Greetings PSBA members! Hope this last part of Winter is going well!

Greetings from Your PSBA President

We have certainly started the year 2024! We had a wonderful salon in-person meeting, looking long and carefully at a beautiful collection of artist books. There was a very interesting presentation by Lynora Williams at our annual members’ meeting.  We had a good time making a few valentines in February. And we had a fascinating Lunchtime Zoom Conversation with the book artist and teacher Islam Aly speaking to us from Cairo, Egypt. 

Now we look ahead to the month of March. If you check the PSBA calendar on our website, you will see that the 2024 Members Exhibition registration form is now live and there are several supportive events scheduled in conjunction with it. As the year proceeds you will find announcements of activities, big and small, light-hearted and deeply involving, coming up. That is: pugetsoundbookarts.wildapricot.org. 

Do join us for some or all of these.

Sally Alger, PSBA President

Upcoming Events

13th Annual PSBA Members’ Exhibition June 4, 2024–August 1, 2024:

• ·       Submissions are currently being accepted for book and postcard art. Visit the exhibition website to view the Call for Entries and Submission Guidelines. The deadline for submission of artists' books is April 1, 2024, and of postcards is May 1, 2024. A full color catalog will accompany the exhibit.
• ·       This year’s suggested theme is Time Travel. You’re free to travel backwards or forwards or even sideways in time. This can be a personal journey to the past or you can envision a whole world of the future. There are no limits to your imagination in interpreting this theme.
• ·       There are two Zoom workshops in early March that will help members prepare for submission. Both workshops are free for members but registration is required. Register here.
• o   Sunday, March 3, 1-2 pm: This year’s catalog designer Brenda Gallagher will offer advice on taking effective photographs of your artist's books.
• o   Sunday, March 10, 1-2 pm: Belinda Hill will demystify the process of including a QR code with your submission.

The World through Abby's Eyes: This exhibit is currently on display though April 30, 2024, at Collins Library, University of Puget Sound. Works by Becky Frehse, Beverly Naidus, Debbi Commodore, Deborah Greenwood, Dorothy McCuistion, Gabby Cooksey, Jessica Spring, Lucia Harrison, MalPina Chan, Paige Pettibon, Victoria Björklund, Yoshi Nakagawa, and Yuka Petz. that focus on themes associated with the Tacoma artist Abby Williams Hill are on display.

To celebrate the artists and recognize International Women's Day, the Library will host an event on Friday, March 8 in the Tahoma Room, Thomas Hall at the University of Puget Sound from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.  Light refreshments will be served. All PSBA members are invited to attend.  

Click here for more information on the exhibit.

Lunchtime Conversation with Tia Blassingame, March 21, Noon-1pm, Zoom: Tia is an educator at Scripps College, founder of the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color Collective and recently returned from a fellowship at Oxford University. 

Additional event information and registration is here.

A Book of Your Own (in-person events held at libraries in Whatcom County):

• Saturday, March 23, 2024, 11:00am-1:00pm, Ferndale Meeting Room, Ferndale. Register here.
• Saturday, March 30, 2024, 1:00pm-3:00pm, Everson. Register here.
• Saturday, April 27, 2024, 1:00pm-3:00pm, Deming Meeting Room, Deming. Register here.

Have you ever wanted to make your very own book? PSBA is sponsoring a free workshop for adults. Book artist Fran McReynolds will guide you in learning the basic skills to make books without paste or glue. Learn the pamphlet stitch and simple folding techniques to create three small books as you use basic book arts tools and learn terminology. All levels of experience are welcome in this beginner course. Supplies are included. Space is limited.

Making Your Own Bookcloth, Sunday, March 23, 1PM–3PM, In person at Becky Frehse’ studio in Tacoma: In this workshop, the student will learn instructor Rachel Watson’s process of making bookcloth. We'll start with commercial, iron-on, and rice-paste book cloth samples and discuss the similarities and differences. She will share the fabric that she had success with and some thoughts about her bookcloth failures.

The class will go over her recipe for basic rice paste, prepping the kozo and fabric, and the steps to adhere the kozo and fabric together.

Workshop fee: $20. Materials fee: $27 (paid at workshop).

Registration is required. Register here.

2024 Newport Paper and Books Arts Festival, April 11-13, Newport, OR: Event information and registration is here.

Volunteer opportunity for Wayzgoose 2024, May 3 and 4:Wayzgoose is a delightful festival, and we need PSBA volunteers to monitor our vendor tables. We need people for 2-hour shifts starting at around 10:45 a.m. there will be fun handmade books to show off, beautiful papers to sell, an easy “make and take” activity to hand out, and brochures to offer that tell about PSBA and book arts. You can read more about Wayzgoose at https://www.write253.com/tacoma-wayzgoose.

 If you are available for a 2-hour shift at any time during the two days let Sally Alger know at sarah.alger2@gmail.com.

Focus on Books Arts Conference June 26-30 in Monmouth, OR, Registration is now open!

FOBA's 2024 Conference is in Monmouth, Oregon June 26-30, 2024, and this year's theme is "interaction." Register and learn more about the conference here.

Member News

Jan Dove and Lindsey Shepherd curated the exhibition Strong Together: An Artist Book Collaborative that features the work of 23 PSBA members and is currently at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center until March 24. For more information go to https://pafac.org.

Marilyn Stablein: 

·       Three of Marilyn’s artist books were represented in February at the CODEX International Book Arts Fair in Oakland, CA. “Himalayan Notebook” and “Elephant Chronicles,” both color editions featuring 40 of Marilyn’s collages, were exhibited at the booth of Red Fox Press, Ireland. The Nikokim Press from St. Petersburg booth featured a copy of Marilyn’s tale “The Rat Tavern” illustrated in a collectible edition of 12 signed and stitched copies by Dmitry Sayenko.

• “Bingo Book,” a flag book made with vintage bingo cards is in the current exhibit of “The Illustrated Accordion Books” at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, through March 15.
• Two books “Phantom Circus” and “The Company of Crows,” published by Book Arts Editions, Portland, OR have linocut covers printed on handmade paper by master artist Dmitry Sayenko. The exhibit Stronger Together featuring collaborative work, runs through March 24, 2024, at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.
• A new book All Night, appears in the online exhibition “What Dreams are Made Of” hosted by the Focus on Book Arts conference to be held at Western Oregon University June 26-30, 2024. The accordion book features a climate poem set in the American Typewriter font, digitally printed on indigenous handmade eco-Nepalese lokta paper. The poem’s lines are cut, centered and collaged onto the pages. A gold ribbon tie closure is inspired by Tibetan sacred texts which are wrapped in a square of cloth with long fabric ties that are wound around the oblong book to close it.  https://focusonbookarts.org/maryilyn-stablein-all-night/.

Poet Ray Prints: Community Print, Olympia's member-run and community-supported print studio and creative space, is offering upcoming classes on letterpress printing, reduction linocut, and ink mixing. Just curious about the space? Stop by for studio open hours or collage sessions. Check out all our upcoming classes and events by going to https://www.community-print.org/events

Want to teach a class or get involved? Learn how to become a member of Community Print or other ways you can support.

Amanda C. Roth Clark and Alicia Bailey: Printed Page IV opens March 28 at Spark Gallery in Denver, Colorado, and will remain on view through April 21, as part of Mo'Print, the bi-annual statewide celebration of printmaking. The exhibition includes work by 23 artists from throughout the United States who include traditional printmaking techniques in their artists' book works. 

Selections were made by Amanda C. Clark, Dean of the Library at Whitworth University in Spokane Washington. Artists in the exhibition are Bug Karplus, Carrie Scanga, Casey Jay Gardner, Elisa Lanzi, Ellen Knudson, Heather Doyle-Maier, Jane Ewing, Joan Iversen Goswell, Julie Baugnet, Karen Baldner, Katherine Venturelli, Laurel Moorhead, Marnie Powers-Torrey, Naomi Velasquez, Patricia Dahlman, Ren Barnes, Rhiannon Alpers, Sarah Hulsey, Sara L. Press, Stephanie Smith, Tatiana Potts, Thomas Parker/ Mary Agnes Williams & Tom Virgin.

Curated by Alicia Bailey, Director Abecedarian Artists’ Books.

Call for Member News

Are you planning a special event or workshop? Have you recently presented your work at a Conference or event? Is your work included in an exhibition?

If you would like to share information, please send your submission to Julia.stringfellow@cwu.edu by Tuesday, March 26. Subject line should read: PSBA Member News. The April newsletter will be sent out to the membership early that month.

Call to Share Upcoming Events

Do you have an upcoming event that you are holding or participating in? Let us know! Email psba.public.relations@pugetsoundbookartists.org to add it to the calendar.

About ZOOM!

A few of you have indicated you have not been receiving the ZOOM links for the Lunchtime conversations even though you have registered.   We don't know the cause, but please note that the ZOOM links are sent 2 days in advance as well as the morning of the event and come from the Puget Sound Book Artists email. If you do not receive a link by the morning of the event, please email jcarlin@pugetsound.edu.

Sincerely,

Your PSBA Board

Meet the Board members on the Contact Us webpage.