Dear NBG Community,
Thank you to everyone who participated in our March Program Meeting. It was great to welcome new faces to our gathering and to have a new member win our surprise drawing for 50% off a 2022 class.
As you read this month’s newsletter, you will see there are new happenings for NBG members and guests. I am excited about the the April 6 debut of Boreal Book Arts Showcase, a new addition to the Guild’s studio where members can sell their handcrafted books and book art related items. A new three-session Letterpress Class will begin later this month, providing an opportunity for interested artists to add the fine aesthetic of letterpress printing to their toolbox of bookmaking skills. The Gelli plate printing class, postponed to May, offers another opportunity for you to expand your skills by creating your own painted papers. For those of you interested in historical bindings, we are gathering names for a third Nag Hammadi Workshop using authentic materials to recreate a replica of the oldest known Codex binding. I’m really looking forward to The Tiny Book Party, a unique drop-in event for members and guests to celebrate bookmaking. I hope to see many of you at this in-person gathering in May. If you’re up for a fun challenge, try making a book for the March-April NBG Book Challenge: ’Playing Cards”. Be sure to take a look at the CALENDAR at the end of this newsletter so you can Save the Date for upcoming classes and events that will take place this spring and summer.
As we move into days drenched with new light, I am anticipating spring’s arrival and the feelings of hope and renewal it generates. As I contemplate our Guild’s efforts to support the book arts in our community, I am filled with gratitude for what we are creating and sustaining, together, bringing artistry and meaning to our lives.
With warmest regards,
Susan Campbell
NBG President
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NBG MASKING POLICY
In the March newsletter we made a detailed announcement of our revised Covid Policy. We did not change our vaccination policy and still require that all participants in NBG classes be vaccinated. We did revise our masking requirement. Here’s a simplified reiteration:
The decision to be masked in a class or meeting in the NBG studio will be decided by the participants at each gathering. Instructors and meeting coordinators will contact students and meeting participants before a class or gathering and ask their preference. If everyone is comfortable being unmasked, then the group will unmask. Masks will be required if anyone prefers masking. By giving members the opportunity to privately express their desires, we think we can meet the needs of our membership as we all continue to navigate the changing terrain of COVID-19. Your private expression of your preference will be kept confidential.
If you stop by during Open Studio (12-2pm every Wednesday) to purchase materials from Paper Birches, to shop at the new Boreal Books Showcase, or to get advice on a project, please wear a mask.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
!!Grand Opening!!
Boreal Book Arts Showcase
Wednesday, April 6, 12-2pm
We are pleased and excited to announce the opening of our Boreal Book Arts Showcase, a cooperative platform for Guild members to display and sell their handcrafted books and book art related items. Beginning on April 6, the Showcase will be open to both members and the general public on Wednesdays from noon-2:00. While our hours will be limited initially, we are hoping to extend them by adding some open hours on the weekend and during the holidays, or in association with special events.
You can expect to find a range of curated items—handmade books, cards, boxes, broadsides, bookmarks, and letterpress items, and book arts related accessories such as brush holders and tool bags. As well as providing direct support to featured artists, your purchase helps advance the Guild’s work. Initially we will only be able to accept payment by check or cash.
If you are interested in having your work showcased and have not yet dropped it off, you can bring it to the studio on Wednesday, April 6, or contact one of the Committee members to schedule an appointment for drop off. Please see ‘Showcase Information” button below for more details. We hope to see you there.
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NBG BOOK CHALLENGE
March-April theme:
Playing Cards
Email a photo of your completed work and a brief description to Ashley Thayer.
Participants will be featured on our website.
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WORKSHOP
Gelli Printing & Panorama Foldable
with Mary Baarlaer Maisch
RESCHEDULED!
Monday & Tuesday, May 9 and 10, 10am to 3pm
Members $150 Guests $200
Workshop limited to 6 participants
3 SPACES AVAILABLE
Play with your own Gelli plates, stencils, stamps, string, leaves, and other pattern-making materials as you cover papers with layers of acrylic painted monoprints. As a follow on to the previous week’s Program Meeting, we will make two Panorama foldable structures utilizing your printed papers. Your remaining papers can be used later to make one of a kind artist books, folios, notecards, collages, or gift boxes. This workshop is suitable for beginning to advanced level book artists and printmakers.
Instructor will provide a limited amount of mixed media and watercolor papers, deli papers, fresh plant materials, and film for cutting custom stencils, at no extra charge.
PARTICIPANTS SUPPLY ALL MATERIALS, including a Gelli plate. A detailed list will be sent upon registration. There are some Gelli plates available for students to use. Please contact the instructor if you're interested in borrowing a plate for this class.
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WORKSHOP
The Nag Hammadi Codex II
with Ashley Thayer
Saturday, April 9 - 10am to 5pm
Members $90 Guests $105
Materials fee: $40
Workshop limited to 6 participants
This workshop is FULL
A WAIT LIST is in progress for a third session,
to be scheduled in the near future
Dating back to the 3/4th century Egypt, the Nag Hammadi Codices are the earliest surviving Codex binding structures. In our model, we’ll be using authentic papyrus, handmade paste, and ethically sourced goat skin to replicate the traditional skills and materials originally used.
This workshop is designed for those with a keen interest in and curiosity of this special book structure.
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WORKSHOP SERIES
Introduction to Letterpress Printing
with Bruce Campbell
Saturdays April 16, 30, and May 7, 1- 4pm
Members $135 Guests $160
Workshops limited to 6 participants
Introduction to Letterpress Printing is a three-session class that will sequentially introduce the basic skills of this historic method of printing. Since Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press and moveable lead type in the 1400s, printing text has undergone many revolutionary changes. It’s exciting to see how modern-day artists are incorporating the historic method of printing hand-set type into 21st century artist books.
Northwoods Book Arts Guild maintains the letterpress tradition with two Kelsey hand presses (1890, and 1972) and a Golding Pearl press (1910). With over fifty cases of type, in dozens of typefaces, there are myriad possibilities available to interested artists.
This three-session class will provide an introduction to the Guild’s presses and type. Students will learn how to safely handle and set type. Details of each session are listed below. With instructor assistance, students will operate the Press and print a personalized card. Students should come to class with a short quote or phrase they would like to set and print.
Letterpress Session 1
Saturday, April 16
1-4pm
Understand lead safety
Exposure to basic letterpress vocabulary
Use a composing stick to set type correctly
Moved type to a galley to prepare for lock-up
Initial operation of press
Exposure to clean-up protocols & returning type to case
Letterpress Session 2
Saturday, April 30
1-4pm
Understand furniture placement
Correctly set and print a complete font from the California Case
Lock-up a chase
Set paper correctly using guide pins
Ink and operate press
Complete all Clean-up & return type to case
Letterpress Session 3
Saturday, May 7
1-4pm
Design an individual project
Compose and lock-up chase
Prepare platen for printing
Adjust the press to successfully print project
Complete all Clean-up & return type to case
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Save the date!
Tiny Book Party
Saturday, May 14, 2-5pm
Spinners and Weavers Guild Studio, in the Lions Building
Tanana Valley Fairgrounds, 1800 College Road
$5 donation for members and guests
No RSVP Needed
This will be an in-person, drop-in event that celebrates bookmaking.
Plan on coming anytime between 2 - 5pm to make tiny books
(defined as books that measure no more than 3 inches on all sides).
Bring your tools, your ideas, papers and other materials to share.
NBG will offer a selection of papers, materials, how-to diagrams, and lots of encouragement!
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Rasmuson Library Display
Selections from
The Northwoods Set Book Project
A selection of artist books from the Northwoods Set Book Project is now on display in UAF's Rasmuson Library.
The Set Book Project represents a creative partnership between Northwoods Book Arts Guild, the University of Alaska Press, and four Alaskan poets whose published books were inspiration for this collaboration:
Armor & Ornament, by Christopher Lee Miles, 2019
Li Bai Rides the Celestial Dolphin Home, by Tom Sexton, 2018
Roughly for the North, by Carrie Ayagaduk Ojanen, 2018
Of Darkness & Light, by Kim Cornwall, edited by Wendy Erd, 2019
Using preselected texts - set books - as springboards for artist books is a unique tradition in the world of bookmaking. The poetic imagery of the four set books inspired the project's 16 book artists to bring imaginative use of materials and design elements to their work. Choices about bindings, papers, embellishments, and casements were made with intention, each artist creating a visual interpretation of what resonated for her when she read the poetry.
Many thanks to the following artists whose set books are on display: Susan Campbell, Mary Liston, Oralee Nudson, Sherrill Peterson, and Stephanie Strandberg.
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Newport Paper Book Arts Festival 2022
VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS
April 21-24, 2022
Registration for this year's festival has been open since January 29.
For availability of classes and more information, click on link below.
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FOBA 2022
Friday - Tuesday, July 15 - 19, 2022
Registration opens Monday, April 4, 2022 at 8:00am
All registration will be online!
The 15th Focus on Book Arts conference offers five full days of workshops for beginning as well as advanced book artists. You can come for just one workshop or for the entire conference; a range of class lengths lets you tailor an experience just for you.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
CALENDAR
NBG Open Studio Hours
Wednesdays, noon-2pm
Grand Opening
Boreal Book Arts Showcase
NBG Studio
Wednesday, April 6, 12-3pm
Workshop
Nag Hammadi Codex II
Saturday, April 9, 10am - 5pm
Workshop
Introduction to Letterpress
Saturdays, April 16, 30, and May 7
Workshop (RESCHEDULED)
Gelli Printing and Panorama Foldable
Monday & Tuesday, May 9-10 - 10am to 3pm
Save the Date!
Tiny Book Party
Saturday, May 14, 2-5pm
NBG Program Meeting
Sunday, May 22, 1-3pm
UAF Summer Sessions Workshop
Pochoir Basics
June 3, 6-8:30, June 4 and 5, 10am-4pm
Workshop
Flag Book
Saturday, June 19, 10am-4pm
Workshops
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival
Basic Book Arts
July 25 - 29
Workshop
Eco-Dying
August 20
Workshop
Chinese Sewing Box
September 10-11
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Learn about and support Northwoods Book Arts Guild!
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