July PSBA Updates
Greetings and Happy Summer, PSBA Members!
PSBA Members' Exhibition
The opening reception of the 2022 Annual Members’ Exhibition celebrated the work of 52 artists, with nearly 55 guests and artists on hand to celebrate the first in-person artists’ reception at Collins Library since 2019.
Juror Dan Shafer selected Kimberly Izenman’s maze-fold accordion book “Grief” for the Award of Excellence. “Grief” invites the reader into a dense meditation on loss and devotion. The meticulously stitched fabric scraps, layered with family artifacts and memories, are both beautiful and fragile, and they seem to be quiet islands in a sea of chaotic, abstract painted gestures. The book reveals a journey through immense challenge and loss which, though intensely personal, is also invitational. In Izenman’s work, we are all given a space to consider our own grief, and to see a way through it.
The Exhibition Committee awarded the Curators’ Choice Award to Ray Zill for her work, “Peaks & Valleys.” This flag book structure incorporates photography and poetry by the artist and chronicles the peaks and valleys she experienced during the pandemic. Through photos using different exposure techniques, Zill depicts herself in a number of powerful poses, sitting back to back with herself drinking and smoking, “Speak the truth, if you let me; cloud your judgment by choice, What is real becomes an effigy when all is shaken but your voice.” The work embodies the exhibition theme, from its visual depictions of the personal ups and downs in the artist’s life to the physical manifestation of peaks and valleys in the book’s curving flag segments. All in all, it was a compelling piece that strongly resonated with the exhibition team.
The exhibition reception was followed by open case presentations over four days in June and July. These were a series of delightful informal, salon style events given by exhibiting artists in which they discussed their work, followed by a Q&A from artists and guests in attendance. The last presentation will be Wednesday, July 6th, 12:00-1:30pm. Registration is required to attend as a guest.
Panel Discussion, Thursday, July 28 5:30-7:00 Collins Library: This last event is a special screening of a panel discussion between several artists in the exhibition and moderator Peter Newland. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration to open soon. E
The Exhibition closes August 5th. The month of July will be our last opportunity to visit the exhibition before it closes forever. Plan a day to come and absorb the work in this exhibition!
To learn more about the exhibition, visit the Collins Library website.
Mini-Workshop: Dragon Book Structure: Instructor: Debbi Commodore, Thursday, July 7, 2022, 1:00 – 4:00 PM. Register here.
Book Club of Washington: Howard Iron Works Printing Museum Virtual Tour July 24, 2022 at 1:00 PM PDT Online Event. Register here.
Puget Sound Book Artists 4th Annual Book Exchange: Participant Registration opened May 1st with 16 artists registering for the event. There is still room for a few more registrants, but time is running out! Registration is required to participate.
Workshop: A Study of Home: Begins September 17. This is a combination of 4 Zoom and In-person sessions taught by Shu-Ju Wang designed to help you learn how to develop an idea, conduct research, and create a workable model for an artist book in time for the 2023 PSBA Exhibition. Registration is required. Registration opens July 7th. For more workshop details visit the PSBA website.
Alisa Banks Presentation: Save the Date! August 25, 4pm, Collins Library Alisa Banks, noted book artist will be speaking about her work on exhibit in Changing the Conversation at Puget Sound. Below is some information from her website.
Alisa Banks investigates connections to contemporary culture, her Creole heritage, and the African diaspora through the lenses of home, terrain, and the body, using Southern Louisiana as a point of entry. Her sculptural artist books, writings, and textile collages, which incorporate fibers and found materials, reference traditional craft forms through twisting, knotting, crocheting, and sewing. Her interests include exploring alternative modes of reading and the performative potential of the book. Alisa’s work has been exhibited in Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and throughout the US, and is housed in several private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, the US Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library.
Alisa holds a B.S. degree in Medical Laboratory Science from Oklahoma State University and an M.F.A. degree from Texas Woman’s University. She lives in Dallas, TX.
Sincerely,
Your PSBA Board