PIANO-HINGE ACCORDION ALBUM

 Our East Coast member, Mary Elizabeth Nelson, gave a wonderful workshop this past weekend. She led us through the steps to make a variation of the piano-hinge album shown in the book The Art of the Fold by Hedi Kyle and Ulla Warchol. Forty-three NORBAG members participated via Zoom.

Mary Elizabeth Nelson (aka Emmy)

This is one of the example books Emmy
 made using her cyanotype papers.

Examples of Emmy's pages

Preparing the accordion spine to cut out the holes
for the stick or dowel.

We were sent a materials list along with instructions to have some of the materials cut and folded prior to the workshop. This book was designed to have four pages with Mylar inserts to showcase flat objects. It was great to see the different items that were chosen, such as dried leaves, papers, buttons, and mark-making designs. A few members also made slight variations to the design by keeping a flap to cover one side of the window or adding a feature that allowed the center of the page to spin. Below are examples of some of the books that were completed.

Dolores Guffey used antique buttons in her book.

The covers were marbled by Dolores.

DJ Gaskin

DJ used various leaves in her windows.

Edge Gerring

Edge used leaves as a background for the words of a poem.

Michele Kamprath

Michele showcased her mark-making
techniques in the windows of her book.

Bonnie Julien

Bonnie left the flap to cover the front of the window,
but cut out the entire part of the back window so you
 can still see the leaf print of the paper in front but the 
leaf shows against a plain background in the back.

Margaret Beech made her book with window inserts
that would rotate within the space.

A Gallery of Gods by Betty Steckman

Many thanks to Mary Elizabeth for presenting a great workshop. 

PIANO HINGE ACCORDION VARIATION

 If there has been anything good about the coronavirus, it's that it has provided the opportunity for out-of-town members to teach and/or attend our monthly workshops. The November Zoom workshop will feature our East coast member, Mary Elizabeth Nelson, guiding us through a variation of the piano hinge album from Hedi Kyle and Ulla Warchol's book The Art of the Fold. Using your own papers and inclusions you will create a lovely display book. The finished dimensions will be 5" x 5-1/2" (or taller depending on the size of your rod). Once you RSVP for the class, instructions will be emailed to you, along with the Zoom link & password. Please note below there are a few important preparations to do prior to the workshop.

Materials

• Accordion spine: one piece 5-1/2" x 12" sturdy paper, grain short. This spine needs a strong paper, not too thin. Paper suggestions: 120 gsm Elephant Hide or Bugra paper, available at Talas & Dick Blick; Mohawk, Superfine (80 lb. cover stock). Mary Elizabeth added that "as long as the grain direction is short and you can fold it to a 16 panel accordion, anything will work. I didn't want anyone to order stuff...you should just use what you have on hand."
• Pages: four pieces 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", grain short, cardstock or a paper similar to Mi Teintes, 160-180 gsm.
• Pockets (windows): four pieces 4-1/2" x 7" Mylar, Dura-Lar, a medium weight acetate (clear acetate page protectors).
• Covers: two pieces 5-1/2+" x 9" cover weight paper like 80 to 100# cover stock (the + sign means a smidge over 5-1/2", just so the cover will be slightly more than the pages).
• Rod: one straight twig, skewer or round pencil, less than 1/4" in diameter; 5-1/2" or taller if you prefer.
• INCLUSIONS: Four pieces to go in pockets such as dried & pressed leaves or flowers, cut-outs, or anything flat and less than 1/16" thick. These will be viewed from both sides.

Tools

• Cutting mat
• Sharp knife with extra blades
• Steel ruler
• Bone folder
• 1/4" double stick tape
• Paper clips
• Pencil - white pencil if using dark papers
• Awl
• C-Thru 2" wide ruler (handy, but not necessary)

IMPORTANT! Three to four days before workshop:

• Cut and fold the pages and covers and put them under weight
• Prepare the accordion: fold to 16 equal sections; put under weight
• Cut and fold the Mylar/acetate pockets in half, to be 4-1/2" x 3-1/2". Fold crisply with a bone folder. If your acetate is old it may crack when folded.

Workshop Details

When:    Saturday, Nov. 14 at noon, Pacific time

Where:   On your computer, tablet, or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP:     YES! to Dolores by Nov. 9 to receive the password and instructions

Contact information for Dolores, Mary Elizabeth, and Bobbie Hayes (Zoom questions) are in the newsletter.

CHERI'S COLLAGE CHALLENGE

How many of us are intimidated by collage? Do you ask yourself "where do I start, what pieces go together, when do I stop, or how much is too much?" That is certainly the case for me, but it just seems to come naturally for others. One such person is Cheri Aldrich. For those of you who regularly attend the Newport Paper and Book Art Festival (NPBAF) you must know Cheri. She is a resident of Newport and has been involved with the festival in every capacity as one of the organizers, as an instructor, and as an attendee. Ever since the Coronavirus invaded our country and we have been asked to shelter at home, Cheri decided to challenge herself doing daily collages. Here is her explanation of how she got started and some of her methods.

This is the cover of Cheri's journal. It is a gelli
 plate brayer clean-off sheet with a gelli printed
 feather and a stencil of a bird.

"I am fully embracing retirement and am feeling like a kid in a candy shop! One of my new normals is joining online private art groups. Two of my favorites are Collage Artists Challenge and Crystal Marie: Canary Rising. After being on those two sites for awhile, I decided to make a collage journal just for me and to try and expand the types of collage techniques I would experiment with. I bought a standard Mixed Media journal, 7 1/2" x 10" and got started. I added a cover and did my first collage on that. That left 52 more pages for collages and I left the back page open to eventually write about the process. Those of you who know me are used to me selling everything I make, so planning on doing something just for me was a new experience and I found myself using those special papers we always save and it was liberating!

I pretty much made one collage a day, or if I was really motivated, maybe a second or third. I had a 46 year stash of supplies, plus I have been carving new stamps lately, so I had lots of collage fodder! Each piece took from 30 minutes up to maybe two hours at the most. Crystal Marie Neubauer had our group doing five minute collages as a warm-up exercise that gets you out of your head and allows your intuitive side free reign. This exercise helped me tremendously and I highly recommend it. If you join her group, there is a 'units' tab where you can go to see a list of videos labeled Sweet September. Crystal talked about making art, choosing papers, life stories, and then we all made a five minute collage together at the end of the session. These were live episodes, but are now available to look at for free. The sharing on both of the sites was almost like being in a class, which we all know did not happen this year. This has made being isolated not a problem for me, and I am grateful to be so immersed in my studio and creating just for the fun of it! I'm planning on making a video of me turning the pages of my collage book, so if you're a Facebook friend, it will be there. If not, I hope to be able to email it to you individually. I literally live to make art and make art to live!"

Here are more examples from Cheri's collage journal.

Landscape: torn paper with a tree punch.

Used painted tissue papers, Cheri's carved
ocean stamp, and cut-out gelli printed feather.

Various gelli printed mark making techniques 
on deli and tissue paper. The "e" is made from
puffy paint applied to a piece of plastic, dried,
and then peeled off and glued on.

Gelli prints and saved postage stamps

Cheri's carved crow and pebble stamps,
a strip of asemic (wordless, open writing)
writing done on a gelli plate. (Cheri has a
 short video of this process that she can share.)

A map segment, miscellaneous papers,
mark making from a section of a textured 
piece of a rubber ball and a frog punch.

Embellished eco print with pattern markings
and Cheri's carved inchie stamps.

Many thanks to Cheri for sharing her collage journal experience with us.

MINIATURE BOOKS

Our October Zoom Meeting with Donna & Corky LaVallee was a wonderful introduction into the collecting of miniature books. Although they couldn't share all 305 of their collection, they did show us various ones in the following categories: micro miniature; box books; pop-ups; great bindings; interesting/unusual bindings; stamps; marbled paper; rainbows; and original art. Many of the books fall into more than one category. While Donna held the books and turned the pages, Corky gave an explanation of each one. 

They collect both original books from book artists as well as a few commercially printed ones. Most of their collection consists of limited editions, but they also have unique books. There is a wealth of information about miniature books on the internet. For those of you interested in viewing and/or collecting, Google "Miniature Books." A good place to start is with the Miniature Book Society: www.mbs.org

Donna and Corky LaVallee

We appreciate Donna and Corky's enthusiasm and generosity in putting together such a fun presentation. NORBAG members who missed the event may contact Dolores to see the recorded version. To see a few of their books, scroll down to the previous blog entry.

MINIATURE BOOKS SHOW & TELL

 

A Brief History of the Ukulele by Peter and Donna Thomas

There’s something about miniature things that intrigue and delight many people. If you’re one of those miniature enthusiasts then you’re certain to enjoy NORBAG’s October Zoom event. Donna and Corky LaVallee have been collecting miniature books since 2017. Their collection now numbers over 300 books! They love to collect artist books, one-of-a-kind or small edition books and moveable books. In the United States, a miniature book is usually considered to be one which is no more than three inches in height, width, or thickness. Outside of the United States, books up to four inches are often considered. Donna is the membership chairman of the Miniature Book Society, an international organization of miniature book lovers, collectors, makers and dealers. As such she has gotten to know many of the makers of the books that she and Corky own.

The Mailbox: A Postal ABC by JoAnna Poehlmann

The Windhover by Pat Sweet

Here is a teaser of Donna & Corky's collection

In this Zoom presentation, Donna and Corky will do a show and tell of the oldest, smallest, and tallest of their books. They will showcase interesting structures, unique bindings and glorious papers. They will talk about how to start a collection, what sort of things other people collect and how to document a collection.

After Donna and Corky's presentation we will show the October exchange books and give participants an opportunity to share information about their book or just have their colophon read.

When:    Saturday, October 10 at noon PST

Where:   On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP:    YES, to Dolores (contact information in the newsletter) by October 5 to receive the password

The following notice was received from Pati Bristow, our member in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check out the link for a wealth of interesting events.

The Book Arts JAM is virtual this year (no big surprise), but the good news is it will run for the entire month of October. There are speakers ( live, which will be recorded for future viewing), online classes (for a fee), on demand classes (free with links to YouTube), Artisan Marketplace, resource list, and several galleries of members works. 

 https://www.bayareabookartists.org/bookartsjam/  

BOX MAKING & ANNIVERSARY

NORBAG is continuing our monthly workshops thanks to Zoom. Our September workshop was a great success due to the advance planning of our host, Bobbie Hayes, and facilitator, Edge Gerring. Edge led us through each step to make a box with a hinged lid, completely covered with decorative paper. She had provided us with directions and exact measurements ahead of time, so we were ready to begin when the workshop started. The assembly went smoothly since it was well paced from one step to the next. Bobbie did a fantastic job of monitoring the progress by watching participants on the screen to see when most of us lifted our heads to be ready for the next instruction. After we finished the boxes we held them up to the screen so that everyone could see the creative papers that were used. Thank you Edge for taking the fear out of making a box!

Covering the outside of the box

Covering the inside of the box

Attaching the lid

Lid attached

Edge's finished box

Showing our boxes

The September workshop was our fourth Zoom meeting and we've had around 40 members join us each time. While there isn't much good news about the pandemic, the upside is that all of us have the opportunity to gather together once a month regardless of where we live. It has been great fun to see and visit with members from across the country and the “pond” that we've only known by name. Currently 65% of our members live outside of Humboldt County and coincidently about that same percentage represents the out-of-town members who have been joining us on Zoom.  

It doesn’t seem possible that 25 years have slipped away since 15 fellow book arts enthusiasts gathered together to form the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild under the leadership of Shereen LaPlantz. Book art was a relatively new medium in 1995 and Shereen’s book Cover to Cover had just been published. This was one of the first “how-to” books to introduce the wonderful world of book arts to new artists.

Of the original 15 charter members, four are still members today. By the end of our first year we had 48 members. Today we number 160 from 15 different states as well as four international members from Canada and England.

Our monthly newsletter is the real “glue” that holds our guild together. September 2020 will mark the 300^th newsletter produced by a team of very dedicated members. Besides this blog we also have a website and Flickr site where we showcase the beautiful exchange books each month.

One activity that has been constant since the beginning is our voluntary book exchange in which members can participate. Themes are suggested by the members and assigned for each month except December and February. In December members sign up in advance to participate in a card exchange where we make an edition of holiday cards, one for each member who signs up. February is always a Valentine theme where we make a single card to exchange.

We have no idea what 2021 will have in store for us, but for now we will try to stay connected through our newsletter, blog, and Zoom meetings. Twenty-Five Years…and still going strong! Here’s to all of us who share a love of book arts!