sharing of the cards, we will have time to visit and exchange best wishes for the holidays and coming year.

Here are some photos of holiday cards from previous years 

2021

Ellen Clague

Miriam Hall 

Sandy Vrem

Andrea Penn

Becky Luening

Dolores Guffey

2004

When:   Saturday December 10 at 10 a.m. PST

Where:  On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP:    Yes, by Dec. 5 to Dolores Guffey to receive the password

Zoom Questions:  Bobbie Hayes

Contact information is in the newsletter

Arowana and BIMA

 

Our November workshop was all about a fish named Arowana. Our instructor, Edge Gerring, was very familiar with Arowana and knew just how to cut Arowana apart and then bring Arowana back together into a very “fluttery” flag book. It was a fun workshop and maybe a little more complicated than other workshops so not everyone completed their structure during the allotted time. So, we only have one example to share and it comes from across the big pond. Many thanks to Edge and to Margaret for sharing.

Margaret Beech (England)

Shapes of Things to Come is the title of the current exhibit in the Sherry Grover Gallery at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) in Washington. This exhibit will continue until February 15, 2023. Here is the introduction to the exhibit:

"The future of the book is here. These works from the Cynthia Sears Artist's Books Collection bend convention, break tradition, and steer a bold course for the future of artist's books. This exhibition features more than forty local, national, and international artists working in diverse formats, materials, and themes."

Here is a sample of some of the wonderful books on display. 

Transpose, 2021
 Islam Aly (Egypt)

Inside Chance, 2000
 Linda Smith (Arizona)

Socrates, Know Thyself, 1999
Stephen Daiber (Massachusetts)

Old Growth: Beneath the Forest Floor, 2015
Lucia Harrison (Washington)

Slices, 2004
Emily Martin, (Iowa)

Take Me, I'm Yours, 2019
Laura Russell (Oregon)

50 Revolutions, 2015
Helen Hiebert (Colorado)

Living With Tassels and Trims, 2019
Robbin Ami Silverberg (New York)

This is the book that goes with the jacket pictured above and 
here is the artist's description of the two pieces:

"I stumbled upon plastic bags filled with samples of textiles, tassels & trim when we were cleaning out my mother’s closets after she died. The remnants found in those bags were pieces of her story: dreams of creating a space and place, a home that defined beauty, projected refinement, and what she would have clarified as happiness.

The result is a cloth book with richly embroidered text & patterns sewn onto a wooden clothing hanger. The text focuses on the idea of ritual as movement and movement as reading. Each copy has a unique case made from clothing, which becomes the protection of these words instead of the human body. The viewer must ‘undress’ the book in order to read it."

SINGLE IMAGE FLAG BOOK

Flag books are very eye-catching and often contain several different images. But they can also be a great structure to use for a large single image. Our November workshop will feature a fish named Arowana and an instructor named Edge Gerring who will show us how to create this single image flag book. Edge will provide an image of Arowana but you can use any image that will fit on the 5" x 11" background.

Materials

Edge will provide:  Instruction sheet and Arowana image

These will be emailed to you upon RSVP.

Participants need:

• Pencil and metal edged ruler
• Scissors, cutting knife and mat
• Bone folder (scoring board and scoring tool are optional)
• Glue: PVA, Elmer's, Tacky or extra strong glue stick
• One (1) piece background card stock 5" x 11" grain short - or any paper that will take 1/2" accordion folds well.
• One (1) copy of Arowana (or your similar sized image) on cardstock
• Two (2) covers: stiff board 1 1/2" x 5" grain long
• Two (2) cover papers 3 1/2" x 6"
• Optional: paper, cord, ribbon, etc. for a belly band

Here are a couple more images to give you an idea of how this structure goes together.

Workshop Meeting Details:

When:   Saturday November 12 at 10 a.m. PST

Where:  On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP:    Dolores Guffey by Nov. 7 to receive the password and instructions

Workshop Questions: Edge Gerring

Zoom Questions:  Bobbie Hayes

Contact information for everyone is in the newsletter

DIAMOND MEANDER WRAP-UP

Our October workshop to learn the Diamond Meander Fold was quite a success. Carol DuBosch walked us through the steps to create the folds, make a few cuts, and lastly, collapse those folds into a sweet little book. She provided us with a copy of a quote by William Stafford using her own calligraphy, or we could use our own paper. Carol also showed copies of other books she had made using the same diamond fold. Thank you Carol for another great workshop.

Mary Conley made her book with beautiful two-sided paper.

Bonnie Julien used the paper with calligraphy
that Carol provided and added cover pieces.

Margaret Beech used her own colored paper.

Margaret's cover

The Puget Sound Book Artists (PSBA) group just held their third annual book exchange. This year the theme was Pathways. It was chosen as a means to help to get to know each other and learn about past experiences, interests and future goals. There were 17 participants and here is a sample of some of the books in the exchange.

Kim Izenman

Belinda Hill

Dorothy McCuiston

Bonnie Julien

Elsi Vassdal Ellis

Abbie Birmingham

Lynn Skordal

John Arbuckle

Lynne Olson

Rachel Watson

Selene Fisher

Laurel Moorhead

Here is a link to view all of the books in the exchange.

 PSBA 4th Annual Book Exchange.

DIAMOND FOLD MEANDER BOOK

There are many different types of meander books. At our October meeting Carol DuBosch will teach us the Diamond Fold Meander using a template and a demo page that will be provided. She will also share many original books she has made over the years using this practical and unusual approach to an accordion fold book. Carol's books contain a wide variety of texts and contents that will hopefully inspire your future bookmaking.

Demonstration Book

Demonstration Book folded with belly band added.

Another demo book, this one written with gouache
and colored with ink that was sprayed with water. 

A different view of the book

Supplies to have for the workshop

• PDF pages printed to "Actual Size"
• Trim the page with William Stafford's word to 5.5" x 11" as instructed on the page. We will fold and make the cuts for that page during the class.
• One (1) piece of text weight paper cut to a rectangle that measures 2:1. Any size will work, so long as the length is twice the width of the rectangle.
• Cutting mat
• Xacto knife
• Metal straight edge
• Bone folder
• Pencil

More examples of the Diamond Fold Meander

A close-up view of the folds

This is one book that was made with two Diamond
Fold Meanders that were glued together. Carol will
demonstrate this technique.

Workshop Details:

When:    Saturday, October 8 at 10 a.m. PDT

Where:   On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP:     Dolores Guffey by October 3 to receive the password and PDF's

Workshop Questions:  Carol DuBosch

Zoom Questions:  Bobbie Hayes

Contact information for everyone is in the newsletter