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JUNE 2020 
NEWSLETTER

Dear NBG Community,
It has been three months since the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly changed our lives. Individually and collectively, we have been navigating a difficult terrain- saddened by the difficulties and startled by the gifts. As residents of the far north we have gratefully welcomed spring, a burgeoning time of renewal and change. As our days lengthen toward summer solstice, we continue to look for hope, not only for ourselves and our families, but also for our world.
 
In last month's newsletter I wrote that Board members were in the process of designing some basic bookmaking tutorials to be presented via Zoom. With special hanks to Margo Klass, that is happening! She recently taught two Zoom casement workshops for 19 members. The success of these first online sessions has shown us that this is a viable option for our Guild and more Zoom workshops are being planned. The eighteen members of the Set Book Group have also continued to meet via Zoom, sharing their works-in-progress, inspiring and encouraging each other.
 
ZOOM NOTES are the way that NBG members can find out about what's happening in the Guild's virtual world. Some of the Zoom workshops will be short, 1-2 hours, offered for a pay-as-you-wish or suggested donation. You are welcome to join as an observer or active participant in these sessions. Longer classes that include "kits" of materials will require participants to sign-up, pay a class fee, and stop by the studio to pick up materials. If you would like to receive NBG ZOOM NOTES please CLICK HERE.
 
Our first "in-studio" class will take place on June 27. Mary Maisch will teach a Gelli Printing class. She has scheduled a Zoom Orientation Meeting for this class on June 4. Everyone on the Zoom Note list will be invited to join the orientation to find out more about the class. This class will be designed for students to be socially distanced and participants will need to provide their own materials. The Zoom Orientation Meeting will provide information about what to have ready for the in-studio workshop. If you would like to sign-up for the Gelli Printing class, CLICK HERE.
 
The NBG Board is working on other in-studio classes with limited numbers of participants. As our Fairbanks' community begins to open up, we each have to contemplate how much in-person interaction we are comfortable having with other folks. By providing in-studio workshops (with appropriate Covid-19 modifications), along with Zoom Workshops so members can participate from home, we are striving to navigate the ever-changing dynamics of life in this pandemic. We are always seeking ideas/feedback/suggestions from members as we make our way forward. Thank you for your dedication to your creative work and your thoughtfulness for others in our community.
 
Warmest regards,
Susan Campbell
NBG President

 
NBG Studio Session


Gelli Plate Printing
with Mary Maisch

Thursday, June 4, 12:30pm
ZOOM Orientation Meeting - free
Everyone on the Zoom Note List will receive an invitation to this meeting; join the list HERE

Saturday, June 27, 12-4:00pm
NBG Studio - $40 members, $50 guests
To register for the Studio Session, click HERE
 
Play with gelli plates, stencils, string, leaves, and other pattern-making materials as you cover papers with layers of acrylic painted monoprints. Your beautiful papers can be used later to make one of a kind artist books, folios, notecards, collages, or gift boxes. Gelli plates are a firm but flexible surface used for rolling out paints, upon which you arrange objects, stencils, or make marks that transfer to a paper when you rub it over the plate. Learn all about it! You ' ll take home a sweet stack of papers sure to inspire your next book arts project. This Studio Session is suitable for beginners to advanced painters and printmakers.
 
In an effort to not share viruses, we will not be sharing materials. This class is limited to six participants so each person may work at their own table.

 

Join the NBG ZOOM NOTE list 

By joining this list you will receive information 
for events that take place on ZOOM. 

 
#Are You Book Enough
Book Challenge
Theme for May: BREAK

    

Ashley Thayer's  May Challenge Book: BREAK 

About this book Ashley writes: 
This month's theme could be interpreted in a variety of ways, but I ended up going with "break" defined as "a pause in work or during an activity or event." What better way to take a break than with your favorite cuppa? 
The simple accordion fold book was stained with tea and topped off with an official looking tooled leather tag, nesting in a vintage teacup circa 1880. This was created after an unwanted weeks-long break from being in my studio which I dearly missed!!

#Are You Book Enough
You're invited to participate in the next book challenge! June's theme is "Human." Make a book that responds to the theme and post your creation on Instagram: #areyoubookenough. Send photos of your challenge book to us here, we will share them in the next newsletter.

Questions about the challenge project answered here.
 
 

Paper Birches

If you need supplies (paper, glue, book board, tools, etc.), contact us here. We will make arrangements to meet individual members at the studio to purchase bookmaking supplies. Please remember to wear a mask and gloves when you arrive. Payment by cash or check please.



 
... AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

 
From Jeff Peachey's Blog:
Reflections on Five Essential Bookbinding Tools: 
Broken Chocolate and Shards of Glass and 
A Brief History of the Olfa Knife.

Over the past eighteen posts of Jeff Peachey's blog, a number of bookbinders and conservators responded to the question, "What are the five most essential bookbinding tools, and why?"  The responses are interesting for a number of reasons: how the authors interpreted the question, their actual choices, and their reasoning. Some took a desert island approach, some took the "what would I grab if my studio was on fire" approach, and some based their decision on frequency of use. Jeff Peachey himself concludes the series and includes a fascinating history of the Olfa knife. Read the complete series here.

 
NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
CALENDAR
 
Studio Session
Gelli Plate Printing
Thursday, June 4  12:30
Zoom Orientation
Saturday, June 27   12-4pm
NBG Studio

Letterpress Chapbook Project
ongoing

Set Book Project
ongoing

 

Learn about and support Northwoods Book Arts Guild!


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