Newsletter
DECEMBER 2021
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Dear NBG Community,
As the year comes to a close I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for being part of the Northwoods Book Arts Guild. Our Books As Art 3 show was a beautiful example of who we are and what we do. Visitors to the Bear Gallery were amazed and impressed. Here are a few comments that were shared with me:
“I made it down to the Bear Gallery on the afternoon of my departure (from Fairbanks, for the winter) and am glad I shoe-horned it in. What an amazing collection of hours spent snipping, gluing, and navigating aesthetic decisions. How many total hours were in that room? Anyway, I was blown away and humbled by it.”
“I didn’t know a book could be all that! It is magical!”
“How supportive it is to be a part of all that and how it helps people to realize themselves.”
I received so much positive feedback and I know many of you did, too. Comments written in the gallery guest book exemplify viewers’ enthusiastic responses. Books As Art 3 brought joy to visitors, it evoked feelings of wonder and delight in the midst of a global pandemic, a time of uncertainty and change in our world. On behalf of the NBG Board, I want to extend our appreciation to all our members who contributed their work to the show and gift shop, to those who volunteered to help to install and deinstall, and to everyone who visited the gallery and joined us at our two online events. NBG continues to be a vibrant organization because of your involvement and commitment. Thank you…
I hope this holiday season is graced with peace for each of you. I look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Warmest regards,
Susan Campbell
NBG President
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A BOREAL HERBARIUM
A collaborative Artist Book for the ITOC Exhibition
MEETING AND WORK SESSION
All NBG Members Welcome!
Friday, January 7, 1-4pm
NBG Studio
RSVPs and Masks Required
NBG members are invited to participate in creating a collaborative Boreal Herbarium for the exhibition, In Time Of Change: Boreal Forest Stories, scheduled for September 2022 in the Bear Gallery.
An Herbarium is an herbal medicine book whose history begins in ancient Egypt and Greece. The originals are lost to time, but many survive in the form of copies, translated into Latin and handed down. Monks and nuns in monasteries and convents copied the books, raised herbs, and made medicine from the plants in gardens of the cloisters. By the Middle Ages they were printed on presses, often illustrated with woodcuts. Modern herbals are illustrated with botanical drawings and paintings, or photographs, and mass produced. With the advent of modern medicine they fell out of favor as sources of medicine, but retained their charm. With renewed interest in ecology and sustainability, many are interested in herbals again.
Our group will create a collaborative book consisting of folios illustrating a variety of boreal forest specimens. Let us know if you are interested in joining us by making a folio or two for the NBG Boreal Herbarium.
The work session on January 7, 1-4pm, will focus on selection of species and on the media and techniques of botanical drawing. There will be a list of species from which to select subjects for your folios.
Contact Laurel Herbeck or Chris Pastro for more information and to RSVP for the meeting on January 7.
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WORKSHOP
The Nag Hammadi Codex
with Ashley Thayer
Sunday, January 16 - 10am to 4pm
Members $90 Guests $105
Materials fee: $40
Workshop limited to 6 participants
Participants must be vaccinated and wear a mask during class
WAIT LIST ONLY
A SECOND SESSION WILL 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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UAF WINTERmester 2022
BOOKMAKING WORKSHOP
Clamshell Casements and Partitioned Boxes
with Margo Klass
Friday, January 7 (6:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
Saturday and Sunday, January 8 - 9 (10am – 4pm)
Location: Murie 306
Instructional fee: $195
(Materials fee is included)
Participants must be vaccinated and wear a mask during class
WAIT LIST ONLY
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The clamshell box is an elegant casement that provides protection and storage for books, objects, or collections of printed materials. Learn how to create this classic structure step by step, following a comprehensive series of diagrams, drawings, and written instructions. You will be guided through the processes of measuring, cutting, assembling, and covering with book cloth a clamshell casement sized to a book of your choice (size restrictions apply). Its cover has an optional inset for a title plate.
Adding partitions to a clamshell is a logical extension of the basic structure, useful for making storage boxes or artist books that have more than one component. This workshop includes making a model of a partitioned tray using techniques that will expand the uses of clamshell casements and inspire ideas for future projects. Pre-cut pieces of book board will be provided for this part of the workshop.
A list of materials and other information will be provided upon registration.
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Northwoods Book Arts Guild
A Compendium of
Fabulous Foldables
NBG 2021 program activities focused on an exploration of foldable book structures, many based on simple accordion structures created by Hedi Kyle. The models made at our meetings were made from single pieces of paper or by folding several sheets and connecting them in various ways. While each foldable can stand on its own, some can function as an element of a larger, more complex structure. They require nothing more than basic bookbinding tools - cutting mat, knife, rulers, bone folder, scissors, pencil and eraser. Some require the use of an adhesive such as double-stick tape, glue stick, or PVA glue.
The Guild introduced the compendium at its Books As Art 3 exhibition where the first printing sold out. Now in its second printing, we are offering it for sale at Paper Birches ($25 each, available during Open Studio hours on Wednesdays) or by mail order ($33, click below to order).
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THE NORTHWOODS SET BOOK PROJECT:
4 POETS | 16 ARTISTS | 26 ARTISTS BOOKS
CATALOG
The Set Book Project represents a creative partnership between NBG, the University of Alaska Press and four Alaskan poets who generously shared their books as 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
NBG members used these preselected texts, the set books, as springboards for creating the 26 artist books in this unique collection. The books were featured in the Books As Art 3 exhibition and are documented in this full color catalog.
The project's 16 book artists brought keen attentiveness and imagination to the books they created. Choices about structure, materials, embellishment, and casements were made with intention, each artist creating a visual interpretation of what resonated for her when she read the poetry.
The catalog is for sale at Paper Birches ($10 each, available during Open Studio hours on Wednesdays) or by mail order ($18, click below to order).
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Tent City Press hosts
Anchorage Zine Fair
Tent City Press is hosting the annual Anchorage Zine Fair during the month of December. All interested artists are invited to share their work either online or in-person at the Fair's bookshop open Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month. Online work will be featured on the Zine's website with sales transactions handled by the artist or by Tent City Press. If you are interested in sharing your work in the Anchorage Zine Fair, visit their website and complete their online form. Submissions will be accepted throughout the month of December.
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Newport Paper Book Arts Festival 2022
VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS
April 21-24, 2022
The brochure for this year's Festival will be published by January 17, 2022.
Use the link below to join the email list for the latest information.
Registration will open January 29, 2022 at 9am PST.
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FOBA 2022
Friday - Tuesday, July 15 - 19, 2022
WORKSHOP SNEAK PEEKS
Focus on Book Arts has posted a peek at the classes to be offered at the 2022 conference.
Check them out!
IMPORTANT DATES:
Workshop Catalog – March 2022
Registration Begins – April 2022
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The Babyn Yar Synagogue opens like a pop-up book
The Babyn Yar synagogue in Ukraine opens and closes like a giant pop-up book, an effect Herz Architects achieved by examining dozens of such books before working with structural and mechanical engineers. Enjoy the video!
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Imagine this!
Helpdesk support in the Middle Ages
What happens when the codex overtakes the scroll as the book structure of choice? This video, subtitled, is from the show "Øystein og jeg" on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) in 2001. Rune Gokstad plays the desperate monk; Øystein Backe is the tech assistant.
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Sioban Piercy
Works based on Foldables
Most of Sioban Piercy's sculptures and installations are based on foldable structures. They represent a fresh take on some of our favorite folds. After BAA3, many will look familiar! Take a look at her stunning work.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
CALENDAR
NBG Open Studio Hours
Wednesdays, noon-4pm
THERE WILL BE NO OPEN STUDIO HOURS ON DECEMBER 22 OR 29, 2021.
REGULAR OPEN STUDIO HOURS WILL RESUME ON JANUARY 5, 2022.
Letterpress Chapbook Project
ongoing
Meeting and Work Session
ITOC Boreal Herbarium
Friday, January 7, 1-4pm
Workshop
Nag Hammadi Codex
Sunday, January 16, 10am - 4pm
SAVE THE DATE!
Next NBG Program Meeting
on Zoom
Saturday, January 22, 1-3pm
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Learn about and support Northwoods Book Arts Guild!
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