Dear NBG Community,
We begin a new year. We begin with hope. Hope for healing and restoration in our personal lives, our community, our country, our world. That’s a lot to hope for after the calamitous year we experienced in 2020 and the current national upheaval that has initiated 2021. Every morning, we brace ourselves to read, watch, and listen to the daily news. How do we sustain ourselves through these unprecedented times? Recently, I heard a radio interview between NPR’s Scott Simon and Ben Luke, the editor and podcast host of The Art Newspaper website.* As I listened, I felt a sense of resonance. They were discussing the value of art in our lives, especially during the Covid Pandemic. Luke said, “Art can be a great companion. (It) has a sustaining power, like poetry and great literature, that really pulls us through moments like this.” I thought about how vital poetry and book arts have been for me during the past 10 months, how their companionship has been a comfort and a buoy. Those thoughts sparked memories of my introduction to book arts. I was an absolute novice the morning I stepped into Margo Klass’ Specimen Book class, a 2008 UAF Summer Session offering. It’s not an exaggeration to say that taking that class changed my life, propelling me toward friendships and creative work that I had not imagined before. Since that time, continuing my financial support for our Guild has been important to me. Whether you’ve been involved with NBG for many years or if you are a novice, like I was 13 years ago, I invite you to join me and become a new or renewing member of the Northwoods Book Arts Guild.
When you go to 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, with PayPal, or mail a check.
•Member $30
•Apprentice $100
•Journeyman $250
•Master $500
•Benefactor $1,000
•Other Amount
All donors giving ≧$30 receive a NBG membership. Renewing your membership now, at the beginning of this new year, helps the Guild continue our mission: to promote all aspects of book arts through education, participation in exhibitions, and community outreach. Thanks to board members Bruce Campbell and Ashley Thayer, all members who give at a patron level (any donation ≧ $100) may choose to receive a celebratory publication commemorating the addition of a 1910 antique Pearl Printing Press to our NBG Letterpress Shop. You may choose a 5” x 8” letterpress broadside, printed on the Pearl, or a digitally printed chapbook, Pearl’s Story. We’ll contact you with details about how to receive your gift.
As you will read in this newsletter, we have many things to look forward to in 2021. I hope to see each of you in one of our Zoom gatherings soon. I hope we will be able to gather safely, in person, at some point this year. Yes, I am holding hope.
With warmest regards,
Susan Campbell
NBG President
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PROGRAM MEETING
SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1-3PM
FABULOUS FOLDABLES #1
Origami Frame Album
with Margo Klass
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Join us in the coming months for a series of 5 program meetings focusing on
creative foldable structures. Each meeting will present at least one foldable structure to inspire foldable books for BOOKS AS ART 3. At each meeting you will make a model of the structure
out of copy paper or card stock following instructions which you can download and print.
Use the model as a springboard to create a book of your own design and content
for THE BOOKS AS ART 3 exhibition!
Margo Klass kicks off the series with an origami frame album. Follow along as we learn how to fold each frame panel and assemble a series of panels to create a mini display of images in an accordion structure. Think of the possibilities!
Prepare for this mini-workshop:
basic work space (cutting mat, ruler, bone folder)
4 sheets light weight copy paper, 8.5 x 8.5"
4 pieces colored card stock paper, 4 1/8 x 4 1/8"
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Northwoods Book Arts Guild has received a Community Arts Grant from the Alaska State Council on the Arts. This grant will allow us to do two things – purchase equipment to design a studio for virtual teaching and create a sequential series of book arts classes.
Book Arts Basics - Series 1 begins at the end of February and will consist of three classes: The Tools, The Paper and Folded Books. These classes will provide the opportunity to create sample books while learning foundational bookmaking skills.
Stay tuned for details!
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SAVE THE DATE!
BOOKS AS ART 3
NBG Group Exhibition
November 5-27, 2021
Fairbanks Arts Association
Bear Gallery
Northwoods Book Arts Guild has been awarded a group exhibition in the Fairbanks Arts Association's Bear Gallery, scheduled for November 2021. This is the third in our series of BOOKS AS ART exhibitions. In this exhibition NBG members will explore books as works of art and present a wide spectrum of handcrafted book forms.
More information will be presented at the January Program Meeting.
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#AreYouBookEnough
December Theme: Legs
by Ashley Thayer
I’ve had this lone antique French Bergere chair leg for almost 10 years now, quietly sitting in a pile of other antique wood bits and bobbles that I’ve accumulated. It already had a little notch carved (and broken) into the top which seemed like a fantastic opportunity to add a simple book that I would make using hand marbled paper. The book used as a base is from an incomplete novel I brought back from Edinburgh years ago that was in terrible shape. Together they made something quite sculptural and well out of my comfort zone.
Participating in the #areyoubookenoughchallenge was a highlight for me in 2020, just having that little bit of motivation and purpose helps get through these long and sometimes lonely days. Looking forward to a happy, productive, and hopefully just plain better 2021.
#areyoubookenoughchallenge
2021 Themes Announced
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New Book Cloth at Paper Birches!
A restocked selection of Duo book cloth in an array of colors has just arrived along with a selection of Dubletta book cloth, new to NBG.
One of the benefits of membership is access to our our Paper Birches supply depot. Paper Birches will be open on Wednesdays, January 13 and 27, noon to 2pm. Covid protocols are in place, so please come with a mask and prepare to socially distance. Purchases should be made with cash or check.
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Anchorage Zine Fair
The ANC Zine Fair is an artist-lead group of independent zine-makers, publishers, print-makers, and activists in Anchorage, Alaska. It strives to celebrate and strengthen self-published culture in an inclusive, community-focused, exhibition and marketplace. Participating artists and publishers will be featured on the ANC Zine Fair website and will have the opportunity to sell their zines, prints, ephemera, and other self-published works through the ANC Zine Fair online store.
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Book | Paper | Thread
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE:
Form and Function from Afar
February 18-20, 2021
Book | Paper | Thread is hosting a virtual conference in February of 2021 focusing on the book and paper arts. They are excited to provide an opportunity for the community to come together during this challenging time. Presentations and demonstrations will be given via Zoom video conference, and will be free with advance registration to access the online meetings.
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NORTHWOODS BOOK ARTS GUILD
CALENDAR
NBG Program Meeting
on Zoom
Sunday, January 17, 1-3pm
BOOK ARTS BASICS
Series 1: The Tools
on Zoom
Sunday, February 21. 2-4pm
BOOK ARTS BASICS
Series 1: The Papers
on Zoom
Sunday, March 7. 2-4pm
BOOK ARTS BASICS
Series 1: Folded Books
on Zoom
Sunday, March 21. 2-4pm
Set Book Project
ongoing
Letterpress Chapbook Project
ongoing
NBG Exhibition
BOOKS AS ART 3
Bear Gallery
November 5-27, 2021
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Learn about and support Northwoods Book Arts Guild!
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