Seattle Center for Book Arts

Local Book Arts Exhibits

2011-11-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple local book arts exhibits to enjoy:

@ SOIL through November 26th

LOOSE LEAF: artists and writers make books together
Julia Freeman | Stacey Levine: A Book of the Future: A Maze
Daniel R. Smith | Karen Finneyfrock: What Lot's Wife Would Have Said...
Ellen Ziegler | Frances McCue | Patti Smith: Imbue
Ellen Ziegler | Patti Smith: On the Auguries of Innocence

EVENT: WRITERS READ AND ARTISTS SPEAK!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 7 PM, SOIL GALLERY, SEATTLE
Facebook

The artists and writers in Loose Leaf stretch the definition of a "book" to the paper-thin. Whether through unexpected use of materials or exuberant trampling on the last of any resemblance to the book as we know it, these verbal/visual teams have engendered utterly original work that "reads" on countless levels. Here are collaborations that catapult the meaning of the written word beyond anything imaginable.

@ Paper Hammer through December 23rd

Chen Qi: Homage to Paper
Open Fridays, 2-6 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and by appointment until December 23.
Paper Hammer Gallery shares space with Marquand Books at 1400 Second Avenue in downtown Seattle.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Paper Hammer Gallery and onemoon, based in Beijing. For more information about onemoon, contact:

Jan Leaming, www.onemoonart.com

Book Arts Weekend in Port Townsend

2011-10-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

For those looking for a book arts get-away this fall, check out this weekend workshop at Centrum in Port Townsend:

The Art of the Book

November 11-14, 2011
Fort Worden State Park
Port Townsend, WA

*Please Note: Centrum is able to provide 20 clock hours to educators attending this program

New in November 2011 is an all ages program designed with a wide angle approach to the art of creating books. Examine and make different styles of books such as accordion, hand-sewn, or pop-up. Learn how to make a book from your own drawn and painted materials. Use an old book and alter it into your work of art. All ages including adults are welcome.

This four-day workshop takes place over the long Veterans Day weekend and begins with lunch on Friday, November 11. It continues with morning and afternoon studio sessions, and special evening programs with guest artists focused on BOOKS. On Monday, there is a final morning session and check out is after lunch.

A field trip to Port Townsend’s own Watermark Bindery is part of the schedule.

For this program both day students and residential students are welcome. Housing is in one of Fort Worden’s dormitories. Supervision is provided for students 13-18. Younger students may come with an adult.

Tuition $250
Room & Board $200

Here are links to the daily schedule and registration.

Reunited at the Northwest Bookfest

2011-09-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

What better way to end a book tour than to set up with my partners and friends at SCBA at the Northwest Bookfest in Kirkland WA? As of today I am back in the Pacific Northwest and tomorrow morning will be at booth 11 in Peter Kirk Park in Kirkland, sharing a tent with the SCBA and The Gutenberg Rubric (and several other books by Northwest authors.

Over the past 30 days, I have traveled over 7,500 miles, presented to more than 100 people in 15 different venues, sold nearly 200 books, and guest blogged on 12 different book blog sites. Tomorrow, I’ll be continuing to talk about the history of printing, working with SCBA volunteers to demonstrate a letterpress, handing out bookmarks, and selling books. Rain or shine, it is going to be a great day!

Repeatedly, over the past 30 days on the road, I’ve told people about the work SCBA does here in Seattle teaching young and old the book arts: typesetting, printing, book binding, and paper-making. But I’ve also spoken about eBook arts.

When Gutenberg printed the Bible in 1455, his typeface mimicked the popular black letter printing that scribes in the monastery used when copying manuscripts. While on this trip, I had the opportunity to view a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the Great Bible of Mainz at the Library of Congress. The Great Bible of Mainz was being copied by hand during the same timeframe that Gutenberg was printing 200 copies of the Bible. But what impressed me was the dedication Gutenberg had in attempting to copy the art of the scribe in his printing. Gutenberg cast nearly 300 different characters in order to have letters of varying width, abbreviations, and ligatures so that he could justify the type the way the scribes had.

But I can just hear in my mind the scribes in the monastery looking at the Gutenberg Bible. They would shake their heads sadly. “Look, they are all exactly the same. There is no art in this. Everything is perfectly lined up in squares with no variation. This is the death of the book.”

Sound familiar? So far, eBooks have also been valiantly attempting to mimic the printed book. Readability, page turns, character styles. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that the new Kindle has a “paper smell” to it. But like the Bible of Gutenberg’s workshop, eBooks have not yet found their art.

Within 50 years of the first printing of the Bible, a Venetian printer named Aldus Manutius released The Hypnerotomachia Polliphyli. In stead of being a book measuring a full folio size of 12 x 18, this new work more closely resembled the 6 x 9 size of a trade paperback. It was printed, not in Black Type, but in Roman and Italic. Instead of residing in a library or church where you had to go to read the work, Aldus’ work could be “carried in a saddlebag.” The printed book had become its own artform, separate from the manuscripts that preceded it.

We are still waiting for eBooks to find their artform. We don’t know what that is going to look like yet. But there is no question in my mind that just as both calligraphy and letterpress printing can be considered book arts, eBooks will also come to a point where they are a branch of the book arts.

Until that time, we should avail ourselves of every opportunity to enjoy the book in all its varied forms. And what better place than the Northwest Bookfest this weekend. Come see publishers, authors, and book artists. And don’t forget to visit the Seattle Center for Book Arts exhibit and demonstrations along with NWE Signatures books in Booth 11.

WD-40 for the Creative Soul

2011-09-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Thought we would let you know about an upcoming class taught by Seattle Artist Ellen Ziegler.

WD-40 for the Creative Soul: How to get unstuck
Taught by Ellen Ziegler in her Fremont area studio : www.ellenziegler.com

Fall classes now open for registration. Six-class series with all new projects for 2011.
Tuesdays, October 18 - November 22, 7 pm - 9 pm

Work in the visual journal format. This class includes:
· exploring the potency of line and color
· off-the-press printmaking techniques to transfer personal imagery into journal format
· incorporating type and text
· the emotional and visual power of page layout
· Gluing and Fastening for All Occasions
· the More is More Theory of collage
· a weekly overview of international work
· individual feedback

Download testimonials from the website from such artists as
Eva Isaksen! Sheila Coppola! Kappy Trigg! Stewart Stern!
at http://www.ellenziegler.com/teaching/classes_workshops.html

Six two-hour classes for only $250. SCBA members receive a 10% discount. (Thanks Ellen!)

For more information and to register:
http://www.ellenziegler.com/teaching/classes_workshops.html

Book Arts and the Author: Giving Back

2011-08-31T06:53:00.001-07:00

As a sweeping generalization, I’d have to say that most writers and authors love books. Certainly, every author I’ve met has at least mentioned his or her library of favorite books. Some make weekly trips to the bookstore or library to find the latest fiction in their genre, reference on their craft, and research on their subject.

But few authors I’ve met actually take time to think about what we owe to the development of the book and the invention of the printing press. We want to see our words in print, certainly, but many authors today are too caught up in the new technology of eBooks and the simplicity of digital print-on-demand to seriously consider the the history of the printed word’s effect on what we write and how people read.

I’m guilty as charged. I think eBooks are wonderful! My new thriller, The Gutenberg Rubric, is available through on-line retailers on 24-hour notice through print-on-demand and in every eBook format. The technology is great.

But Johannes Gutenberg changed the world 550 years ago with the invention of movable type and the printing press. The arts we teach at SCBA preserve some of Gutenberg’s heritage: setting movable type, inking and running a press, papermaking, book-binding. But even we don’t teach the mixing of metals, cutting of dies, punching of matrices, or literal forging of lead type. Nor do we often talk about the establishment of a new distribution network (bookstores), the stabilization of knowledge and information, or the effect the printing press had on popular literature.

The unlikely heroes in The Gutenberg Rubric are two rare book librarians, one of which actually practices the arcane art of forging lead type. His initiation into mastery of the art is both a flight of my fancy and the embodiment of a deep yearning to recapture an even deeper experience of the book arts. So, I suppose it is only natural that as I promote the book on my 30-day cross-country author road trip and blog-tour, I am also promoting a love for book arts. And, to put my money where my mouth is, as the saying goes, I’m giving a portion of the proceeds from book sales back to the book arts through SCBA.

My trip during the month of September will take me through 21 states and include readings in local independent bookstores in Minneapolis, Plymouth and Indianapolis IN, Columbus, Reisterstown MD, Fredericksburg and Staunton VA, St. Louis, Steamboat Springs, Salt Lake City, and Walla Walla. I’ll be a guest blogger on nine book and book arts blogs. (For a full schedule, visit The Gutenberg Rubric Event Schedule.) Finally, I’ll come back home to the Northwest Bookfest in Kirkland on October 1-2 where I’ll be reunited with SCBA, demonstrating letterpress printing and selling books. And each book that is sold will result in a donation to SCBA. I’m blogging daily about the road trip at The Rubricant and several book blogs. Please stop by and comment!

To date, no student at SCBA has been tattooed with printer’s ink in a secret initiation, but they have learned from some of Seattle’s finest book arts instructors and have created many beautiful books and printed pieces. We encourage everyone to “Make a book today!”

(Nathan Everett, author of The Gutenberg Rubric and other novels, is a member of the board of directors of the Seattle Center for Book Arts. Books may be ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other on-line retailers. Independent bookstores can also order the book for you through Ingram Books. Watch for an end-of-trip blog post here on September 30!)

10th Annual SVC Wayzgoose

2011-08-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

SCBA is participating in the SVC Wayzgoose Marketplace this Saturday. Hope you can swing by and pull a print on our new tabletop letterpress!

Saturday, 1-6 PM

August 27, 2011

FREE & OPEN TO ALL

500 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
svcseattle.com

http://www.facebook.com/svcwayzgoose

GiveBIG to SCBA!

2011-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today is GiveBIG day in Seattle!

We are thrilled to participate in The Seattle Foundation's GiveBIG challenge, a one day community-wide giving challenge that will increase the size of your charitable gift to SCBA.

On June 23rd your gift can make a BIGGER impact.

Visit and donate on the SCBA Giving Page between 7am and midnight on June 23rd to help SCBA continue to offer quality book arts education & increase the coverage of our community programming.

SCBA on Q13 News: Video + Story

2011-06-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

The following video and text can also be viewed on the Q13 website.

Summer reading time: get a book in your hands
Brian Callanan
Q13 FOX News Reporter
June 9, 2011

SEATTLE—

School’s almost out, and that means it’s time for the Seattle Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. It's an effort to get kids and adults to read more, and there's a special emphasis on the printed page this year. The library's goal is to make sure we don't forget about real books as Kindles, Nooks and other devices get more popular.

That popularity is growing, too. Amazon says in April, for the first time, they sold more e-books than paper books. So the library is trying to reconnect readers with their roots, using old-fashioned books you can read and even make yourself.

Dan Shafer pulls at an ancient ink press as he guides a piece of paper through it. “Making books is the most addictive thing you’ll ever do,” he says, as a massive block letter “B” comes off the press. Shafer teaches at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, and through Seattle Center for Book Arts, he's running free bookmaking workshops at Seattle Public Libraries all summer. The way Shafer sees it, we’re disconnected from a lot of things these days, especially our books. “We don’t make them; we don’t know how they’re made,” Shafer says, “And so to learn all of those things and then actually put it together in this final product that you're really happy with, I think that means a lot to a lot of people. That's why this whole area of printing and bookbinding is really popular these days.”

Part of that popularity may be due to the increasing competition from e-books. When you can download an e-book for half the cost of a printed book– or even free in some cases—the physical book industry has to change. Shafer says, “It’s pushing it to innovate and to be what it actually can be instead of just the delivery of words and stories and information. And it's becoming a book, a very physical object that people want to interact with and feel and own.”

So what type of books ''will'' we own in the future? Shafer is betting physical books aren't going anywhere. But more importantly, he wants to make sure reading isn’t going anywhere either. Shafer says, “Whatever method is the best to put it into a form, whether it's pages or a stack of cards bound together in a special way, or an electronic method, or a website, all of these are just ways to get stories across, and that's what's important.”

For more information on Seattle Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, follow this link. For a list of bookmaking workshops coming to a library near you, click here.

SCBA on Q13 News

2011-06-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

Seattle Center for Book Arts' program co-chair, Dan Shafer, will appear on Seattle's local Q13 Fox news tomorrow (6/9/11) morning, in an interview with Brian Callanan, airing at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, and 9:30 talking about SCBA's involvement in the SPL Summer Reading Program. We'll post the video after it airs.

Thanks Brian and Dan!

SCBA is Hiring!

2011-06-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

SCBA is excited to announce that we are currently seeking to hire our first PT employee. To date, the day to day work at SCBA has been run by a dedicated group of volunteers. The job is for a part time Bookkeeper / Admin Position. A full job description with application instructions can be downloaded from the Employment page on our website.

Please review and share with others you think may be interested! Thank you for helping us spread the word.

- The SCBA Board of Directors

To Kindle or not to Kindle?

2011-06-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is certainly not a question we are asking ourselves at SCBA, as our mission is to celebrate the book in all it's forms. A recent blog posting on seattlest.com by Jim Jewell identifies SCBA as Anti-Kindle (see Meet the Anti-Kindle Crowd). While the headline seemed a bit jarring at first, we are enjoying the added attention it has brought to SCBA as people outside the book arts community are becoming aware of who we are and what we offer.

Mr. Jewell did an excellent job describing our values, and we hope readers are clicking through to our website, perhaps diving in to the term "book arts" for the first time. While the historical importance and preservation of a beautiful craft are key to our mission, we also embrace the progression of the medium, which in no doubt is embedded in emerging technologies.

In a nutshell, SCBA hopes to inspire individuals to make books. Our tag line, Make A Book Today! simplifies our mission. The medium one chooses, be it digital, tactile or otherwise, is left to personal preference. We hope to kindle the creative fire in individuals of all ages and walks of life to make books; make books to keep, make books to share, make books to give, make books to store that which you cherish, make books to simply just to create.

It is an exciting time for the book! SCBA exists to bear witness to, celebrate, and share the book as an ever-changing form. We hope you'll join us on this wild ride!

SCBA + SPL Summer Reading Program

2011-06-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

FREE workshops at Seattle Public Library branches!

Join SCBA for free drop-in workshops all summer long with the Seattle Public Library as part of their Summer Reading Program. We have two different workshops we'll be offering at 14 locations -- one designed for kids and one for teens & adults.

Come out and Make a Book Today!

Thursday, June 23, 2 - 4 pm - Northgate Branch, Kids program

Sunday, July 10, 2 - 3:30 pm - Ballard Branch, Kids program

Tuesday, July 12, 2 - 4 pm - Columbia City Branch, Kids program

Wednesday, July 13, 3 - 5 pm - Greenwood Branch, Teen / Adult program

Thursday, July 14, 3 - 5 pm - Northeast Branch, Teen / Adult program

Saturday, July 16, 1 - 3 pm - High Point Branch, Kids program

Saturday, July 16, 2 - 4 pm - Ballard Branch, Teen / Adult program

Wednesday, July 20, 3 - 5 pm - Rainier Beach Branch, Teen / Adult program

Sunday, July 24, 1:30 - 3:30 pm - Broadview Branch, Kids program

Monday, July 25, 2 - 4 pm Montlake Branch, Teen / Adult program

Saturday, July 30, 1 - 3 pm - West Seattle / Admiral Branch, Teen / Adult program

Wednesday, August 3, 2 - 3:30 pm - Delridge Branch, Kids program

Saturday, August 6, 3 - 5 pm - New Holly Branch, Kids program

Saturday, August 13, 2 - 4 pm - Lake City Branch, Teen / Adult program

1000 Artist's Books

2011-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

This call for entries came to us via book artists Peter & Donna Thomas

"1000 Artists’ Books" by Sandra Salamony and consulting editors Peter & Donna Thompson (Rockport Publishers/Quarry Books, June 2012) will present 1000 images of artists' books. Rockport is an international publisher of high-quality visual and idea books for design professionals and creative enthusiasts. This book will be part of their series of 1000 image books.

Quarry Books also published Jason Thompson's Playing With Books, which is part of SCBA's membership incentive program.

The call for entries can be found at: http://1000artistsbooks.com

If interested, please follow the above link for the full prospectus. The book is already in the design phase, and so the sooner you get your application in the better the chance of being included!

SCBA Summer Registration is Open!

2011-05-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

SCBA Summer Bookmaking & Letterpress Classes

Spontaneous One Hour Books with Lisa Hasegawa & Yuka Petz
Be inspired by the moment! Come make three spontaneous books through exercises designed to broaden your approach to artist's books. Appropriate for beginners and seasoned pros, our workshop will be a day of creative and spontaneous fun.

Saturday, June 25, 10 am - 4 pm
2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave. S., Seattle, WA, $100
Click Here for more details.

Daredevil Printing with Jessica Spring

Join us for this special opportunity to print with Jessica Spring in her Tacoma studio! Students will focus on typesetting and printing techniques that move beyond straight lines and right angles to set type that curves, angles and bounces (without using a computer!)

Saturday & Sunday, July 30 & 31, 2011, 9 am - 3 pm
Springtide Press, Tacoma, WA, $225
Click Here for more details.

SAVE on tuition!
Become an SCBA Annual Member and get a 10% discount on class tuition!

2012 Italian Villa Advent Calendar

2011-05-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

by Waterland & Day Moon Press

Join in on the celebration, Wednesday, May 25th, 7 to 9 pm
The Garden House, Seattle, WA

In 2010, Waterland Press and Day Moon Press embarked on a joint venture to produce Maralyn Crosetto's Italian Villa Advent Calendar. The first copies were completed in March, 2011, and are currently available through Wessel and Lieberman Booksellers.

The calendar features an image of the Tuscan villa Cetinale printed in seven colors from an engraving and five hand-cut linoleum blocks, with hand-set gold numbers and borders. Twenty-four die cut windows reveal reproductions of Italian-themed miniature watercolors, with glitter details.

Production Details:

Planning began in the Fall of 2009, when Maralyn and Maura determined the optimum press size and paper usage for the calendar. In February of 2010, Maralyn did the preliminary sketch to block out the windows and proportions; the master pencil

drawing was completed a month later, and scanned by Jack. After conversion in Photoshop, a section was engraved, and tests were done on various papers. Arches Platine was selected for the front panel. Once the full-size engraving was made, a mylar proof was pulled on the press, which became the key for the five linoleum blocks that were cut by Maralyn. A makeready set was also pulled, to use in registering the color blocks, since the master engraving had to be printed last. After the engraving was printed, the numbers for the windows and the metallic border were added. The printing process took until February of 2011.

At the same time, Maralyn was painting the watercolors for the back panel. These were scanned and placed in a Photoshop file containing the preliminary sketch and the engraving master, to register to the windows. The watercolors were completed in October of 2010, and Maralyn began printing the back panel on Arches watercolor paper on an Epson Stylus Pro 6900 using Ultrachrome inks. She then hand applied glitter to selected images.

Once the first sheets were done, final positioning for the numbers and windows was established. The front panel windows were then diecut from a hand-locked-up form created by Jack.

The label for the box top was printed on paper inherited from Frank McCaffrey, using hand-set type and a linoleum reduction cut in two colors. The interior tissue was also from Frank’s studio. The same reduction cut was used for the insert, and the text was printed offset.

Maura glued the calendars, and after trimming, the final spots of glitter were added by Maralyn. Then Maura did the final gluing and assembly of the boxes, which were fabricated in Ballard, WA.

The first calendars were published in March of 2011.

NEW on PBS: Craft in America #6

2011-05-03T22:23:00.001-07:00

A new episode of the PBS series Craft in America airs this month.
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011, 8pm

Help keep craft alive in the great northwest -
become an SCBA member today!

LetterMpress

2011-04-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Check out this video about bringing letterpress aesthetic to an iPad near you. It looks like they have already surpassed their fundraising goal to launch the LetterMpress App (via kickstarter.com) so if you want to help keep letterpress alive and well in the Seattle area, consider a donation to SCBA!

4-17-2011: Tacoma Wayzgoose!

2011-04-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Please join SCBA this Sunday for the 7th Annual Tacoma Wayzgoose at King's Books! We'll be there making books, selling t-shirts, aprons, special edition prints, and promoting all things SCBA. See you there!

Letterpress and Book Arts Extravaganza Wayzgoose!

April 17, 2011 ::: 11 am - 4 pm

wayzgoose n. The name of the annual feast give by a master printer for the staff of the press. In modern parlance, it is an annual gathering of printers. The word is of obscure origin.

SCBA is participating in the seventh annual Wayzgoose, or, letterpress and book arts extravaganza this Sunday! Meet local printers and view their wares! Print your own keepsake! Make paper! Make paper creations! Create letterpress magnetic poetry. And, returning for the third year...Steamroller Printing!!! 4' x 3' prints designed by local artists, some of which will be raffled off at the Wayzgoose! This event free and open to the public.

Edible Book Festival Preview on Art Zone, 3/25/11

2011-03-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Eat a Book Today! There is still time to register your 2011 edible entry
(By March 30th), and attend the festival on April 2nd!

Watch the video below, and rev up your visual and edible appetites! We'll see you on the 2nd!

Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

SCBA'a April 2011 Class Feature

2011-03-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

Altered Books with Rachael Ashe

Date: Saturday and Sunday, April 9 & 10, 2011, 10 am - 4 pm

Location: 2100 24th Ave. S., Seattle, WA [map]
Cost: $160 Please register by April 2, 2011

Breathing new life into old and unwanted books is the basis of this altered book workshop. Rachael Ashe will help you to view old books as a blank canvas for creating unique assemblage collage work. She will introduce you to examples of stunning artwork made from books and demonstrate the techniques she uses for transforming old books into her one-of-a-kind pieces of art. There is an unlimited potential for creating interesting work from books through cutting, folding, rolling, or collaging pages, and combining these with found objects. This course will demonstrate a variety of these techniques and provide a starting point for creating work of your own. The goal will be to complete one finished altered book by the end of the second day.

Instructor Bio:

Rachael Ashe is a photographer and altered book artist based in Vancouver, BC. Her work is motivated by a need to experiment with different techniques and styles, as well as to explore the spontaneous ideas that come from the visual inspiration of nature, and found objects. Her work has been shown in Toronto, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and the UK, as well as published in numerous books and magazines. She can be found online at rachaelashe.com.

all images courtesy of Racheal Ashe

Idea Odyssey Gallery Collective

2011-03-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

One of our students is opening a collective gallery in the International District, and would like to involve the local emerging artist community. There are a few informational meetings scheduled if you are interested in learning more:

Thursday, March 17, 5-7 pm
Idea Space in the Bush Hotel
409 Maynard Ave. S, Plaza Level

Friday, March 18, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Pratt Fine Arts
1902 S. Main St., Paint/Draw Building

Who should attend?
Emerging visual artists who want an affordable place to show their work with other diverse artists exploring culture, identity and diversity in their work. We've got a space in the International District through the Seattle Storefronts project.

Questions? Email Carina at ideaodysseygallery@gmail.com

Lecture: Photographic Artists' Books @ UPS

2011-03-08T23:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a little info about an event in Tacoma next week.
Book artist and gallery owner (and SCBA member) Laura Russell, of 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, OR will be in Tacoma to present work from her current exhibit Photo Book Works (up through March 12, 2011)

An Evening with Laura Russell: Photographic Artists’ Books
Wednesday March 16th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Collins Memorial Library, Room 020, University of Puget Sound
Sponsored by Puget Sound Book Artists

Puget Sound Book Artists is pleased to host an evening with Laura Russell, of 23 Sandy Gallery, a fine art gallery in Portland, Oregon that presents local and national artists working in the fields of book and paper arts, photography and mixed media. Laura is an accomplished photographer and book artist who creates hand-bound limited edition artist books and exhibits widely. Laura holds a BBA from Northwood University and had a 15-year career in graphic design and marketing before becoming a full time working artist in 2002 and then opening the gallery in 2007. She is a past board member of the non-profit Photolucida and past co-president of the Colorado Women’s Caucus for Art. She is a current board member of both the Portland Art Museum’s Photo Council and the Portland Art Dealers Association. Her books are collected by many museums and libraries; including the University of California, the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), the Tate Collection (London) as well as Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound.

Her illustrated presentation will feature the work of photographers and book artists from around the world who are creating artists books to showcase their photographs. View purely visual books that allow the images to tell their own story, and books that marry image with text to form a compelling narrative. The artist books presented use everything from paladium prints to ink jet prints to cyanoprints. Explore structures from the simple stapled pamphlet to the traditional codex to sculptural books that challenge the viewer’s definition of a book. The presentation is about 40 minutes, followed by a show and tell of books from gallery inventory plus Laura’s own photographic artist books. You are encouraged to bring your own photographically illustrated books as well!

Click HERE for directions and parking information.

Questions? Contact Jane Carlin: jcarlin@pugetsound.edu

2011-03-03T23:12:00.001-08:00

Seattle Center for Book Arts presents

Eat a Book Today!
The 6th Annual Seattle Edible Book Festival

A festival celebrating books, food & the people who love them

Saturday, April 2, 2011 | 12:00 - 3:00 pm
The Good Shepherd Center
4649 Sunnyside Ave North, Seattle, WA

Admission $10 | FREE with an edible entry

To participate - register your entry to before March 30th,
then create and present a piece of edible art related to books: it can pun on a title, refer to a scene or character, look like a book (or paper, scroll etc), or just have something to do with books. Whatever the inspiration - it must be edible!

Every type of book - children's classics, detective novels, biographies, fiction and non, poetry, short stories - will be sculpted from a smörgåsbord of foodstuffs. Imagine The Brothers Karamatzah, S'more and Peace, Alice in Wonderbread, The Bun Also Rises, Goodnight Moon Pie, Curd Vonnegut... and so many more brainy, beautiful, silly, clever and tasty transubstantiations of books we love into treats we eat!
We expect over 150 entries this year.

See past festival pictures here.

Event Schedule
11:00 - 12:00 Edible Entries accepted, installed & photographed
12:00 - 1:30 public viewing
1:30 Celebrity Judges award prizes
2:00 Edible Books will be eaten with tea, coffee and milk

Categories & Judges
Most Pun-derful - Julia Children - performed by actress Imogen Love
Most Drop-dead Gorgeous - Kurt B. Reighley - author
Most Delectably Appetizing - Cynthia Nims - food writer & consultant
Best Young Edible Artist (K-12) - Carl Montford - artist
Best in Show - voted by the hungry horde

Edible Emcee: Nancy Guppy - from Seattle Channel's Artzone

Bringing a book? Admission is FREE, come around 11:00. If you're interpreting a particular book, bring a copy of it to display alongside your masterpiece.

Not bringing a book? Bring $10, come at noon (no later than 1:30, or you won't have time to see them!)

Interested in Volunteering? Send us an email: volunteer@seattlebookarts.org

Visit www.frybooks.com for more history, links, and samples of previous entries.

Eat a Book Today! is produced by Seattle Center for Book Arts with support from the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

March First Thursday

2011-03-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of shows to check out if you ware wandering around first Thursday tonight... or later this month.

Thomas Allen Endnotes @ G. Gibson Gallery, artist talk at 5:30 pm
(photographs made from graphic novels)

Bratsa Bonifacho @ Foster White
(text heavy oil paintings)

R: Thomas Allen, Hush, 2009, chromogenic print, 20 x 24 inches
L: Brasta Bonifacho, VWXXK, 2010, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Button Book

2011-02-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my! This is the cutest thing I've seen ALL DAY!!

One Inch Button Book by Stephanie Davidson via Craft

Stunning Miniature Books by Elsita Mora

2011-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me a link to Elsita Mora's stunning blog of miniature books that she has created. She includes amazing illustrations and intricate cut paper art in her books, with astounding results. Have a look on her blog, and be sure to check out her other work linked on the right side of her webpage. She is a truly inspired and inspiring artist!

Speak Typography

2011-02-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of more typography in action, sent to me by one of our board members, Nathan Everett. The poem is by Poet Taylor Mali, and the video by Ronnie Bruce. Enjoy!

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

The Alphabet

2011-02-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

Another lovely video for you to enjoy. Oh typography... you are so great! I saw it on Paul Price's blog which is also quite lovely.

The Alphabet from n9ve on Vimeo.

Reverting to Type

2011-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this lovely little video about a letterpress exhibit in the UK. I thought I would share it, and remind folks that we have a Weekend Letterpress Workshop with Dan Shafer at the Cornish Letterpress & Book Arts Studio coming up in March 2011.

If you are interested in letterpress (at any level), I recommend taking this workshop. Cornish has an amazing collection of vintage wooden and lead type, cuts and ornaments. It is a treat to have access to it without enrolling for a BFA!

Reverting to Type from Lima Charlie on Vimeo.

10% Discount for SCBA Members ~ Thanks Ellen!

2011-02-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

WD-40 FOR THE CREATIVE SOUL: HOW TO GET UNSTUCK
with Ellen Zeigler

Spring classes now open for registration. SCBA members receive a 10% discount!

Tuesdays, March 8 - April 5, 7 pm - 9 pm
Saturdays, March 5 - April 2, 1 pm - 3 pm  

Support your artistic practice by turning obstacles into raw material; learn daily routines to accelerate your studio work, no matter what your medium or level of experience.

Working with materials takes us out of our heads and into the flow of process. Define and refine your personal vision through the practice of keeping a visual journal - this is the single most valuable method I have found for supporting creative practice.

Particular emphasis on image transfer onto paper, exploration of unusual materials, and improvisatory exercises and games, designed to accelerate ideas and break down barriers to creativity (whether it's due to fear or just boredom!)

Each week we review national and international work that's relevant to our projects.

For further information: ellen@ellenziegler.com

2011-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

SCBA' s New Year's Resolutions

+ let creativity happen +
+ support the arts +
+ make more books +
+ learn something new +
+ share your books +
+ volunteer +
+shop, eat & play locally+
+ share your skills +
+ cherish friendships +
+ exercise mind & body +
+ enjoy rainy days +
+ believe in yourself +
+ smile & laugh often +
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Your friends at Seattle Center for Book Arts wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!

May 2011 bring you many opportunities to contemplate, play and create...

What will 2011 bring for SCBA? In addition to offering quality book and paper arts classes & events, fostering local partnerships & community - we hope to find a home of our own. The search is on, and tips are welcome! Send us an email if you have ideas!

Please help us grow in 2011! Join or renew your membership to SCBA;
enroll in a class or workshop; volunteer or join a committee. All donations of money, time, equipment, expertise, good will & cheer are greatly appreciated!

Paper Hammer

2010-12-12T00:07:00.000-08:00

Marquand Books opens a retail location in Seattle!

Paper Hammer opened this month in downtown Seattle, a stones-throw from SAM. This new shop features modern journals, letterpress paper goods, hand-crafted furniture, fine art books, and vintage objects. The Marquand Books studio and artspace is open alongside the shop.

Currently in the artspace are works by Randy Hayes from his series of Kyoto Views.

Exhibition Hours: Friday, December 17 from 11 to 6 p.m. & Saturday, December 18 from 11 to 5 p.m., & by appointment

1400 2nd Avenue, Seattle
paper-hammer.com

SCBA's 2011 Special Edition Print Preview

2010-12-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

Released just in time for the holidays!

SCBA's 3rd Annual Special Edition Print

Lemonade by Larry Calkins & David W. Simpson

Click here for details!

SCBA Winter 2011 Class Offerings

2010-11-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SCBA Winter 2011 Classes & Workshops
open for registration!

Bookbinding I
Sundays, Jan 23- Feb 13, 2011, 4 - 7 pm
Please register by January 16*
Click here for more details.

Historic Bindings Series
Sundays, February 27 - March 20, 2011, 4 - 7 pm
Please register by February 20*
Click here for more details.

Letterpress Printing Workshop
Saturday and Sunday, March 19 - 20, 2011, 10 am - 4 pm
Please register by March 12*, space is limited!
Click here for more details.

* SCBA members receive 10% off class tuition ~ Join or renew today!

Need a holiday gift? Gift Certificates are available for memberships, special edition prints & tuition.

Make a Book Tonight!

2010-10-19T15:11:00.001-07:00

Seattle Center for Book Arts PRESENTS

MAKE A BOOK TONIGHT!
::: an evening to celebrate book + paper arts :::

You're invited to attend a casual evening hosted by SCBA to celebrate book + paper arts in the Pacific Northwest! We encourage book enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to drop by for this free evening of activities including book making, screen printing, playing with paper, spontaneous poetry, eating + drinking.

Friday, November 12th, 5 to 10 p.m.
Pratt Fine Arts Center ~ Printmaking Studio
1902 S Main Street, Seattle, 98144

RSVP ASAP ~ Space is limited ~ info@seattlebookarts.org

Make + Take + Donate: Experience the many hands-on opportunities at Make a Book Tonight! - book making, screen printing, spontaneous poetry & recycled paper creations. No purchase is necessary, pay-what-you-can donations are welcome! Take home your creations or leave them with us - all remaining items will be donated to SCBA's Supporter Program to reward our growing membership.

Join or renew your SCBA Membership today, or at the event!

Unable to attend? Make a donation today!

We encourage guests to pay what they can to support SCBA and offset the costs of this event. Your contribution is greatly valued!

Save the Date ~ Make a Book Tonight!

2010-10-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE ::: November 12, 2010

Join your book loving friends for a casual evening
to celebrate book & paper arts!

Friday, November 12th
5 to 10 p.m.
in the Print Studio, Pratt Fine Arts Center

This event is free and open to all ages

Book + Printmaking Activities ~ beginners welcome!
Snacks, Beverages + More!

Additional info to come....

Join or renew your SCBA Membership today, or at the event!

We encourage guests to pay what they can to support SCBA and offset the cost of this event.
Please bring cash or checks to make your contribution to SCBA.

Ellen Ziegler: The Book of Knowledge

2010-10-04T21:21:00.001-07:00

October 6 – October 31, 2010

SOIL Gallery
112 3rd Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104

Opening Reception
Thursday October 7, 6–8pm

Artist Talk
Saturday, October 16th, 3:30pm

A hand-bound volume of drawings on tar paper. In the Backspace at SOIL.

Ellen Ziegler has been making one-of-a-kind artist books for many years. She has exhibited nationally and is in the collections of University of Wisconsin at Madison; Southern Graphics Print Archive at University of Mississippi; Rutgers University, University of the Arts, Philadelphia; and California State University at Long Beach, as well as many private collections. She is also recipient of the Most Drop-Dead Gorgeous Book Award at the Edible Book Festival. This is her first exhibit of an artist's book in Seattle.

THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE is a major volume of drawings, a single book meant to be paged through by viewers, as opposed to presented in a glass case, untouchable. Her work with tar paper has evolved over three years, pushing the limits of the material and resulting in a visceral and sensory experience for the viewer/reader who takes the time to experience the book.

Coming next summer: Ziegler is excited to be collaborating with Claudia Cohen, a nationally known bookbinder to the stars, who binds Anselm Kiefer's books (one of Ziegler's book heroes...)

For more information, contact the artist directly, or

SOIL Gallery: 112 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Hours: Wed-Sat 12-5pm, www.soilart.org
(206) 264-8061 gallery@soilart.org

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Book as Art: Hand2Hand

2010-09-29T00:20:00.000-07:00

Here is an exhibition opportunity for local book artists:

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Book as Art: Hand2Hand
Guest Curator: MalPina Chan
Location: Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA

Exhibition dates: Nov. 17, 2010 to Jan. 9, 2011

The theme for the second Book Arts exhibition at Columbia City Gallery is INTERACTION—from the artist's hands to the viewer's hands.

Media: This exhibit is open to artist books created as either editioned or one-of-a kind. Sculptural books, book objects, tunnel books, pop-ups or pop-outs, books with pull-tabs or flaps, altered books are encouraged as long as the book has interactive, movable elements. Your books can employ any medium, any style, and any size.

Exhibition Display: This exhibition will be displayed at Columbia City Gallery in Seattle, WA. We feel very strongly that artist books need to be handled to be fully appreciated. Handi-wipes will be provided for viewers along with a friendly word about proper book handling.

You are encouraged to offer your artist books for sale. If your book is an edition you are welcome to send either a display copy and/or a sellable copy. The Gallery keeps 50% of the sale price and the artist receives 50% of the sale price.

Deadline for submissions: Oct. 17, 2010
Notification of selected work: Oct. 29, 2010
Selected work delivered by Nov. 10, 2010
Exhibition opens: Nov. 17, 2010
Artists reception: Nov. 20, 2010
Artists Panel Discussion: TBA

Please contact MalPina Chan for the prospectus.
Email: mchanbookarts@yahoo.com

DIY Note Pads

2010-09-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this great post on Design Sponge a couple of days ago... The bbbcraft sisters give great step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own notepads. I thought all you DIY bookmakers would enjoy this fun project. Those scraps in the recycle bin may have another purpose...

Artist Trust Networking Event

2010-09-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Alternative Venues and Accessible Art

Artist Trust regularly hosts Artists’ Networking Events, held in their fabulous Resource Room in Seattle. The themes of the Artists’ Networking Events are meant to be a starting point for conversations and interactions that lead to introductions, possible collaborations and in general – networking! The events bring artists together, introduce them to the many resources in the Resource Room and provide information on services available through Artist Trust's Professional Resources and Financial Grant Programs.

All are invited to any of the events. Check out the facility, interact with other artists, and enjoy coffee and treats.

Friday, October 1, 2010, 6-8 pm
Artist Trust Open House and Artists' Networking Event:
“Alternative Venues and Accessible Art”
Special guest: Bryan Ohno

Experiencing art should be an integral part of daily life for everyone, not just those who can afford it. Let’s talk about creating easily accessible art experiences in and for our community.

Bryan Ohno is the Director of MadArt Seattle, whose mission is to support emerging artists in our community, to bring art into our lives in unexpected ways, and to create community involvement in the arts.

Artist Trust
1835 12th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

Contact: Lele Barnett, Development Associate
lele@artisttrust.org; 206/467-8734 x16; toll-free 1/866/218-7878

Pratt Offers Teen Bookmaking Classes

2010-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Pratt Fine Arts Center, one of our community partners, is offering a Teen Class in Handmade Books. Here are the details:

Teen Drawing and Mixed Media - Unique Handmade Books
Description: Learn to make unique handmade books, investigating traditional adhesive and non-adhesive binding techniques, printmaking, drawing and writing. You will work individually and collaboratively on projects, such as creating book structures and Exquisite Corpse editions. Create a thematic book that will be made into editions and traded among peers and within the community. Prerequisite: None

Please contact Lily Hotchkiss for more information:

Lily Hotchkiss, Youth Art Works Coordinator
PRATT FINE ARTS CENTER
The Place to Make ART
206.328.2200 x224

And be sure to check out Pratt's Youth Blog!
http://prattyouthartworks.wordpress.com/

Discount for SCBA Members!

2010-09-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Fellow artist Ellen Zeigler is offering a 10% discount to SCBA members for her fabulous studio art class! Click here to Join or Renew your membership with SCBA!!!

WD-40 FOR THE CREATIVE SOUL: How to get unstuck

Classes are for all levels; new and practicing artists
inspire and stimulate each other.

Students also love the ongoing community
that these classes have initiated.
(see testimonials on website)

FOUR SPACES LEFT ON SATURDAY
Saturdays 1 - 3 pm:
September 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.
$250 All materials included.

TUESDAYS ARE FULL
if Tuesday is your only possible day, email me to be on the waiting list.
Tuesdays 7 - 9 pm:
September 21, 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26.
$250. All materials included.

Contact info: ellen@ellenziegler.com 206-784-8841

{10% of all tuition goes to Doctors without Borders and to a Tibetan refugee settlement in India.}

SCBA: Bookbinding I

2010-09-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Fall 2010 Class Feature: Bookbinding I
Sundays, September 26 - October 24, 2010, 4 - 7 pm

Want to learn how to make books?

Seattle Center for Book Arts is proud to present a 5-week course in Bookbinding! This series encompasses an introduction to bookbinding tools & techniques. It includes the basics of bookbinding; cutting, folding, determining paper grain, etc. Simple books will be constructed, including a variety of pamphlet stitch books, a stab binding with a hard cover, variations on the accordion binding and a case bound (hard cover) book. Bookbinding I is an excellent introduction to beginners into the world of bookmaking. Skills learned in this class can be applied towards your own artwork and DIY projects! Bookbinding I is taught by SCBA board members and affiliated teachers. Price $205.

Please register by September 19

Join SCBA and save 10%
SCBA Annual Memberships start at $25!
Member Price, Bookbinding I ~ $184.50

SVC's 9th Annual Wayzgoose

2010-08-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Join SCBA this Saturday,
August 28th from 1-6 p.m.
@ SVC's 9th annual Wayzgoose!

SCBA will be participating in the Letterpress Marketplace. We'll have a free activity, samples of book forms made in our classes, and our Special Edition Prints for sale by Carl Montford, Jessica Spring & Chandler O'Leary.

For those who aren’t familiar with a Wayzgoose, it’s a tradition in the letterpress printing world that dates back to the 17th century, when master printers would serve a feast to their apprentices in recognition of the impending shorter days of fall and winter which would require the difficult work of handsetting type by candlelight.

At the SVC Wayzgoose, there will be neither geese nor candles, but it promises to be a smashing event:

Steamroller Letterpress Smackdown: Local artists and design firms will be challenged to produce a poster to be printed in the SVC parking lot with a two-ton steamroller used in place of the traditional printing press.

Letterpress Marketplace: Artists will be on hand selling letterpress posters, cards, books, and other ephemera and promoting their studios.

Equipment Swap: Printers will bring type, tools, printing accessories, and who-knows-what for selling, buying, or simply admiring.

Shop Tours and Printing Demonstrations: SVC’s letterpress shop will be open for tours. Guests will get a chance to print a free letterpress keepsake on SVC’s recently restored iron handpress.

SUMMER SAVINGS!! SCBA Visiting Artist Series!

2010-07-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

SCBA is thrilled to announce summer workshops with visiting artists
Esther K. Smith & Dikko Faust

Magic Books & Paper Toys
WITH ESTHER K. SMITH
Saturday & Sunday, August 14-15, 10 am - 4 pm
2100 Building (in Rainier Valley), 2100 24th Ave. S., Seattle, WA

Amaze your friends with an array of tricky book forms from a myriad of traditions: hexaflexagons, magic wallets, simple pop-ups, origami-based forms, exquisite corpses, animations, jewelry books, etc. Learn these easy structures - make quick models and then embellish them with your favorite stamps, collage materials, stickers, buttons and beads. This workshop is based on Esther K. Smith's book of the same name... don't miss this rare opportunity to learn from a true master of the craft! Beginners welcome!

SCBA Member Price: $210.50 ~ Non-Member Cost: was $345 NOW ONLY $245!
Register here and now!

+ + + + +

PurgaColor© and Other Secrets of Purgatory Pie Press:
Printmaking on the Letterpress
WITH DIKKO FAUST
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm
Cornish College of the Arts, 1000 Lenora St., Seattle, WA

PurgaColor and other printmaking secrets of Purgatory Pie Press Revealed! Explore letterpress as a printmaking medium. Learn to edition painterly techniques such as feathering, collagraph, colorization. Make texture and collage plates--- type-high is the only rule!

"IF IT FITS ON THE PRESS WE WILL LETTERPRESS IT. EVERYTHING THAT FITS, WE PRINT!"

Don't miss this special opportunity to learn from a colorful leader and innovator in the letterpress movement, Dikko Faust of Purgatory Pie Press.

SCBA Member Price: $210.50 ~ Non-Member Cost: was $345 NOW ONLY $245!
Register now and here!

Join or renew your SCBA membership today and SAVE 10% !

Join or renew at the $100 level and receive a signed copy of Esther K. Smith's How to Make Books!

Instructor Bios:
Esther K Smith wrote and co-designed HOW TO MAKE BOOKS, MAGIC BOOKS & PAPER TOYS and THE PAPER BRIDE. She designs artist books and limited editions at Purgatory Pie Press in New York City, collaborating with typographer Dikko Faust and other artists and writers. The press has had solo exhibitions at Metropolitan Museum of Art and London's Victoria & Albert Museum. International collections include Museum of Modern Art, The National Gallery of Art, London's Tate, The Walker, The Whitney Museum, and University of Washington. Esther has taught artist books classes to adults at Cooper Union since 1992.

Dikko Faust, letterpress printer and founder of Purgatory Pie Press, hand-sets wood and metal type and specializes in experimental printmaking on the letterpress. Purgatory Pie Press has an exhibit at Puget Sound University running from August 1-October 1, 2010. This exhibition is a version of a traveling show that has been to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), Pyramid Atlantic, Minnesota Center for the Book, and Pratt Institute (NY). Dikko has served as a juror for the Type Directors Club and teaches letterpress at School of Visual Arts (NY).

Pacific Northwest Book Arts Events
with Purgatory Pie Press

DISPLAY
See sample creations from Esther K. Smith's publications, and discover what you will learn from the SCBA class!
Ravenna Third Place Books, Seattle, WA
July 19th - August 16

EXHIBIT
Purgatory Pie Press: Magic Books & Paper Toys
August 1 - October 1, 2010
Artist's Reception, Friday, August 13th, 4-6 p.m.
Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA

Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound is honored to host an exhibit of the work of Purgatory Pie Press. Faust started the Press in 1977 in Wisconsin. Since 1980, this husband and wife team have operated out of New York City focusing on making books with traditional and experimental techniques. The exhibit will include: real type letterpress limited edition collaborative artist books, posters, coasters, postcards, PurgaToys-- PLUS examples from the Random House books including typographic proofs from the covers and display pages they designed and proofed on the letterpress for those publications.

BOOKSIGNING & DEMO
with Esther K Smith, author/designer HOW TO MAKE BOOKS, MAGIC BOOKS & PAPER TOYS & THE PAPER BRIDE
Ravenna Third Place Books, Seattle, WA
Monday, August 16, 7pm

Seattle Center for Book Arts: Make a Book Today!

Providing educational, technical, and creative resources to advance the book as a contemporary art form and a powerful medium for self-expression.

Click here to donate and help further our mission.

P.O. Box 4037 Seattle, Washington 98194 (206) 659-1055

W W W . S E A T T L E B O O K A R T S . O R G

SCBA July Class Feature

2010-06-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Found and Bound:

Making Books from Recycled Materials
with Amy Fleischer

Saturday & Sunday, July 17 & 18, 1 - 4 pm

Learn how to make books from scratch, using low-cost or recycled materials, to fit almost any purpose! This workshop will focus on creative problem solving and experimentation, as we aim to adapt ancient book structures to our own contemporary uses. Have you ever wondered how to turn that ruined library book into a blank journal? Want to transform your favorite album cover into a sketchbook? This workshop will provide you with tried and true techniques for customizing your book project to fit a specific use, such as a travel or garden log, guest or baby book- the possibilities are endless. With guidance from the instructor and collaboration among peers, you'll be amazed at the unique projects that will emerge from materials you almost threw away!

SCBA Member Price: $117. ~ Non-Member Cost: $130.
Please register by July 10

Instructor Bio: Amy Fleischer is a self-taught book artist and scrap-metal mobile maker. Her love of learning has been nurtured during travels all over the world, as well a scholarly sojourn at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is most at home in a blank book, in the company of a few good pens.

SCBA Upcoming Classes & Events

Hand-Stitched Felt: Three Unique Projects with Kate Golda
Saturday & Sunday, July 24 - 25, 10 am - 4 pm

The Limp Vellum Structure with Jenny Craig
Saturday, July 31 & Sunday August 1, 10 am - 4 pm

Spontaneous One Hour Books with Lisa Hasegawa
Saturday, August 7, 10 am - 4 pm

Magic Books and Paper Toys with Esther K. Smith *
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Purgacolor and Other Secrets of Purgatory Pie Press:
Printmaking on the Letterpress with Dikko Faust *
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Photopolymer Letterpress Plates:
Design & Print the Low-Tech Way with Jenny Sapora
Saturday & Sunday, August 21 & 22, 2010, 10 am - 4 pm

Creating Altered Books with Naomi Kasumi
Saturday, August 28, 9 am - 5 pm

The Marketplace @ SVC's 9th Annual Wayzgoose
Saturday, August 28, 1 - 6 pm

* Visiting Artists from Purgatory Pie Press!

Seattle Center for Book Arts: Make a Book Today!

Providing educational, technical, and creative resources to advance the book
as a contemporary art form and a powerful medium for self-expression.

Click here to donate and help further our mission.

P.O. Box 4037
Seattle, Washington 98194
(206) 659-1055

W W W . S E A T T L E B O O K A R T S . O R G

10 x 10 x 10 x Tieton

2010-06-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS, CRAFTSPEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHERS!
You've got just over 10 days to submit to 10 x 10 x 10 x Tieton Juried Exhibition of Art, Craft, Design, Print, Photography & Architecture.

JURORS
Gallerists Greg Kucera and Gail Gibson, and Ed Marquand will be this year's jurors.

CASH PRIZES!

PUBLICATION IN THE CATALOGUE!
Marquand Books will produce a catalogue of the exhibition featuring each work.

Submissions due Monday, July 5, 2010.

For more info and a PDF of the prospectus click here.

Contact: 10xTieton@gmail.com

SCBA June Class Feature

2010-06-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Book Arts for Creative Writers
with Kate Lebo & Jennifer Borges Foster

Saturday & Sunday, June 26 & 27, 10 am - 4 pm

What's a handmade book without writing? Blank, that's what. While making blank journals is an art form unto itself, in this class we're more interested in what happens when we put pen to paper. Taking cues from the books we make in class, we'll write, erase, and explore the relationship between writing and the book. Suitable for for writers of all experience levels who want to learn book arts and book artists who want to incorporate words into their art.

Cost: $220. Members save 10% !

Please register by June 19, 2010

Instructor Bios:

Jennifer Borges Foster is a poet, bookmaker, and the editor of Filter, a hand bound limited edition literary journal. She is the recipient of Art Patch, 4Culture and the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs grants and was short-listed for The Stranger's 2007 Genius Award in literature. Her poems have appeared in The Beloit Poetry Journal, Prairie Schooner, ZYZZYVA, and other journals.

Kate Lebo lives in Seattle and works for Richard Hugo House, a literary arts center. Her poems have appeared in Crab Creek Review, DMQ Review, Smartish Pace, Filter, and a River and Sound Review, and she was awarded a 2010 Soapstone residency. For more about Kate (and her tasty homemade pies) visit her blog, Good Egg.

Upcoming Summer Classes

Coptic Binding with Digital Decorative Paper with Maggie Booth
Sunday, June 6, 10 am - 4 pm

Preparing for the Edition, with Lisa Hasegawa
Saturday, June 12, 10 am - 4 pm

Book Arts for Creative Writers, with Kate Lebo & Jennifer Borges Foster
Saturday & Sunday, June 26 & 27, 10 am - 4 pm

Found and Bound: Making Books from Recycled Materials with Amy Fleischer
Saturday & Sunday, July 17 - 18, 1 - 4 pm

Hand-Stitched Felt: Three Unique Projects with Kate Golda
Saturday & Sunday, July 24 - 25, 10 am - 4 pm

The Limp Vellum Structure with Jenny Craig
Saturday, July 31 & Sunday August 1, 10 am - 4 pm

Spontaneous One Hour Books with Lisa Hasegawa
Saturday, August 7, 10 am - 4 pm

Magic Books and Paper Toys with Esther K. Smith *
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Purgacolor and Other Secrets of Purgatory Pie Press: Printmaking on the Letterpress
with Dikko Faust * , Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Photopolymer Letterpress Plates: Design & Print the Low-Tech Way
with Jenny Sapora, Saturday & Sunday, August 21 & 22, 2010, 10 am - 4 pm

Creating Altered Books with Naomi Kasumi
Saturday, August 28, 9 am - 5 pm

* Visiting Artists from Purgatory Pie Press!

Seattle Center for Book Arts: Make a Book Today!

Providing educational, technical, and creative resources to advance the book
as a contemporary art form and a powerful medium for self-expression.

Click here to donate and help further our mission.

W W W . S E A T T L E B O O K A R T S . O R G

Summer classes with Seattle artist Ellen Ziegler

2010-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

WD-40 for the Creative Soul:
How to Get Unstuck

Ellen is offering a special 10%
discount to SCBA members!

Five-week early summer classes
are now open for registration!

For new artists Wednesdays, 7 - 9 pm: June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
For practicing artists Tuesdays, 7 - 9 pm: June 1, 8, 5, 22, 29

Classes $225 per five-week session. All materials provided. Limited to eight students.

Where: Ellen Ziegler Studio, Fremont. Ample free parking is available

A deposit of $50 holds your space.

Follow this link for more information: http://www.ellenziegler.com/teaching/classes_workshops.html

SCBA Spring & Summer Schedule

2010-04-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

***

Display Books: The Wonders of the Accordion Spine
WITH KARIN V. CHICKADEL
Sunday, May 2, 12 - 5 pm

Beaded Leather Journals with Painted Pages
WITH TAMARA GERARD
Saturday & Sunday, May 22 - 23, 10 am - 5 pm

Coptic Binding with Digital Decorative Paper
WITH MAGGIE BOOTH
Sunday, June 6, 10 am - 4 pm

Preparing for the Edition
WITH LISA HASEGAWA
Saturday, June 12, 10 am - 4 pm

Book Arts for Creative Writers
WITH KATE LEBO & JENNIFER BORGES FOSTER
Saturday & Sunday, June 26 & 27, 10 am - 4 pm

Found and Bound: Making Books from Recycled Materials
WITH AMY FLEISCHER
Saturday & Sunday, July 17 - 18, 1 - 4 pm

Hand-Stitched Felt: Three Unique Projects
WITH KATE GOLDA
Saturday & Sunday, July 24 - 25, 10 am - 4 pm

The Limp Vellum Structure
WITH JENNY CRAIG
Saturday, July 31 & Sunday August 1, 10 am - 4 pm

Spontaneous One Hour Books
WITH LISA HASEGAWA
Saturday, August 7, 10 am - 4 pm

Magic Books and Paper Toys
WITH ESTHER K. SMITH
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Purgacolor and Other Secrets of Purgatory Pie Press:
Printmaking on the Letterpress
WITH DIKKO FAUST
Saturday & Sunday, August 14 - 15, 10 am - 4 pm

Photopolymer Letterpress Plates: Design & Print the Low-Tech Way
WITH JENNY SAPORA
Saturday & Sunday, August 21 & 22, 2010, 10 am - 4 pm

Creating Altered Books
WITH NAOMI KASUMI
Saturday, August 28, 9 am - 5 pm

Seattle Center for Book Arts - Providing educational, technical, and creative resources to advance the book as a contemporary art form and a powerful medium for self-expression.

Seattle Print Arts Fellowship

2010-04-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

Larry Sommers Art Fellowship

Seattle Print Arts is pleased to announce the first annual fellowship in memory of Larry Sommers.

The purpose of this fellowship is to support artistic excellence in the areas of print arts, book arts and works on or of paper. The award will provide a stipend of $2,000 to produce new work or to support a project in progress. The selected artist will be determined by the artistic excellence of the work presented in the application by a panel of arts professionals connected with the fellowship committee of Seattle Print Arts. In addition to the monetary award, the chosen artist will receive a one-year Seattle Print Arts membership.

Deadline for entries: Tuesday June 1st, 2010.

pdf of prospectus

The Future of Print

2010-04-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hey There Letterpress Ladies and Gents,

If you haven't picked up a copy of this month's CityArts Magazine yet, you might want to grab one. All three (Seattle, Tacoma and Eastside) editions feature an article, The Future of Print, on Letterpress Printing in our region, and as fitting is only available in print. Here's the byline:

In the age of digital media, Northwest artists keep the art of letterpress printing alive, centuries after its birth. Somewhere, Ben Franklin and Johannes Gutenberg are grinning.

The article features local artists and SCBA supporters Jessica Spring, Chandler O'Leary, Lisa Hasegawa and Carl Montford, among other local artists.

Hope you enjoy!

Bikes for Books!

2010-03-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a great opportunity to help your little one get excited about reading!

The Seattle Public Library hosts 'Bikes for Books' reading program for kids beginning April 1.

Children are invited to read books for a chance to win a bike. The Seattle Public Library will host the "Bikes for Books" reading program, which runs from Thursday, April 1 to Thursday, June 3. A celebration and prize drawing will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 5, at the Fremont Branch, 731 N. 35th St.

"Bikes for Books" is open to children in first through third grade. Participants are allowed to enter their names for the drawing once for every three books they read between April 1 and June 3. Each entry will require a short oral book report to a librarian. One girl and one boy each will win a bike, helmet and lock. Winners must be present to collect their prizes. All participants will receive certificates of accomplishment.

"Bikes for Books" is sponsored by the Masonic Doric Lodge No. 92 in Fremont. The goal of the program is to inspire children to read.

For more information, call the Fremont Branch at 206-684-4084.

WD-40 for the Creative Soul: How to get Unstuck

2010-03-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Seattle Artist Ellen Zeigler has three spaces left in her six-week class for New Artists -

WD-40 for the Creative Soul:
How to get Unstuck

Class 101: FOR NEW ARTISTS

Overcome those internal messages – “I’m not an artist”, “I’m no good at it”, “I can’t draw a straight line” – and find your individual artistic voice.

• Discover your innate creativity through exploring physiological and psychological connections between hand and eye.
• Exercises in basic line, color, and form combine with reflections on personal imagery.
• Playing/working with a wealth of materials replaces negative messages with positive experience.
• You’ll take away with you a commitment to becoming the artist you already are, as well as new habits of artmaking that you can build on daily.
• Begin the practice of keeping a visual journal – your ongoing investigation into your personal creative vocabulary.

Class for New Artists starts March 27.
Practicing Artists class is FULL: but she is taking names for the waiting list.

More information visit Ellen's website.

Questions? Email Ellen - ellen@ellenziegler.com.

Brand 39: Thirty-Ninth National Juried Exhibition

2010-03-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Prospectus for the Thirty-Ninth Annual National Juried Exhibition of Works on Paper is now available.

On view: October 2 - November 5, 2010
Opening reception & awards ceremony: Sat. October 2, 6-9 pm
Juror: Gloria Williams Sander (Curator, Norton Simon Museum of Art)

Prospectus now available

Deadline for receipt of entries is June 16, 2010.

Call for Proposals

2010-03-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

American Printing History Association 2010 Annual Conference

The American Printing History Association welcomes proposals for its 2010 annual conference,

Learning to Print, Teaching to Print:
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Corcoran College of Art + Design
Washington, DC
October 15-17, 2010

Proposals due April 1, 2010

The conference will be held October 15–17, 2010, at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC. The main proceedings will take place on Saturday, October 16. Full details will be available at the Web site of the American Printing History Association, www.printinghistory.org.

Submission
Electronic (preferred) or hard copy submissions will be accepted. Send e-mailed proposals as attachments in Word or pdf to apha2010conference@gmail.com. Mail hard-copy proposals to:

Casey Smith
Corcoran College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

Guidelines
We solicit proposals: of 20 minutes in length
-- papers, workshops & demonstrations
of 50 minutes in length
-- panel discussions with three or more participants.

APHA membership must be current at the time of registration for all presenters.

Apart from its annual conference, APHA supports research and scholarship through its journal Printing History and other publications, an annual Lieberman Lecture named after a founder of the association, an oral history project, and a fellowship program. The association, founded in 1974, encourages the preservation of printing artifacts and source materials for printing history.

Download Call for Proposals here.

Page Turner: Contemporary Artist Books

2010-03-04T00:10:00.000-08:00

Local Book Arts Exhibit & Lecture:

Page Turner: Contemporary Artist Books
March 5 - 19, Burien Art Gallery, 421 SW 146th St. Burien, WA 98166
Opening reception, Friday, March 5th, 6-9 p.m.

This original exhibition features nationally recognized contemporary artists working in the book form.

Artists include: Ken Botnick, Jana Harper, Regin Igloria, Carrie Iverson, Amy Thompson, Valerie Wallace, Nicolette Ross, Lloyd McMullen, Megan Sterling, Neil Clark, Laura Gunnip, Diana Guerrero-Maci, Inge Bruggeman, Jessica Spring, Lisa Beth Robinson, Chandler O'Leary, Don Olsen, Molly Brooks, Tina Ward, Rachel Ann Dennis. Mandolin Brassaw, Robin Doggett

For more information on the exhibition, please visit www.contemporaryartistbooks.blogspot.com

Additionally, Curator Kelda Martensen will be giving a talk to the Seattle Book Arts Guild Members on March 18th at 7pm.

Interesting Papermaking Class in Oregon

2010-03-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for an excuse to spend a lovely spring day in Portland, look no further!

Papermaking with Plants
Artist, author and instructor Helen Hiebert has spent more than 10 creative years in Portland, exploring paper and the two- and three-dimensional art it can become. In this hands-on introductory workshop, we’ll process common plant materials, from the surprising to the mundane, cooking and beating them to prepare pulp for papermaking. Each participant will learn eastern and western sheetforming techniques and will make several sheets of paper. Find out for yourself the many fascinating fibers behind something so taken for granted! Materials are included in the price.

Helen Hiebert
Saturday 4/3/10, 10am-4pm
$80, limit 10

The Berry Botanic Garden
11505 SW Summerville Ave, Portland, OR 97219
Call 503-636-4112 ext 102 for information or to register.

Call for Entries

2010-01-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

Annual Valentine's Day Card Exhibit

Submit your most outrageous, creative, romantic valentine's day card for an upcoming exhibit at the Genesee Center for Arts & Education.

Accepted mediums: painting, photography, letterpress, wood, glass, clay etc. anything that can be presented on a card and mailed with a 44 cent stamp.

Card size must be 5 1/2" x 4 3/16" or 6 3/16" x 4 5/8" or 6 7/8" x 5 inches (A2, A6 or A7 envelope sizes).

Entry fee: $5 for each entry. Limit of 5 entries per artist.

All proceeds benefit the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education.

Four $100 cash awards in the following categories:

-Best overall design / concept
-Best letterpress card
-Best use of handmade paper
-Best use of Alternative Media

Entry Form

Cards, entry form, and entry fee must be received or delivered by February 10, 2010 to:

Genesee Center for the Arts & Education
Attn: Annual Valentine's Day Card Exhibition
713 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607

Cards will be on exhibit in the Printing and Book Art Center from Feb. 12- Feb. 28.

Jurors: TBA

Contact Geri McCormick for more information.

Calling All Accordion Books!

2010-01-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

Call for entries: The Illustrated Accordion
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Gallery, April 2-30

The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) announces a call to artists for the non-juried exhibition “The Illustrated Accordion,” which will be held in the KBAC Gallery, April 2–30, 2010. Open to all emerging and established artists, this 2nd annual exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form. All media, variations, and interpretations of this style of book will be accepted and included in the exhibition.

Artists are limited to one entry each for the exhibit. Books must be received by Friday, March 26 at 5:00 p.m. There is no charge to participate. For complete details and instructions for submissions download the complete Call for Entries and Entry Form

Call for Submissions

2010-01-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

Evergreen Washelli “Art in the Columbarium” exhibition.
Deadline for submissions – April 21st, 2010.

Solo shows for emerging/new artists, 2 and 3-dimensional original art.
Exhibits are scheduled on a four to six week rotation.
Submit a portfolio of 12 pieces by email or website link with SPECIFIC images to be considered.
Please include a list with sizes and media, CV/resume, and artist statement.

Complete details are listed here.

Contact: Heather Mitchell, Gallery Coordinator, hmitchell@washelli.com

Call for Entries

2010-01-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

San Diego Book Arts 3rd National Juried Exhibition

Call for Entries is now open for the San Diego Book Arts Third National Juried Exhibition, to be held at Mandeville Special Collections, Geisel Library, University of California, San Diego, May 29–July 18, 2010. A full color catalog will be available for purchase.

Juror: Kitty Maryatt, Assistant Professor of Art at Scripps College and Director of the Scripps College Press, and principal owner of Two Hands Press, a book arts design studio specializing in the design and fabrication of both handmade and production books. Kitty has an MFA from UCLA and lectures and gives workshops all over the country.

Eligibility: Artists must live or work within the USA. All structures of artists’ books, unique or limited edition are eligible. Due to case size and exhibition space, work should not exceed 30 inches in any dimension.

Click here for the full prospectus and online entry form.

Book Arts Exhibit at University of Puget Sound

2010-01-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Our neighbors at UPS are opening a book arts exhibit this month, with demonstrations at the opening by local book artists!

Cover to Cover: The Art of Shareen LaPlantz
Exhibit runs January 21 - March 12, 2010
University of Puget Sound, Collins Memorial Library

On the exhibit’s opening night of Thursday, Jan. 21, from 4:30–6 p.m., members of the Tacoma Book Arts Group, an informal community of book artists and designers, will be on hand to demonstrate many of the techniques covered in LaPlantz’s books.

Shereen LaPlantz (1947–2003) was a California-based artist and educator widely recognized for her seminal publications, Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals, & Albums, and The Art & Craft of Handmade Books. Throughout her extensive career she taught hundreds of workshops associated with the art of the book. An exhibition of the artist’s personal collection of handmade books and teaching materials will be on display at Collins Memorial Library on the campus of University of Puget Sound Jan. 21–March 12, 2010. The collection belongs to Rochelle Monner, a Tacoma educator and artist, and a personal friend of LaPlantz.

LaPlantz’s recognition that book structures could be a combination of two- and three-dimensional formats, and that they could tell their own story, while providing information, inspired her to research and write Cover to Cover. Published in 1995, it provides an overview of book structure and design, with chapters on binding, stitching, and presentation. More than 170 book artists contributed images to the book, which remains a standard work in book design. The exhibition at Puget Sound will showcase many of the artist’s book-making models which she used to demonstrate folding, format, and binding techniques, as well as examples from her personal book collection.

LaPlantz initially studied textiles at California State University. After graduating in 1968, she continued to explore fabric design and weaving at the well-known Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. In 1970 she married artist David LaPlantz, a jeweler and metalsmith.

LaPlantz’s early work focused on weaving and basketry as an art form. In the late 1980s, she took a new direction, creating a series of baskets with small books integrated into the physical context of the work. This project marked her transition to the book arts.

Throughout her life LaPlantz shared her passion with numerous students, many of whom are now considered some of the country’s leading book artists. In The Art & Craft of Handmade Books she wrote: Book arts is now a vibrant medium where creativity can be expressed through techniques, materials, formats, and content. It’s an exciting time to be making books. Artists are experimenting, pushing boundaries, exploring historical ideas, and applying familiar techniques in new ways.

Making a book - Start to Finish

2009-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion by John Carrera

This video shows an incredibly ambitious book arts project from start to finish. Watch and be amazed.

Amos Kennedy comes to Seattle

2009-12-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

I printed in the same Studio with Amos Kennedy last spring and between listening to stories and watching him print I am amazed I got anything done at all. He's a powerhouse ... and he's going to be in town for the screening of a new documentary called "Proceed and be Bold". It's being shown on December 17th at 7pm at 2000 South Jackson Street (Hidmo) as part of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival. Amos should be there with a selection of his goods. (suggested donation) $5. Should be well worth it. (http://www.langstonarts.org/)

CALL FOR ARTISTS

2009-12-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Creative Art Workshop Presents:

Inventive Structures: Books beyond the Codex

A National Exhibition with Juror Hedi Kyle, internationally recognized book artist and conservator. The exhibition will run May 14-June 25, 2010. Two winners will be awarded a joint exhibition in 2011. Open to all non-codex book structures, including scrolls, accordions and alternatives.

Submission deadline is February 19, 2010.

For complete details on Inventive Structures,
Download Prospectus Here
Visit www.creativeartsworkshop.org
Call 203.562.4927,
or send SASE to:
Gallery Committee, Creative Arts Workshop
80 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510.

Paper: Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded at MoMA

2009-11-30T09:09:00.001-08:00

MoMA has a beautiful online / interactive exhibition called "Paper: Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded." It features paper and book works by some pretty big names: Claes Oldenberg, Richard Tuttle, Eva Hesse, Robert Rauschenberg, and many others. One nice thing about this online presentation is that you can zoom in pretty close and see lots of the details in the work. Check it out here. (Thanks to Sara for the link.)

Crazy Paper Art

2009-11-19T13:54:00.001-08:00

This page is an unbelievable collection of artists working with paper as a sculptural medium. Looking through these examples is mind-boggling and awe-inspiring. Towards the bottom there are also a few artists working in altered books.

Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month - Studio Tours

2009-11-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a great way to spend the weekend!

Northwest Book Artists and SCBA supporters Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring will have their studios open for the tour....among many other fabulous local artists.

Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month
Studio Tours
November 7 & 8, 2009
10 am - 4 pm

39 locations around Tacoma 2009 marks the 8th anniversary of the Art at Work studio tours, featuring 75 artists and collective studios! The tours allow the general public the opportunity to see the spaces in and tools with which local artists create their work. It is also a chance to watch demonstrations, ask artists questions, purchase one-of-a-kind creations and, in some cases, even try your hand at creating your own masterpiece.

Studio Tour brochure (PDF)
Studio Tour schedule (PDF)
Studio Tour map (PDF)

You can also pick up a copy of the Art at Work brochure, which contains all of the above Studio Tour information, at many cultural locations around Tacoma.

View the 2009 Studio Tour participants here.

Calling all postcards!

2009-11-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

I know I have a drawer full of postcards.... maybe you do to...?

The Lab's Postcard Show 13 (in San Francisco)

SUBMISSIONS
Special Call for Entries: Postcard Show Postcard 2009 Form
FEE: $10 a box | DROP OFF DATES: November 20 & 21 from 1-6pm
(shipped work must be RECEIVED by November 17)
Many other important details revealed in PDF! Please download.

The 13th Annual Small Format Art Sale featuring the Museum of Pocket Art in the Front Gallery

Lab Members Preview Reception: Friday, Dec 4, 2009: 5-6pm
Opening Reception: Friday, Dec 4, 2009: 6-9pm
Sale continues: Saturday, December 5 & Sunday, December 6: 1-6pm
Free admission

The Lab celebrates its 25th year, and is pleased to announce the 13th annual Postcard Show. Everyone is invited to contribute a set of small format multiples -- whether that be a series of hand-made paintings or objects, or production run postcards. They're challenging artists to find new, exciting ways to use the postcard theme, and then from December 4 through 6, they'll open their gallery as a cabinet of curiosities, inviting viewers and buyers to experience the richness of the local arts community.

They believe that collecting engaging, high-quality, beautiful artwork should be accessible to everyone.

This year, the Museum of Pocket Art will be exhibiting in the Front Gallery, local DJs will play short sets during the reception on Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday a rotating lineup of local performers will busk for your entertainment.

Fixed-price work will be available for $1 to $50 (cash, checks, VISA or MasterCard accepted).
(50% commission to the artist, 50% to The Lab)

The Lab : 2948 16th Street · San Francisco CA 94103 · 415.864.8855 ·
Hours: Wed-Sat 1-6pm during exhibitions

Between the Folds

2009-10-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Think origami is just paper planes and cranes? Meet a determined group of theoretical scientists and fine artists who have abandoned careers and scoffed at graduate degrees to forge new lives as modern-day paper folders. Together they reinterpret the world in paper, creating a wild mix of sensibilities towards art, science, creativity, and meaning.

This fabulous looking documentary will be shown on PBS in December. But we can see it first and free in both Seattle and Tacoma!

For more info on when and where, go HERE
More film info go HERE

PS - I've RSVPed for myself plus 9!

Saturday November 21, 2009 3:30pm to 5:30pm (film + discussion)

So anyone who wants to go with me ..... janet@seattlebookarts.org

Ticket, Ticket, Who Needs a Ticket!

2009-10-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

Planning to attend SCBA's Accordion-A-Thon on Saturday 10/17?

Waiting to buy your ticket at the door?

Here are two reasons to buy your tickets today:
(or at least by Thursday 10/15)

1. Each ticket purchased online by Thursday 10/15 will enter you into a raffle to win either:

A) A Free SCBA Workshop!
or
B) An iPod Touch (like the iPhone, but without the phone part)

2. Streamline your way through check-in and be assured entry
(a limited number of tickets will be available at the door)

We look forward to seeing you there!

"Accordion-a-thon" Seattle's Book Arts Party!

2009-10-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Seattle Center for Book Arts

invites you to attend the

3rd Annual Accordion-a-thon: Seattle's Book Arts Party!

Saturday, October 17, 2009
7-10 pm
Pratt Fine Arts Center's Print Studio
1902 South Main Street
Seattle, Washington 98144

Tickets: $15 ea, or 2 for $25;
Children 12 and under $10
click to purchase tickets

Join Seattle Center for Book Arts for the 2009 Accordion-a-thon,
an all-ages celebration of Northwest book arts!

* Enjoy yummy food & beverages
* Bid on fabulous silent auction items
* Learn how to make an acccordion book
* Pull your very own letterpress print
* Delight in the accordion music of Hell's Bellows
* Mingle with book makers and book lovers!

Accordion-a-thon's fundraising highlights include
a silent auction with artwork by:

Caryn Badgett · Dana Bettinger · Anne Bingham · Maggie Booth
Diem Chau · Jenny Craig · Kim Doyle · Gin Flynn · Heather Foster
Desiree Haigh · Lisa Hasegawa · Ellie Honl · Lynne Kelly · Nikki McClure
Carl Montford · Nelleke Nix · Chandler O'Leary · K.C. Potter de Haan
Lark Preyapongpisan · Maggie Roberts · Liz Sheets · Larry Sommers
Jessica Spring · Tyler Stout · Mark Sullo · Kim van Someren
Shannon Welles · Jessica White · and many more!

SCBA is also proud to feature an array of in-kind donations
from local businesses. To date, donors include:

Bluebottle Gallery · Book Arts Guild · BuyOlympia.com
Cornish College for the Arts · Decode Books · Henry Art Gallery
Hugo House · King's Books · The Market Foundation
Pacific Science Center · The Paper Source · Redhook Brewery
Victrola Coffee Roasters · Seattle Art Museum · Seattle Theater Group
Tributary Books · Washington Ensemble Theater
Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers

SCBA's 2009 Special Edition Print by Carl Montford will be available for purchase, along with a preview of our 2010 collaborative print by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring. Enjoy a special discounted price on these limited edition prints during the party!

All proceeds of this fundraiser will benefit SCBA's community outreach activities and student scholarships, as well as assist SCBA in funding a permanent center location.

Reserve your tickets today!

A limited number of tickets will also be available at the door.

Unable to attend the Accordion-a-thon?

Help us work towards establishing a center dedicated to book arts in the Northwest!

DONATE NOW!

Seattle Center for Book Arts
P.O. Box 4037
Seattle, Washington 98104
w: www.seattlebookarts.org
e: info@seattlebookarts.org

Pictorial Webster's

2009-10-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this video to me, and I thought is was worth sharing this amazing project:

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

To find our more about John Carrera, Pictorial Webster's or Quercus Press, visit: www.quercuspress.com

Two Fine Chaps

2009-10-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have begun to follow two new artists Tom Biby and Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, also known as Two Fine Chaps. They have a new book out that you can find at 23 Sandy, a gallery in Portland, Oregon (or online at twofinechaps.com). It's a beautiful accordion style structure illustrating the final chapter of Moby Dick. Talk about epic! The illustration to the right is of The Clockmaker's Joy, a cautionary tale. Check 'em out.

Free health care for artists - Seattle

2009-10-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Are you an artist in Seattle without Health Insurance?
This came across my inbox last night.... there are still 3 months remaining in 2009!

"Artist Clinic, as artists' night is called, began in January as a yearlong pilot project put together by Country Doctor and Washington Artists Health Insurance Project (WAHIP)....

... By simply filling out a form that demonstrates a commitment to their art, uninsured artists can get $75, up to twice in a year, to cover medical services or prescriptions at Country Doctor...

'None of us can really figure out why nobody's responding to it. It's baffling,' says Miguel Guillen of Artist Trust. 'We know people need it. We know it's a tiny subsidy. But this is a pilot project. It's incentive money for organizations to try to get out there and fund these types of projects into the future, so we're like, 'Oh my god, artists, get out there and use these funds.' "

Read the whole article by Jen Graves
Check out Health Care Resources from ArtistTrust

Upcoming class at PRATT: CON-TEXT: Appropriation of Books and the Sculptural Form

2009-09-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just got a notice from Pratt Fine Arts in Seattle of an AMAZING class they are going to be running... Nicholas Jones is coming all the way from Australia to teach this class. Sign up while you still can!

Master Artist Program presents Nicholas Jones Con-Text: Appropriation of Books and the Sculptural Form

Nicholas Jones first began working with books as a raw material after experimenting with various non-traditional art materials and studying conceptual and installation-based artistic approaches. He creates fantastic sculptures that celebrate and question notions of what we know and think about books through manipulation and alteration of their pages. Nicholas’ work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at the Geelong Art Gallery in Australia.

Explore the possibilities books present when appropriated in an art context. Throughout the class, you will learn how to find materials, cut, fold and manipulate them to create new works that reference their utilitarian past but stand on their own as beautifully crafted objects. This is a great opportunity to begin reusing printed materials in your own work with the guidance of an accomplished international artist.

Class # 515
Fri.-Mon., 9:30am – 5:30pm, 11/6 - 11/9
Number of sessions: 4
Class Fee: $375
Register Here

Gorgeous Altered Books

2009-09-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

I saw these stunning altered books and wanted to put them up on the blog. The artist, Rachael Ashe, is up in Vancouver BC, so she has a Pacific Northwest connection. Check out her Flickr stream here (where these are from) and a great blog post she wrote about altered books here.

Vamp & Tramp in Tacoma!

2009-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Please mark your calendar for a return of Bill & Vicky Stewart!

Exploring Text and Image:
A Conversation about Artists’ Books - Chapter 2

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tentative: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
University of Puget Sound
(Tacoma)
Collins Memorial Library, McCormick Room

Bill and Vicky Stewart own Vamp & Tramp, a unique business representing over 150 fine press and book artists from around the world. They shared examples from their collection. Those attending their presentation learned more about the unique world of artists’ books. Read about their approach to representing artists and their love of the book here.

Wow! Book of Space

2009-09-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

A fantastic project from Johan Hybschmann - read all about it at BLDG BLOG

Supporting Our Community: KING'S BOOKS

2009-08-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

The convenience of big booksellers and other online retailers (names not to be mentioned) takes a big bite from small businesses through a normally stable economy, but as everyone is saving every nickle these days it seems that small booksellers are getting kicked while they are down. We have seen the closure of many local independent bookstores in the past two years, each representing a piece of the great literacy reputation of the Northwest gone for good.

RIP: Epilogue Books, The Couth Buzzard, M Coy Books, Jackson Street Books, All For Kids Books, Parkplace Books.

Recently another local favorite has announced that they are in trouble, and this one might hit closer to home than usual. In the 11 years since its opening, King's Books has worked to not only provide the community with literature, but to truly build a community - a haven for authors and artists and bibliophiles.

In the local book arts world, most know King's Books as the home of the Tacoma Wayzgoose, an event dedicated to the celebration of letterpress printing. SCBA has been participating in the Wayzgoose for four years now and we have enjoyed the support of the King's Books loyal followers. Now it is time for us to try and give back...

To help produce cash flow, King's Books has developed a membership program, Vehement Vassals. For an annual $20 membership, you'll not only receive a 10% discount on all your purchase, but you will also help the shop make the changes they need in order to remain viable.

And you need not travel to Tacoma to participate! You can provide help immediately and purchase your membership online, then put it to good use on your next trip down south. King's Books is one place where the individual CAN and DOES make a difference. Donate now.

NOTE: This weekend only, Vassals enjoy 30% OFF!

2009-08-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Call for Letterpress Submissions

Blue Barnhouse has recently signed a contract to write a 178 page book tentatively called Adventures in Letterpress and will be gathering over 200 images of letterpress for the book. The publisher is Mark Batty Publisher ( www.markbattypublisher.com ), a well respected design oriented book publisher in both the US and the UK who makes high quality books.
This book will be a large collection of images of letterpress in all its varieties from studios nationwide and perhaps even around the world. They are now collecting images for the book. Looking for a wide variety of styles so if you know someone who might be interested, please pass this information along, especially interested in finding underground studios/artists that have so far gone under the radar.

Stage 1 Guidelines for Submission
1. Please send no more than 6 images of your most innovative letterpress projects to submissions@bluebarnhouse.org. Low res images are okay and actually preferred for now. More images will be requested if we like what we see.
2. Send along a bio about you or your studio & contact information.
3. Eventually we will need high quality photos of your work. Please do not send work that is no longer available to be photographed using our file guidelines (see below). If you are unable to take a professional photo of your work, we will be able to take photos of a limited number of artist's work provided you can send it to us.
4. Letterpress can include but is not limited to posters, packaging, books, art prints, business cards, greeting cards, etc.
5. Seriously, don't send us pics of letterpressed wedding related items. We're not interested and it lessens your chances of being accepted.
6. Mailed submissions of letterpress will also be acceptable, please provide return postage if you would like your work returned to you. Submissions can be mailed to:

Adventures in Letterpress
c/o Blue Barnhouse
428-B Haywood Rd
Asheville, NC 28806

8. Cutoff date for submissions is September 1st.

Publisher Guidelines
• You maintain the copyright to your Art and that it is your intellectual property.
• You will not receive any monetary compensation from the Publisher for your Art in connection with the Book.
• Your name and a brief bio will be included in the Book in order to provide proper credit for your Art.
• Your Art can only be included in the Book if the related electronic files can meet the technical
specifications defined by the Publisher. All files should be uncompressed, at least 10x12 inches in
size and at a resolution of 300DPI.
• Upon publication of the Book you will receive one (1) copy for your contribution.
This is a great opportunity for exposure. We look forward to seeing what comes our way. Further questions can be directed to submissions@bluebarnhouse.org

Must watch!

2009-07-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Books and animation - yipee, Asylum Films!

WATCH THE MOVIE HERE.
Download takes forever, but it is worth the wait!

(via Ladies of Letterpress)

Open Call for Artists’ Books & Prints

2009-07-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Open Call for Artists’ Books & Prints
Deadline: September 14 - 18, 2009

Eligibility Guidelines for BookOpolis 2009 Entries
• Artists working in Print or the Book Form may submit up to two (2) pieces for exhibit.
• Seeking broadsides, prints, artists’ books, both editioned and one-of-a-kind.
• Asheville BookWorks prefers work that best integrates Concept and Craft; merging content/ideas with creative use of materials, inventive construction and technique.
• Artwork will be displayed at the discretion of the curator, Laurie Corral.

Artwork due September 14-18.
Work received after September 18th will be returned to the artist with the entry fee.
Entry fee is $10.00 per piece.
Download a pdf entry form here.

Deliver art, or ship in a reusable box/envelope w/return postage to:
BOOKWORKS
428 1/2 Haywood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28006
For questions, please call 828-255-8444.

Artist Feature: Helen Friel

2009-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Self-proclaimed "Paper Engineer" - I LOVE THAT TERM! - Helen Friel takes book interaction to a whole new level. In particular, I am talking about her construction of her latest book, The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allen Poe. In her own words:

"A short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Imp of the Perverse discusses the imp inside all of us that leads us to do things we know we shouldn’t do. Each page is perforated in a grid system with sections of the text missing. Readers must follow the simple instructions to tear and fold specific sections to reveal the missing text. Books are usually perceived as precious objects and this destruction is engineered to give the reader conflicting feelings, do they keep the book in it’s perfect untorn form? Or give into the imp and enjoy tearing it apart?"

Personally, I am looking at buying two copies. Sometimes you CAN have your cake and eat it, too!

Also worthy of a look (besides ALL of her other work) are her shadow books. Genius.

Scholarship Applications

2009-07-01T13:19:00.001-07:00

July 1, 2009: Deadline for Pratt's Scholarships

Just in case someone wants to try to submit an application TODAY....

Take advantage of Pratt's 30 merit- and financial need-based scholarships offered in every visual arts discipline taught in Pratt's studios.

Awards are used towards classes and studio rental at Pratt and are available for artists of color, adults and teens, and emerging and established artists.

Funding for Seattle Artists

2009-06-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

2010 CityArtists Projects program supports Seattle-based individual artists
working in visual, literary and film/media arts. Funding awards range up to
$10,000 to support projects in 2010.

CityArtists Projects is an annual funding program that provides support to
individual Seattle artists to conceive, develop and present new, in-progress
or remounted works taken to the next stage. Projects must include a public
presentation in the city. The program encourages a broad range of artistic
and cultural expression that reflects Seattle’s diversity.

Applications must be submitted online, and are due August 11th. Guidelines
can be seen here.

Overview Session: Wed., July 8, 6 - 8 p.m.
Online Application Assistance: Mon., July 13, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Application Draft Review: Thur., July 30, 5 - 7 p.m. & Mon., Aug. 3, 5:30 -
7:30 p.m.

For questions about the application, here are the City contacts:
Irene Gómez, Project Manager
(206) 684-7310, irene.gomez@seattle.gov
Marcia Iwasaki, Project Manager
(206) 233-3946, marcia.iwasaki@seattle.gov
Office Hours: M.-Tu., 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Wed., 8:30 a.m.-Noon

Design by the Book

2009-06-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, a partnership between Grace Bonney's Design Sponge and the New York Public Libraries brought together 5 New York artists to utilize library resources and references to create a unique body of work. The artists were inspired by the vast book collections, architecture, maps, textiles, along with the many other facets of the NYPL. This project was archived in a 4 volume online mini-series that can be streamed from the links below, or downloaded from the NYPL iTunes site.

The participating artists include: porcelain and jewelry artist Lorena Barrezueta; letterpress printer Rebecca Kutys; illustrator and maker Mike Perry; glass artist John Pomp; and designer Julia Rothman.

Episodes 1-4

Design by the Book was produced by Amy Azzarito and James Murdock, of The New York Public Library Digital Experience Group, with assistance from reference librarian Jessica Pigza, in partnership with Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge.

Wouldn't it be great if we could get the Seattle Public Library to sponsor a project like this?

Kirkland Art Center hosts visiting Artist Michelle Moode

2009-06-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

CREATIVE BINDING WORKSHOP
MICHELLE MOODE

Friday, July 10 – Saturday, July 11, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Member: $130 Nonmember: $145
2 Sessions, Skylight Room, WA01.09.SU

This two-day intensive workshop will focus on the possibilities of expression and communication through the creation of books. We will be combining traditional bookmaking techniques with nontraditional approaches and materials. We will explore a variety of book structures including accordions, pop-ups and some simple sewn structures. In addition to creating several small books, students will be encouraged to explore text and/or imagery for the interior of the books. Methods of creating imagery will include monotype, collage, several transfer processes, and direct drawing. Supply list available online. Space is limited; register now.

CREATIVE BINDING LECTURE
Saturday, July 11, 6:30 PM
FREE

Recognized for her use of a variety of materials and techniques – "ephemera, drawing, etching, silkscreen, Xerox transfer, tea, ink, typing, watercolor, acrylic, sewing, beeswax" – artist Michelle Moode employs a combination of traditional and nontraditional techniques and materials for one-of-a-kind results. At this lecture, presented in conjunction with her Creative Binding workshop at the KAC, Moode will discuss her unique approach to creating and binding books. The lecture will be held in the KAC Gallery.

MICHELLE MOODE grew up in Downey, California and Murray, Kentucky. She received her BFA from Murray State University in 2003, and her MFA in Printmaking from West Virginia University in 2007. At WVU, she pursued printmaking, bookbinding, installation, and taking watches apart. Michelle currently lives in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. She exhibits her work nationally, and currently teaches Printmaking at California State University Northridge.

More information can be found at www.kirklandartscenter.org

Kirkland Arts Center
620 Market Street
Kirkland, WA 98033
425.822.7161

2009-06-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of great not-to-be-missed book art shows in our area right now. I've seen the Bellevue one and am off to Portland to see the other this Friday.
First - The Bellevue Arts Museum - The Book Borrowers: Contemporary Artists Transforming the Book

ENDS THIS SUNDAY! It is fabulous, please don't miss it.

Next - In Portland - 23 Sandy Gallery presents - The Beautiful Book: Exploring the Allure. It looks gorgeous, I'll report back after the weekend. There is a great online catalogue to entice you.

Interested in collaborative artists' books?

2009-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Check out this collaborative artist's book by The Printmakers Left entitled Exquisite History Volume I: The Land of Wandering, published by the University of Virginia Press.

The Land of Wandering is the first volume of a three-volume project entitled Exquisite History, modeled after the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle and represents the efforts of approximately thirty artists and writers.

The Land of Wandering is an artist’s book, created through a process of exchange, in which members of the group contributed visual material—varying from drawn and hand printed folios, photos, miniature sculptures, to paintings—and written material—poetic one liners, prophetic poems, and fictional accounts—based on four pivotal sequences from The Book of Genesis. The initial materials were circulated among the group, with the idea that another member could directly layer new visual information onto a print or drawing, or use any of the works as inspiration, to build upon, and generate more related materials. A dialogue, a form of call and response, ensued. This way of working has the ability to produce an assortment of materials, some essential and meaningful to the project, while other materials begin to fall away, or get discarded. The final compilation of materials was then manipulated, formatted, and edited through the use of the computer, to produce a ten inch by six inch, 168-page, full-color artist’s book, that was published in an edition of one thousand.

For more information: http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/printmakers_left.html

CALL TO ARTISTS: Bibliophoria

2009-03-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

CALL TO ARTISTS

Bibliophoria
National Juried book arts exhibition

June 18 – July 26, 2009

Contact: Satri Pencak
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
(707) 829-4797
satrip@sonic.net

SEBASTOPOL: Sebastopol Center for the Arts invites artists living in the United States to submit work to Bibliophoria. We are looking for artwork created in the form of artist’s books (using traditional bookmaking methods OR contemporary, unconventional structures) or made by altering existing books. Open to any method or media, on any subject. Gallery visitors will be permitted to handle the books after cleaning hands with handiwipes available in the gallery.

Juror: Donna Seager is owner of the Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael, CA, which specializes in Artist Books. She has written articles about artists and exhibitions for various publications, juried many shows in Northern California and is a member of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association.

Hand-delivered entries will be accepted at SCA on Monday, June 1, between 3 and 6 pm. Entries by 35-mm slides or jpegs on CD must arrive by 5 pm, on or by that date. Please see prospectus for complete guidelines.

Entry fees: SCA members, $10 per entry or 3 entries for $25 (membership is $40 annually). Nonmembers, $15 per entry, or 3 entries for $40. Maximum, 3 entries per artist. Awards: $200 Best of Show; $50 Coordinators Award, and Merit Awards.

For a prospectus send SASE to Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Bibliophoria, 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472, or go to www.sebarts.org, or request by e-mail from satrip@sonic.net. For information call SCA at 707/829-4797.

###

Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472, 707/829-4797.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10 am – 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 1 – 4 pm.
Admission is free.

The Belltown Book Artists Honor Sandra Kroupa

2009-03-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Belltown Book Artists, fondly known as "The Bookies," are a portfolio group of independent artists devoted to the study and promotion of bookmaking and all its applications. The Bookies meet monthly to discuss works in progress, group projects, current techniques, new publications, community involvement and other exciting activities.

The group was formed by SCBA President Lillian Dabney in January 2004, and consists of a variety of book artists and bookbinders throughout the greater Seattle area. Many are members of the local Book Arts Guild and a few represent the national organization, the Guild of Book Workers and its Northwest Chapter. It has been growing in size and inspiration since its inception.

Recently, one of the participants, Ms. Diane Baker came up with the brilliant idea of members donating artist’s books to celebrate icon, Sandra Kroupa’s 40 years in Special Collections at the University of Washington. Sandra has been a proponent of book arts long before it was universally popular and has amassed an unrivaled collection of artist’s books. She is one of the most, if not the most knowledgeable individuals in the world of book arts and how fortunate that she not only makes her home here in Seattle but intends to continue in the field for another 40 years.

Sandra wears many hats and one of them is a teacher of courses on ‘the book as art’ in the PhD program in textural studies. It was Diane’s notion that we should offer up a book that Sandra might use as a teaching tool in her classes.

There were six Bookies — Diane Baker, Lillian Dabney, Michael Jacobs, Lynne Kelly, Elizabeth Sheets, and Nan Robkin — who attended the physical presentation, and more donations were sent at a later date by post.

Lillian's donation was an edition of a book that was accepted to the Guild of Book Workers juried members exhibition in 2004. Not being biased in the least, the Belltown Book Artists is a very exciting group. You, too, could participate in an event like the one discussed above. Other activities in the past have included a studio tour of one of our local book artists and gallery space in our gorgeous downtown library to showcase members’ works.

The Bookies meet the last Tuesday of each month at Uptown Espresso Café in Belltown at Fourth and Wall, and the meetings are open to all who love the art and craft of the book. Please join in the fun!

Wayzgoose at King's Books in Tacoma

2009-03-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Wayzegoose at King's Books was great this year! Crowded, kinetic and fun. There was so much enthusiasm they went ahead with the steamroller printing even with the rain. The prints came out great. There was paper making, card printing and simple binding projects. Everyone was in great spirits. Kudos to Sweet Pea and his cohorts for throwing such an amazing Shin Dig! (the pictures are from the SCBA table- I had just finished making pamphlets with a crowd of children when the picture was taken- normally don't look quite so crazed)

natural dye workshop

2009-03-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Lark Preyapongpisan, Jenny Craig, Lisa Hasegawa spent the weekend dying paper in an impromptu workshop. Inspired by the Metropolitan Museum's unicorn tapestries which used only weld, woad and madder to achieve an immense range of color we stuck to three main ingredients: madder, walnut and indigo. We did some immersion dying and some brush on; using salt to create speckling. Most of the dyes we used were from Griffin Dye Works or Maiwa, which is up in Vancouver. Both are great. (Griffin Dye Works also has little kits of ground pigments if you want to practice medieval calligraphy and illumination). All the dyes set really nicely. We did have to brush a little gelatin over the indigo to keep it from staining- but great for color fastness so far. (As you can see Fiona, my own little printer's devil of a cat, would not be confined to the back room and we ended up with some intriguing little pawprints on some of the sample sheets).

Wayzgoose in Tacoma this Weekend!

2009-02-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

Join King's Books for their fifth annual Wayzgoose, or, letterpress and book arts extravaganza! Meet local printers and view their wares! Print your own keepsake! Make paper! Make paper creations! And, returning this year...Steamroller Printing!!! We'll be making 3' x 3' prints designed by local artists, some of which will be raffled off at the Wayzgoose!

Sunday, March 1, 2009, 12:00 - 4:00. more info: here

Anybody want to carpool? I'm driving and have room for others - janet@seattlebookarts.org.

Out and about: Books in Art

2008-12-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have been traveling a bit outside of Seattle this month, and came across the work of a number of artists who use found books. I thought I would share some of my favorites with you below.

During the first week of December, I attended a handful of art fairs during Miami Art Basel. I was in Miami with the gallery I work for in Seattle, G. Gibson Gallery. We exhibited at the Wynwood location of Aqua Art Miami. Before, after and during breaks in our fair, I was able to visit Art Basel, Art Miami, Scope, Nada, and the Aqua Hotel.

Here is some work that I encountered:

Listed top to bottom:

Fair: Art Miami
Artist: Mauro Giaconi
Gallery: www.dotfiftyone.com
(graphite on found book pages)

Fair: Miami Art Basel
Artist: Hubcrtus Gojowczyk
Gallery: www.moellerart.com
(book, plants)

Fair: Aqua Art Miami, Aqua Hotel
Artist: Jill Silvia
Gallery: www.eleanorharwood.com
(hand-cut ledger paper)

Fair: Scope
Artist: Gary Taxali
Gallery: www.iguapop.net
Website: www.garytaxali.com
(mixed media on found book cover)

This week, I am in Idaho visiting family, and saw work by this artist:

Artist: Robert Kelly
Gallery: www.annereedgallery.com
(oil on found paper mounted on panel)

Fremont Residency

2008-12-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

For those of you who need a project for the snowy days and nights ahead...

Seattle seeks artist for Fremont Bridge residency
The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation, seeks an artist or artist team for a unique project-based artist residency in one of the bridge towers on the Fremont Bridge.

The selected artist(s) will undertake an in-depth exploration of the historic bridge and create an art project in response to the experience. The residency includes access to a workspace in one of the bridge towers. Artists cannot live in the tower, but may use the space as a studio, a platform for observing the bridge and its surroundings, or as a base from which to interact with the community. The residency will culminate in the public presentation of an art project produced during the residency. The artist may create work in any media, including video, film, sound, performance, installation or other diverse media.

Eligibility: Established professional artists living in Seattle or within 100 miles of Seattle.

Budget: $20,000 inclusive of all residency costs, including development of the art project, public presentation and documentation.

Deadline: 11 p.m., Monday, January 5, 2009

Preview: Call and guidelines

Apply online using CaFÉ™:
Login | Register
View CaFÉ™ Listings

Info: Patricia Hopper, (206) 684-7311

Winter Quarter 2009 Class Schedule

2008-12-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

We have just unveiled a new list of classes that will help you meet that new year's resolution we know you all made - to learn as much as you can about book arts! So break out those SCBA gift certificates - or buy one for a friend you think would enjoy taking a class with you. It's not too late to get one delivered by Christmas!

Books that Pop, Move and Go BOOM!
Seattle Center for Book Arts is proud to present a 3-week series featuring local artists Michael Jacobs, Karen Vance Chickadell, and Chandler O'Leary. Join in on the fun of this series on kinetic books.

Sundays, February 22 - March 8, 4 – 7 pm
2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave. S. (in Rainier Valley), Seattle, WA
Individual class: $60 + $10 materials fee
3-class series: $150 + $25 materials fee
Click here for more info and to register.

Letterpress Printing Workshop with Dan Shafer
Dive into the world of letterpress printing using the extensive collection of historic type, cuts and ornaments in the Cornish College of the Arts Book Arts Studio. This workshop is open to beginners or seasoned printers.

Saturday and Sunday, March 14 - 15, 2009, 10 am – 4 pm
Cornish College of the Arts, 1000 Lenora St., Seattle, WA (map)
Cost: $140 + $20 materials fee.
Click here for more info and to register.

Special Workshop with Peter and Donna Thomas!
These popular book artists return to teach for us after their popular class last fall. More information coming soon!

Saturday and Sunday, March 14 - 15, 2009, 10 am – 4 pm
2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave. S. (in Rainier Valley), Seattle, WA
Cost: $140 + $20 materials fee.
Click here for more info and to register.

Clamshell Box Workshop with Lillian Dabney
This workshop will introduce you to the joy of box making with a Clamshell Box structure. It is a perfect introduction to anyone wanting to learn more about this skill.

Sunday, March 29, 10 – 4 pm
2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave. S. (in Rainier Valley), Seattle, WA
Cost: $80 + $10 materials fee.
Click here for more info and to register.

Letterpress related links people keep sending me

2008-12-12T10:52:00.001-08:00

As a teacher and lover of letterpress, students and friends sometimes send me links to things they think I might find interesting. Following are some of the links I've received several times, so I thought I would share.

The one I usually get, is chocolate letterpres s type. Delicious.

These next two I find quite disturbing; I hate to see perfectly good letterpress type wasted. The one on the left is found here and I don't remember where the one on the right came from originally.

Last table is pretty alright since it's inspired by wood type and not wasting actual wood type: