Ten posts on the Santa Fe Community College campus serve as frames for the temporary installation of poems on standard-sized paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches, portrait format).
Create 1 to 3 sheets of paper to be framed on the posts.
Stay within the margins of the page.
Use your own poem—or a poem in common domain—and present it however you like visually.
Attribute the poem, and include your name as artist.
Keep a copy of the original work for your files, because the other will deteriorate due to sun and moisture after a few months on the posts.
Send the hard copies to Miriam Sagan, 626 Kathryn St., Santa Fe, NM 87505.
Deadline: November 1, 2021
Other than snail-mailing your page(s) to Miriam, you don’t have to do anything physically to participate. She will curate the posts and keep everyone informed.
Depending on the response, the posts can turn over every time 10 sheets are received. Work will be up for several months.
This is a continuing pandemic project. All posts are outside, and visitors are welcome when the campus is open. Miriam works closely with PR and security to create a good event and her blog, Miriam’s Well, documents the posts as well. These remain uncertain times, however, and there may be campus closures.
Join Elizabeth McKee for a 6 week Pointed Brush Class that is designed for beginners.
Saturday mornings from 9:30 am to 12 noon MT starting on September 25, 2021.
Where? On Zoom
Cost? $120 USD payable by check or e-transfer
Number of students limited to 12
Long used in Asia for both handwriting and expressive artwork, the pointed brush frequently poses a challenge to western calligraphers. In this class Elizabeth will systematically assist students over the initial hump of learning how to use this most versatile tool and help them take their first steps on the journey toward proficiency.
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 text 505-660-9942 with your name and your email address.
Our next BAG member meeting is this Saturday, September 11, at 1 pm MT.
Agenda
Welcome by President Linda Zwick
Art Flea Market Update by Cynthia Leespring
Wish You Were Here Collaborative Postcard Update by Amy Thompson West and Linda Zwick
Presentation of the Letter X for Mail Art by Paul Murray
Slideshow of Recent Mail Art (Project 26) by Gail Murray
Update on Santa Fe Origins Project by Sally Blakemore
Update on Community Programs by Barb Macks
Board Member Introduction by Gordon Fluke
Art Journal Page Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
Pop-Up Demonstration for Santa Fe Origins Project by Sally Blakemore
As you can see, it will be a full, exciting meeting! We look forward to seeing you online.
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″
Carlos Quinto Kemm, Sunyata’s Temple, 1984, glass and collage, Albuquerque Museum, gift of Gussie and Elmer Schooley, PC1985.92.1
Layered Meanings is on view at the Albuquerque Museum now through February 20, 2022. This exhibition includes collages, montages, and assemblages from the museum’s permanent collection including works by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Larry Bell, Valerie Roybal, Robert Rauschenberg, Jerry Uelsmann, and more. Visit https://www.cabq.gov/artsculture/albuquerque-museum/exhibitions/layered-meanings for more information.
Artists across disciplines, mediums, and traditions have used various techniques of collaging materials to explore new artistic possibilities for hundreds of years. When materials are removed from their original source, they take on new meanings and resonances when placed in the context of other objects or images. The introduction of mass produced media such as chromolithographs and photographs began a trend of extracting and recombining diverse images into one composition in order to explore personal and sometimes political meanings. Collage traditions continue today as a means to explore the potency of combining diverse images and ideas. Layered Meanings includes works ranging from the Pop art movement of the 1960s to contemporary examples.
This exhibition explores various methods for layering imagery and materials to create new possibilities and new realities. Often artists will reassemble everyday objects such as magazine cutouts or scrap paper to create works of art that are fresh, yet familiar. The techniques utilized by artists in Layered Meanings include: collage (layered two-dimensional objects that are adhered to a supporting surface), assemblage (a three-dimensional collage), and montage (imagery combined and layered into a seamless unified composition).
Constructing a unified work from existing materials involves bringing that material’s past associations into a renewed interpretation. The resulting layering may have political, psychological, aesthetic, or personal resonances. Artists use various collage techniques to explore ideas about the landscape, psychological layers, abstraction, and the personal vs. the universal. The works seek the artistic possibilities within the mundane; they invite the viewer to consider the expressive potential of the everyday imagery and objects that surround us.
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.
Nearly 400 years ago John Donne wrote “No Man is an Island,” referring to how the world is all interconnected. The world is an increasingly smaller place where true isolationism is an impossibility and networks and followers more and more often mark success. Connections need not be negative–families, found families, beloved pets, nature–explore these connections and both the joys and responsibilities they bring.
This exhibit is at Fuller Lodge Art Center in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The important dates are:
Deadline for entries at FLAC: Friday, September 10, 2021
Paper Dolls: Evolution & Articulation is a joint exhibition by several BAG members and friends: Dale Harris, Louisa Barkalow, Margy O’Brien, Ginger Rice, Terry Garrett, Esther Feske, and Vicki Bolen. It is at the Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop, 3812 Central Avenue SE, Suite 100B, Albuquerque, NM 87108.
The show is open Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and runs from Friday, September 3, through Saturday, October 30, 2021. Other days by appointment; call 505-268-8952.
Click on any image to enlarge and start slideshow.
A Dress For All Seasons by Margy O’Brien is a blend of an artist’s book and a paper doll dress. 45″ h x 19″ w; folds up like a meander book to fit in its 9″ x 9″ slipcase. There is a small book of season quotes in the dress pocket. Ecoprinted, direct printed, gel plate prints, sun prints, and digital prints with watercolor embellishment and sewn patchwork-style with a sewing machine. Hangs from tabs on a found stick.
“Unseen” is an exhibit of more than 75 book art pieces at form & concept in Santa Fe, in conjunction with 23 Sandy (whose owner, Erin Mickelson, is a BAG member). For this international exhibition, jurors Erin Mickelson, Barb Tetenbaum, and Jordan Eddy challenged artists to showcase work that ushers unseen phenomena out from the shadows. Over 250 submissions presented work centered on ecological flux, racial justice, mortality, sensory experience, and much more.
Santa Fe Book Arts Group announces a call for vendors for its 2021 Art Flea Market!
Saturday, October 16, 2021, 10 am-3 pm (setup 8:30-10 am; takedown 3-4 pm)
At the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe
107 West Barcelona Road (at Galisteo), Santa Fe, NM 87505
The Annual Art Flea Market enables BAG members to declutter their art studios. It is highly anticipated by other BAG members, the art community as a whole, and visitors to Santa Fe.
For a $10 vendor fee, members can sell any art supplies or tools that one would use to make art, display art, or be inspired to make art. This includes (but is not limited to):
• Handmade papers
• Ephemera
• Paints, pastels, pencils
• Brushes, palette knives
• Tools
• Boxes
• Books about art techniques or artists
• Art storage items
• Frames
• Fabrics You are also welcome to sell your own artwork. Please note: This is not a garage sale. If you have items that are not art or related to art, the organizers will ask you to remove those items from display.
To participate as a seller, click here to download this document, read the entire document, then fill out the application on page 3 and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.
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 text 505-660-9942 with your name and your request.
Our next BAG member meeting is this Saturday, August 14, at 1 pm MT.
Agenda
Welcome by President Linda Zwick
Art Journal Page Swap Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
Presentation of the Letter W for Monthly Mail Art Exchange by Carol Pava
Basic Paper and Book Repair Overview by Mita Saldaña (see below)
Pop-Up Demonstration for “Origins in Mud” Project by Sally Blakemore
Mita Saldaña will give a talk and demonstrate some basic repair techniques for your book collections and artist books. We will cover tears in the center of a page as well as in the fold, and we will talk about how to avoid tearing pages as you sew. Other problems covered will be loose pages, breaks in the text where you can see the spine material, torn inner hinges, and books with a “loose binding.” We will also discuss tools and materials to use including different types of paper and paste/glue. Please feel free to ask Mita questions you may have about specific books or problems.
A Chicago native, Mita Saldaña received her BA from Columbia College Chicago where she developed her jewelry making skills as a silversmith. After many years of working with the rigid and hard materials of her craft she discovered the softness and give of paper and everything changed. Returning to Columbia College’s brand-new Book and Paper department, she continued her education in the book arts.
Mita moved to New Mexico and opened Against the Grain Bookbindery. For over 25 years she has been repairing and restoring used and rare books, creating small editions, and teaching people how to make books, boxes, and the related arts. In the past she has taught regularly at the Hispanic Cultural Center, Santa Fe Community College, the Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque Academy, and private studios and numerous retail locations across the state. Her work has been exhibited in both Illinois and New Mexico and she is one of the founding members of Libros: New Mexico Book Arts Guild.
Explore and stretch your inner artist through a 16-week fall course, Creative Expression, through Santa Fe Community College. This course is designed to enhance creativity for those interested in art and writing. The students will explore and discover by unlocking their creativity with a sense of adventure. Some of Ro Calhoun’s approaches include:
“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.
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 text 505-660-9942 with your name and your request.
Brush lettering involves the coordination of hand, arm, brain, and breath. Frequently beginners are so eager to write words that the arm and breath are left out of the strokes. This results in frustration and feelings of never being able to master this method of writing. In this hands-on presentation with a Pentel Color Brush, Elizabeth McKee will show participants how to hold the brush and breathe into and out of strokes.
A handout for the interactive demonstration:
Pointed Brush First Steps
Training our muscle memory by making repetitive strokes can be tedious and boring, so to make this more interesting Elizabeth will encourage everyone to make patterns with the strokes that she provides in her handout.
Tools for the Interactive Demonstration
If you have one, a Pentel Color Brush with non-pigmented ink – any color. Available from Amazon OR your favorite pointed brush OR a Pentel Aquash water brush (available from Amazon) with some writing fluid or gouache or watercolor.
Paper with some tooth. Pacon drawing paper, medium weight, available from Dick Blick OR Strathmore 300 charcoal paper OR some brown paper bags are great.
Her most recent endeavor has been to create an introductory series of pointed-brush classes to help make lettering with a pointed brush more accessible to beginners.
BAG sponsors two different, ongoing art swaps. You may choose to participate in one or both. To do so, you must be a BAG member in good standing (i.e., your membership dues are current).
It will be wonderful if we can get together in person at the end to look over our completed books. If the world isn’t ready for us to do that, we will plan for a big show-and-tell when it is.
For this swap you select an art journal that will pass from artist to artist. You will not see your journal for four months; but when it comes back, it will be filled with art! This is the second round of our book exchange. Those of us who participated in the first round have been thrilled with beautiful artwork our partners created.
When you sign up by July 1, 2021, coordinator Cynthia Leespring will send you all the instructions. Briefly, here’s how it works.
Select a book (handmade or purchased).
Select a theme (or you can have no theme).
Write your guidelines, if any.
Create your sign-in page(s) and at least one art journal spread of your own.
We will exchange our books monthly on the first day. There are two subgroups:
A. Those who live locally will arrange a place to meet and exchange.
B. Those who live outside of the Santa Fe area will mail their book to the next person so it will **arrive** by the first of the month.
Which Round-Robin Swap(s) You Wish to Participate in:
A. Round-Robin Art Journal via local contactless delivery only
B. Round-Robin Art Journal via U.S. Priority Mail
If you do NOT receive an email confirmation from Cynthia within one week after you’ve emailed her:
Check the spam folder of your email program, then
Email her again or call/text (check the membership roster for her phone number)
2. Art Journal Pages
This swap renews each month. When you sign up by July 1, 2021, coordinator Ruth Anna Abigail will send you all the instructions. Briefly, here’s how it works.
Create art on one side of a folded page for each person in your group (four or more people) and yourself.
Each person may select a theme or not; talk amongst yourselves.
Mail the pages to each collaborator so that they **receive** them no later than the first of the next month (in this case, August 1).
To participate, email Ruth Anna at raabigail@gmail.com with the following information:
Your Name:
Your Email Address:
Your Mailing Address:
Your Phone Number:
Your Theme, if Any:
If you do NOT receive an email confirmation from Ruth Anna within one week after you’ve emailed her:
Check the spam folder of your email program, then
Email her again or call/text (check the membership roster for her phone number)
Ruth Anna will send your collaborators’ contact information.
Friend of BAG Karen Hanmer has several online workshops coming up:
Binding Fundamentals: rounding, backing, and other engineering essentials
July 6-27, 2021 | Thursdays, four sessions Details and registration here.
A handsome, functional book is built on a solid foundation of traditional forwarding skills. Students will review and reinforce these skills, by going through all the steps of crafting a traditional binding prior to covering: folding, marking up and punching signatures; sewing on and off a sewing frame; gluing up and rounding the spine; lightly backing the text block; sewing endbands; spine lining; selecting endsheets appropriate for board/case attachment and full opening. To complete the binding we will anchor the text block into a folded paper case. Binding Fundamentals is a prerequisite for all advanced binding workshops at Karen Hanmer Book Arts.
Leather Working for Bookbinding: Paring, headcaps, corners.
August 3-24, 2021 | Thursdays, four sessions Details and registration here.
Students will be introduced to the tools and techniques required for fine leather binding. Tools: English or Swiss paring knife, Scharfix, spoke shave. Techniques: lining boards to accept leather; paring for spines, corners, headcaps, and all-over thinning of the leather; paring and edgeparing for onlays; sharpening using microfinishing films; stropping; covering of a plaquette; forming corners and headcaps; adhesives and drying procedure for leather binding. Leather Working for Bookbinding is a prerequisite for all leather binding workshops at Karen Hanmer Book Arts.
Biblio Tech: reverse engineering historical and modern binding structures.
September 23-December 2, 2021 | Thursdays, 10 sessions | 10 bindings Details and registration here.
Students will create ten binding structure models. These models will remain unfinished so engineering remains visible for future reference. Structures include: Tacketed binding, Crossed Structure, Ethiopian, Medieval, Laced-on boards, Scaleboard, Split Board, Case Binding, Sewn Boards, Non-Adhesive Paper Case.
Leather Binding II: Raised Cords.
September 21- November 30, 2021 | Tuesdays, 11 sessions Details and registration here.
In this workshop, students will further develop their binding and leather-working skills including sewing on raised cords, rounding, backing, paring, and covering. Students will complete one full leather binding with sewn endbands, flexi endsheet with decorative paper, and simple blind tooling around raised bands. The Medieval Girdle Book
This is a self-guided tutorial only, no online sessions The girdle book is a Medieval binding structure featuring a long extension of leather which could be attached to a traveler’s belt. The leather extension terminates in a decorative knot. This tutorial will guide students through the construction of a girdle book on the foundation of a typical Medieval binding: Text block sewn on double raised supports; wooden boards shaped all around, with special attention given to the inside spine edge to match the text block’s shoulder, then laced on and pegged; sewn endbands; covered in vividly-colored suede leather; strap and pin closure, simple bosses at the corners, parchment page markers. Details and purchase here.
I’ve added new workshop handouts and demo books to my online store. Simplified Binding, Even More Simplified Binding, Edge-to-edge and Sunken Suede Doublures, Jacob’s Ladder, Triangle Book, the Sewn Boards Binding with three variations, Drum Leaf, and a wide variety of paper cases.
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.
Everyone can learn to print like a boss in these fun weekend workshops. Whether you are a complete beginner or a pro looking to add some new tools to the toolbox, these workshops are for you. The Introduction class will provide you all you need to know to pull a small, sweet edition of your own design, while other workshops focus on specific topics and students collaborate on printing posters, wearables, or fine art prints.
Artist and instructor Mike Kimball has been a fine arts printmaker for over 25 years and founded the Santa Fe Hand Prints Workshops to teach others the joy of making prints by hand in this world of rapid digital image making.
The classes are presented by the Center for Printmaking and Book Arts in the print studio of the Santa Fe Community College Fine Arts Department.
Introduction to Screen Printing
Saturday, June 26, and Sunday, June 27, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
This 2-day, 10-hour workshop introduces you to the screenprinting process from start to finish. You will learn the techniques to create the artwork, make the printing stencils, mix ink colors, and proper printing techniques to produce a screenprint poster of your own design. Each student will complete a small edition of a 2-color print over the course of this workshop. $150
Screen Printing for Textiles and Wearables
Saturday, July 10, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
This 1-day workshop introduces you to the process of screenprinting onto textiles, including T-shirts, tote bags, and more. Everything from creating your own artwork design, preparing the stencils, mixing inks for fabric printing, and curing your finished pieces. Students may bring fabric items to print, and printable tote bags will also be available for purchase. $90
Screen Printing: Old School Meets New School
Saturday, July 24, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
In this 1-day workshop you will explore how digital media can be incorporated into making screenprints. Digital typography, photographic images and other graphic effects using the computer software programs Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are covered. Using these digital methods, you will participate in making a print to take with you at the completion of the workshop. Prior completion of the Introduction to Screen Printing workshop is recommended but not required. $90
Introduction to Screenprinting
Saturday, August 7, and Sunday, August 8, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
This 2-day, 10-hour workshop introduces you to the screen printing process from start to finish. You will learn the techniques to create the artwork, make the printing stencils, mix ink colors, and proper printing techniques to produce a screen print poster of your own design. Each student will complete a small edition of a 2-color print over the course of this workshop. $150
Advanced Techniques in Screenprinting
Saturday, August 21, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
In this 1-day, 5-hour workshop you will be introduced to four advanced screenprinting techniques to add to your technique toolbox. Techniques include using metallic pigments, transparent effects, blended and graduated tones, and creating a monoprint by painting directly onto a screen. Participants will make a print featuring these techniques to take with you at the completion of the workshop. Students must complete Introduction to Screenprinting prior to taking this workshop. $90
Screenprinting: Posters of Protest & Revolution
Saturday, September 4, 2021, 11 am-4 pm
The history of printed posters as expressions of political, social, and cultural ideas are explored in this 1-day, 5-hour workshop. You will choose a cause that you feel strongly about and create a powerful, graphic poster that expresses your view. All steps of going from print production to peaceful protest are addressed and you will participate in the creation of a poster that you can take with you at the completion of the workshop. $90
Saturday, June 12, 2021, 1 pm to approximately 3 pm MDT Free; Open to the Public; All are Welcome
Agenda
Welcome by President Linda Zwick
Tribute to Mary Ann Stoddard with Photos by Gail Murray
Cyanotype Printing Presentation by Ashisha and Liz Paterson
Round Robin Journal Collaboration Project Update by Cynthia Leespring
Art Journal Pages Swap Project Update by Ruth Anna Abigail
Self-Introduction and Presentation of the Letter U for the Monthly Mail Art Exchange by Susan Surprise
Overview of BAG’s Social Media Presence by Amy Thompson West
Community Projects Update by Barb Macks and Sally Blakemore
Pop-Up Demo (on in a series) for “Origins in Mud” Project by Sally Blakemore
Santa Fe BAG’s member meetings are via the Zoom virtual meeting platform. The login information is NOT shared on this website. To participate in the meeting, you must be signed up for BAG’s email newsletter. If you are not, please visit this link and sign up.
BAG member meetings are usually held on the second Saturday of the month; please mark your calendar. We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, holds an annual Artist Trading Card (ATC) swap under its Women & Creativity Program. We received an email with the following information:
Hello lovely humans who have participated in our Artist Trading Cards in the past! We have been receiving a lot of questions about our timeline for this year’s swap. The good news is that will be hosting this beautiful exchange again this year! With the uncertainty of now and the last year, our timeline just looks a little different.
We will be opening sign up in July. Sign up will be open from July 1 to August 1, 2021. We will send out another email with the link to sign up with more information and the deadlines to return cards in the summer.
Thank you for being a part of our community,
Dani Belvin, Director of Education
Jordyn Bernicke, Associate Director of Engagement
Explore and stretch your inner artist through an 8-week summer course, Creative Expression, at Santa Fe Community College. This course is designed to enhance creativity for those interested in art and writing. The students will explore and discover by unlocking their creativity with a sense of adventure. Some of Ro Calhoun’s approaches include:
Vision Boards
Collage
Assemblage
Writing
Group Discussions
Personal Feedback
Spotlight on Inspiring Artists’ Work
The class is held online through SFCC starting Tuesday, June 8, and meets Tuesday and Thursday from 3 pm to 8 pm through Thursday, July 29, 2021. To register, visit https://www.sfcc.edu/get-started/apply-and-register/current-returning-students/ and look for Creative Expression (Arts 1142L, CRN 10231) with Ro Calhoun.
Other courses of interest to book artists at SFCC:
Summer 2021 (June 7 through July 31)
Arts and Design Advanced Projects: Book as Sculpture (Arts 2115L, CRN 10280), Monday and Wednesday 9 am to 2 pm, Online, Marci Easterbrook
Special Photographic Projects: Photo Book (Arts 2429, CRN 10139), Schedule TBD, Online, Laurie Turner
Beginning Calligraphy and Lettering Arts (Continuing Education Class 1239), June 2 through June 23, Wednesday 1 pm to 3 pm, Sherry Bishop
Intermediate Calligraphy and Lettering Arts (Continuing Education Class 1239), June 30 through July 21, Wednesday 1 pm to 3 pm, Sherry Bishop
Collage Art (Continuing Education Class 1058), July 1 through August 5, Thursday 9 am to 12 noon, Long
Fall 2021 (August 23 through December 11)
Book Arts (Arts 1123L, CRN 20529) Thursday 9 am to 2 pm, Online, Marci Easterbrook
BAG Member Rosemary Rae is one of the artists in The Illustrated Accordion.
April 9 – June 18, 2021
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Gallery
Join the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center for its13th annual Illustrated Accordion exhibition.
Each year the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) sponsors a non-juried exhibition The Illustrated Accordion, showing in the KBAC Gallery in late spring. Open to all emerging and established artists, this exhibition focuses on books created in the accordion form. The structure of an accordion book is simple: a long piece of paper is folded into pages that can be read like a book or spread open and displayed like a banner. Featuring works of book artists from all over the world, the books in this exhibit take this book form to a new level.
A meditative practice that translates to “floating ink,” suminagashi is the oldest form of paper marbling and can be traced back to the 12th century in Japan where families guarded its secrets for many generations.
Despite the ancient beginnings, suminagashi is becoming en vogue with a variety of artists including tattooists in recent years. Other applications include stationary, craft works, components for artist books and so much more. Part of the allure of the practice is the connection between the creator, the environment and the finished piece itself. The focus of the artist, the water, and even the air in the room will influence the organic pattern the ink takes on the surface of the water. It is truly a timeless art that is simple to understand but can take years to master.
This workshop is sponsored by Yasutomo, who is providing brushes, paper, and sumi ink as a starting point for a suminagashi practice. Additionally the process needs a tray to hold water and surfactant which will be provided for the workshop. It will be held outside in our courtyard, dress accordingly.
What you’ll learn:
Applying the ink to float properly on water
Strategies for different patterns
Successfully pulling a print
Drying techniques
Please Note:
No previous experience is necessary and no special clothing is needed. Details on the Yasutomo supplies provided are: SW2 All-purpose brushes, KF2 Sumi Ink, and HYP500 Shiki-shi Hosho rice paper.
About the Instructor:
Kent Riggs has been actively practicing suminagashi for over a year and is a Yasutomo sponsored artist. You can see more of his work on his website at KentRiggs.com or at instagram.com/misconceptionworks.
BAG President Linda Zwick challenged members to create faux postage stamps. (The U.S. Postal Service used to allow creation of custom postage stamps through approved third-party vendors, but ended the program in June 2020.)
You can view the submissions in a video by clicking here.
BAG Member Alicia Bailey announced some calls for entry:Page from Shawn Sheehy’s Fresh Cut Express
Movable Medley
Originally scheduled for 2020, this show will now be held October/November 2021, in conjunction with the Movable Book Society’s Denver conference. The deadline to submit is July 12. Any book with movable components beyond opening the cover or turning the pages is eligible. Submissions will be selected by Teresa Burke, Head Librarian ACA Library of Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta and Elliot McNally, archivist at The Coca-Cola Company Archives. Full details at http://www.abecedariangallery.com/assets/content_files/opportunities/Movable%20Medley%20prospectus.html.
Meggendorfer Prize + Paper Engineering Prize
Offered up by the Movable Book Society is the Meggendorfer Prize for Artists’ Books and Emerging Paper Engineering prizes. I’ll be jurying the Artists’ Book prize with pop-up rockstar Colette Fu. For more info on the conference, and the prizes, visit https://movablebooksociety.org/conference/.
Colette Fu installation of Tao Hua Yuan Ji
Focus on Book Arts is offering up
Where We Live
a virtual juried exhibition. The deadline to submit is May 17. Selections for will be made by Laura Russell, found of 23 Sandy Gallery, and Erin Mickelson, current owner of 23 Sandy Gallery in Santa Fe. Details at https://focusonbookarts.org/2021exhibition/.
Studio shot of Lisa Harkin’s Where We Live challenge project
Focus on Book Arts is also offering a challenge book project opportunity—again with the theme of Where We Live. No jury for this one, just a bit of fun with some directed inspiration. Details at https://focusonbookarts.org/2021challenge/. The deadline to submit is June 23.
All in all, 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Abecedarian Artists’ Books. I hope the same is true for all my fellow book arts friends.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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.)
BAG President Linda Zwick has issued the following challenge. Each BAG board member will issue a challenge to all members over the next year.
Art on Postage Stamps
This is a snapshot of the template you can use to design your postage stamp. Look to the left to see two files you can download: an Acrobat (.pdf) file and a .jpg file.
The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee is appointed by the US Postmaster General. The committee selects subjects for recommendation for future stamps and accepts recommendations from citizens, with many rules in place: https://about.usps.com/who/csac/. These rules include honoring individuals only after their deaths and not considering disasters and negative events as subjects for stamps.
The committee selects subjects for recommendation about three years before a stamp design might be issued. However, BAG would love to see your design(s) for US postage stamps now.
Linda’s Challenge: Create one or more design(s) as an image for a postage stamp and submit images of those to julie@jirafstudio.com by Tuesday, March 30, 2021, for posting on the BAG website and social media.
(Note: The US Postal Service used to allow creation of custom postage stamps through approved third-party vendors, but ended the program in June 2020. Alas, Linda’s hope for seeing BAG members’ designs on actual postage has been dashed. We may, however, recreate these as non-postage stickers. We will keep you…posted).
You’re welcome to use the postage stamp template for your design, or develop or find another to your liking.
What a talented, loving bunch of people are BAG members! We received photos of more than 50 valentines. Click on “Continue reading” below to see them. (If you are viewing this post in an email, visit https://wp.me/p88BbH-SC to see the post). Continue reading “Valentines by BAG Members”→
The Santa Fe Book Arts Group’s bylaws call for at least three and no more than 10 Directors. A Director’s term is three years. Officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary) are elected from the Directors, serve one year, and may be re-elected.
Announcing BAG’s Board of Directors for 2021
President: Linda Zwick
Vice President: Julie Filatoff
Treasurer: Liz Faust
Secretary: Gordon Fluke
Directors:
Tracy Armagost
Ashisha
Ro Calhoun
Barb Macks
Lisa Miles
Retiring from the board after several years of service as Secretary is Marilyn Bennett. Thank you, Marilyn!
If there is anything you wish to discuss with the Board, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of us or email santafebag@gmail.com.
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.
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.
Ashisha: Front
Ashisha: Inside
Liz Faust: Front
Liz Faust: Inside
Julie Filatoff: Front
Julie Filatoff: Inside. If I cannot bring you comfort Then at least I bring you hope For nothing is more precious Than the time we have and so We all must learn from small misfortune Count the blessings that are real Let the bells ring out for Christmas At the closing of the year Let the bells ring out for Christmas At the closing of the year. Now all the winter bells are ringing Hear them echo through the snow And the children’s voices singing On the streets so far below This is a time to be together And the truth is somewhere here Within our love of people At the closing of the year. Trevor Horn / Hans Zimmer / Christian Kolonovits
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Gail Murray
Joan Plummer: Front
Joan Plummer: Inside
Kim Burkholder: Wishing all a holiday season filled with love, hope, and creativity!
Mary Elizabeth Nelson: Happy Holidays to my friends in Santa Fe BAG.
Mavis Murphy: Front
Mavis Murphy: Inside
Rebecca Best: Front
Rebecca Best: Inside
Amy Thompson West
Amy Thompson West: Inside
Douglass Rankin: Front
Douglass Rankin: Inside
Geri Michelli
Geri Michelli
Geri Michelli
Geri Michelli
Judy Crawford: Front
Judy Crawford: Inside
Lisa Miles
Tracy Armagost: Front
Tracy Armagost: Inside
Rhae Burden
By Barb Macks. A haiku: Paste paper designs BAG ornament so festive FELIZ NAVIDAD!
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.comno 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!
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.
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.
23 Sandy is excited to announce the relaunch of its online gallery and a transition of ownership.
23 Sandy was founded in Portland, Oregon, by book artist and photographer Laura Russell in 2007. For 10 years it was a brick-and-mortar gallery space exhibiting a wide range of unique and edition artist books and paper art. 23 Sandy closed its physical doors in 2017, becoming an online gallery. In July 2020, the gallery is relaunching under the ownership of book artist Erin Mickelson, 23 Sandy’s long-time gallery assistant until her relocation to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
23 Sandy’s new online gallery will feature book and paper art as well as maintain a record of the gallery’s rich and vibrant history through exhibition archives, a vast catalog (over 1,000 titles) of available and sold works, and historic posts. Over its years, the gallery hosted 91 inspiring exhibitions—20 of which were international juried exhibitions featuring thoughtfully curated works by a talented roster of artists from around the world. In addition to featuring creative and contemporary works, the online gallery is an extensive resource for anyone curious about artist books.
In addition to managing the online gallery, Erin will represent 23 Sandy at book arts workshops, conferences, and visits to institutions, and will work with local art spaces to exhibit artist books. She will continue to grow and diversify the gallery’s catalog of works.
A few words from Laura and Erin:
“It is such a thrill to pass 23 Sandy into Erin’s knowledgeable and capable hands. For four years she played a vital role in the success of the gallery, and I’ve always been grateful for her time and energy. Erin’s well-trained, critical, and thoughtful way of looking at books will bring a fresh and considered viewpoint to the wide world of book arts. I am thrilled to be able to retire into my studio and that 23 Sandy will live on with such an exciting vision.”
—Laura Russell
“Much gratitude is due to Laura Russell for creating such an impactful and inspiring art space. 23 Sandy has been an invaluable resource and platform for the book arts community, thanks to Laura’s diligent efforts and creative thinking. I’m excited and honored to carry the torch.”
—Erin Mickelson
The Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival nonprofit is opening northern New Mexico’s one-of-a-kind creative reuse center, Resourceful Santa Fe. It is at 2879-A Industrial Road (off Siler Road). A creative reuse center is a well-curated thrift store with real thrift store prices, an unofficial art supply store, a dumpster diver’s paradise, a community space, an economic development driver for local artists, and a local nonprofit. Its mission is to divert material from the waste stream by collecting and redistributing discarded items to artists, educators, social service providers, and the community for reuse and repurposing.
You can:
Donate items (see the guidelines here; then make an appointment with Sarah Pierpont by contacting her at (505) 603-0558 or skpierpont@yahoo.com). All donations are tax-deductible.
Make an appointment (contact info above) to shop or to be placed on the mailing list for future pop-up events.
BAG member Laura Wait participated in a studio tour/interview with one of the galleries that represents her, Gallery Mar in Carmel, California. Click the link to see Laura at work in her studio: https://www.facebook.com/gallerymarcarmel/videos/335709957403021/
Page from Shawn Sheehy’s Fresh Cut Express
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.
