Greetings PSBA members! Hope you are having a great summer!
Greetings from the PSBA President!
Dear Friends,
I hope you all have had or will have a chance to visit the PSBA Members’ exhibit at the Collins Library until August 1. And I am glad to say that the PSBA exhibit is NOT OVER. It’s moving to The Evergreen State College and will be on display from mid-September through mid-December. I have been back to see it twice, and I am still not done marveling at the many ways the idea of “Time Travel” can be explored.
Several of our members have been organizing some small informal regional groups for anyone who wants to get acquainted with other nearby book arts enthusiasts and/or see what others are working on, get ideas and insights. These are great fun, very satisfying. Scan on to see other book arts events and opportunities coming up.
May you all have a rich and enjoyable rest-of-summer.
Sincerely,
Sally Alger
Upcoming Events
August 13: Monthly Pierce County PSBA Meet-ups, Second Tuesday of the Month, 5-7 pm.
Please join us at the first Pierce County PSBA Meet-up on Tuesday, August 13, 5-7 pm, University Place Public Library Meeting Room. Address: 3609 Market Place W., Suite 100, University Place, WA 98466. Our second meeting will be on August 13, same time, same place.
What is a Meet-up? A chance to get to know PSBA members who live near YOU! And share your work. Bring something to share:
- a project you are working on
- a problem you need help with
- your favorite new tool or technique
- something you made at a workshop
- a new artist book you have added to your collection.
- an idea for a workshop
This is very informal, you don’t need to register, you can bring an interested friend, and you don’t have to live in Pierce County!
The meet-ups will be facilitated (alternately) by Becky Frehse.
August 21: PSBA Meet and Greet at BARN on Bainbridge Island, Noon- 1:30 pm, Bainbridge BARN.
Hosted by Bonnie Julien and Jane Carlin, along with members of the BARN Print and Book Arts Studio.
This is an informal gathering to view the amazing, whimsical, fun, and inspiring exchange books gifted to BARN from Bonnie and to learn about her experiences with NORBAG and book exchanges. We will have lemonade and cookies on hand and plan brief remarks at 12:30. We also encourage all attendees to bring your own inspiration book for display.
Also a reminder that BIMA has a wonderful book arts exhibit on display: A Radical Alteration: Women's Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making. BIMA is just a short drive from BARN, so even if you are not from Kitsap or close to Bainbridge, think of a great day out!
PSBA thanks BARN for supporting this collaborative meeting. Learn more about BARN membership by visiting the homepage, https://bainbridgebarn.org/.
Questions? Contact Jane Carlin, carlinjane@gmail.com.
September 14: Workshop Coptic and French Link Stitch Binding, 10AM-4:30PM, Becky Frehse’s Studio in Tacoma.
Create a beautiful, functional sewn book that can be used as a personal journal, sketchbook, travel book or a special gift. The Coptic stitched book is one of the earliest forms of the codex. We will alternate the Coptic stitch with the French Link stitch to create a book with a decorative exposed binding. The finished book is extremely sturdy and easy to use since it lies completely flat when opened
Workshop fee: Members $90, Non-Members: $125. Register here.
October 6: PSBA 6th Annual Book Exchange, 2-4pm, University of Puget Sound, Collins Library.
We hope you will join us for the annual book exchange! This year’s theme is “Threads”. There are many possibilities with the theme-- “thread the needle”, “threads of a river”, “threads of a life”, “threading your way through the maze”. And, of course, there are endless ways to incorporate actual thread in your book!
The rules are simple. Create a book using the theme and join the exchange at the in-person event. Your name/book will be randomly paired with another participating artist and in exchange you receive a book from a randomly selected participating artist. Books from the past years exchanges have been amazing! For inspiration, visit the PSBA website to view images of the books from the past few years. We hope you’ll feel inspired to join in. It is an inspirational to see the books created with the theme and you will get to add a fabulous new book to your collection!
Complete the online registration formby September 30. You do not need to attend the in-person exchange to participate.
Questions? Contact Abbie Birmingham, abbiemi5274@gmail.com.
Return of Lunchtime Conversations on Zoom! These will be starting up this fall so mark your calendar! Look for registration details in the near future. We also want to extend a thank you to Amanda Clark for serving as co-facilitator for several years! And we are excited to share some new co-facilitators this fall. If you are interested in helping line up and participate in the 2025 Zoom conversations, please contact Jane at carlinjane@gmail.com.
Upcoming Conversations:
- September 19: Allie Alvis, Curator of Special Collections, Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library will share some of the incredible bespoke items from this world-famous collection. Follow her on Instagram at book historia. Special Collections Librarian Jane Connelly will co-facilitate the event.
- October 17: Zoe Goehring of Cave Paper will introduce us to this unique papermaking studio now located in Tucson, Arizona (co-facilitator PSBA Board member and papermaker Deborah Greenwood).
- November 19: Helen Hiebert will take us on a virtual journey of Japan and highlights of her recent papermaking tour (co-facilitator PSBA member Gina Pisello who joined Helen on the Japan journey).
Sharing about Recent PSBA Events
Recap of Panel Discussion! PSBA hosted a lively, wide-ranging panel discussion with artists Catherine Alice Michaelis, Alicia Bailey and Mari Exkstein Gower on July 24. This online talk, coordinated by the Exhibit Team and moderated by Jane Carlin, was attended by fifty book arts enthusiasts from throughout North America. The discussion focused on fresh perspectives in the book arts and generated many thoughtful ideas, questions and comments.
The panelists have recently noted a trend of a higher level of engagement with content in artist books. This involves an integration of structure, artistic expression and ideation–often expressed through the inclusion of the artist's own writing as an important part of their books.
Panelists expressed the importance of curating exhibits at a local level and also suggested that book artists submit work to shows in other media. Panelists agreed that there is a higher level of engagement than ever before with book arts, spurred by exhibits and events such as Codex, but that there is also room for continued outreach to new audiences. Additional comments touched on the importance of innovation and documentation in the book arts, but also the welcoming community which is open to all practitioners and lovers of this fascinating genre.
Congratulations to the Exhibit Team for their hard work.
News From the Outreach Committee
The PSBA Annual Exhibition "Time Travel" moves to the Evans Library at The Evergreen State College! The exhibit opens September 29, 2025 and will close on December 20, 2025. We are planning events associated with the exhibit. A special thanks to Ray Zill, Evergreen Librarian, book artist, and poet, who is collaborating with the Outreach Committee to make this possible.
Upcoming Exhibit Opportunity at the Miller Library on the UW Campus in February 2025. One of the goals of the Outreach Committee is to create exhibit opportunities for existing artist books made by PSBA Members. This introduces the medium of artist books to a larger community, reaches out to potential members, and gives you a chance to exhibit work that you have already made. Since the Miller Library is part of the Center for Urban Horticulture, the exhibit theme will be "Nature and the Book." Dig into your archive and watch for an announcement in the September newsletter about how to be part of the exhibit.
Member News
Jane Carlin and Olivia Inglin (Abby Williams Hill Archivist/Assistant Archivist at Collins Library) recently published an article in The Journal of the Book Club of Washington, “The World Through Abby's Eyes.” The article provides a detailed review of the recent exhibition held at Collins, with images and artist statements of all the artists that participated in the exhibit. As the editor of the journal states, "Jane and Olivia make it clear how the art provided testimonials to Abby and her life showcase how archives can generate important dialogues about the past and raise important questions about equity, privilege and roles." The BCW Journal will be available digitally in a few months, but if you are interested in a copy of the article, please contact Jane.
Other Book Arts Upcoming Events
Summer Printmaking and Book Arts Classes at Community Print
Community Print released their schedule of summer classes, and there's a lot to look forward to! Visit our website to register at https://www.community-print.org/classes.
Interested in teaching a class at Community Print? Email olympialetterpress@gmail.com to submit a fall class proposal by August 24.
Upcoming classes include:
August 10: Introduction to Letterpress
August 17: Whole Cloth Patterning and Printing with Faith Hagenhofer
September 14: Playing with Pantones: Ink & Color Theory Workshop with Lisa Hasegawa
September 15: Keepsake Journals with René Westbrook
September 28: Non-Traditional Letterpress with Lisa Hasegawa
Minnesota Center for Books Arts, learn about upcoming workshops here,
https://www.mnbookarts.org/category/adult-workshops/.
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 Monday, August 26. Subject line should read: PSBA Member News. The September 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.
Sincerely,
Your PSBA Board
Meet the Board members on the Contact Us webpage.