Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Contents
Kim Hetherington featured box
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RMC Workshops and Events
The Awards Committee of the Guild of Book Workers is seeking nominations for two awards given
annually, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Laura Young Award. The members of the
committee are James Reid-Cunningham, Katy Baum and Christopher Brown.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual "in recognition of significant contribution to
the goals of the Guild.” The nominee must have contributed to the profession of the book arts, rather
than just to the Guild. The nominee is not required to be a current or former member of the Guild.
Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award will receive lifetime membership in the Guild, with no
obligation to pay dues.
The Laura Young Award is given to an individual "in recognition of sustained commitment to the
Guild,” that is, a member who has served the Guild in an outstanding manner. Both current and former
members of the Guild are eligible for the Laura Young Award.
To nominate an individual for either award, please submit a letter of support to James Reid-
Cunningham, the chair of the Awards Committee, at james_reidcunningham@yahoo.com
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Upcoming Workshops and Classes
Colorado
Denver
Single Tray Drop-Spine Box with Alicia Bailey, February 16 - 1:00 p.m.
For details on all Alicia Bailey classes: http://www.aliciabailey.com/ravenpress/product-category/
events/workshops-events/
Telluride
American Academy of Bookbinding
Introduction to Bookbinding, Level 1 — April 29 - May 3 with Lang Ingalls
This is a one-week class devoted to the fundamental building blocks of bookbinding; it is an
introduction to the binding of books into cloth and paper covers.
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Bindings, a technique that is very popular in Europe. The beauty of the New Oriental binding is that the
pages open flat and no glue touches the sections of the book.
Visit bookbindingacademy.org for more information and to register or call Katy at 970-728-8649
New Mexico
Truth or Consequences
Priscilla Spitler, Hands On Bookbinding, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Upcoming Bookbinding Workshops
www.priscillaspitler.com
Classes focus on sound structure and use of materials for bookbinding.
Structures for Artist Books
February 23 & 24 (Saturday & Sunday)
Students make two binding structures using little adhesive that open well, both
compensating for later additions such collage, photos, or for engineering pop-up spreads.
Please visit Priscilla’s website for further details on each workshop, and for registration
details. Email questions or other inquiries to: prispit54@gmail.com
Santa Fe
Santa Fe Book Arts Group Workshops available for BAG members https://santafebag.org
Colorado
Colorado Springs
Binders Keepers: Maker Faire – March 4, 2-4pm; May 11, 2-4 p.m.
A bookbinder's enthusiasts group that meets every other month at Library 21c, new Creative Space.
Denver
The Art of the Fold - curated by Abecedarian Artists’ Books, an international exhibition of artists'
bookworks created using structures developed by Hedi Kyle and found in the recent publication The
Art of the Fold by Hedi Kyle and Ulla Warchol. The exhibition includes 45 works created by 38 artists,
working in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. February 1 - 28 at
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Tallyn's Reach Library, Aurora, CO. If you are interested in car-pooling to this show on Feb. 16 or 23,
contact Karen at Karen.jones@jeffcolibrary.org
Colorado Book and Arts Festival - The Arvada Center and Regis University are partnering with the
Tattered Cover Book Store to present the Colorado Book and Arts Festival, a one-day literary arts
festival celebrating books, art, and music for the whole family. The Arvada Center will be filled with
award-winning authors, panel discussions, an onsite pop-up Tattered Cover Book Store, children’s area
with author-led activities, artist booths, musical performances, and more, including a Keynote
Conversation with Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M. This is a public event and will take place
on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities from 12 Noon - 4pm,
located at 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada, CO.
For more details and ticket info, please visit the main event website here: cobookandartsfest.com
Also, the Book Fest is looking for Authors, Artists and Vendors to be a part of Book Fest 2019. The
Arvada Center is looking for authors of all genres to promote, sign and sell their books and for artists
who make book-related art such as handmade notecards, journals, book totes or bookshelves to sell at
the festival. They are also looking for food vendors specializing in gourmet snacks such as chocolates,
gourmet pre-made popcorn, nuts, toffee or fudge.
CO Book Fest Vendor Response Onesheet<https://cal.clubexpress.com/docs.ashx?id=462315>
For more info on the Book & Arts Fair, see http://www.cobookandartsfest.com/
Telluride
OPEN • SET — LOOKING AHEAD THROUGH 2019!
Happy New Year 2019! This is a big year for OPEN SET as we finalize registrations, receive
submissions, host the jury for prize and exhibition decisions, photograph submissions, design and print
the catalog and prepare for the 2020 touring exhibition! We're excited to be in this development year
and look forward to an outstanding exhibition next year in 2020.
Registrations have been arriving fairly continuously since we made our first announcement in August.
We are delighted, at this midway point of the registration period, to have received over 100 binding
registrations from both new and experienced binders, nationally and internationally — a big "thank
you" to those who have shown their interest and support! Our international participants out-number
those from the United States so far — we hope to see a greater balance in the next few months.
Wherever your country of origin or whatever your level of experience, we welcome you! Please get
your registration in soon... it will help us in our planning. Final deadline for registrations is May 1.
For more information and to register: bookbindingacademy.org/open-set-registration-information
The OPEN • SET exhibition will travel to four venues in 2020:
New York City - The Grolier Club
San Francisco - The American Bookbinders Museum
Salt Lake City - Marriot Library, University of Utah
Austin - Austin Public Library
Russell Maret’s Set Book has been flying out the door! So many binders have been excited to be able to
add their creative juices to the content of the book itself. Though the book will only be "judged by its
cover" so to speak, it's wonderful to be able to provide this "extra" impetus for binders who want to
artistically explore the content.
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We wish you a wonderful year and encourage your inner artist, whatever form that takes. Best wishes
and cheers to you!
OPEN SET organizers, Lang and Deb
New Mexico
Ojo Caliente
New Mexico Art Gypsies
Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, USA—A mixed-media art retreat will take place in Northern New Mexico
this spring. The all-inclusive, three-day art retreat is limited to 13 women and will be held at Ojo
Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa, one hour north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The dates
are Friday, April 26, through Sunday, April 28, 2019.
Attendees will work on a project entitled “Mapping Our Journey.” They will learn many techniques for
creating book pages, then binding the pages into an artist’s book. Finally they will decorate boxes in
which to place the books. The content will be based, in part, on attendees’ experience of nature in the
tranquil wooded area.
Registration includes lodging (double occupancy) in one of two unique private homes at Ojo Caliente
Resort and six meals, plus all art supplies. When not in class, attendees can use the resort’s mineral
springs pools and other spa amenities.
Art instructors Ruth Anna Abigail, PhD, Cynthia Leespring, and Julie Filatoff are accomplished mixed-
media artists and teachers.
For more information, visit https://nmartgypsies.com/ or email nmartgypsies@gmail.com.
Utah
Salt Lake City
Red Butte Press cordially invites you to the release of Stranger & Stranger. Please join us for an
evening of poetry, images, and conversation with Katharine Coles and Maureen O’Hara Ure.
February 27, 5:30—Refreshments; 6:00--Reading, images, and conversation
Phillips Gallery, 444 East 200 South, Salt Lake City, UT
Free and open to the public
Stranger & Stranger is the fourth imprint of the Book Arts Program, a division of Special Collections
at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. The edition is limited to 125 copies for sale. The
price is $100, and can be purchased at our online store. You can purchase the book for a 10% discount
at the event only. It is the result of the collaboration and friendship between poet Katharine Coles and
painter Maureen O’Hara Ure, both University of Utah professors. Working alongside one another, the
two have maintained an artistic dialogue for 25 years—sharing and responding to works in progress
and periodically exhibiting together. In Stranger & Stranger, visual and textual beasts intermingle and
romp on the page, inhabiting illustrated and reader-envisioned water, air, and landscapes. Imagery for
the bestiary was extracted from Maureen’s paintings, translated for letterpress printing into
photopolymer plates, and arranged in dynamic interaction with Katharine’s poems. These selections
from an imaginary bestiary were drawn from North and South American, Asian, European, and
particularly Byzantine art; from the rarely accurate bestiaries created by early explorers of the New
World; from encounters with animals both homely and nonhomely; and from the co-creators’ own
strange minds. The type is digitally set in open-source Alegria Sans and Alegria Roman, and printed
from photopolymer plates on a Vandercook Universal 1 proof press. Text pages and outer cover are
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Arturo Cover; inner cover is Mohawk Loop Antique Vellum. The binding is a three-section long-stitch
with an integrated accordion, ideal for display.
From the New England Chapter of GBW, open to all GBW members, on behalf Of Erin
Fletcher:
Announcing Exquisite Corpse Collaborative Project
An Exquisite Corpse is a method of illustration invented by Surrealists in the early 1910s, where each
collaborator adds to a composition in sequence usually without seeing the prior portion. In 2016, the
New England Chapter collaborated with the graduating class at North Bennet Street School to create 7
unique Exquisite Corpse plaquettes.
This year, we are excited to announce a new Exquisite Corpse collaborative project that will be open
for all Guild members. The project will be limited to 24 participants, which will yield 8 unique
plaquettes. The final pieces will be auctioned off at the banquet during the Standards of Excellence
Seminar in October.
Participants will receive a leather plaquette and be asked to create either the head, body or legs of the
figure. Each collaborator is invited to complete their portion using any number of decorative leather
techniques, which could include blind or gold tooling, onlays, surface gilding, inlays, painting, or other
forms of mark making.
Each collaborator will have approximately 4 weeks to finish their portion during the months of March,
April or May. Participants will receive specific instructions on layout and where the plaquette is to be
shipped upon completion. We do ask for a small fee of $10 to help supplement the cost of leather,
preparing the plaquettes and shipping costs.
To register click here:
https://gbw.formstack.com/forms/negbw_2019_exquisite_corpse_project
When you register please mark which two months you would prefer to receive the plaquette.
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Nicole Cotten: Her Journey from Painting to Book Arts
and the Hidden Treasures of her Fore-edge Paintings
I grew up here. I got my Bachelor’s degree in painting at University of Colorado Denver with
a minor in creative writing, and a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Book Arts from
University of Iowa. My painting professor in undergrad actually went to Iowa for her master’s
in painting, and while she was there she completed the certificate program in book arts, which
wasn’t then offered as a master’s degree. She came here and started teaching at CU Denver.
She teaches the study abroad drawing/printmaking class in Florence, Italy, which I signed up
for. Before we left, she taught us how to make our own sketch books. Then we filled them up
while we were there. To have something that I made and filled out completely was so
gratifying, and it was functional! It completely changed the meaning of books for me. That’s all
it took. After we got back, I did an independent study with that professor. She taught me some
really basic structures. We worked through one particular book on creative bindings and did
that for a semester. Then I found Helmut Fricker [a master bookbinder living in Colorado].
I worked at REI at the time. I was talking about bookbinding with my coworkers, and
somebody there had heard of this guy [Helmut Fricker]. “Oh, he’s a character!” He knew him
through his music and knew that he was also a bookbinder. So, it was some random weird
connection. I called him. He was so open and welcoming and excited to have somebody
interested in bookbinding. He lives in Eagle, just past Vail. That summer, I moved up there for
three months and apprenticed with him.
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He has a big personality. He’s very generous and ready to talk about book arts and everything
that he does. He answered all of my questions and told me a lot of stories about growing up in
Germany, learning from his master bookbinder, then moving here and how he worked in a big
commercial bindery before starting his own business. He also plays music. If you’re ever at
Beaver Creek and you see somebody playing an alpine horn or the accordion, that’s probably
him.
I worked with him on whatever he was doing. He would show me what he was doing for a
restoration job or he would teach me how to make a new book. It was all still so new to me at
the time. He taught me a lot of structures. He taught me a lot of traditional German binding. He
taught me to set everything up with my eyes. He barely uses a ruler at all. He eyeballs
everything.
Yes, at University of Iowa, Center for the Book. It is a three-year program. You learn so many
new things. You are actively learning and picking up new skills. I would have stayed for six
years, no question.
They do pretty much everything revolving around the book. There is a wonderful calligraphy
teacher, and a handful of talented printmaking teachers. There is a papermaking teacher, and if
you know anything about papermaking, you know Tim Barrett. He is the director of the
program. Papermaking is really fun to learn. Everyone takes it. There are only two
papermaking classes regularly offered. There is the Japanese/Asian papermaking class that is
strategically planned in the fall, so you can go out and help harvest Kozo and learn the process
from step one all the way through to the end. It’s awesome. You get a really good
understanding of paper when you get to make it from the very beginning – cutting down the
shoots, boiling it, stripping it, cleaning out the bark, and so on. Then there is the western
papermaking class in the spring. That includes different kinds of fibers. You learn a lot in a
short amount of time.
There are many different binding classes. There is a box-making class, which was my favorite.
There are book/printing history classes and theory classes you have to take. You start with
Binding 1. That takes you through pamphlet bindings and non-adhesive bindings, up through
the rounded spine case-binding. Then there is Binding 2. You do exposed-sewing structures.
Binding 3 is more traditional leather binding. You do tight backs and work with leather.
Binding 4 is very open, almost like an independent study class, guided through what you want
to focus on. And there is historical binding, which is really fun. For each project you pick a
structure from a specific place and time that you want to re-create. That was really cool. There
is a lot of research involved in that one. For one project I made a Byzantine binding, which was
very satisfying to have made.
They brought outside people in to teach a lot of weekend workshops - gold-tooling, structural
papermaking, bone tool-making.
It really is. I highly recommend it. I can’t say enough good things about this program.
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How big was your class?
We had seven in our graduating class. I think there are six graduating this year. It is about 6-8
on average each year. A few people do the dual-degree where they get the library of science
degree as well as the book arts degree. It takes them an extra year to do that.
You really get to know everybody. I became such good friends with the people in my class.
They are such ambitious and inspiring people.
I’m still mourning the loss of a great studio space. Everything is so expensive around here but
I’m working on it. I just had a new board sheer delivered to my parents’ garage. They live in
Lakewood, so luckily, they are pretty close to my job, and I can stop in to use the board sheer. I
got a restored one from Bindery Tools. It’s beautiful! No more excuses anymore.
Right now, I work at a framing and art restoration place. They mostly do restoration for
insurance losses. We restore what we can from fires and floods. I do a lot of paper and books.
It’s very strange. I’m used to being a student and doing way more hours of work but constantly
moving, split up in different activities. Doing 40 hours in one spot every week is pretty
draining for me. I’ve been doing book-related projects that I can quietly do here [in my
apartment]. I’ve been doing a lot of bead-work, and trying to get back to a book arts mindset.
Not too long, but the thesis project was really draining. It took me so long to figure out what I
was doing and what I wanted to say about it.
Nicole showed me her thesis practice book, with beautiful beadwork solidly attached to the
covers, board edges, and even on the inside cover squares, as
well as a finely made clamshell box. Then she showed me the
three books she did for her thesis project – her subject was three
fairy tales by the Grimm brothers: Little Snow White, The Pink,
and The Dog and the Sparrow. I was in awe. One is exquisitely
designed with scenes she drew and executed with glass seed
beads. On another the covers are painted with scenes from the
story, and on the third book, the scene is illustrated with a raised
design and painted to look like a silver binding. As Nicole told
me the actual stories of each fairy tale, with gruesome details
Back cover of Little Snow White
that Disney left out, she fanned out the fore-edges and under the
gilded edges were hidden dark scenes from the stories. The Dog
and the Sparrow had paintings hidden on all three edges of the book. Her paintings, in skillful
detail, illustrate the grim fate of the stories’ characters. Each book is housed in a clamshell box
with padded sides.
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A lot of my inspiration for these three books are from Treasure
Bindings. I find them fascinating because you have this
beautiful hand-written gospel, then you put it on a pedestal with
a treasure binding, and the manuscript never gets seen because it
is prized for the outside of the book. With all the jewels and
gold and all the fanciness, it becomes a relic, and you never get
to see what’s inside. I’ve done these crazy beautiful bindings,
and all the pages are blank. I kind of like the idea of a blank
book. But technically it’s not
Fore-edge painting on Little Snow White
blank. There is painting on the
inside edges. You can’t see it if
you don’t know it is there.
There is a lot that goes into making these books. I created the book, prepped the edge, added
the painting, and then had to sand the edge. It was extremely nerve-wracking because after you
do the painting, you close the book, put it in the press, and sand it down to be perfectly smooth
again or else the gold added on top will show any imperfections. I put all that time into
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prepping the text block, and then I had no idea until after gilding was finished whether it
worked or not. Luckily, it did work on all three of these. I made sure to use enough pigment
that it soaked into the page, but not too much. Finding that balance was difficult.
Though it is based on something old, I think your work is new and different and refreshing.
And I see how you light up talking about it. It is nice to have you in Denver. I hope we can
build a bigger community of book arts here.
It’s so fun to talk with someone who understands what I’m saying. I never knew how big
book arts was until I went to Iowa, where I found out how big the community is and the
wonderful people involved. I’m trying to convince all my friends from Iowa to come here.
Whenever I meet with other binders, like you, I come away feeling so pumped up and
energized.
Thank you.
To see more of Nicole’s work: http://www.cottencollections.com
The Rocky Mountain Chapter blogsite, http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com , includes a member page http://
rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/members.html and calendar http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/events-
calendar.html ). If you would like your contact information included or updated on the member page,
http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/members.html, please send information to pleutz@me.com.
If you have a picture of your book-work that you would like us to feature in the next issue, please
send it to pleutz@me.com by April 15, 2019. Also, please send articles, tips, and book related news
and event information to pleutz@me.com by April 15, 2019, so they can be added to the next
newsletter that comes out May 1, 2019.
Warm Regards,
Pamela Train Leutz, Communications Coordinator
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