Rotating Panels Workshop

We start every workshop with a book exchange and the theme for this month was Petroglyphs. Each book and its colophon will be printed in our next month's newsletter.

Several members were able to finish the panel structure and put covers on the book. Bonnie Julien's book used photos that she had taken while visiting some of Humboldt County's rural areas.The cover photos were printed on Arches paper, glued to matboard, and the rotating panels structure was then attached.






The following slideshow has pictures of our great workshop instructor, Dolores Guffey, some of the stages of construction, and most of the panel structures created by members in attendance. It was a great sunny day (blistering heat in the 60's) and we still had a room full of devoted book artists!

Our next workshop: Pivoting Panels taught by Dolores G.

Our next workshop will meet at 12 noon, Sat. July 10 in Forestry 103. We will be doing a simplified version of the Hedi Kyle Pivoting Panel structure. You will need to bring the following materials:

6 photos, 4×6"  in portrait format (subject matter vertical). There will be 3 photos on the front of the panels and 3 on the back. If you do not want photos on the back, then you only need to bring 3 photos. In looking at my own stash of pictures, most all of them are in landscape mode so I know this may not be an easy task. You can substitute artwork, post cards, or images cut from magazines, just so long as the finished size is 4×6" and that they all be situated in a vertical position.

For the covers:
2 pieces of mat board or illustration board 8⅝×5⅛" grain long.

2 pieces of decorative paper 9½×6" grain long (coordinate color to match your photos or artwork). Please note: covers can be added to this structure at any time, so if you don’t have the boards or cover paper, don’t let this keep you from the workshop.

Plus:
Double-sided sticky tape.

PVA, brush, waste papers (for making the covers).

Bone folder.

X-Acto knife (or craft knife of your choice).

Cutting mat.

Pencil, eraser.

Metal ruler.

Please note that there is an RSVP request for this workshop. If you plan to come, Dolores needs you to let her know by July 7. Her contact details are on both the first and second page sidebars in the newsletter. She will respond to all inquiries. If she doesn't respond, she didn't get your message. There will also be a .50 materials fee. Our meeting will be in Forestry 103 on 17th Street.

Little Houses Workshop

Our nice, light room with windows in the Forestry Building.

A great time was had by all who showed up for our Little Houses workshop. Vicki was a patient and enthusiastic instructor, and we were all pleased to discover how much easier it was to learn to do these than originally feared, even for the less agile among us. We finished the workshop contemplating all sorts of ideas for this versatile structure, which could be used as the basis for everything from gift boxes to artists' books. It was a fun afternoon. 

The lower part of the structure, made completely by folding little bits of cardstock or business cards--no glue, and little exact measuring!

There were two ways of making these. This one is a solid shape that doesn't open.

Then Vicki taught us how to make these into openable boxes with a lid. How cool is that.

If you scroll down to the photo on the post before last (May 28), you can see a house Vicki made that includes an attached book.

Library Kiosk

The NORBAG book arts display in the Humboldt County Library has been changed. The new theme is Animals. The glass display case is just beyond the desk as you enter the library and of course, they are best enjoyed by a visit if you are able. Click on the images below to see larger images. Do you recognize any of the books?

 Thank you Bonnie!

June Workshop--House of Cards

The house we will build is considerably sturdier than the usual house of cards (or the economy for that matter). We will use a double wall construction technique for this workshop but there are many variations possible depending on the size of cards and the stability requirements. The larger the construction the more foundation is required so we will start small with a finished house that measures ~ 2 1/8 x 2 1/8 x 4" all made from one piece of 12 x 12" stiff paper (double sided scrapbooking paper works well) or 25 standard size business cards.

What to bring:
-One piece of 12" square stiff paper cut into   
  twenty-four 2 x 3" pieces or 24 standard-
  size business cards (bring more if you sense   
  potential trouble)
-Bone folder
-Scissors
-Craft knife
-Cutting pad
-Double stick tape
-Ruler or other straight edge
-Agile fingers


Handy but not a total necessity:
-Scoring tool (the official kind or a paper clip or knitting needle will do just fine)
-Small spatula type tool for jamming flaps into small inconvenient slots
-Tweezers
-Patience
If you have questions, contact Vicki V. Her contact details are in the newsletter, as well as in every newsletter on the page 2 sidebar.

Book Exchange Reminder: The theme for the book exchange at our next meeting is "materials from the hardware store." Keep in mind, plenty more comes from hardware stores than just hammers and nails. They are satisfying places to browse for ideas. This should be a lot of fun. 

Newport Paper Arts Festival 2010

Fourteen NORBAG members representing California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and England, converged on the seaside town of Newport to attend a multitude of workshops at the Newport Paper Arts Festival. They took a wide variety of courses with wonderful results. Everyone had a great time and rumor has it that they worked into the evening on their projects or even made up some of their own projects for entertainment. Enjoy the following slideshow of their work. Click on the slideshow image to see larger, individual pictures.

May's Workshop--Discovering the Wheel

Our last workshop featured an introduction to paper engineering. We focused on one fun structure--a turning wheel that can be embedded in the pages of books and cards. As the viewer turns the wheel, pictures or strings of text change through a window.

After putting together the basic form, participants got to decorate their wheels with pictures. Some people stamped, some cut and pasted, and others scribbled. It was enjoyable and, judging by the feedback we've been getting, some have been inspired to make more at home.

Part of the afternoon included a video about a pop-up collector in Australia. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the overhead screen to work, and so everyone wound up gathering around a laptop to watch. In case you missed it (or couldn't see it well) the video can be seen here.

Also at the meeting was a display of some of the wonderful things members got to make at the Newport Paper Arts Festival in April. More on that will be posted soon here on this blog. Please check back in.