Dear NBG Community,
We begin a new year. We begin, again, with hope as we enter the third calendar year of the Covid pandemic. In retrospect, 2021 was another challenging year for our organization, our community, our country, our world. As an organization, the Northwoods Book Arts Guild met the challenges by adapting what we did and how we did it to maintain our vision of NBG, a dynamic and vibrant home for book artists. Wonderful events occurred last year. The most notable was our 10 year anniversary celebration, commemorated by the installation of Books As Art 3, an incredible collaboration that highlighted the artistry of NBG members.
I am looking forward to 2022, knowing that we will work together to bring creativity and tenacity to whatever challenges arise. Your NBG Board met last week for our annual retreat and we’ve planned six program meetings that will highlight new fabulous foldable structures. More news about changes in our studio, collaborative projects, and details about upcoming classes will be described in each month’s newsletter.
As we begin a new year, I invite you to join me and renew your membership. If you just found out about us, I encourage you to become a new member of our lively Northwoods Book Arts Guild community. I just renewed my membership online and it was quick and easy to do. Here’s how:
- Click on the NBG website button (below).
- On the NBG website, click on the GIVE NOW button. You will be directed to the North Star Community Foundation page. (NBG receives our 501(c)3 status as a nonprofit organization through the NSCF.) Once there, you can choose your level of membership by selecting one of the designated amounts or enter “other amount”. You can pay by credit card or with PayPal.
•Member $30
•Apprentice $100
•Journeyman $250
•Master $500
•Benefactor $1,000
•Other Amount
Renewing your membership now, at the beginning of this new year, supports our Guild’s mission: to promote all aspects of book arts through education, participation in exhibitions, and community outreach.
If you’d rather pay by check, please mail your check to:
Northwoods Book Arts Guild
Caribou Building, Suite 205
3550 Airport Way
Fairbanks, AK 99709
As you read this newsletter, you will see that there are exciting things happening in our book arts community. I look forward to seeing you at our January Program Meeting on Zoom. As always, I welcome your input, suggestions, and questions as we step into a new year together.
With warmest regards,
Susan Campbell
NBG President
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NEW NBG POLICY
FOR IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS
As we learn to navigate the latest phase of the Covid pandemic and the impact the omicron variant is having, we are committed to doing our best to keep our community safe. In light of new recommendations and after thoughtful discussion, the NBG Board has voted to require proof of vaccination for students taking in-person classes in our studio. When you register for a class, you will be asked to text or email a photo of your vaccination card. If that technology is not available for you, please bring your card to the studio when you arrive. We appreciate your understanding and thoughtfulness. We will continue to require masks for everyone in the studio at all times.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
Program Meeting
Saturday, January 22, 1-3pm
On Zoom
Look for Zoom link on Friday, January 21!
The Victorian Puzzle Purse Valentine
wth Connie Stricks
Join us for our first meeting of 2022!
Our 2022 programs will again focus on fabulous foldable structures. First up is The Victorian Puzzle Purse Valentine, taught by Connie Stricks and just in time for February 14!
Puzzle purses are origami-style foldables that became popular for sending love notes in the 18-19th centuries. During the Victorian period they were used as baptismal certificates as well as valentines and could contain anything from a lock of hair to a poem or message of love.
We will learn how to create puzzle purses and make small boxes to hold them based on a design by Cheryl Moote. There will not be time to embellish your puzzle purses at the meeting - they require time to decorate because there are so many surfaces, and you won’t want to rush it! - but Connie will share her embellished examples to provide lots of inspiration.
Materials:
9” and 12” square pieces of paper* (2-3 of each would be good)
12” square or 11x14” sheet of Strathmore 80 lb. drawing paper*
Rulers - several
Cutting mat with grid
X-acto or utility knife and blades
Bone/Teflon folder*
MacTac* or double stick tape
Pencil and eraser
Optional:
3”w ruler is useful for constructing this foldable and box
Metal Edges*
*Available at Paper Birches. See Instruction pdf for suggested papers.
Paper Birches will be open on January 12 and 19, noon-2pm if you wish to buy paper or tools. There may also be some sheets of donated paper available.
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NEW!
NBG BOOK CHALLENGE
We’re keeping it local this year and holding our very own bi-monthly book arts challenge. How you interpret the theme, structure, and materials used is up to you! It can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, and can be a great way to stay motivated to make books throughout the year. You’ll have 2 months to finish each challenge book. Anytime within the two-month period, email a photo of your completed work and a brief description to Ashley Thayer. Participants will be featured on our website. The goal is for as many members as possible to participate in making at least ONE challenge book this year.
*If you need help or inspiration,
utilizing NBG Open Studio time on Wednesdays is a great option*
2022 Themes
Jan/Feb: Scroll
March/April: Playing Cards
May/June: Tiny
July/August: Garden
Sept/Oct: Mythical
Nov/Dec: Landscape
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A BOREAL HERBARIUM
A collaborative Artist Book for the ITOC Exhibition
MEETING AND WORK SESSION
All NBG Members Welcome!
Thursday, January 13, 1-3pm
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 13, 1-3pm, 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.
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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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In Memoriam
Linde Kienle
Linde Kienle, master bookbinder and artist, passed away on December 4, 2021 in Hilo, Hawaii. Linde was a professional restoration bookbinder, teacher, and mentor to students of all ages. She was very influential in introducing artist books, surface design, and box construction to Fairbanks and we are grateful to her for all the ways she shared her expertise with our community. Many of us took our first bookmaking or box-making classes from Linde. She considered herself a mixed media artist who worked in paper, fabric, wood, leather, and metal to produce inventive and creative works of art. An early proponent of foldable structures, she is known for her paper “birds”, pop-up books, beautiful boxes, and multi-dimensional books in both contemporary and traditional book structures. As a member of the Northwoods Book Arts Guild, she exhibited work in NBG’s Books as Art 2 exhibition in 2017. Linda “retired “to her home in Hawaii, but returned to Fairbanks often to visit and teach. Her work has been displayed in numerous galleries, art shows, and shops. Extensive world travel informed her art. Everywhere she went, she collected materials, inspiration, found objects, fabrics, designs and ideas. Her curiosity knew no bounds. To those fortunate to be her family, friends and students, Linde will be remembered for her generous nature, inquisitive mind, warm humor, passion for art, and enthusiasm for life.
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Paper Birches
New Hours:
Every Wednesday during Open Studio 12-2pm
beginning Jan. 12
Paper Birches is currently well-stocked with a variety of papers, tools, and bookmaking glue. We will soon have additional copies of the Foldables Compendium available for $25, as well as the Set Book Project Catalog for $10, in case you are looking for inspiration or gifts! Shopping at Paper Birches is limited to NBG members. As a service to members, we order supplies not locally available. We order in bulk and thereby reduce shipping costs. If we do not have an item you are looking for, please note it and be prepared to wait until we receive enough requests to justify the expense of an order. You are always welcome to purchase your tools and materials directly from the vendors we commonly use. A list of those vendors is now available on a clipboard hanging on the wall in the Paper Birches corner of the studio. Contact Mary Maisch for more information about Paper Birches.
Happy New Year of Bookmaking!
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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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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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Helen Hebert Studio
Helen's 100 Papery Picks for 2021
Many of us are familiar with Helen Hebert's annual exploration of projects made of paper. She has ended 2021 with an incredible list of sources, resources, tools, videos, for a total of 100 top picks. This list is rich in information and inspiration!https://helenhiebertstudio.com/helens-100-papery-picks-fr-
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Ed Hutchins
VIDEO: Creating Cacophony
Follow along as this innovative book by Ed Hutchins emerges from idea to three-dimensions of boisterous revelry. In just nine zip-along minutes all the essential elements of good bookmaking are covered: book floorplans, the Michelangelo approach, book sculpting, vector diagrams, bump scores, word wrangling, paper choreography, and the all-important WOW factor.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
CALENDAR
NBG Open Studio Hours
Wednesdays, noon-2pm
OPEN STUDIO HOURS RESUME ON JANUARY 12, 2022
Letterpress Chapbook Project
ongoing
Meeting and Work Session
ITOC Boreal Herbarium
Thursday, January 13, 1-3pm
Workshop
Nag Hammadi Codex
Sunday, January 16, 10am - 4pm
NBG Program Meeting
on Zoom
Saturday, January 22, 1-3pm
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Vintage Challenge Paper Cutter for Sale
NBG studio desperately seeking more space.
Fast-acting member will benefit!
Our vintage Challenge guillotine paper cutter is in need of a new home. It is refurbished with a professionally sharpened blade, fully operational, and ready to use. The Challenge Paper Cutter (serial number B17458, 350 pounds) will cut paper up to 16" wide. Designed to shear a ream of paper, it is best used by an artist seeking to precisely cut smaller stacks of paper, even a few sheets at a time, to a precise and very repeatable width. Included in the sale is a wooden shipping box for the blade and a sturdy table with wheels.
Available on eBay in the $500 to $1500 price range, we will sell it for $250, which includes moving costs from the studio to your home or studio.
If interested, contact Bruce Campbell (click on button below) to schedule a time to look it over. Act now! On February 1st, we will post it on the local Craig's List, but would be much happier if it went to an NBG member.
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Learn about and support Northwoods Book Arts Guild!
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