BAG Meeting on Saturday, May 13

Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT, via Zoom (online)
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Update on the Exploding Book Project at the New Mexico Museum of Art by Sally Blakemore
  • Upcoming Programs and Workshops by Julie Filatoff
  • Update on Exhibits of Members’ Works in 2023 and 2024 by Will Karp
  • Upcoming Salons by Gail Murray
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna “Annie” Abigail
  • June Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • June Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Call for Comments: Tell Us About Your Favorite Tool for Making Art (2 minutes each person; we will call on you and time you) by Attendees
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Structure & Story Workshop with Marci Easterbrook

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16, 2023; 9 am to 4 pm (with a break for lunch; nothing open on campus, please bring your lunch)
Santa Fe Community College, Room 700
$185 for BAG members with most materials included; must be a member in good standing
Register here: https://santafebag.org/register-for-marci-easterbrooks-workshop/ Continue reading “Structure & Story Workshop with Marci Easterbrook”

Call for Entries: Celebration of the Book

Santa Fe Book Arts Group presents

Celebration of the Book

October 2023 to April 2024

The Santa Fe Book Arts Group will have several public exhibits during a six-month period to showcase the works of its members. Those scheduled to date include:

  • Santa Fe Main Library (October 2023)
  • Santa Fe Southside Library (October 2023)
  • Santa Fe LaFarge Library (October 2023)
  • Santa Fe Community College (March-April 2024)

During that period of time BAG will also hold a number of programs, workshops, and presentations.

Please Note: As part of our partnership agreement with Libros New Mexico Book Arts Guild, its members have been invited to participate in these exhibits and events. All of the guidelines below apply to Libros members as well.

Submission Guidelines

Each BAG member is entitled to submit up to two pieces of book art for the exhibits. If you submit a collaborative, that book will count as one of the two books allowed for each of the submitters (only submit one form, please).

All entries must be clean and dry, and produced by the submitting BAG member. Credit for any books displayed will identify only the member who submits the piece. If some parts of the book have been produced by someone other the member, it is up to you to inform that person that acknowledgement for the piece will be given solely to the submitter.

Because our venues are supported by public funds, entries must be free of political content and explicit sexual content.

Curating the Exhibits

An Exhibits Committee has been formed to curate the exhibits. It is the intent that each piece submitted will be displayed in at least one venue.

By submitting your artwork you do so with the understanding and agreement that that the Exhibit Committee has permission to display the books in a manner that is appropriate for the exhibition and within the space allocated.
For the SFCC Exhibit, pieces will be displayed by the staff at the Fine Arts Gallery.

Entry Fee

There is a non-refundable fee of $10 for each entry. You may pay this through PayPal (see below) or by check (see form).

To pay for ONE entry on PayPal, go here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NFBDJWAAAMYHS

To pay for TWO entries on PayPal, go here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RN8VATCNDDP5C

Photographs

You must submit one photo of each piece by Tuesday, August 1, 2023. You may submit photos electronically to santafebag.artwork@gmail.com or provide them on a flash drive by August 1. Please name the photos as follows:

yourlastname-yourfirstname-name-of-piece.jpg (or .png—both file types are acceptable)

So for example: filatoff-julie-into-the-briny-deep.jpg

By submitting your photograph you are granting us permission to use your photos for publicity purposes and for inclusion in exhibit catalogs, promotional materials, and websites.

A photo of each entry, including the title and the name of the artist, will be published on the BAG website and in the show catalog.

Delivery Guidelines: Hand Deliveries

The deadline for all entries is Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

Please be sure to include the completed and signed Application Form with your entry. If you are paying by check, please include the check with the application form.

You may submit artwork at any in-person BAG meeting prior to August 1.

You may also submit artwork by appointment at any of the following locations no later than August 1.

Central Santa Fe: Helen Fabel, (505) 316-6801, helenfabel@comcast.net

Santa Fe Southside: Will Karp, (505) 231-0054, willkarp@comcast.net

Albuquerque: Susan Wright, (678) 899-0509, wrightsusan277@gmail.com

You must submit each entry in a closed box with any appropriate protective materials. You may include display instructions, photos, and written preferences. Every attempt will be made to present your book as you wish, but there is no guarantee that will occur, and you submit your books with the understating and agreement that the final presentation configuration is at the sole discretion of the Exhibit Committee.

The Exhibit Committee will contact you after April 2024 to arrange the return of your artwork.

You may not remove any piece selected for the exhibit before the shows’ conclusion. Any pieces that you do not pick up will be held and distributed at a future BAG meeting or by appointment.

Delivery Guidelines: Mailed Artwork

The deadline to receive all entries is Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

Please package artwork securely and safely in a box:

If mailing by US Post Office: BAG, PO Box 4332, Santa Fe, NM 87502-4332.

If mailing by UPS or FedEx, please email santafebag.artwork@gmail.com for instructions.

Please include the completed and signed Application Form with your entry. If you are paying by check, please include the check with the application form.

Please send an email to santafebag.artwork@gmail.com when you mail the package with any tracking information (if applicable) so that we can check with the Post Office or UPS or FedEx if the package is slow in arriving.

The Exhibit Committee will mail back your piece(s) to you after April 2024. If your address changes between August 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024, it is your responsibility to inform BAG via email at santafebag.artwork@gmail.com. BAG is not responsible for lost packages. The cost of mailing will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Storage

It is BAG’s intention to store all entries in a climate-controlled storage unit. Please be aware that entries may be stored or on exhibit until April 30, 2024, depending on the venue(s) at which your entry will be exhibited.

Artistic Guidelines

Entries are meant to “show the artist’s hand”: that is, they demonstrate a high degree of handmade work and limited pre-made components. Techniques encouraged include the judicial use of handmade papers, natural materials, found objects and materials, altered books, calligraphy, photography, watercolor and other original hand-painted images, and embellishments. Spiral bindings and other commercially available binding schemes are discouraged. Minimize the use of pre-fabricated elements, photos, snapshots, logos, or recognizable symbols that might interfere with presenting a unique design.

Size Requirements

Consider the size of your pieces. It is possible that we may be limited in displaying overly large pieces because of limited amount of wall space, pedestals, or other display cases.

Wall Pieces

You are strongly encouraged to consider submitting wall pieces as your entry. There is much more wall space available than vitrines and shelves, and your submittal would be more likely to be exhibited in more than one of the exhibits.

You may use Plexiglas or other protective materials if desired.

Wall pieces must be pre-wired and be ready to hang.

Copyright

All material entered must be free of copyright infringement, and the submitter must certify that it is free of any copyright issues. It is solely up to the artist to take full responsibility for assuring that the piece is copyright-free or clearly documented to be free of any infringements. Care needs to be taken with using poetry, quotes, text, etc., that are generally (but not always) copyright-free 70 years after the author’s death. Some Native American symbols and designs may be prohibited as well as certain cartoons. Rights to use songs, lyrics, and quotes may also have restrictions that need to be verified by the submitter. Please submit documentation with your application that you have permission to use any copyright material.

Insurance and Pricing

Theft and vandalism have not been issues in past exhibits; however, artists need to be aware of the potential for loss or damage to their work.

Between the times the entries are submitted to BAG and the start of the show, every effort will be made to protect submitted artworks. Please note that BAG and the individuals and facilities holding and storing the submittals prior to or after the show will assume no responsibility or liability for loss or damage. By signing the Application Form, the owner of the artwork agrees to relieve BAG and its members from any and all liability for the artwork submitted. You may wish to contact your personal insurer if you have any questions regarding insurance liability.

Sales

The artist has the option to state whether or not the book is for sale. Interested buyers may contact the artist directly or contact BAG (in which case we will notify you of the interested party). BAG has no rights or interest in any negotiations or sales made privately between the artist and the buyer.

Our Hosts

Please keep in mind that we are the guests of the Exhibit facilities. It is not a foregone conclusion that we will continue to be invited in the future, so we ask that when you communicate with our hosts, you acknowledge our appreciation for their hospitality and consideration.

Haiku Salon Part II: Haibun, Renga, and Haiga with David Rachlin on May 6

New Date: Saturday, May 6, 2023, 1 pm to 4 pm
Location:  Rancho Viejo Volunteer Fire Station Classroom, 37 Rancho Viejo Blvd, 1 mile east of State Road 14, 1 mile north of the 599/SR 14 Intersection.

To sign up e-mail Gail Murray gail@gpmurray.com ASAP!

In this second haiku workshop (no prerequisite required) we will learn and practice three Japanese forms that use haiku in different ways. Haibun is very much like a travel diary in which a short prose statement about a place is followed by or interspersed with haiku. Renga is a cooperative haiku writing experience that we will do in a round-robin fashion. Haiga is a beautiful art form in which we illustrate our haiku with watercolors or dry media such as colored pencils, markers, or conte crayons.  For each form, we will explore traditional and modern examples. A materials list and a PDF of examples will be sent to participants when registration closes.

This is an in-person workshop in Santa Fe FOR MEMBERS ONLY with a maximum of 12 people.
Fee of $20 payable by cash or check made to David Rachlin, the day of the Salon.

Totem Mobile Salon with Kim Walter

The Totem Mobile Salon with Kim Walter will be on Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 1 pm to 4 pm. It will be in person at Kim’s house in downtown Santa Fe near the Capitol. The address will be provided upon confirmed registration. To attend you must be current on 2023 BAG dues. To register, email Gail Murray at gail@gpmurray.com. There is a maximum of six participants; after six, Gail will start a waiting list.

We will build a personal paper totem mobile based on how we see ourselves and how others see us. There are surprises along the way, because the session is all about observation, creativity, and fun. Each participant will walk away with their personal totem. The process is as much fun as the end result!

You may pay the salon fee of $20 (cash or check, payable to Kim Walter) on the day of the Salon. Kim will supply all materials and snacks.

Kim Walter was trained in the corporate world to manage interpersonal relationships, especially among creatives such as writers, editors, photographers, food stylists, art directors, illustrators, and publishers. She found art journaling in 2010, and has never looked back.

BAG Meeting on Saturday, April 8

Saturday, April 8, 2023, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT, via Zoom (online)
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Presentation and Make & Take by Shawn Sheehy (see below)
  • Upcoming Programs and Workshops by Julie Filatoff
  • Upcoming Salons by Gail Murray
  • Update on the Exploding Book Project at the New Mexico Museum of Art by Sally Blakemore
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna “Annie” Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • May Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • May Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Subtle Politics, Extravagant Medium: The Pop-Up Books of Shawn Sheehy

In this presentation, Shawn will talk about his work; about straddling artist books, trade publishing, workshop instruction, and directing a nonprofit; and about the alluring and enduring power of pop-up books.


Shawn will also lead us through a make and take. Download the pattern here, then:
1. Click here to download the pattern, then print it onto cardstock. (Feel free to print onto color stock, or hand-color your sheet.)
2. Collect your tools: Xacto knife, ruler, mat, scoring tool, strong craft glue.
3. Cut on all solid lines. Score on all dashed lines.
4. Await further instructions.

Shawn Sheehy creates artist books and other paper-engineered ephemera with an ecological bent. He dedicates his artistic practice to raising awareness of environmental issues and contemplating the cultural impacts of human/wild relationships. He uses paper-engineered structures to communicate those ideas because of their inherent potential to capture viewer attention and deliver messaging.

Then, three weeks later…an IN-PERSON WORKSHOP WITH SHAWN!

Animated Pop-Ups Workshop with Shawn Sheehy

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, April 29, 2023, 10 am to 4 pm (with a break for lunch; nothing open on campus, please bring your lunch)
Santa Fe Community College, Room 700
$63 for BAG members; must be a member in good standing
PLUS $30 materials fee, payable to Shawn at the start of the workshop

Register at: https://santafebag.org/register-for-shawn-sheehys-workshop/ (Please note: You MUST fill out the form on this page. Simply sending a check or paying via PayPal does NOT secure you a spot in this workshop. Please, please, please fill out the form!)

Pop-ups are dimensional and come to life when a page is turned. Movables are flat and come to life when a tab is pulled. Both strategies alone can animate a page; combining the two can make the animation even more exciting. In this workshop you will assemble and explore a variety of applied foundational structures for paper engineering, and you will bind the collected structures into a simple case. All skill levels are encouraged. Maximum of 15 students.

Materials Shawn will supply for the $30 per person fee:

  • 20 sheets (per person) of 8.5″ x 11″ 80-lb. cover stock, various colors, some of which will have patterns printed on them
  • 1 sheet of 12.5″ x 5.5″ 140-lb. cover stock
  • PVA adhesive
  • Glue cups
  • Double-stick tape
  • 12-page pattern set

Supply List (bring these tools):

  • Bonefolder
  • Ruler
  • Xacto knife/blades
  • Self-healing mat
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • Microspatula (optional)
  • Tweezers (optional)
  • Screw punch (optional)

Questions? Email santafebag@gmail.com.

New Collaborative Book; Signup Deadline is April 15, 2023

 

Santa Fe Book Arts Group is leading a joint collaborative book for BAG and Libros New Mexico Book Arts Guild. This will be BAG’s 2023 collaborative book.

The structure will be a drum leaf binding, proposed by Gail Murray, and based on a drum leaf binding designed by Elizabeth McKee for a workshop she taught this year. The theme is “geometry.”  Pages will be 5” x 10”, folded to 5” x 5” for the book. Pages will be attached back-to-back, and only the front side of each page will be visible in the completed book. Participants are expected to use Arches Text Wove paper for their pages.

The deadline to sign up is Saturday, April 15, 2023; email Linda Zwick at lindazwick55@yahoo.com to sign up.

By the end of April participants will be notified of the number of pages to make. Pages will be due by Friday, July 21, 2023. Compilation meetings will be scheduled in mid-August, probably the week of August 14 and/or the week of August 21, on Zoom, in-person, or hybrid.

Participants must be a current member of either BAG or Libros.

WORKSHOP FULL: Animated Pop-Ups Workshop with Shawn Sheehy

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, April 29, 2023, 10 am to 4 pm (with a break for lunch; nothing open on campus, please bring your lunch)
Santa Fe Community College, Room 700
$63 for BAG members; must be a member in good standing
PLUS $30 materials fee, payable to Shawn at the start of the workshop

THIS WORKSHOP IS FULL.  To get on the waiting list, please send an email to santafebag@gmail.com.

Pop-ups are dimensional and come to life when a page is turned. Movables are flat and come to life when a tab is pulled. Both strategies alone can animate a page; combining the two can make the animation even more exciting. In this workshop you will assemble and explore a variety of applied foundational structures for paper engineering, and you will bind the collected structures into a simple case. All skill levels are encouraged. Maximum of 15 students.

Materials Shawn will supply for the $30 per person fee:

  • 20 sheets (per person) of 8.5″ x 11″ 80-lb. cover stock, various colors, some of which will have patterns printed on them
  • 1 sheet of 12.5″ x 5.5″ 140-lb. cover stock
  • PVA adhesive
  • Glue cups
  • Double-stick tape
  • 12-page pattern set

Supply List (bring these tools):

  • Bonefolder
  • Ruler
  • Xacto knife/blades
  • Self-healing mat
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • Microspatula (optional)
  • Tweezers (optional)
  • Screw punch (optional)

Questions? Email santafebag@gmail.com.

Stab Binding: 3 Variations Workshop with Pamela MacKellar

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, June 17, 2023, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Online via Zoom
$49 for BAG members; you must be a member to participate
Maximum of 12 students

Register here: https://santafebag.org/register-for-pamela-mackellars-workshop/

The Stab Binding is a simple, non-adhesive, side-stitched binding that was practiced in China, Japan, and Korea. The binder stabs holes along the spine edge through the entire book block in a straight line or in a more complex pattern to create a decorative stitch that is visible on the outside covers. We will make 3 variations (4-hole, Noble, and Tortoise Shell) incorporating single sheets, folded sheets, soft cover, wraparound cover, and hinged hard cover.

This class is designed for beginners; however, experienced book artists are welcome.

Students will provide their own supplies, materials, and tools. BAG will send the supply list and Zoom link to registrants prior to class.

Outline:

  • Brief history of Stab Bindings
  • How they are constructed
  • Examples and resources
  • Squaring the block
  • Stabbing the holes
  • Gluing/covering boards
  • Hinged hard cover
  • Sewing variations
  • Following patterns
  • Questions and sharing

Questions? Email Pam at pmackellar182@gmail.com.

Call for Entries: Dreams, an International Juried Exhibition of Book Art

Dreams is Presented by 23 Sandy and the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound

On view August 20-November 17, 2023, at the Collins Memorial Library, Tacoma, Washington

Call for Entries

Dreams allow us to experience worlds beyond borders, barriers, and binaries. They are narratives that grow out of our waking experiences into the fantastical, unexpected, and strange. Sometimes vivid, other times elusive, dreams can immerse us in hope and beauty. Their meaning and mechanics are a mystery. In dreams, we can encounter the impossible. This call for entries invites artists to submit book and paper art about the cognitive, sensory, and emotional nature of dreams, your personal dreams, or dreams you hold for others.

Media

This exhibition is open to handmade book and paper arts and related works created as either an edition or one-of-a-kind. Artist books, sculptural books, book objects, altered books, zines, and broadsides are all encouraged.

Jurors

Dreams will be juried by Jane Carlin, Library Director at the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, Sha Towers, Librarian and Associate Dean for Research & Engagement at the Baylor University Libraries, and Erin Mickelson, owner and director of 23 Sandy.

Deadline for Submissions

June 9, 2023, at 11:59 pm MDT; visit https://23sandy.com/pages/dreams-full-prospectus

Call For Submission: Westwart Bound II

Westward Bound II | August 17 – September 10, 2023

This is a national juried exhibition, open to artists at least 18 years of age. Eligible are artists’ book works either created by artists living/working in The American West or artists’ book works with content relevant to The American West.

Westward Bound II will be on view from August 17 – September 10, 2023 at Spark Gallery in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe.

Important Dates

  • March 5, 2023: Online submissions open.
  • June 18, 2023: Deadline for submissions & payment to be received.
  • July 3, 2023: Announcement of accepted works via e-mail.
  • July 31, 2023: Deadline for work to be received by Abecedarian Artists’ Books.
  • August 17, 2023: First day of exhibit at Spark Gallery.
  • September 10, 2023: Last day of exhibit at Spark Gallery.
  • Week of September 11, 2023: Unsold work returned to artists.

Details about artists’ reception + other events TBA

Submit work at https://abecedariangallery.com/store/call-for-submission-westward-bound-ii/

Eligibility and Media

This exhibition is open to any artist 18 years of age or older. Artists living outside the United States should email prior to submission so that additional non-US exhibitor guidelines can be discussed.

Eligible are any artists’ book-works (editioned or unique) created by an artist working in The American West OR with content that relates to The American West.

What is The American West?

Virtually every part of the United States except the Eastern Seaboard has been “the West” at some point in American history, linked in popular imagination with the last frontier of American settlement. For purposes of this exhibition, The American West refers to that vast stretch of plains, mountains, and deserts west of the Mississippi and so includes states now considered the mid-west (such as the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, and so forth).

Before submitting, please note that book works that are larger than 16 inches in any dimension when closed may be challenging to display fully open.

Please also note that the number of protective cases is limited – most works will be displayed on open pedestals or shelving.

Maximum of 2 works may be submitted per artist.

Selections will be made by Anna Bernhard, Director, Stanley G. Wold Resource Center and Library, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Anna is also Director and co-founder of CABIN (Center for Artists’ Books and Inclusive Narratives).

Fees/Submission

Entry fee for this exhibit is $18 for each submission. Full-time students and/or those identifying as BIPOC or LGBTQ can opt to pay a lesser fee of $12 for each submission.

You needn’t enter your submissions all at the same time. Submission for this exhibition is by file upload only.

Each book submission must include 2-6 images. Links to short videos showing the work are also encouraged.

Please send gallery quality images without background clutter or text. DO NOT send composite images or images with embedded text. If your work is accepted for exhibition, the images you submit, along with the text you provide will be used for print & digital publicity.

Please note that you will not be able to change any information submitted at time of entry, including the price, after the submission process.

Sales

It is expected that all work exhibited be for sale. The prices you submit during the submission process are the retail prices Abecedarian Artists’ Books will adhere to throughout the duration of the exhibition. Abecedarian retains a 40% commission on works sold by Abecedarian during and following the exhibit.

Catalog

There will be an online catalog which will remain online during and after the exhibition.

Accepted Entries

Works must be delivered ready for installation/display. Curator reserves the right not to exhibit any work inaccurately represented by the digital entry, that arrives damaged, is not properly prepared for exhibition or is deemed too fragile for effective display

Display/Insurance/Rights

Book works will be exhibited on pedestals or shelving. On acceptance to the exhibition, a consignment agreement, insurance agreement and delivery guidelines will be sent to each participating artist, along with any additional information or updates.

Artists are advised to provide their own insurance coverage and will be asked to complete and return an insurance waiver.

Insurance in transit to and from Abecedarian Artists’ Books is the responsibility of the artist.

It is expected that submitting artists are not violating any stated or implied relationship with another gallery or dealer by submitting work for this exhibition and that the artist/creator of the work is not in violation of any copyright laws.

Agreement

Submission of entry constitutes agreement to all conditions in this prospectus. The artist agrees that images of selected artwork and the submitted text can be used by Abecedarian Artists’ Books and Spark Gallery for promotions and publications.

* Instructions for submission fee payment will be sent via e-mail on receipt of submission.

**Detailed image preparation and naming guidelines can be found on the online entry form.

BAG Meeting on Saturday, March 11

Saturday, March 11, 2023, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT, via Zoom (online)
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Presentation by Yuka Petz (see below)
  • Upcoming Programs and Workshops by Julie Filatoff
  • Update on Exhibits of Members’ Works in 2023 and 2024 by Will Karp
  • Upcoming Poetry Salons by David Rachlin
  • Update on the Exploding Book Project at the New Mexico Museum of Art by Sally Blakemore
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • April Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • April Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Vegetable Papyrus, a presentation by Yuka Petz

This live demonstration is an introduction to making vegetable papyrus, a proto-paper made solely from fruits and vegetables. This organic and non-toxic artform provides ample opportunities to create stunning compositions that reveal the delicate veining and organic structures of the fruits and vegetables you work with. Yuka will demonstrate the entire process of making vegetable papyrus, with time for questions and answers. You can download detailed instructions on how to make vegetable papyrus at home here: https://santafebag.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/VegPapyrus_Handout.pdf.

Yuka Petz is an artist with many years of experience in education and arts administration. Her creative practice is centered around paper, language, and text, and encompasses printmaking, drawing, books, and one-of-a-kind and limited edition works. She is a regular guest host of Artist’s Books Unshelved and teaches book arts workshops around the country. Yuka is committed to collaborative and community-oriented projects that increase the accessibility of print and book arts. You can see more of her work at https://www.yukapetz.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/yukapetz/.

Call for Entries: 2023/24 International Biennial for Paper Fibre Art

The National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI) is pleased to announce the next biennial celebration of paper art: Beginning March 1, 2023, artists around the globe can apply to be a part of this truly international exhibition that will be featured in the halls of the NTCRI Campus from November 2023 through March 2024. With the support of the NTCRI, artists are invited to re-examine historic and contemporary paper art processes, exploring the material deeply and allowing it to speak on its own terms.

Artists are invited to submit recent works produced since 2021 that are closely aligned with the theme, Earth Speak: Giving Voice to Paper.

What is our fragile planet telling us?

What are the myths, images, and stories that will help us understand what is happening in this moment in time: good, bad, beautiful or unsightly?

What messages can be revealed that can help us see things differently ?

What can inspire us to become agents of change?

What are the messages we want to share with the future?

For more information: https://ibpfa.org/

Call for Entries: Anything Goes, July 7-15, 2023

Libros New Mexico Book Arts Guild and Santa Fe Book Arts Group are having a joint show, “Anything Goes,” at the Tortuga Gallery in Albuquerque.

The show will be held Friday, July 7, through Saturday, July 15, 2023. The show is open to members in good standing only. This is a collaborative show and any member from either group is encouraged to enter. Click here to download the application.

APPLICATION: The deadline to submit application, photo, and NON-REFUNDABLE of $5 fee per piece is May 15, 2023. Each piece entered must be submitted with its own application, photo, and $5 fee. Any type of artwork that is made by a Libros/SF BAG member is allowed, not just artist’s books. All work must be made by the member. All entries will be reviewed by jury for appropriateness and size (due to space). There is no commission fee taken on the sale of any artwork; all sales will go directly to the artist. There is no limit to the quantity of pieces an artist can submit; however, if we get an overwhelming response and space becomes limited, we may have to put a limitation of quantity in place. If pieces submitted require a unique or specialized display prop then the artist needs to provide it. We would like to use the photos submitted for marketing purposes so, if you don’t want your photo used check the box on the form. Note: if any Libros/SF BAG member wants assistance in the application process (whether with photos, forms, or computer assistance), you may contact Susan Wright at wrightsusan277@gmail.com or 678-899-0509 to receive help. We truly want all members to have the opportunity to submit.

In addition to works of art by members, we will allow some selling of materials such as handmade cards, hand-mixed paints or dyes, or handmade papers or packets of interesting ephemera, papers, etc. All materials must have professional-looking packaging. Each artist wanting to sell materials will pay a $5 fee and then a 10% commission on all sold items. Each type of item to be sold must have its own application. There is no commission taken on the sale of any art piece, only on material packets/cards.

We will have the ability to take credit card sales and any transaction fees will be deducted from the artist sales amount. All applicants will be responsible for paying their own gross receipts tax and responsible for reporting the income to the IRS. Libros and BAG take no responsibility for either item. There will be no tax added to the sales price at the gallery. So, sales price must include everything and the artist will be responsible for gross receipts tax (sales tax), income tax, and credit card fees. Send entry applications, photos, and fee to Susan Wright by mail or drop off to 4612 Eastern Ave. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 to arrive no later than May 15, 2023. Make checks out to Susan Wright.

ARTWORK INTAKE: The intake of all artwork and materials to be sold will take place on Thursday, July 6, 2022 from 10 am to 12 noon. Artwork and materials must be dropped off during these hours or contact Susan Wright to make special arrangements. If you live out of the area and want to mail your entries in then send them to Susan Wright, 4612 Eastern Ave. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 to arrive no later than July 1, 2023. Susan will make arrangements to get them back to you if unsold; shipping fees will be due once assessed.

SHOW HOURS: The opening reception of the show will be on Friday, July 7, 2023, from 4 pm to 7 pm. The show will run through Saturday, July 15, 2023 during the hours of 11 am to 5 pm each day except for the last Saturday because we will take down the show starting at 4 pm on July 15.

OPENING RECEPTION: The opening reception will take place on Friday, July 7 from 4 to 7 pm.

SHOW TAKEDOWN: All artists MUST pick up their unsold work/materials on Saturday, July 15, 2023, from 4 pm to 5 pm.

SITTING THE GALLERY: We will need a large team of gallery sitters comprised of the Libros/SF BAG members to sit the gallery all the hours the show is open. Please check the box below if you are willing to help sit the gallery.

LIABILITY: Libros, BAG, and Tortuga Gallery accept no responsibility or liability for any damage or theft of artwork submitted. However, we will be as diligent as possible in caring for the artwork. Libros, BAG, and Tortuga are also not responsible for any accidents. Receipt of your application assumes you agree to this policy.

List Poem Salon with David Rachlin

Saturday, June 3, 2023  1 to 4 pm
Location:  Rancho Viejo Volunteer Fire Station Classroom, 37 Rancho Viejo Blvd, 1 mile east of State Road 14, 1 mile north of the 599/SR 14 Intersection.

To sign up e-mail Gail Murray gail@gpmurray.com by Sunday, May 21, 2023, 11PM.

In this salon we will view many examples of list poems, imitate a few, and see what makes them work so well, before writing our own. Some terrific examples are by N. Scott Momaday, Sherman Alexie, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Carolyn Forché, and many, many others. In a list poem, each entry can be a word, a phrase, a complete sentence, or even a short stanza. There is no limit to the ideas that can become a list poem.

Optional prompts will be offered to get us started and give you plenty of free writing and sharing time. I will also introduce a variation called an Instruction Poem, in which you address the reader by listing directions for an imaginary or realistic event. A PDF of example poems will be sent to participants when registration closes on Sunday, May 21, 2023  11PM

This is an in-person workshop in Santa Fe FOR MEMBERS ONLY with a maximum of 12 people.

Fee of $20 payable by cash or check made to David Rachlin, the day of the Salon.

WORKSHOP FULL: Altered Book Workshop with Cynthia Leespring

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, May 20, 2023, 10 am to 4 pm (with a break for lunch)
Santa Fe Community College, Room 700
$62.40 for BAG and Libros members; must be a member of either organization to participate
No materials fee; all supplies included

Register here: https://santafebag.org/register-for-cynthia-leesprings-workshop/

Continue reading “WORKSHOP FULL: Altered Book Workshop with Cynthia Leespring”

BAG Meeting on Saturday, February 11

Saturday, February 11, 2023, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT, via Zoom (online)
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Update on the Santa Fe Origins Project by Sally Blakemore
  • Upcoming Salon Offerings by Gail Murray
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • March Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • March Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Presentation by Elaine G. Chu (see below)
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

An Arts and Crafts Journey, a presentation by Elaine G. Chu

Elaine will present several book structures as a preview to the Painted & Sewn Handmade Books workshop on the following Saturday (details here). She will also show other art media that she works with, such as blockprinting + stitch, gel plate printing inspired by nature, Chinese thread books, and beeswax collages.

Elaine will also lead us through a brief project, a clever flexagon that was originally developed by book artist, Ed Hutchins. Please have ready:

  • One or two sheets of 8.5 x 11” cardstock
  • A pencil
  • A ruler
  • A craft knife and cutting mat
  • A piece of tape
  • Optional color markers or pencils

Elaine G. Chu has taught students of all ages in person and online. Her work has been featured in “Greencraft” and “Somerset Studio” magazines as well as “1000 Artists’ Books.” She co-authored “Wood Paper Scissors,” a how-to crafts book. Elaine received a BA in music at Yale University and a BFA in graphic design at University of the Arts. View more art at EGChuHandcrafted.etsy.com and on Instagram: @egchu1 and Facebook.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, January 14

Saturday, January 14, 2023, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Overview of Programs for 2023 by Julie Filatoff
  • Junk Journal Workshop Reminder by Chauncey Foster of we.grow.eco
  • Overview of Planning for Exhibits of Members’ Works in 2023 and 2023 by Will Karp
  • Update on the Santa Fe Origins Project by Sally Blakemore
  • Upcoming Salon Offerings by Gail Murray
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • February Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • February Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Slideshow of Images Submitted by Participants in the 2022 Mail Art and Anything Goes Challenges
  • 1-minute Comments from Attendees: “What My Focus is Going to be This Year”
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Monthly Art Challenges Announced

Mail Art–12 in ’23: Color

Each month you will create a 4×6 postcard (using cardstock) that focuses on one color.

Then email Linda Zwick (lindazwick55@yahoo.com) with your address before the third Saturday of the month. She will email you the name and address of your recipient the next week.

You have the entire month to work on your card. Please mail it to your mail art recipient by the end of the month. (For example, if you sign up in December for the January mail art, please mail your card by the end of January.)

Also email a photograph of your card to BAG (santafebag@gmail.com). These images will be used on social media, the BAG website, and occasional BAG slideshows. If you would prefer not to have your card exhibited in any of these venues, please just skip sending in an image.

Anything Goes! Adventures in Art: Famous Artists

Create a piece of art, any size, shape, and with whatever materials you choose.

There is no assigned exchange involved in this project, so send to anyone you like or keep for yourself.

Please photograph and email an image of your creation to BAG (santafebag@gmail.com) by the end of the next month. As with Mail Art, your image may be used on social media, the BAG website, and for a Zoom presentation. Emailing an image serves as your permission for BAG to use this photo of your art.

BAG President Linda Zwick has given us a challenge. Create a piece of art of any kind (no limitations on size or structure), send to friends and family if you like, and send a photo to santafebag@gmail.com (for posting on the website and social media, and inclusion in a likely future slideshow at a BAG membership meeting). The themes are just suggestions; create whatever suits your fancy!

Click the links below to see examples of the artists’ work.

January

January 28 is Jackson Pollock’s birth anniversary. Experiment with poured paint and spatter!

February

In February 2022, Cuban-born artist Carmen Herrera died at age 106, having worked in relative anonymity until age 89. Experiment with abstract geometric shapes.

March

In March 1891, Georges Seurat died at the age of 31. Following his lead, experiment with techniques he devised: chromoluminarism and pointillism, or use Conte crayon to draw on rough surfaced paper.

April

Lyubov Popova was a Russian avant-garde artist. This month, try your hand at Suprematist art, that is, focus on pure artistic feeling rather than on visual depiction of objects.

May

Barbara Kruger is a contemporary artist most well known for her collage style consisting of black-and-white photographs overlaid with declarative captions. Suggestion: create a collage of an image overlaid with text.

June

M.C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. As noted in Wikipedia, “his work features mathematical objects and operations including impossible objects, explorations of infinity…truncated and stellated polyhedra, hyberolic geometry, and tessellations.” Suggestion: create an exploration of infinity or mathematical objects.

July

Chuck Close was a visual artist, photographer, painter, and printmaker who made many abstract portraits of himself and others. He is known for many styles of artwork, including tapestry portraits and portraits made of many miniature photographs. Suggestion: play with a portrait or self-portrait with a unique design.

August

We all, I bet, know of Andy Warhol, who was a leading figure in the pop art movement. Suggestion: step away from fine art and experiment with imagery from popular culture, that is, focus on a mundane image from an ironic view.

September

Alma Thomas became known for “exuberant, colorful abstract paintings” (per Wikipedia). She had a long career teaching art and did not become a professional artist until about age 68. About this time, she developed a style of pointillism using dramatic contrasts of colors in a mosaic style; most of her works have circular, horizonal, or vertical patterns.  Suggestion: experiment with contrasting colors in mosaic configurations.

October

John Dwyer McLaughlin was an abstract painter and a pioneer in minimalism and “hard edge” painting, in which abrupt changes occur between color areas that are often of unvarying shades. This style of paining is related to color field painting (see December challenge). Suggestion: create an image of bold shapes and strong colors.

November

Margarete Bagshaw was born in November 1964. She died (an untimely death) in 2015. She was a member of Santa Clara Pueblo; her grandmother Pablita Velarde and her mother Helen Hardin were both famous New Mexico artists. Bagshaw was a modernist artist and many of Bagshaw’s paintings incorporate designs based on the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical formula that’s called “nature’s secret code” or “nature’s universal rule” (an example being the shape of the nautilus shell). Experiment with harmonious components in a piece.

December

Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter. Per Wikipedia, “her style is notable on its emphasis on spontaneity.” In 1960, the term “color field painting” was used to describe her work. According to Wikipedia, Frankenthaler often painted on unprimed canvas with oil paints heavily diluted with turpentine, a technique she termed “soak stain.” Suggestion: create an image based on “color field” design, using large areas of color and hues similar in tone or intensity.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, December 10

Saturday, December 10, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • New Vision and Mission Statement by Linda Zwick
  • Election of Directors and Officers by Linda Zwick
  • Appreciation by Linda Zwick
  • Overview of Program for 2023 by Julie Filatoff
  • Updates on Planning for Exhibits of Members’ Works in 2023 by Liz Faust and Will Karp
  • Update on the Santa Fe Origins Project by Sally Blakemore
  • Upcoming Salon Offerings by Gail Murray
  • Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Swap Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • January Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • January Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Artwork by Gail Murray of Paw Print Press.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, November 12

Saturday, November 12, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Book Works: Creative Process, a presentation by Maria G Pisano
  • Tributes to Douglass Rankin by Rosemary Rae and Amy Thompson West
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Swap Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • December Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • December Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Book Works: Maria G Pisano Creative Process

As a book artist, Maria G Pisano is continuing the tradition of books as keepers of our collective memory, using its format, in its myriad transformative powers, to express her interpretive and personal stories.

Maria’s artistic endeavors are expressed in artist books and printmaking works; they resonate and create the link between the constant personal journey as an artist and as a traveler. These artifacts are interwoven with personal experiences, memories, and the impact of fearful and disquieting world events; evoking shadows of reminiscence in unpredictable moments. The experiences are incorporated in our memory palace to revisit, in our visual, symbolic and experiential memory.

In working with artist’s books, Maria orchestrates a theme, incorporating both the visual and structural elements. Each book contains its own individual form, creating patterns that speak of personal and communal identities. Maria creates human and structural environments, making a link between form and meaning, viewer and artist, past and present, and the multiple polarities that fuse, enact, and display our other selves. Integral in all this is expressive language.

Maria G. Pisano is a book artist, printmaker, curator, and educator. Her oeuvre is published under the Memory Press imprint. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, in museums and galleries. Memory Press works are represented in many collection including: The Library of Congress, The 9-11 Memorial Museum, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Lafayette College, National Library of Medicine, University of Delaware, Smithsonian Institution, Wesleyan University, and many more.

Maria’s book Hècatombe 9-11 has been chosen by The 9-11 Memorial Museum in New York City as an ambassador to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attack on the USA. It is part of the exhibit “And Yet We Rise: A Retrospect of the Days and Times Surrounding 9/11″ at the American Consulate in London from 2021 to 2022.

Over the years Maria has curated a number of exhibits. In 2021 she curated “Crossroads: Book Artists’ Impassioned Responses to Immigration, Human Rights and Our Environment” at the Hunterdon Museum of Art in New Jersey. A previous exhibit was “Book as Witness: The Artist’s Response” at the Center for Book Arts in New York City.

Maria has presented book arts lectures at the Library of Congress, the College Book Arts Association, and the Art Libraries Society of North America, among other venues. Her most recent articles are: “Mark To Impress” in The California Printmaker, the journal of the California Society of Printmakers; “Mark to Impress: Visualizing the Process” in the Guild of Book Workers Journal; and “Mark to Impress: Utilizing New Tools” in The Blue Notebook in the United Kingdom.

Maria continuously gives national and international workshops in printing, book arts, and conservation, including at the Bridwell Library in Dallas, Texas; the Center for Book Arts in New York City; the Professione Libro in Italy; many libraries; and her studio. Visit her at http://www.mariagpisano.com/.

And the following Saturday:

The Flag Book: A Travel Quest, a Workshop with Maria G Pisano

Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, November 19, 2022, 10 am to 12 noon MT, via Zoom (online)
Suitable for beginner to advanced students, but you MUST be a current Santa Fe BAG member
$28.88 (check or PayPal); must be received by November 14, 2022; REGISTER HERE

Originally created by Hedi Kyle, the flag book is a very exciting form. The layered pages crisscross each other when opening and closing, making the book a living, moving, interactive entity. The flags have wonderful movement and allow for multiple images and content.

In this workshop we will design a three-dimensional book using diverse printing methods (collage, photos, etc.) to create our own designs for the pages and the covers. A truly unique work will emerge.

We will be using maps and other elements of places we like to visit, or have seen, whether in reality or in our imagination; for example, photos of yourself and/or places you have visited or imaginary journeys (where is your favorite place that you would like to visit?). If you have any maps, you can incorporate them in your collage/designs.

And Save the Date!

  • Saturday, December 10, 2022: Monthly BAG Meeting via Zoom
  • Saturday, December 17, 2022: In-Person Annual Meeting at Santa Fe Community College; details soon!

Tribute to Douglass Rankin (with link)

Recently we said goodbye to a dear friend, Douglass Rankin.

Douglass was a potter, poet, photographer, printmaker, pastepaper marker, postage stamp collector, mail art maker, journal keeper, book artist, beekeeper, butterfly counter, bird and fish watcher, cat lover, gardener, cook, hiker, star gazer, traveler of paths least traveled, wife of Will Ruggles, and most of all, a great book arts friend. We miss you, Douglass!

The photography in the slideshow tribute was supplied by Gail Murray, Dorothy Rankin, and Douglass herself. Paul Murray assisted with the technical aspect of the slideshow, which you can view at https://santafebag.org/2022/11/07/tribute-to-douglass-rankin/.

2023 Membership Dues Increase

The Santa Fe Book Arts Group Board voted to raise membership dues to $40 annually as of January 1, 2023. This is the first dues increase in several years. Members who renew by December 31, 2022, however, can do so at the 2022 rate of $30.

Over the years Santa Fe BAG has consistently expanded the number and breadth of programs we offer as a membership benefit. Programs include meetings, workshops, presentations, and exhibition opportunities. This dues increase will enable us to continue to support and enhance our broad range of programming, because we are committed to supporting your growth as book and paper artists.

Renew today! Visit https://santafebag.org/join-or-renew-bag-membership/.

Artwork by Douglass Rankin.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, October 8

Saturday, October 8, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Art Flea Market Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • In Memoriam: Douglass Rankin by Linda Zwick and Gail Murray
  • Meet Your Board Member: Kim Walter, Form + Content
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Swap Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • November Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • November Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, September 10

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • My Life as a Book Artist and Letterpress Printer, a Presentation by Bettina Pauly (see below)
  • Art Flea Market Update by Cynthia Leespring and Julie Filatoff 
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • October Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • October Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

My Life as a Book Artist and Letterpress Printer, a Presentation by Bettina Pauly





Bettina will tell us how she came to the USA, started to learn about book arts and letterpress printing, enrolled at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, took classes at the San Francisco Center for the Book, and left her main job to become a teacher for book arts and printing, a book artist, and a letterpress printer.  She will give us a close look at some of her artist books, including:

•    The Year of the Dragon, a flag book
•    A sun that rises, an accordion-fold book
•    California Poppies, an accordion-fold book
•    What a Catch!, a flag book

Bettina will also sow us some of her mail art, which includes miniature pop-ups.

Bettina Pauly studied at the Academy of Art University (San Francisco) in the Book Arts and Letterpress program under Chris Rolik and Macy Chadwick. In addition she took classes at the San Francisco Center for the Book, taught by Mary Laird, Kumi Korf, and Julie Chen.

Bettina lives in San Francisco as a book artist and works as a letterpress printer with Kim Vanderheiden at Painted Tongue Studios in Oakland, California. She teaches book arts and letterpress classes at the Academy of Art University and the San Francisco Center for the Book. She loves books and boxes both as physical objects and as containers of meaning, and is interested in a variety of folded, sewn, and woven structures in which she can incorporate her printing. Bettina was part of “Al-Mutanabbi Street starts here,” contributing a broadside and an artist book, and spoke at the opening of that exhibition in 2016 in Portland, Oregon. She is a member of the Hand Bookbinders of California, the Movable Book Society, and the Book Club of California. View her work at http://blog.bettina-pauly.com/.

And the Next Saturday (September 17), an Online Workshop!

If you would like to sign up for this workshop after hearing Bettina’s presentation, please go to the registration page here, send a check or pay for it with PayPal, and text Julie Filatoff at 505-660-9942 so she sends you the supply list and prompts!

The Magic Wallet: A Workshop with Bettina Pauly


Presented by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group
Saturday, September 17, 2022, 1 pm to 3 pm MT, via Zoom (online)
Suitable for beginner to advanced students, but you MUST be a current Santa Fe BAG member
$29 (payment options: check or PayPal); must be received by September 12, 2022

The Magic Wallet is one of those oddities related to a möbius strip. Its form is used in many actual wallets and you can make a quick-and-dirty version with two cards and two rubber bands. The magic is that when you place a dollar (or a flexible piece of paper) into the wallet and close and open it, the straps will have wrapped the bill behind them. As you open the wallet from one side and then the other, the bill will appear to move from side to side. If you make the straps from paper or ribbon with a different color on each side, you will see that you are seeing successive sides of the straps as you open and close the wallet. This makes it a useful vehicle for content which can appear and disappear (like magic!).

Register here: (NOTE: You must fill out the form; simply paying for the workshop does not secure you a spot.)

BAG Meeting This Saturday, August 13

Saturday, August 13, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Materials and Concepts: Books Developed through Sensory Observation and Engagement, a Presentation by Marci Ross Easterbrook (see below)
  • Art Flea Market Update by Cynthia Leespring and Julie Filatoff 
  • Announcement of Fall Book Arts Courses at SFCC by Gordon Fluke
  • Round Robin Art Journal Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • September Mail Art Description by Linda Zwick
  • September Anything Goes Description by Linda Zwick
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Presentation: Materials and Concepts: Books Developed through Sensory Observation and Engagement with Marci Ross Easterbrook

Marci Ross EasterbrookMarci will present her work through different projects that show how the use of materials developed a concept. She will also talk about using your sensibilities to observe what happens as books in different materials stimulate ideas and can translate into other projects.

Marci Ross Easterbrook is an illustrator, printmaker, papermaker, book artist and teacher at Santa Fe Community College. Marci strongly believes that materials are a key source for knowing yourself as an artist and will lead each person to creative new work through text and image. She uses materials of paper, Tyvek, altered pages, and mixed media to create unique surface design that leads to discovery of creative concepts and content for books.

And the Next Day, an Online Workshop!

If you would like to sign up for this workshop after hearing Marci’s presentation, please go to the registration page here, send a check or pay for it with PayPal, and text Julie Filatoff at 505-660-9942 so she sends you the supply list and prompts!

Sense and Signatures: A Materials and Book Workshop with Marci Ross Easterbrook

Sunday, August 14, 2022
10 am to 2 pm (with a lunch break)
Via Zoom Online Platform

Sense and Signatures Workshop

In this four-hour workshop you will develop your five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight) into materials for concept and content development. This will become five signatures which you will bind into an artist book with a side-sewn accordion spine and Tyvek covers.

You will receive a supply and tool list prior to the workshop. The sequence of events: surface techniques on paper, staining Tyvek, making the accordion spine, lunch break, making signatures, sewing the spine and cover, and sharing your books with the other students and Marci.

Marci will also provide a printable .pdf document with directions, a jig, and concept prompts.

Limited to 15 students; held on Zoom. $69 per person (no materials included). Questions? Email marci.easterbrook@sfcc.edu.

Register here: (NOTE: You must fill out the form; simply paying for the workshop does not secure you a spot.)

Opens August 5: Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers

Santa Fe Book Arts Group’s Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers Exhibition
Opening Friday, August 5, 2022, 5 pm to 7 pm
Exhibition Continues Through August 26, 2022

Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) is pleased to host the Santa Fe Book Arts Group. Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers is a 12.5’ long, handmade book exploring the history of Santa Fe from its beginnings. The exhibition will open at El Zaguán, 545 Canyon Road, Suite 2, Santa Fe, NM on Friday, August 5, 2022 from 5-7 pm.

Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers is a collaboration between paper and book artists from the Santa Fe Book Arts Group (BAG). The group is made up of working artists who love the fertile creative spirit of Santa Fe and have contributed to the piece throughout the pandemic by hand making and cutting paper as well as through providing individual paper mechanics and illustrations. Sally Blakemore, as BAG Artist in Residence from 2020-2022, proposed the book as a collaborative project promoting Santa Fe’s fascinating human history of Native people, migrants from Mexico, colonization through European influences, the Catholic Church, scientists, archeologists, and adventurers.

Click on any image to enlarge.

ABOUT THE SHOW:
Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers is a handmade, interactive book which features the history of Santa Fe from her beginnings.

Who traveled to Santa Fe?
Why did they travel to New Mexico?
What did each group contribute to the diverse culture?
How diverse is Santa Fe’s history?
How has tourism enriched the experience?

Santa Fe Origins & Ancient Travelers is a folding, accordion book that is 15.5″ by 20.5″ closed and 12.5’ long when fully opened and appears as a wild scrapbook of historical facts. Each spread contains a central piece of adobe and historical architecture hand cut from lokta paper, dyed to match the adobe colors of Santa Fe. The following buildings are the centerpiece of their respective spread: the Oldest House, San Miguel Chapel, St. Francis Cathedral, the Palace of the Governors, and La Fonda Hotel. These structures provide a starting location for the stories and historical entries contained in small books which are comprised of illustrations in paper engineered formats, paintings, drawings, and articles by scholars concerning Santa Fe’s diverse history. Each group of travelers has brought wisdom, beliefs, foods, the wheel, honey, agriculture, music, dance, ritual architecture, business, and stewardship to the Southwestern region. The public is encouraged to explore the piece and acquaint themselves with the mystery and wonder of Santa Fe by removing the small books from their cases and flaps.

More information: https://www.historicsantafe.org/santa-fe-origins-exhibition-2022

BAG Meeting This Saturday, July 9

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Saturday, July 9, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MT
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Printed Matter Festival by Lisa Miles
  • Santa Fe Origins Project Update by Sally Blakemore and Barb Macks
  • Artist’s Books, Installations, and The Art of Papercraft: A Presentation by Helen Hiebert (see below)
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Round Robin Art Journal Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • Art Flea Market Update by Cynthia Leespring and Julie Filatoff 
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

There are a few spots left in Helen’s workshop via Zoom
on Saturday, July 16, from 10 am to 12 noon! Click here to register.

Presentation: Artist’s Books, Installations, and The Art of Papercraft with Helen Hiebert

Helen Hiebert will talk about her journey on paper. She will show several unique artist’s books and installations, while describing the twists and turns in her entrepreneurial career. Helen will also discuss her newest how-to book, The Art of Papercraft.

Helen HiebertHelen Hiebert is a Colorado artist who constructs installations, sculptures, films, and artist’s books using handmade paper, thread, and light. She teaches and lectures about papermaking and lamp-making and exhibits her work internationally. She is author of the several how-to books about papermaking and paper crafts. Helen has an extensive network of paper colleagues around the world and her interest in how things are made (from paper) keeps her up to date on current paper trends, which she writes about in her weekly blog post called The Sunday Paper. Helen’s most recent installation, Step Into the Light, is a giant paper lantern at Anythink Wright Farms, a library in Denver. She holds an annual paper retreat in her Red Cliff studio every August.

BAG Meeting This Saturday, May 14

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Saturday, May 14, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MST
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • When Doodles Dare to Dream: A Presentation by Rosemary Ray (see below)
  • Santa Fe Origins Project Update and Pop-Up Demo by Sally Blakemore
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

 

Presentation: When Doodles Dare to Dream with Rosemary Rae

Click images to enlarge.

Welcome to Rosemary Rae’s world of doodle books. Here bright bursts of possibility collide with song and curious geometry, creating an elaborate visual poem. Beauty, fun, and spontaneity leap from page to page. Inspiration blooms as Rosemary draws with marker, colored pencils, and crayon, adding collage, paint, and rubber stamps along the way. Join Rosemary on a technicolor journey through her multi-page gardens–swirling landscapes ablaze with words, roses, flames, polka dots, and stars. Rosemary hopes that her little illustrated books will inspire you to create one, too.

Rosemary Rae is a creative director/designer, artist, and design educator living in San Diego, California. A graduate of Moore College of Art & Design and Vermont College of Fine Arts, she currently works for a local publisher creating book covers, calendars, and kits that are sold nationwide. In addition to designing her unique line of letterpressed greeting cards, she also creates collages and artist books, which have been featured in many juried exhibitions. Her creative work provides the arena to play and experiment with book structures, paper ephemera, pop-ups, paint, lettering, and typography.

2022 “Anything Goes” Challenge Monthly Themes

BAG President Linda Zwick has given us a challenge. Create a piece of art of any kind (no limitations on size or structure), send to friends and family if you like, and send a photo to santafebag@gmail.com (for posting on the website and social media, and inclusion in a likely future slideshow at a BAG membership meeting). The themes are just suggestions; create whatever suits your fancy!

January

January 30 is Inspire Your Heart with Art Day.

February

February 8 is Hari-Kuyo in the Kanto region of Japan. It is the Buddhist and Shinto Festival of Broken Needles (celebrated in December in the Kyoto and Kansai regions) and is a memorial to sewing needles broken in their service during the past year. It is also an opportunity to pray for improved skills. Suggestion: Create something in honor of your favorite tool or tools or about your intentions to learn new skills of any kind.

March

March 18 is National Quilting Day. Suggestions: Create a quilted design, a quilted fabric block, a book containing quilted designs, or anything that incorporates the essence of a quilted item.

April

April 17 is International Haiku Poetry Day. Suggestion: Create one or more haiga, a style of Japanese painting that incorporates haiku, usually about nature or the natural world, with the painting more suggestive of the subject of the haiku rather than a direct image of that subject. Check out Matsuo Basho, a great master of haiku and haiga, if you are interested.

May

The second Saturday of May (in 2022, May 14) is World Collage Day, initiated by Kolaj Magazine in 2018. Celebrate collage this month!

June

June 8 is Frank Lloyd Wright’s birth anniversary. You likely know about his houses and his graphic designs for home furnishings and windows. But did you know that in 1927 Wright created 12 graphic designs based on seasonal themes that were projected to be the covers each month on Liberty Magazine the following year? Sadly, the magazine never used the designs he created, but you can find examples by searching the internet for Wright’s September Desert, December Gifts, The Flag, Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers, and May Basket. Suggestion: Using colored pencil as Wright did (or whatever tool you prefer), create an abstract design of a favorite object.

July

Alexander Calder’s birth anniversary is July 22. He is famous for both mobiles and what he termed stabiles. Suggestion: Create an engineered 3D artful object that interests you.

August

The second Wednesday of August (in 2022, August 10) is World Calligraphy Day. Calligraphy is art in written form. Suggestions: Practice calligraphy styles you know and love, create your own calligraphic alphabet, or play with an illuminated or doodled letter.

September

In Great Britain, Epilepsy Action designates an annual National Doodle Day to garner financial support for its efforts to improve the lives of those with epilepsy. In 2022, September 3 is designated as National Doodle Day. Suggestion: Create one or more doodles this month.

October

October 24 is the feast day of Saint Anthony Mary Claret. He is the patron saint of, among others, weavers. While many think of weaving as a yarn-based art, paper can be woven, too.

November

Georgia O’Keeffe’s birth anniversary is November 15. Many of us are familiar with her oeuvre. Suggestion: Create a piece of art in honor of O’Keeffe.

December

Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth anniversary is December 16. Suggestion: Create a piece of art with a component related to music.

BAG Meeting on Saturday, April 9

Please note: For security reasons we never put the Zoom link on our website. If you did not receive an email from Santa Fe Book Arts Group with the link, please check your email program’s “spam” or “junk” folder. Still not there? Email santafebag@gmail.com with your name and your email address.

Saturday, April 9, 2022, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MST
Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome

Agenda

  • Welcome and Announcements by President Linda Zwick
  • Round-Robin Art Journal Exchange Update by Cynthia Leespring
  • Art Journal Page and ATC/Rolo Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
  • Making Natural Ink from Plants: A Presentation by Wendy Feldberg (see below)
  • Santa Fe Origins Project Update and Pop-Up Demo by Sally Blakemore
  • Community Announcements (calls for entry, upcoming exhibits and workshops, other highlights) by Attendees (2 minutes maximum, please)

Presentation: Making Natural Inks from Plants by Wendy Feldberg

Click on images to enlarge.

Wendy Feldberg will present on making natural inks from plants, and show examples of her work with those inks.

Wendy Feldberg lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the boreal eco zone. She creates painted, printed, and stitched art textiles, papers, and artist books on mostly botanical themes. She is always inspired by the beautiful landscapes and plant life, both wild and cultivated, of that rugged region of Canada.

Working with nature as a gardener and as an artist is one of the chief constants and consolations of Wendy’s life. Here printed and stitched textiles and papers, like scrolls, become botanical records of plants and their environments in every season.

Wendy’s basic method is to print and stitch on textiles and papers, embroidering by hand and machine. Her intention is to build up layers of colored marks to express feeling and concept with line, color, and texture. As well as painting marks on substrates with acrylics or natural dyes, Wendy uses eco printing, a monotype process that applies pigments from plants, soils, and minerals directly from plants onto natural fibers. Printing and dyeing with native plants from her garden and foraged from the local environment have become her special interest.

Wendy has been published internationally about eco printing, give occasional classes and presentations. She documents all aspects of her art adventures on the blog “Threadborne.” https://wendyfe.wordpress.com/tag/making-ink/ and https://www.wendyfeldberg.ca.

Artist Trading Card and Rolodex Card Swap

Five Artist Trading Cards
Artist Trading Cards by (clockwise from top left) Cynthia Leespring, Joyce Wood, Ruth Anna Abigail, Julie Filatoff, and Elayne Karickhoff. Click image to enlarge.

Hey, BAG members! Let’s swap Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and Rolodex Cards (Rolos)!

  • ATCs are 2.5” x 3.5” (vertical or horizontal—your choice)
  • Standard Rolos are 4” wide x approximately 2.5” high (depends on the die you’re using, etc.)
  • Large Rolos are 5” wide x 3” high

Sign up by the last day of the month (i.e., March 31, 2022). Ruth Anna Abigail will put you in a group of 3 or 4 people, and you will make one card for each person in your group. Mail your cards so that they arrive before the end of the next month. You will get back cards from all over!

To sign up, email Ruth Anna at raabigail@gmail.com (please put BAG in the subject line) and indicate which cards you want to trade (one, two, or all three):

  • ATCs
  • Standard Rolos
  • Large Rolos

Poetry Workshop on March 19 with Lauren Camp

The Surprising Form of Memory: Writing a Pantoum, a workshop with Lauren Camp

Saturday, March 19, 2022
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Online via Zoom
$25 (BAG members); $30 (non-members)

The ancient pantoum is an ideal form for writing about the past. With a little direction, even uncertain writers are eased into shaping their crystalline memories, and more experienced writers will have the chance to delve into subjects that might not have opened up for them before.

Lauren will offer brief historical background on the form, then lead students in an idea-generating exercise to produce raw material for each student’s unique pantoum. Students will begin to see the juxtaposition and reverberation of sound and themes. Excitement builds quickly as students follow the form through to its ending.

Open to all levels.

Lauren Camp has written creative nonfiction and poetry for magazines, newspapers and journals. Her fifth collection of poetry, Took House, was published by Tupelo Press in 2020.

Register here: https://santafebag.org/register-and-pay-for-lauren-camps-workshop/

Mail Art for 2022 Announced

12 in ’22: The Months of the Year

Mail ArtEach month you will create a 4×6 postcard (using cardstock) about anything that interests or inspires you about that month of the year. A holiday, a birthday of someone famous (or not), a feeling the month generates… whatever the month means to you.

Then email Linda Zwick (lindazwick55@yahoo.com) with your address before the third Saturday of the month. She will email you the name and address of your recipient the next week.

You have the entire month to work on your card. Please mail it to your mail art recipient by the end of the month. (For example, if you sign up in December for the January mail art, please mail your card by the end of January.)

Also email a photograph of your card to BAG (santafebag@gmail.com). These images will be used on social media, the BAG website, and occasional BAG slideshows. If you would prefer not to have your card exhibited in any of these venues, please just skip sending in an image.

Anything Goes! Adventures in Art

Anything GoesEach month at the Zoom member meeting (and in an eBlast the following week), BAG will introduce a new adventure. Create a piece of art, any size, shape, and with whatever materials you choose.

There is no assigned exchange involved in this project, so send to anyone you like or keep for yourself.

Please photograph and email an image of your creation to BAG (santafebag@gmail.com) by the end of the next month. As with Mail Art, your image may be used on social media, the BAG website, and for a Zoom presentation. Emailing an image serves as your permission for BAG to use this photo of your art.

The Anything Goes! Adventures in Art for January is:
“January 31 is Inspire Your Heart with Art Day.”

Two More Paper Engineering Projects

Today at the end of the BAG meeting Sally Blakemore will demonstrate two more paper engineering projects. This is part of an ongoing series for those working on the “Santa Fe Origins” collaborative book, and anyone interested in paper engineering.

First are the animated tabs and pulls. This mechanic operates with multiple slots through the front that contain items that lift when the tab is pulled down. Use it for any kind of reveal-and-conceal idea; for example, bugs under leaves or birds flying up or dancers or a village where the houses and the trees pop up.

You can add as many windows and struts as you wish.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Click on the diagram to open it in a new window to download and print.

The second mechanic is the two-track wheel with two windows. This can be used for showing comparative things. In her example, Sally has humorously shown things you can accidentally run over with your car in New Mexico: snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, stink bugs, rabbits, chipmunks, ravens, beetles, and more. (Don’t worry, folks—it’s not real.)

Click on the diagram to open it in a new window to download and print.

Sally Blakemore’s Artwork in Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale

BAG Artist-in-Residence Sally Blakemore is one of 100 paper artists who were invited to submit their work to the 2021 Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale.

The theme of the Biennale is “Feasts on Paper,” focusing on paper as contemporary art against the backdrop of the pandemic. The Biennale opens September 25 and includes an exhibition, a seminar, an International resident creation project, and a series of cultural and artistic activities (theme handicraft workshops, on-site cultural activities, parallel exhibition, Environmental Art Market, etc.). The themes of the three exhibition areas will be intertextual, sharing faith, and strength for the global fight against the epidemic.

“The pandemic that began at the end of 2019 has sealed each individual in an independent space, while at the same time being engulfed in a closely related human community,” note the organizers. “This is an era full of various uncertainties and possibilities. Questions about oneself, the space, and the world are endless, and the meaning of existence and unbounded love emerge. We need paper art more than ever. As an outlet for expression and writing, it comes from life and is a daily poetry regained in the world’s great torrent, and it shows a great love that connects everyone while bringing hope to each other.

“The Biennale will present various thoughts of artists around the world concerning the epidemic, nature, life, promising hope, and great love. The paper that has always written history will continue to write in the form of contemporary art at this moment, taking the real-time picture of epidemics and the river of consciousness. At the same time, we are able to swim through the cold winter and head toward the next spring, along with the soft-yet-tough power of paper.”

Sally’s book is “History Mountain,” which she describes as a “matriarchal/patriarchal look at human adaptation to change, both gradual change and catastrophic change.” The book contains four spreads; on the back of each is a visual warning or subtext to the topic in the spread.

  • Spread 1—PreHistory represents the Earth before technology. A humanoid emerges on the right wearing a spiritual costume.
  • Spread 2—Discovery of Fire represents the power of control and the resources found in this discovery of energy. How to use it is the real education and the responsibility it requires.
  • Spread 3—When a Bird Saw an Airplane is the view through Nature’s eyes. How long does Nature take to adapt to human-made detours and inventions?
  • Spread 4—Technological Blight represents a positive thing in a blighted world: that humans continue to search for beauty and energy. These include beauty products, commodified for markets, and found beauty, which is free to the self-educated and in the eye of the beholder.

The materials that Sally sued include watercolor, handmade papers, inks, acrylics, photocopies, acetate, jute, paint, Tyvek, Mylar, fabric, cover board, and tape. Her cutting methods include laser, plotter, hand cutting, and paper engineering. (Click on images below to enlarge; use back arrow to return to this page.)

Sally drew her inspiration from authors and cultures:

  • Oliver Sacks (Migraine, Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat) was a brain specialist and author who wrote case histories on brain anomalies like migraine aura and how resilient and flexible the brain really is.
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari and Homo Erectus.
  • Work of the Dead by Thomas W. Laqueur is an astonishing history of human remains, just how they were disposed of and made sacred, from the Neanderthal to modern humans. Burials reveal so much of how cultures adapt and change.
  • Stiff, a book by Mary Roach, is a modern look and an update onthe understanding of remains and their value to science and art.
  • The Chinese Blue Willow Legend as shown on the manufactured dinner plate porcelain.

Here’s the video of the opening day (Sally’s book is shown at :55): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COenD4jBdc0. There may be additional videos on the YouTube channel later: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgGLrI1wlLgpDwcdxXhYzQ.

The Biennale is under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, the Organizing Committee of the Oriental Beauty Valley Art Festival, and the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, with several sponsors including the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists. For more information visit https://www.paperartbiennale.org.cn/.

Ann Kresge: Places/Spaces Exhibit Catalog

BAG member Ann Kresge’s exhibit, Places/Spaces, is no longer up at the Remarque Print Workshop gallery, but we are fortunate that the gallery has the pieces in an online catalog, which you can view here: https://www.remarqueprintshop.com/placesspaces-ann-kresge.html.

“This retrospective exhibition is composed of work inspired by a sense of place,” Ann said. “Many of these prints and artists’ books were created on site in these places and spaces.

“I am fascinated by people’s connection to geography. The patterns and impressions of places I have worked, lived, and visited inspire my art. These places include India, Japan, China, Egypt, Argentina, and throughout the US. Rock formations, caves, canyons, earth’s rims and edges compel me. I think about ideas, forces and people gathering and dispersing.

“As a contemporary printmaker and book artist I think in paper, pattern, series, sequence, layers, and interiors. I explore my sense of place in painting, drawing, and printmaking. My artists’ books are collaborations with poets and storytellers. I am interested in collaboration, interarts and books as objects.”

Here’s just one of Ann’s pieces. Be sure to click the link above to see the entire exhibition.

Shadow Play | Ann Kresge | Limited-edition artist’s book | 14″x18″x1″

Poetry Posts at SFCC

When you’re on the Santa Fe Community College campus, be sure to look for the poetry posts. Santa Fe Poet Laureate Elizabeth Jacobson, along with Miriam Sagan (who originated the posts), will curate 12 poets in the next 24 months, ending June 30, 2023. Expect a gathering of voices and some fresh poetry. There are 10 posts for a walkable literary experience.

The inaugural installation is poetry by Elizabeth Jacobson, to celebrate her appointment, and is up through August 31, 2021.

Poetry post on SFCC campus.

Community Project: Origins in Mud

“Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.”
― Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop

Artist-in-Residence Sally Blakemore and Community Projects Liaison Barb Macks are spearheading an amazing project, and you, as a BAG member, can be part of its creation. “Santa Fe: Origins in Mud” is sponsored by Santa Fe Book Arts Group (BAG) in cooperation with the Palace Press at the Palace of the Governors/Santa Fe History Museum and El Zaguan (located on Canyon Road and part of the Historic Santa Fe Foundation).

“Origins in Mud” is an interactive, paper-engineered book celebrating Santa Fe’s multi-cultural diversity and reflecting the origins of a society that literally grew out of the Southwest mud. The book consists of five spreads, each page being 15” wide by 20.5” high with 1” spines. When it is extended flat it will be 12.5’ long, dense with interactive flaps that engage the viewer to explore the hidden treasures. The mechanical paper forms will lift, pop up, rise, and unfold, reveal and conceal, or unfold and extend when the viewer opens a page. Architectural details will be cut into the papers with further details added.

Prototype of “Santa Fe: Origins in Mud.” Click image to open larger in another window.

For the exhibit at El Zaguan in Spring 2022, we envision a dark, empty gallery with a 20-foot-long table in the middle of the room. Under the table a wooden trough will contain all of the incredible colors of earth in the region, from yellow ochre clays to green sand to red earth. The actual earth will ground the brown colors in the handmade Lokta/Abaca papers created for the project by Tom Leech of the Palace Press.

The book is designed to be viewed in 360 degrees. Visitors will use flashlights to see inside and through the structures. From the back, painted rooms and silhouetted human life will create shadows that live in the paper as the light moves.

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of artists with skill in many disciplines to make this book a reality. Sally and Barb will hold in-person workshops for 2 or 3 people beginning in September.

Below is a description of each spread; the * and bold text indicates that artists are needed to create this piece.  If you would like to create a piece, contact Sally at artyprojects@cybermesa.com right away.

1. The “Oldest” House

  • Corn stalks and river, inside flap painted with workers planting and showing corn
  • Foods made with corn, beans, squash, meat, and peppers *
  • Medicine bag of curandera herbs and sage *
  • Inside of the “Oldest” House (seen from the back): people and belongings and working with other people *
  • Vegetation to be added to the spreads, trees, bushes, flowers *
  • Fauna and flora of New Mexico *
  • Beaded and embroidered cloth map of El Camino Royale *
  • Ravens (The Raven’s Tale is a small book based on an Indigenous story but a modern book based on what the ravens observed for 10,000 years) *

The origins of this house reside in the relationship between the Catholic church and the curanderas of Mexico. The architects were the Aztec (Tlaxcalan) from Mexico City who set the standard for early building in New Mexico. The Urrutia map of 1766-68 shows a structure near the San Miguel Chapel in the approximate position of this house. It is believed that it was built by hand from mud and trees found in the area and constructed on top of an ancient footing from an Indigenous village underneath it. Tree-ring specimens taken from some of the vigas in the lower rooms’ ceilings show cutting dates of 1740-67. The house remains a unique remnant of the type of building once prevalent in the city—part Indigenous, part Spanish, low-ceilinged and rugged, with dirt floors and thick adobe walls.

2. San Miguel Chapel

  • Tlaxcalan (Aztec) builders *
  • Moorish Matachine Dancers on the plaza in front of the chapel *
  • Interior painting showing the altar and seating *
  • Pop-up of unique bell made in Spain and rung against the Moors *
  • Adobe and rammed-earth building components and hornos *
  • Ravens

The chapel was built around 1610 and is recognized as the oldest church in the United States. It is believed that it was constructed by Tlaxcalan people (Apaches) who came to New Mexico from old Mexico in 1598. In its early years, the church served a small group of Tlaxcalans, laborers, and Spanish soldiers who lived in this area. The church was partially destroyed in 1640, then reconstructed but severely damaged again during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. In 1955, a major restoration uncovered the original dirt floor and sanctuary steps that can be seen today.

3. St. Francis Cathedral and Original Chapel

  • Conquistadora portrait and story of rescue to El Paso during the revolt *
  • Altar and candles
  • Relic case with acetate window*
  • Pet Parade
  • Rose Window and Dove Window
  • Finger Labyrinth cut from handmade paper on the flap of the Pet Parade
  • Sculptures on the plaza: St. Francis, Corn Maiden, Dancing Maiden
  • Ravens
  • Cross of the Martyrs

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church. Influenced by the French-born Archbishop Lamy and in dramatic contrast to the surrounding adobe structures, the Cathedral was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. The concurrence of the soil and color at the Cathedral is echoed in this passage from Frank Waters’ People of the Valley:

“Before her, fresh plastered, new-adobe Santa Gertrudes shimmered in the hot afternoon. The walls of Bishop Lamy’s new church rose clean ash-grey with adobe brought from Guadalupita. Behind it, chattering like a flock of blackbirds, the Sisters of Loretto watched their convent school being given its first coat of yellow tierra amarilla. In the row of stores, trading posts, and cantinas, Maria recognized the relumbroso from the red clay banks around Turquillo. And north and south, the scattered adobes reflected white and clay-blue from Cañoncito and Chacón. It was a single village street sprawled along the winding, rutted road between the pine hills and the cottonwoods lining the river. But with its colors the girls saw in it all the clay banks and canyons, the hills and chalk cliffs of the one long valley she wandered from end to end.”

4. La Fonda Hotel

  • The Ghost Fountain and story of the casino days (pop-up flap) *
  • Inside La Plazuela restaurant, with its painted windows *
  • La Titilla Peak in various light and seasons
  • Trees in the vicinity *
  • Ravens
  • Roof bar showing Titilla Peak and Caldera
  • Flamenco scene and Mariachis

City of Santa Fe records indicate that La Fonda sits on the site of the town’s first inn, established when the city was founded by Spaniards in 1607, making it the oldest hotel corner in America. In 1821, Captain William Becknell and his party found their way to La Fonda during the maiden commercial route across the plains from Missouri, establishing the Santa Fe Trail. The structure today was built in 1922 and features the influence of architects Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter and John Gaw Meem. In this book La Fonda represents an end-of-the-trail place of welcome (bienvenidos) and hospitality. It existed as a casino and brothel for many years at the edge of the St. Francis Cathedral, highlighting the contrast between sanctity and sanctified partying.

5. The Palace of the Governors

  • Plaza flap with another flap of the obelisk as it was and toppled *
  • Note about the Time Capsule *
  • Low Rider Parade with low riders in the accordion fold
  • Festivals around a suggested bandstand *
  • Baumann House *
  • Pop up of Tom Leech and the Palace Press letterpress *

As Spain’s seat of government for what is today the American Southwest, the Palace of the Governors’ adobe structure is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States. In the following years, the Palace changed hands as the territory of New Mexico did, seeing the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Spanish reconquest from 1693 to 1694, Mexican independence in 1821, and finally American possession in 1848. This piece of architecture holds our ancient mud history along with more modern histories. The seduction of the pristine Southwestern land preserved by Indigenous people is a planetary experience grounded in culture and mud. Indigenous hunter-gatherers came from Mexico City in search of water. Santa Fe was considered a cornucopia because of the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe River at San Isidro Crossing. The City was born from the dust of the Santa Fe Trail. Trains created larger markets for travelers, establishing the tourist economy.

Book Arts Bugs Abound at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum

Thanks to BAG members Sally Blakemore, Barb Macks, Helen Fabel, and Lynn Grimes, Santa Fe kids are going to look at bugs in a whole new way. Recently the four artists decorated two windows at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum: one with Nature Bugs and one with Urban Bugs.

“The installations are a wildly diverse experiment using materials as inspiration,” said Sally. “We created a Mylar ‘waterfall’ filled with bugs made from repurposed cookbooks from Kitchenality and Barb’s Tyvek color experiments.”

While working on the installation, the team heard that Eric Carle died. “Eric was a beloved children’s writer and illustrator who created bugs from paper and was one of our heroes of children’s publishing,” explained Sally, “so we dedicated the whole Bug exhibit to his memory.” The 91-year-old author was best known for his book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

The BAG Bug Team also created kits for the Museum’s Garden Camp that starts in June.

The Santa Fe Children’s Museum is at 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505; visit https://santafechildrensmuseum.org/ or call (505) 989-8359 for more information. The bug windows are in the Lego building and will be on exhibit through September 2021.

Here are a few photos of the Bug Team at work.

Two Pop-Up Designs by Sally Blakemore

Sally Blakemore, BAG’s Artist-in-Residence, will be demonstrating pop-up engineering at the BAG member meeting on Saturday, April 10, 2021. She will do this because it’s fun, but also to help those who are interested in being part of the “City of Mud” large pop-up book project. Here are two of Sally’s designs. Click on the image to open in a new tab.

Update: Pantone Postcard Project: Mail Art 2017-2019

Many of you are familiar with BAG’s new book published in fall 2020, documenting the Pantone Postcard Mail Art project. But what you may not know is how we came up with the idea.

On Valentine’s Day  2013, Emily Martin, professor at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, was given a box of 100 Pantone postcards by her sister. On the one hand she thought she would like to keep the collection intact—“pristine and complete,” but on the other hand, “I wanted them to be used.”

Her inclination to have people do something creative with these cards won out. So on her Facebook page she posted a request for volunteers to receive these postcards, respond to the color in their own ways, and mail them back. In 17 hours, all the cards had been claimed. She mailed them in April 2014, and the 100 cards came back that fall, each individually treated by 100 people.

In 2017 Emily published a book of all 100 cards. The BAG mail art co-chairs got wind of the project, and thought it would be fun to use the idea for our monthly mail art exchange. Emily generously gave her permission.

With 54 BAG members participating, we got so excited we made not just 100, but 200 cards! In fall 2020, BAG’s own compilation of Pantone postcards came out in book form, and Douglass Rankin mailed a copy of the book to Emily. In January she replied:

Dear Douglass,

I was finally in the office at school and picked up my mail. What a treat to find the Santa Fe BAG Pantone postcard project catalog! Well done. You have a wonderfully active group out there. I hope you are keeping well, fingers crossed for vaccines soon for everyone.

My best to you,

Emily

Copies of the BAG Pantone Postcard  book are available from the Blurb Bookstore:

https://www.blurb.com/b/10438615-pantone-postcard-project

Thanks go to Emily https://emilymartin.com/, Greg Berg, Barb Macks, Gail Murray, Douglass Rankin, and the BAG board of directors for inspiring, supporting, and instigating the project, and putting together the book. And a special thanks to the BAG artists who created the exceptional Pantone postcards.

Challenge: Books with Fabric and Fibers

Throughout this year the BAG board is challenging the members to create something, then photograph it and send it to BAG. We’ll post it here on the website and on social media.  Challenges and challengers so far (click links to see the results): Holiday Greeting Cards by Liz Faust, Valentines by Ashisha, and Postage Stamps by Linda Zwick (due Wednesday, March 31, 2021; click here for submission details).

Books with Fabrics and Fibers Challenge

BAG Vice President Julie Filatoff is challenging BAG members to make a book using fabric and/or fibers. The percentage of fabric/fiber content is not important; use as much or as little as you wish. The book can be any structure you like, from simple to complex.

Take one or more photographs of your book–or even a short video–and email to julie@jirafstudio.com no later than Friday, April 30, 2021. (If you’re sending a video, email Julie separately to ensure she received it.)

To inspire you, here are a few artists who work with fiber/fabrics:

Sharon McCartney

Ro Bruhn

Ingrid Dijkers

Frances Pickering

Paula Hertfordshire

DJ Pettit

Yuko Kimura

Susan Hart Henegar

Julie Filatoff (shown above: Both Sides Now)

A Pandemic Remembrance

BAG member Austa Oliver created a greeting to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. “I want to wish all BAG members well as we have just finished a year of hibernating,” explained Austa. “I made the word cloud (below) at the beginning…on 3-12-2020. And on 3-12-2021, I decided the part about changing my age number! Just a thought, as we all think about how long this has all been going on.”

See Austa’s artwork below. (If you’re receiving this via email, click on the title of this post–A Pandemic Remembrance, above–to view it in a web browser.)

Valentines by BAG Members

What a talented, loving bunch of people are BAG members! We received photos of more than 50 valentines from these artists: Ruth Anna Abigail, Monica Andersen, Tracy Armagost, Ashisha, Sally Blakemore, Kim Burkholder, Jill Cowley, Andrea Cypress, Freya Diamond, Liz Faust, Julie Filatoff, Leah Gibbons, Cathleen Higgins, Marjie Kamine, Cynthia Leespring, Elizabeth McKee, Pat Moses, Mavis Murphy, Gail Murray, Austa Oliver, Victoria Rabinowe, Douglass Rankin, Helen Spielman, Susan Surprise, Kim Walter, and Amy Thompson West.

Click on any image to start the slideshow. Click the < or > arrows to advance; click X to close. You can also view a .pdf document with artists’ names here (large file).

Why BAG? A Visual Explanation

At the December 2020 membership meeting, Kim Burkholder led us in an exercise to create a “Word Cloud” by submitting words/terms of what comes to mind when we think of BAG, or what we are thankful for about BAG. She used the tool at Menti.com, and the larger the word and more centrally located, the more people submitted it.

Below is a screenshot; click to enlarge. You can also see it by clicking here.

Why BAG? A Word Cloud

2020 Year-End Greeting Card Project

Because we won’t be able to gather in person at our Annual Meeting on December, we asked BAG members to send their year-end greetings digitally.

We’ll continue to update this page as we receive more cards, so check back!

Click on any image to start the slideshow. Click on the < and > arrows to go forward and backward. Use the X to close the window and come back to this post.

Year-End Greeting Card Project

Because we won’t be able to meet in person at our Annual Meeting in December, we would like to give you an opportunity send your year-end greetings to your BAG friends.

All members are encouraged to make a greeting card. It can be a holiday card (Christmas, Hanukah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, or any other holiday you want to celebrate). It can be a card that communicates any message you want to send out in December that is not linked to a specific holiday.  You are artists; I don’t have to explain the concept of “no rules.”

Once you have completed your card, photograph it and send the photo to elizfaust@gmail.com no later than Tuesday, December 1. You can send a single photo of the front of the card or two photos—one of the front of the card and one of the inside. These will be assembled into an online gallery that will be posted on the BAG website. Also, send me a greeting from you to other BAG members. This greeting will be displayed along with the images of your card.

Cards can be any size and shape that you can dream up. If you would like some help kickstarting your creative process, our Artist in Residence, Sally Blakemore, has designed some pop-up templates that you can use as a starting point for your design. The templates are listed below.

Liz Faust

Sally’s Templates

All of these are just formats, so I encourage artists to just the the idea for themselves and do something totally in their own styles!

 

Tiny Book Holiday Greeting Tree

Download the template here.

Tyvek (FedEx Envelope)
Angel Wing Prayer Flag

Slot Movement Mechanic
(Butterfly, Bird, Bee,
Sugarplum Fairy—
Anything That Flies)

Download the butterfly template here.

 

Download the bird template here.

Skinny Comet
Pop-Up Card Using
Mylar for the Comet

Download the template here.

Soft Pop-Ups
Using Florals Made of
Tyvek and Paper,
Platforms Stacked

Download the template here.

Slot Designs:
Floral or Cactus Pop-Ups

Download the template here.

Pop-Up Basketball Court
(Can be Adapted to
Fireplace With Hanging
Christmas Stocking)

Download the template here.

 

Order Now: Pantone Postcard Book

Pantone Postcard Project: Mail Art 2017-2019

217 full-color pages! This book showcases a collection of mail art postcards from members of the Santa Fe Book Arts Group. It is a visual fiesta, a diverse exploration of art that illustrates the range of talent within the BAG membership, keeping alive the mail art tradition.

This book tells the story of the two-year project, fashioned after Emily Martin’s similar project. The project was based on the Pantone Matching System (PMS), considered the “universal color language” used in art and industry. The cards, created by 54 members of BAG, are original and very creative.

You can order the book here: https://www.blurb.com/b/10438615-pantone-postcard-project

Left, The “plain” Pantone postcards that artists used as the basis for their artwork. Right, the cover of the book showing a selection of the cards by 54 artists. Click to enlarge the photos.