Greetings and happy fall PSBA members!
Greetings from the PSBA President!
Dear Friends,
I hope the cooler weather and October light is inspiring you all. We need your creativity and energy for our book arts programs coming up this fall. Our board met in September for its annual planning retreat, and our committees are busy working on 2025 priorities. The board is always eager to hear from members about what they value, about PSBA; so if you have ideas for learning events or concerns for us for next year please email me:sarah.alger2@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, for our next 3 months, see the news below. Our exhibits and exciting events continue with the PSBA Book Exchange; a Lunchtime Zoom Conversation; the Members Exhibit in Olympia, and many regional book arts support group meetings.
May you have a fine October!
Sally Alger, PSBA board president
Upcoming Events
October 5: Bainbridge Book Festival. There will be author and poetry readings throughout the day with some events at BIMA. Learn more at https://www.bainbridgebookfestival.org/.
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.comO
October 8, 5:30-7:00 Pierce County PSBA Meet-up: University of Puget Sound, Collins Library, Second floor in the Archives classroom. Get to know PSBA members who live near you, receive feedback on your work, or help a fellow book artist. Bring something to share or just enjoy the conversation.
October 12-13, Tacoma studio Tours: Many of our members participate so check out the details at tacomaartsmonth.org. PSBA members showing include: Lee Anne Campos, Sharon Styer, Becky Frehse, Taylor Cox, Lynne Farren, Lisa Hasegawa, Dorothy McCuistion, Mark Hoppmann, Yuka Petz, Deborah Greenwood, Lucia Harrison, and Jessica Spring.
October 20, 1-3 pm Open case event: PSBA Time Travel Exhibition. The Evergreen State College Daniel J. Evans Library, 2700 Evergreen Parkway, NW, Olympia. Listen to selected artists in the exhibition discuss their work.
October 17, Lunchtime Conversation with Zoe Goehring with host Jane Carlin, Noon–1PM, ZOOM: We are delighted to welcome Zoe Goehring of Cave Paper to our lunchtime ZOOM conversation. Cave Paper, located in Tucson, Arizona is an independently owned handmade paper production studio operating since 1994 dedicated to making decorated and unique sheets of high-quality paper for use by artists, bookbinders and designers. Zoe will share her own journey as a papermaker and share insights into the products and processes of this iconic company.
Event is free but registration is required. Register here.
October 26 and 27: The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair is a fun event with amazing dealers of books and ephemera of all kinds. If you enjoyed Allie Alvis's presentation, this is a great event to join and browse! PSBA Members Jane Carlin and Mark Hoppmann will be hosting the Book Club of Washington table for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. Drop by and say hello. More information at https://www.seattlebookfair.com/.
November 10: Mark Hoppmann will be presenting at Collins Library (University of Puget Sound) on the Tools of the Trade sharing an amazing array of artifacts and tools. Not to be missed! More information coming soon.
Olympia PSBA Meetings
We hope that PSBA members in the Olympia area will attend the Members' Exhibit Open Case event at the Evergreen State College Library on October 20th at 1:30 pm. Then there will be a field trip to see Carrie Larson's new installation Vital Flow at Gray's Harbor College on October 31st. If you'd like more details on the field trip contact Belinda Hill at benjisnewadventure@gmail.com.
Recaps of Recent PSBA Events
Ann Storey’s workshop on Coptic and French Link Binding September 14.
Allie Alvis Presentation: On September 19, we welcomed Allie Alvis from WInterthur Library to our ZOOM lunchtime conversation. Allie shared some remarkable historical books and ephemera that inspired us all. The recording will soon be available via our YouTube channel. Allie also shared some exciting news about a Maker-Creator Fellowship available from Winterthur. Details are below!
Maker-Creator Fellowship: Stipend: $2,500 per month
Our two to six week research fellowships are designed for artistic and creative professionals to examine, study, and immerse themselves in Winterthur’s vast collections to inspire production of new work. Past fellows have utilized the museum’s landscape, gardens, museum collections, and library for inspiration, precedent, instruction, and material for their creations.
Studio space is not currently available, but program staff are available to talk through your needs to see what is possible in order to accommodate some on-site making. See our Current and Past Research Fellows page for a list of all Maker-Creator Fellowship recipients. The Winterthur Fellows’ Projects page has more information on the range of creative projects shaped by experiences at Winterthur.
Directions to apply can be found here. Maker-Creator Fellowship applicants will need to supply work samples in addition to the application form, essay, bibliography, CV, and letters of reference required for the other fellowships.
News From the Outreach Committee
As a part of PSBA’s Outreach Program, we are delighted to invite you to submit an application to be included in a month-long February 2025 exhibition at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library housed at the Center for Urban Horticulture, which is part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens in Seattle. This is an opportunity for you to exhibit existing work.
The Miller Library emphasizes horticulture, botany, plant ecology, and garden design. They serve students, faculty and staff of the University and other regional schools, professional horticulturists and garden designers, and especially the public. Exhibiting art allows them to celebrate local artists who share their love of plants, gardens and nature. Art can be both educational and inspiring, drawing the community into the library throughout the year.
Who can apply? PSBA Members
Theme: Nature
Application Deadline: Nov. 1, 2024 midnight
Letters of Acceptance by Dec. 1, 2024
Entry Fee? None
Apply at https://psba.formstack.com/forms/2025_miller_library_exhibion_call.
Questions: Email Lucia Harrison at luciaharrison49@gmail.com.
Resources to Know About
We are introducing a new category to our Newsletter. Do you have a favorite book, website or resource that you turn to in your artistic practice? Let us know!
This month we are featuring a Book Arts List that is run by Emory University. This international list was originally set up by Peter Verheyen at Cornell University in 1994 and hosting it at Syracuse University since 1995 and was recently transferred to Emory. Sign up here.
Other Book Arts Upcoming Events
November 2: Our friends at the Book Club of Washington invite us to join them on November 2nd when along with FOLIO, they are cohosting a day-long event focused on censorship from multiple perspectives. Jessica Spring and Sweet Pea will be two of the featured presenters, along with Jenny Wilkinson from partners in print. Enjoy a day out in Seattle. The event will be held in the beautiful FOLIO space right above Pike Place Market! More information is available here.
Paper Sculpture: Multiples, Mobiles, and Art From BARN, transform papers with paint and texture and explore basic book structures to create a sculptural series.
Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined is a traveling exhibition built around ideas and ideals of identity, belonging, and freedom of movement. Twelve artists were commissioned by the Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection to take inspiration from the passport and other travel documents to create an artist book. In addition, another sixteen artists’ books were curated from the collection to bring additional perspectives. Together, these 28 artists’ books take us around the world and into the future, documenting the promises and limitations of the passport, depending much on who has one and what nationality or group has conferred belonging.
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 Saturday, October 26. Subject line should read: PSBA Member News. The October 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.