Pulp, Ink & Thread

Hamilton Wayzgoose 2011

2011-11-13T19:56:00.002-06:00

The third annual Wayzgoose at the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum was fantastic. We printed our own posters with Brad Vetter and Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print, tried our hands at some calligraphy with Paul Shaw, cut our own letterforms for pressure printing with Juliet Shen and Carl Montford and bound our own portfolios with Kevin Steele. The typographer, Matthew Carter (creator of on-screen classics such as Verdana and Georgia) gave an excellent talk complete with actual slides. Judith Poirier of École de design UQAM in Montreal shared with us her incredible experimental films: she letterpress prints directly on 16 and 35 mm film stock to create animations.

We met some great people, had tons of fun, ate too many cheese curds, and came home with inky hands. Looking forward to doing it again next year, Two Rivers!

SWAG we get to make ourselves. I wanted one in every color.

Jim Sherraden and Brad Vetter (both far left) of Hatch Show Print

Calligraphy with Paul Shaw. He made it look so easy!

Busy binders

Printing with amazing old blocks from Hatch Show Print

Evidence from last year's wayzgoose

Post and photos by Claire Sammons

2011 Printers' Ball: It's Alive!

2011-10-07T16:28:00.002-05:00

This post is a bit overdue as the 7^th Annual Printers' Ball was on July 29th. We were waiting for the professional pics to arrive, and they were worth the wait. Thanks to the photographers Alexis Ellers, Jonathan Mathias and Steve Woodall for their fantastic documentation.

Zombies check out some hand bound books in the bindery.

Photography by Alexis Ellers

In case you don't know, the Printers' Ball is one of the largest literary events in the country, and it is totally free to all ages. This year, we estimated that over 3,000 people attended this one-night-only celebration in the Ludington Building. It is sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine with the Center for Book & Paper Arts, the Chicago Underground Library, Columbia College Chicago, and MAKE magazine.

In addition to the live music, readings, tables upon tables of free books and magazines, zombie face painting, Kindle (or actual book) dunk tank, and free beer, many PIT members also hosted several Book Arty demos. Hordes of Printers' Ball attendees came to learn about and participate in hand papermaking, book binding and letterpress printing. It was a very exciting night and here are the pictures to prove it.

Chris Saclolo demonstrates some hand binding techniques.

Photography by Alexis Ellers

Boo Gilder and Hannah King make paper laminations with string

Photography by Alexis Ellers

Claire Sammons helps participants print Chicago postcards on a letterpress

(Photography by Jonathan Mathias)

A bustling letterpress studio

(Photography by Steve Woodall)

Liz Isakson-Dado and Boo Gilder at work in the paper studio

(Photography by Alexis Ellers)

Jenna Rodriguez mixes ink before the letterpress demo.

(Photography by Steve Woodall)

Posted by Claire Sammons

The wayzgoose is coming! The wayzgoose is coming!

2011-09-12T22:07:00.001-05:00

The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum's annual type conference is coming up this November 4, 5 and 6. But it's way more fun to just call it Hamilton Wayzgoose 2011. Wtf is a wayzgoose you ask? Allow us to spare you the Google search: traditionally, the wayzgoose was pretty much a big party the master printer would give to his workers at the end of the summer season. Hamilton's wayzgoose retains the fun and celebratory atmosphere of ye olde days with the added intellectual stimulation of a conference!

Several of us Book & Paper-ers went last year and had a truly amazing time. We learned all about the magical world of wood type, printed our own souvenir posters (from wood type, of course) networked with an international community of print/type rock stars, ogled over the museum's collection of type, and had coffee and donuts for breakfast every day. It really is a fantastic experience even if you're not a type geek . . . but after the weekend is over you might want to become one.

For more information about Hamilton and its fabled wayzgoose go to woodtype.org

Posted by: Claire Sammons

Welcome Back to School with PIT!

2011-09-04T15:32:00.001-05:00

Hello! Though Pulp, Ink and Thread has been on a bit of a blogging hiatus, this semester we have resolved to update the PIT blog with events, articles and our own involvement in the book and paper world every few weeks!

PIT had a table at this summer's Chicago Book and Paper Fair, a one day exposition and sale of Antiquarian books and ephemera. We were the only student booth there, and collectors were very interested in our original and newly printed work and handmade paper. More pictures to follow... but here is a trusty Hipstamatic of the spread:

To start the school year off right, I thought I'd share a few links to online collections of artist's books.

I discovered "Browsing Copy" in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Created by a Singaporean book collector Roy Poh, Browsing Copy is an online exhibition of altered books made from bookstore display copies that were damaged and deemed un-sellable. Poh found stores to donate these well used volumes- usually books that had interesting or inspiring content, and sent them to artists with this message:

“I am over-used, mishandled, I remained on the shelf, unappreciated…Dear XXX, you are invited to bring this book back to life."

You can view the results at the online exhibition of Browsing Copy here, with plenty of stunning photo slideshows. Poh has plans to make a catalog of the work, and will print and distribute them to bookstores, where they will be available for browsing only.

This project reminded me of The Love Library, another ongoing and online collection of artists books made from altered romance novels. Sculptor and mixed media artist Chido Johnson began the library and the accompanying website, “Let’s Talk About Love, Baby,” as a testament to his childhood in Africa, where the only books he had to read in English were his mothers collection of pulp romance novels.

Chido invited artists to alter existing novels or interpret their own book-object to certain specifications- books needed to be the size of a paperback and have a certain font on the spine. The results are charming, often satirical, books that turn the clichéd subject into a provocative look at lust, gender and relationships. The library has traveled from Detroit to Zimbabwe to Chicago, with its most recent stop in St. Louis. Some of my favorites are listed by artist below, including my own contribution, though there are hundreds of titles in the ongoing collection from all over North America, Europe, and Africa.

Faina Lerman's image is above

Here is a link to the catalogue- I recommend these artists:

Susan Campbell

Faina Lerman

Graem Whyte

Jacklyn Brickman

Youmna Chlala

Ed Brown and Annie Reinhardt

Gilda Snowden

Elizabeth Isakson

Hope you enjoy these collections!

Elizabeth Isakson-Dado, PIT Secretary

Art on Track: Train #8

2010-08-05T19:52:00.006-05:00

And appearing in Train #8 ......

a sneak preview of one of the sculptures CJ Mace will be installing onboard

Come check out our installation and print, LIVE, with the artists of Spudnik Press: Angee Lennard, CJ Mace,Sanya Glisic, Liz Born, Michelle Mashon, and Nev Pilipovic-Wengler of Spudnik. That's right! We are bring an etching press on the "L".

Train #8, also known as the Addington Gallery train, will also feature the work of another local artist, Rennee Robbins, and Beth Mercer.

It's going to be a trainsforming experience!

Art on Track: 3 Blondes & Bald Guy

2010-07-11T14:34:00.003-05:00

Please join us on Saturday, August 7th for Art on Track 2010. Look for the group, 3 Blondes & a bald Guy, which includes current PIT President Haley Nagy and Columbia College alumni and artists, Jackie Capazzoli, Erin Cramer and curator Stephen DeSantis.

Read more details below:

Presenting "Encroachment", a collaborative installation by the group 3 Blondes and a bald guy, including artists Jackie Capozzoli, Erin Cramer, Haley Nagy and curator Stephen DeSantis.

Art on Track is a mobile art experience aboard an eight car CTA train, which circles the loop for a day-long celebration of local arts and culture. Entrance and ticket booths are located at both the Adams/Wabash and Washington/Wells CTA stations. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit Art on Track at www.artontrack.com.

2010-05-24T13:03:00.003-05:00

A rich collection of the late Marilyn Sward's artwork is soon to be exhibited at the Columbia College Chicago Center for the Book and Paper entitled Speaking in Paper. Mark your calendars for the quickly approaching opening reception, on June 9 from 5:30-8:30pm.

Join in a celebration of Marilyn's incredible journey that touched and inspired so many — her life woven through the creative process while simultaneously building community. She was an important artist during a critical period when hand papermaking was coming into its own as a fine art medium. Her passion is exhibited in her artwork, alternative photographic process, travel journals that contain the richness of the excursions and the forest of Treewhispers which continues to grow, gathering handmade paper with artwork, poetry, stories — connecting...

Opening Reception
Wednesday, June 9th, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Exhibition: June 9 - August 21, 2010
Gallery Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Center for Book and Paper Arts
1104 S. Wabash, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL

Click here for more on this exhibition and related workshops and programs.

Marilyn always loved a crowd. Bring a friend and please feel free to forward this post to anyone you think might be interested.

2010-2011 Officers

2010-05-11T09:32:00.000-05:00

President - Haley Nagy
Vice President - April Llewellyn
Secretary - Don Widmer
Treasurer - Steve Mancione
SOC Rep - Trisha Martin
B+P Rep - Amy Rabas
Galley Managers - Maggie Puckett, CJ Mace

Call for Art: Religare at Antena

2010-03-15T09:27:00.001-05:00

Religare: Artists explore the concept of Religion

"Religare": according to Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell the word Religion derives from the Latin word "ligare" which means "bind, connect", and combined with the prefix "re"= re-ligare, i.e. re (again) + ligare or "to reconnect".

For this art exhibit, artists will create work that analizes and critiques the concept of religion.

The exhibit takes place at Antena in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood from August 6-September 4, 2010 with the art opening taking place on Friday August 6th from 6pm-10pm.

Deadline for submissions: April 1, 2010
Email proposals and images to: antenapilsen@gmail.com

Send a brief proposal of what you would like to show, i.e. installation, 2D work, new media, video, etc. Send jpegs, bio, statement and CV.

Upcoming Deadlines!

2010-03-04T12:17:00.003-06:00

Just a friendly reminder:

This Friday is the deadline to get work to Maggie if you want it to be displayed in the 1104 S Wabash first floor display cases.

Saturday is the deadline for Art Diaries Bound:
Art Diaries

Sunday is the deadline for the Third National Juried Exhibition, Sand Diego Book Arts:
San Diego Book Arts

There's a couple more submission deadlines next week too. If you are trying to pump up your resume exhibition list, then take a look at the PIT calendar. There's some juicy stuff on there!

PIT Events & Submission Calendar

Haley

Aiko Fellowship Application Released

2010-03-01T14:20:00.008-06:00

The Aiko Fellowship Application has been e-mailed to all the B&P students. Please note that the due date is the same day as the deadline to submit works for the Moraine Valley College show - so plan in advance! If you didn't have the pleasure of visiting Aiko's before they closed you can see and buy a small sampling of the materials they used to sell at their website: http://www.aikosart.com/. You can also read about the history of this iconic store here

Details:

The Aiko Fellowship is an endowed fellowship that honors Aiko Nakane. She fostered and supported paper artists in Chicago for years and was the owner of the famous art store on North Clark Stree, Aiko’s. Each year, an outside juror is selected to award the fellowship, which is awarded purely on the quality of the application: how well the project is conceived and articulated. The Aiko Fellowship is a grant of $5000.00 and is available to Book and Paper graduate students completing their first year. It can be used for projects, as a travel grant, or even to support tuition.

Successful fellows in the past have participated in a range of activities: students have traveled to Egypt to make paper, to Ireland to photograph for an artists book, and attended Penland to make a collaborative artist’s book. Other projects have included an offset edition of a letterpress abecedarium, and one student attended workshops to learn traditional japanese screenmaking.

Application Requirements

Current resume
Project proposal up to two pages in length
Project budget
Digital images of current work (as many as you see fit)

Deadline

Friday, April 2 by 5.00pm
in the office of the Center for Book and Paper.
Fellowship will be announced in the first week of May.

Edible Books is Coming Up!

2010-02-26T07:33:00.008-06:00

Artists with a culinary streak, chefs with artistic flair, and book lovers are invited to participate by whipping up an edible book for this event which takes place on Thursday, April 1st at venues around the world. Prize categories: Best in Show, Most Book-like, Best Visual Pun, Best Presentation, Most Likely to be Devoured.

This Year’s Theme – Children’s Books
Children’s books are deceptively simple, yet loaded with powerful imagery and narrative: their charm and whimsy have captivated the imagination and hearts of many generations. They are uniquely poised to lend themselves to new interpretations in your kitchen – we can’t wait to see what you bring to the table.

APRIL 1, 2010 / 6–8 PM
6–7 PM Viewing & Voting / 7–8 PM Devouring Books
Winners will be announced by 7:30 PM

Columbia College Chicago Library
624 S. Michigan Ave, 3rd Floor
Chicago, il 60605

RSVP for Bookmakers deadline:
Friday, March 26th 2010 at 5 pm book&paper@colum.edu or 312-369-6630

INFORMATION
For Bookmakers: Gina Ordaz, 312-369-6630
For Event: Opal Anderson, 312-369-7027

Entries must be dropped off and set up on April 1st between 5:30–6 pm at the Columbia Library.

ADMISSION
$10 per person (free for bookmakers) $5 Friends of the Library and Members of the Center for Book & Paper Arts
Tickets at the door, cash & check only.
Proceeds benefit the Center for Book & Paper Arts’ equipment Fund & Friends of the Library.

For more info, check the Book & Paper website or learn more about the international event at www.Books2Eat.com.

Papercut Haggadah at the Loyola Museum of Art

2010-02-22T15:19:00.004-06:00

The Papercut Haggadah by Archie Granot
February 11 – May 9, 2010

The Haggadah tells the story of Passover, a day that commemorates the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. The holiday is celebrated with a special dinner called a Seder. Artists have also celebrated Passover—through illustrated manuscripts and drawings. Modern papercut artist Archie Granot continues a five-hundred year tradition with a fifty-five page Haggadah. Using geometric and abstract shapes instead of traditional Hebrew symbols, Granot has created a work that evokes the intense emotions attached to Seder. Each word of his text is handcut, and every page stands as both an independent work of art and a single piece of a beautiful, thematically unified whole.

Find out more here.

Call for Art: The Story is the Thing

2010-02-22T13:10:00.000-06:00

ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Writers Centre
Call for entries for an exhibition of artists’ books with a story component.

Artists’ books are books (usually handmade) which are themselves considered to be a work of art.

The theme of the exhibition is “The Story Is The Thing”.

The story component of entries may be the creation of the book artist, or it may be a collaboration (for example, a writer provides the story and a book artist makes the book). The books can be sculptural in form and can be made of materials not usually associated with books. Books can be offered for sale.

This information and an entry form can be downloaded at http://www.facebook.com/l/c862d;.

IMPORTANT DATES

Closing date for entry forms: Monday 26th April, 2010
Notification of successful entries: Monday 3rd May, 2010
Selected books to be received: Thursday 13th May to Thursday 20th May, 2010
Opening of exhibition: 5.30 pm Thursday 27th May, 2010
Exhibition dates: 27th May – 6 June, Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm, Saturday and Sundays 1pm – 4pm
Exhibited books to be returned: Wednesday 9th June, 2010

During the exhibition period workshops on writing and on making artists’ books will be offered.

Entry Conditions
1. All entries should reflect the exhibition theme, “The Story Is The Thing”, and only books with a story
component will be included in the exhibition; however, the story does not need to be lengthy.
2. Each entry application should include a completed entry form, a one page CV and up to six JPEG images of the relevant book.
3. Entries should be the work of the entrant(s) and have been completed within the last 2 years.
4. Entrants are limited to one entry.
5. Books will be covered by insurance during the exhibition; however, entrants should arrange their own
insurance for their books in transit to and from the exhibition.
6. Selected books should be delivered by hand, 9-5 Monday 17 May; or by post or courier 13th to 20th May.
7. After the exhibition, books will be available for collection, or return by post or courier at exhibitors’ expense. If
books are to be posted or couriered, include with delivered books the required packing material and correct
postage or prepaid courier slip.
8. Exhbitors retain copyright of their books, but give, free of charge, the exhibition holders non-exclusive
permission to reproduce images of their books for promotion of the exhibition and for archival purposes.
9. As the gallery space is limited, we may not be able to accept all entries for exhibition.
10. Selected exhibits should be sent with a display label attached. The label should clearly show:
• the name of the book
• the name(s) of the book artist/writer
• whether the book is for sale (either Not For Sale, or the price - include in the price the 25% commission to be charged for sales).

Exhibition curator: Jane Schauer

Enquiries can be directed to:

Jane Schauer
janeschauer@grapevine.net.au
www.actwriters.org.au

In-House Open House: Need Your Feedback, Please!

2010-02-18T19:02:00.000-06:00

Message from InterArts tech support:

Ahoy all InterArts students! We — the departmental tech support — have a fresh idea we'd like to get your feedback on... In lieu of last year's line-up of intermittent equipment trainings and software tutorials, we are considering putting on an "in-house open house". At this all-day (friday) event, you're friendly work-aids would provide equipment cage walk-through, computer lab/software overviews, specific software and hardware tutorials, as well as an installation workshop. We can spend a whole day together, learning the ins and outs of what we may have missed last fall and exploring new terrain to embark upon in our artwork. We think we've got a swell idea, but need to know if you think so too. So please send us a message to say yay or nay... and no worries — if you were really keen on those intermittent tutorials, we'll work to accommodate whatever your hearts desire (technically, that is!).Cheers!InterArts Tech Supportps. As of recent discussions across disciplinary lines (i.e., with b&p; folks), we are also considering launching some "share your skills" sessions at this friday event as well, so again, let us know what you think! thanks!

Please email victora.bradford@loop.colum.edu with feedback. If you have specific skills you would like to share. Thanks!!

PIT Officers Spring 2010

2010-02-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

President - Maggie Puckett
Vice President - Haley Nagy
Secretary - Don Widmer
Treasurer - Trisha Martin
SOC Rep - Kaitlin Kostus

Free Fiber

2010-02-01T16:38:00.003-06:00

Vespine Gallery (sadly, just closed) has a BUNCH of fiber to give to papermakers---denim, linen, burlap, etc. Go by Vespine today THIS THURSDAY from 10-4 if you want any of it. It all goes in the dumpster after Thursday....

Vespine Gallery
1907 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 962-5850

PIT Calendar of Events

2010-01-13T08:47:00.000-06:00

A new PIT calendar of events has been added to the blog (scroll all the way down to the bottom or click here). This includes PIT specific events as well as upcoming deadlines for exhibitions, grants, fellowships and residencies. All members of PIT should have received a google calendar invitation which will allow you to add your own information to the calendar. Please add any deadlines you stumble across that would be of interest to the group. And don't forget to include your own shows and exhibitions so that we can all come! If you haven't received the invitation or you need it resent, please let me know.

Also - Don't forget to join and add photos to the PIT Flickr group so that these can be displayed on the sidebar of the blog. Invitations for this were also sent out... but they only work to the e-mail address I had on file. If you use Flickr with a different e-mail address/login, let me know & I can resend an invitation to the correct address. Or, you can simply request to join here.

Looking forward to a great new year!
Haley

PIT's NYC trip photos

2009-12-06T09:56:00.004-06:00

Alison Knowles book launch at Printed Matter, November 6

See more photos on PITs facebook page

First PIT Meeting of the Semester

2009-09-29T12:04:00.004-05:00

Pulp, Ink & Thread will hold its first meeting of the semester Wednesday October 7th at 7pm in room 206A (the classroom next to the letterpress studio in the 1104 S Wabash building). All current members are encouraged to come and bring food or drink to share...it's a potluck!

upcoming call for entries that might be useful

2009-09-26T15:22:00.005-05:00

a *lot* of shows at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (various deadlines):
http://www.mnbookarts.org/artistsprograms/opportunities.html

A College Book Art Exhibition that Clif is one of the jurors for (and I'm sure he'd love to see lots of his students apply):
http://www.23sandy.com/assignment/call-for-entries.html
deadline October 24th

two here at the Arc gallery, one about craft in contemporary art (deadline Dec. 16th), one just for all current art students in IL (bring in works November 19-21):
http://www.arcgallery.org/news-events.aspx

then of course the "At Close Distance" show here at Columbia (deadline Oct. 2nd), which you probably have seen in your email, but just in case not:

Hi all!

Attached you’ll find a call for work for a graduate student exhibition of interdisciplinary work sponsored by the College’s Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces and curated by grad students Eliza Fogel and Laura Elayne Miller.

Questions about the exhibit should be directed to atclosedistance@gmail.com.

A small art competition coming up in Chicago (deadline Oct. 31):
http://logsdongallery.jimdo.com/

anyone have anything else? (I'm adding these to my google calendar; is there a PIT one?)

PIT Officers 2009-2010

2009-09-25T08:57:00.001-05:00

President - Maggie Puckett
Vice President - Matthew Aron
Secretary - Don Widmer
Treasurer - Trisha Martin
SOC Rep - Kaitlin Kostus

Student Galley coordinators - Heather Bella and Laurie LeBreton

2009 Thesis Exhibition

2009-04-21T08:43:00.002-05:00

INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS MASTER THESIS EXHIBITION, 2009
April 24 - May 21, 2009
Reception: Friday, May 15, 4-7pm
at Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book & Paper Arts
1104 S. Wabash Ave.

The 2009 Interdisciplinary Arts Thesis Exhibition features the work of 22 thesis candidates from the three degree programs of the Interdisciplinary Arts Department at Columbia College Chicago: The MA in Interdisciplinary Arts, The MFA in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts, and the MFA in Media Arts.

The New Media Gallery (on the 2nd floor of 618 S. Michigan) will feature work by Joseph Riley, Karen Louis, Erin Cramer, Katie Haviland, Amy Jacobs, Jasmine Serena Greer and Robert Possehl.

The Center for Book and Paper Arts galleries will feature work by Scott Beahm, Lessa Bouchard, Misty DeBerry, Lauren DuBeau, Kenneth Gerleve, Jennifer Halman, Laura Heather Hobson, Brandy LaChapelle, Gianina Lockley, Annie Perry, Matthew Pierce, Erin Rehberg, Marian Runk, Karol Shewmaker, and Stacey Storme.

2009 is the first year the entire Thesis Show will be presented as one single exhibition, in two locations on the Columbia College Campus: the galleries at the Center for Book and Paper Arts, 1104 South Wabash, 2nd floor, and the Gallery and Theater at 618 South Michigan, 2nd Floor. Nineteen installation works and three theater-based performances will comprise the show.

NEW MEDIA GALLERY
2nd Floor, 618 S. Michigan Ave. Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm; Sat 12pm - 5pm

GALLERIES AT THE CENTER FOR BOOK AND PAPER ARTS
2nd Floor, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. Mon - Fri 10am - 8pm; Sat, 12pm - 5pm

MANIFEST
May 15th, 2009
Gallery Hours: 11am - 9pm
Artist Reception & Art Walk: 4pm - 7pm

Fellowship opportunity

2009-04-02T16:50:00.005-05:00

Below are details regarding the first annual Grabhorn Fellows Program, a new collaborative effort between CBAA and Arion Press. Please spread the word to potential candidates and encourage application. A flyer will also be available on the CBAA website.

Grabhorn Fellows

Each year, student members of the College Book Art Association have
the unique opportunity to apply for the Grabhorn Fellows Program. Up
to a maximum of 12 students, undergraduate and graduate, will be
selected to visit the widely-respected Arion Press for a week (in
August, 2009 and in June in subsequent years) during which they will
observe as a group the operations of the Press. The program is jointly
sponsored by the CBAA and the nonprofit Grabhorn Institute. The M&H type foundry, letterpress shop (composing room and pressroom), and bindery operations will be explained in detail as current projects are executed. Presentations on project development, text selection, rights, editing, collaboration, design, typography, and other elements of publication will be made by members of the Press. Selections from the archives of over eighty Arion Press books will be viewed. In addition, visits will be arranged to the Logan Collection of Artist
Books at the Legion of Honor, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, and
Special Collections at the San Francisco Public Library. Scholars (and/
or their institutions) will provide transportation to San Francisco
for the week’s visit. The Arion Press and the Grabhorn Foundation
will provide lodging as well as most breakfasts and lunches.
Participants are expected to fund travel, dinners, and incidental
expenses, including transportation from and to the airport.
Participating students will be expected to make presentations about
their Grabhorn Fellows experience at their respective institutions
during the semester following the visit.

Eligibility:
-Full-time undergraduate or graduate students who are current members
of CBAA
-For membership information, go to www.collegebookart.org

To apply, submit:
-A letter of intent addressing interest in book art/publishing
-Expectations of the Arion experience, and commitment to cover travel
expenses through personal resources or application to institutional
sources
-Letter of support/recommendation from a faculty member
-CV with all relevant course work and experience
-Portfolio of visual work or other supportive materials illustrating
experience in book art and/or related areas of study. Portfolio may
include a maximum of 10 images (book work shot from several
perspectives), academic papers, reports, interviews, publication
studies, exhibition curation, etc. A list of images must accompany the
portfolio.

All Materials must be:
-Submitted on a CD and saved in a single folder labeled with
entrant’s last name, portfolio in a single folder within the entrant
folder
-Accessible on both Mac and PC
-JPEGs, PDFs or Word documents only
-JPEGs maximum 300 p/i and 10MB, labeled NAME-1.jpg, NAME-2.jpg, etc.
to match the image list provided. Image list must have title,
dimensions, media, date, edition, and other pertinent information.

Send CD with cover letter to:
Marnie Powers-Torrey
Book Arts Program
J.Willard Marriott Library
The University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Applications must be received by May 15.
Applicants will be notified via email on June 1.

In the Near Future...

2009-02-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

March 6-28, 2009
VESPINE GALLERY
1907 W. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60608
Hours: Friday 5-9pm, Saturday 12-5pm, and by appointment

Opening Reception: Friday, March 13th, 7-10pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, March 28th, 12-5pm (in conjunction with the SGC conference)

In the Near Future...
is an exhibition of artists' books, prints, handmade paper, sculptural objects, and fine bindings created by Columbia College Chicago Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts MFA candidates. The work considers ideas of the future both privately and publicly, as well as what it means for the students' practice after graduate school. Sponsored by Pulp, Ink, & Thread (PIT), The Book & Paper Arts graduate student organization.
Curated by Kelly Parsell.

Get your work out there and maybe get some cash!

2009-02-24T08:32:00.000-06:00

Hello PIT people,

It's been awhile. I just wanted to alert everyone to a few things that have come through my inbox:

Minnesota Center for Book Arts - Book Art Biennial 2009
http://www.mnbookarts.org/events/bookartbiennial.html
Scroll down a few paragraphs and click on "download the prospectus here" for the pdf regardgin MCBA Prize. It's a nice chunk of change, and I'm sure you all have work that qualifies.
Deadline: All submissions should be delivered by March 5th (which means, send it on the 2nd or earlier).

Get money (tuition or prizes, up to $4000) from Columbia by submitting your online work:
http://www.colum.edu/Student_Life/exposeyourself.php
http://www.colum.edu/Student_Life/Competition/ExposeYourselfSubmission.php
Deadline: March 27th at midnight

PIT Alumni

2008-11-01T18:22:00.007-05:00

2010 Alumni:
Heather Bella
Kelly Parsell
Sarah Walton Andrews
Theresa Pankratz

******************************

2009 Alumni:
Aimee Lee
Brandon Graham
Drew Matott
Erin Cramer
Joseph Lappie
Marian Runk
Rebecca Rakstad

The PIT Blog's Grand Return: Nine Months' Worth of Activity in One Post!

2008-06-11T22:21:00.000-05:00

It has been a very long time since anyone gave any attention to this poor blog. Considering how busy everyone has been this past year, that's hardly surprising! Now, after nine months of gestation, the list of news and happenings to be covered is so long that it will have to remain in list form. If we were to try to give a detailed account of every accomplishment and event, this blog would never return to its irregularly scheduled programming. So here is a list of the past year's achievements, with thanks to Amy and Stephen:

Pulp, Ink and Thread
Accomplishments for the 2007 – 2008 Academic Year

Friends of Dard Hunter Annual Conference – October 2007
-Funding from SOC - $500 ($125 for four people)
-Three $250 scholarships given to first-time attendees
-Drew Mattot – presenter

Annual Holiday Sale and Fundraiser for Camel Bookmobile – December 2007
-Total raised $3200
-PIT proceeds $600
-Camel Bookmobile $220 fundraised

Esma Turman – Lecture and Reception (open to undergrads and public) – Dec. 2007
-Visiting sculptor/paper artist from Turkey
-Gave one-on-one critiques to a number of graduate students
-Honorarium given through SOC

Galley exhibit – University of Alabama show - November 2007
-An exchange of graduate student work with U of A
-Opening reception funding through SOC

College Art Association Annual Conference – February 2008
-Funding from SOC -$600 ($150 for four people)
-Two other students funding through Inter. Arts Dept.

Finch Gallery Show – February 2008
-Faculty and Student show An Alternative Library: Enter into Circulation
-PIT sponsored

Open Studio/Art Walk – March 2008
-Graduate studios open with potluck/social

Faculty Search evaluations - March 2008
-PIT composed and structured a form for evaluating search and recommendations

Southern Graphics Council Annual Conference – March 2008
-Sent one member of PIT (with $600 from SOC funding) to represent

Vespine Show – March 2008
-$200 SOC funding for rental space and opening reception
-$400 PIT fund
-Student sales exceeded cost of show (for rental space and opening reception)

Lillstreet Donations – April 2008
-PIT members donated artwork for Lillstreet's fundraiser

Sunshine Gallery show – April 2008
-Student curated show

Manifest – May 2008
-This is Not a Truck show
-Recycled paper car
-Many B&P students participated in TIC TOC
-Many students participated in student store sale

Seoul International Book Art Fair and Competition – May 2008
-Students exhibited work in both fair and competition
-Students placed first, second and (2) third
-All work to be published in catalog

Monthly PIT meetings –
-Director of B&P / Advisor, Clifton Meador in attendance at all meetings
-Open forum for discussion of curriculum, policy changes, etc…
-Guest speakers: David Jones (Anchor Graphics), Mercedes Cooper & Wes (Portfolio Center), Keven Cassidy (Student Store), Brad Freeman (SGC in 2009)

"Uncollected Works" at the Joan Flasch Artist Books Library – June 2008
-Student-curated show of CBPA book works

Treewhispers – Summer 2008

Oh, and there was something about a thesis show or two . . .

I feel bad just pasting in this list here, because it necessarily glosses over all of the individual efforts and achievements behind all of this activity. Everyone deserves to have their hard work individually recognized and applauded; I'm afraid that I am not the gal* to do it, or at least not all at once, but this should at least get the blog rolling again. I hope to add in pictures from many of these events over the next week.

*it should be noted that Joseph The Lappie retired from his duties as blogmaster a few months ago.

Mild Bemusement Is Where It's At

2007-09-18T01:02:00.000-05:00

It's that time for another late night - taste great rendition on P.I.T. Blog 2007. We have special treats for you this go-around including, but not limited to, Amos Kennedy, Pulp Fiction Revisited, Some audio from our friends down south, A little dab of the Meador, and some of those hand-picked Bittids.

Unfortunately it's my duty to tell you that the ability to show amazing films such as "sleepy kitty", "panda sneeze", and "darling puppy play" has been disabled. We will be forced to do what they did in the pre-digital age and merely spend a few moments daydreaming about what it might be like if a kitten fell asleep in a shoebox. I'm terribly sorry, but your imagination thanks you.

Let's get this pony show on the road.

Artist of the ...relatively short period of time

This time we are proud to have one Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. as the spotlighted artist. Ardea Art Collaborators state that he was once a computer programmer, but has since rejected the dark insidous forces and become a proveyor of luddite knowledge...a.k.a. letterpress printmaking. We're going to have to take that as truth, or at least until he comes to visit and lecture on Friday, October 26th where we can, in a unified voice, ask him the validity of this statement.

Kennedy (as far as I can tell no relation to J.F or R.F. ) has a studio in Akron, Alabama called Kennedy Prints! where he insures us that if you give him some text, he'll print you some posters...seriously. I believe one tagline goes a little something like this "Give Us Your Text and Go Home and Pray." Another one reads "We guarantee no two prints will be the same." I have to say this is my kind of printer!

Here is his web address. http://www.kennedyandsonsfineprinters.com/ Perhaps you should check it out.

The man also happens to be a papermaker, a bookbinder, and a performance artist. He has been in numerous national exhibitions and een finds time to curate some with his most recent being We, Too, Are Book Artists which opened July 21and unfortunately closes on the 22nd of September.

Let's look at some of his work okay?

Proverbs Are Little Gems of Wisdom

Put the Message In the Hands of The People and Move On (Tirade Announcement)

Jesus Says (Anyone Seen This one Before)

So his work has a political or social edge to it. Something to invoke an emotion and cause people to act...even if it's only acting differently. There's more out there, you just have to go and look. Oh, Thanks to http://www.kennedyandsonsfineprinters.com/ for the images. I swear they are all legit and on the site.

So let's recap: Amos Kennedy is pretty cool. He has his own printshop with not enough woodtype in Alabama. He wants you to send him type. Please, He likes to break the rules by making his own designs and not yours. Apparetly he tells people opposed to his work that he's got "...a long memory." He teaches and travels a lot and will soon grace us with his presence.

Some Things of Interest.

Here is a typograpical video using a nice little quote from Samuel L. Jackson in the wonderous movie we call Pulp Fiction. *Warning* a fair share of f bombs be dropped. Delicate ears are advised.

For some other great examples of typographical movies go to the link directly below this sentence. Particularly "The Lions Roar" by Hush Sound.

http://infosthetics.com/archives/2007/08/typographical_motion_graphic_movies.html

Brian Dettmer:

Brian Dettmer is a graduate of Columbia who makes some pretty fantastic artist's books and book sculptures. He cuts into a book from the cover and works his way through the pages creating a topographical or mined image. Check out his site. Hey, he's even on wikipedia so it must be awesome.

Oh, yeah...he came to an artist's book class taught by Melissa a couple of years ago.

http://www.haydeerovirosa.com/index.php?modus_id=1&page_id=44&type_id=1

Hey Have You Heard This One

Some good noise from our fellow book artcentric school of University of Alabama

http://www.bookarts.ua.edu/podcast/montgomery.mp3

A Little Bit O' Meador Will Do Ya Good. (Part 1)

Some knowledge to disseminate from the hand, mouth and brain from Clifton himself.

Disciplining a Craft
By Clifton Meador
From a talk originally delivered at the November 2006 Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Conference

There is more interest in book arts now than ever before: dozens of colleges and art schools offer classes in book arts, and centers of book art have been created in nearly every large city in America. Opportunities for education in the book arts abound, and it seems as though something significant is changing in the way people talk about the book arts. A discipline is evolving, a conceptual framework for thinking about making books is emerging.

How are we building a discipline in book arts?

What does it mean for book arts to be a discipline?

It is not obvious what the term "book arts" means: it seems to describe crafts, but it is not self-evident which crafts. In order to understand what the term means, it seems reasonable to start by looking at where the book arts are transmitted, where people form their ideas about what they are doing as they are learning how to do it. There are two main arenas for the transmission of the book arts in America: one is the informal world of workshop instruction, usually (but not always) at nonprofit centers for book arts, and the other is formal academic study at a college, art school, or university. There have been book arts classes in the university much longer than there have been workshops that teach classes in the book arts. Porter Garnett’s Laboratory Press at Carnegie Mellon was founded in 1923, for example. There are many other examples; for instance, 10 of the 12 residential colleges at Yale had letterpress shops for student use and Scripps college press has been around since the 1940s. While there have always been printers and handbinders teaching their crafts, the founding of the Center for Book Arts in New York in 1974 marks the beginning of the contemporary period of workshop-based book arts instruction.

Since institutions are the places that support and create disciplines, let’s examine the institutions that teach book arts to better understand what people mean by the term "book arts." The two main arenas are quite different in their approaches to instruction: centers of book art have an interest in bringing in the greatest number of people to support their operations and therefore develop courses that are clear and attractive to a large number of people. Academic institutions do not have the same pressure to expand and develop audience and are subject to entirely different forces that shape programming. We might expect academic institutions to frame book arts quite differently.

First I will examine workshop instruction, and then academic institutions.

For this examination, I picked three places that are from geographically different areas of the country. I will look at their workshop offerings from fall of 2006, by title and course description. The purpose of this examination is to understand what most people mean when they use the term "book arts" and to understand the scope of activity.

The Center for Book Arts in New York was the first center of its kind and it is, without a doubt, one of the field-defining institutions. They teach hundreds of workshops a year and offer multiple levels and sections of workshops in letterpress printing, binding, paper decoration, printmaking, conservation, calligraphy, and workshops that deal in artists’ book making. For the fall 2006 workshop schedule, they listed 56 different sections of binding classes, from bookbinding I to boxmaking along with classes dedicated to specific structures, like long-stitch binding classes, Coptic binding, and leather bound books. They offered 30 sections of printing classes, 22 of which were dedicated to letterpress and eight of which covered printmaking topics, like Japanese wood block printing. They taught six sections of paper decorating classes (suminagashi and marbling), six sections of calligraphy classes (copperplate script to handwriting for books), five sections of conservation classes (including a master class with Gary Frost), and seven classes that are hard to categorize, like Comic Book Weekend, Editioning Mail Art, or Make a Limited Edition Book in a Week, which was a printing class combined with binding.

The Minnesota Center for Book Arts is another large center for instruction in the book arts, which also provides studio space for artists, publishes a book every year and creates exhibition programming. During fall 2006 they taught eleven sections of binding classes, seven sections of letterpress classes, two printmaking classes, three sections of paper decorating classes, one papermaking class, a Japanese calligraphy class, and a book art sampler (three Wednesdays: an introduction to papermaking, printing, and binding). One of the interesting threads in the MCBA’s fall schedule was a group of three classes dedicated to making jewelry from left-over bookbinding scraps. MCBA also offers classes designed particularly for teachers, usually held in the summer, which cover binding techniques for teachers, as well as classes on topics designed to help teachers introduce book arts into the classroom. MCBA clearly has primary and secondary education as part of its mission; they also regularly offer classes for families and even preschool children in book arts topics.

The San Francisco Center for the Book is a decade-old vibrant institution in the world of workshop instruction, teaching an ambitious workshop program and creating interesting exhibition programming. During fall 2006 they offered 15 classes in printing, all with a letterpress emphasis, 11 classes in binding (one of which was a class in how to teach book arts to children) and another 10 classes in a category the center calls "related arts": they range from a paste-paper class to a class in writing for artists’ books. The SFCB characterizes this third group of classes as the "creative heart of bookmaking, where concept, materials, form and content come together."

There are many other centers of book art instruction all over the country. Pyramid Atlantic is one of the few centers that offers classes in any depth in papermaking. The Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts, which is the host institution for the graduate program where I teach, also offers workshops in printing, binding, and papermaking. There are so many other great places: BookWorks in beautiful Asheville North Carolina, Garage Annex School, and Penland, are only a few. They all offer a range of classes, generally, though not always, with a technical orientation. All of the centers offer some non-technique-oriented instruction. The SFCB, for example, outlines a programmatic ambition to support artistic activity through the "related arts" series of workshops. But the focus in these centers, at least as defined by how much time is spent doing what, is on teaching craft.

Based on this not-very-rigorous survey of centers of book art instruction, I conclude that in the fall of 2006, at places that use the words "book arts" as part of the definition of what they do, binding is at the heart of book arts, closely followed by letterpress printing, based on numbers of classes. There seems to be a constellation of other crafts—paper decoration, papermaking, calligraphy, and printmaking—that are taught in the context of the book arts, but at a very low frequency. It seems important to point out that while the world of papermaking has an intimate relationship with the book arts, papermaking is a medium on its own terms. Papermaking supports other activities (sculpture, for example) and crosses into many other activities, but is not offered at book art centers with anywhere near the same frequency as binding or letterpress classes. Of the three centers we examined in detail, none of them offers extensive programming in papermaking. There are places that offer many classes in papermaking, but they tend to be specialized studios. The classes that all of these institutions offer are a carefully considered blend of what they can do, given the facilities they have, and what they think their communities will choose to support. It is important to reiterate that centers that teach workshops must offer classes that will fill and run: it is pointless to offer a seminar in narrative book theory if nobody will take it. When we talk about book arts, it is important to try to understand what those words mean to the people who take these workshops. This is clear: to a lot of people, "book arts" means the crafts of hand binding and letterpress printing.

The academic world of book arts is larger than you might expect. In nearly every art department there is some kind of activity involving books, usually as part of a printmaking program. Typically (or perhaps not untypically), artists’ books are mentioned in an upper-level printmaking studio as a potential outcome of printmaking. There are not very many dedicated departments of book arts, but there are a surprising number of colleges that offer one, two or more courses in the book arts. I collected course descriptions from 23 colleges that teach more than one class in book arts, and I found a very different approach to teaching book arts from the way workshop approach the field. Instead of classes with techniques as their subjects, making it easy to count which crafts are taught as book arts, most classes at schools have a conceptual framing, a title that talks about the ideas in making books, rather than techniques in how to make books. This is indicative of something important, but for now let’s try to use this information to understand what is included in the category "book arts." It seems reasonable to look at undergraduate introductory classes as the place in the academy where the field of activity would be delimited. In other words, intro classes ought to offer a definition of the book arts as a part of the activity of teaching students to make books. So, here are some phrases culled from course descriptions from introductory experiences in the book arts at nine schools, picked almost at random. Frequently, the first class (where there is more than one class) is a class called artists’ books.

From Mills College

This is one of the few schools with a stand-alone undergraduate book arts focus. They offer a group of at least 15 classes in the book arts, a concentration in some depth:

Introduction to Book Arts
…an introduction to the techniques, structures, tools, materials and processes used in creating artists’ books. Students will explore a broad range of studio practice, including letterpress printing, hand and computer typography, simple book structures, and basic relief printmaking as they examine the relationship of verbal, visual, and structural content in books.

From California College of the Arts:

Bookmaking
In this class, we will concentrate on recognizing the book within your own work and making it real in your chosen media. Basic book structures and letterpress printing from handset type will be introduced and more advanced instruction will be tailored to individual needs. 5 The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist Volume 3, Number 2, Spring 2007

From the School of the Art Institute of Chicago:

Artists’ Books
In this multi-level course we investigate the use of books in the context of studio practice. Bindings, such as pamphlet, side stitch, accordion, and codex forms and variations are introduced and practiced. Strategies for utilizing material and form in relation to content, and for articulating pagination, such as pacing, juxtaposition, and simultaneity, are addressed in individual projects.

From Wells College

Wells College, another of the few schools with a dedicated undergraduate book arts department, offers two introductory experiences:

Hand Bookbinding I
This course introduces students to traditional bookbinding techniques by familiarizing them with the tools, materials and techniques of the craft. Students are expected to produce a set of book models that are clean, structurally sound, and consistent with the class demonstration.

Letterpress: Introduction to Typography
Demonstrations, readings, and assignments on the mechanics of handsetting and printing from metal type. Traditional and artistically innovative approaches to using this medium will be covered. Each student will create her or his own individual projects: postcards, broadsides, book, etc.

From Wellesley College:

Book Arts Studio
In an interactive setting, students will gain hands-on experience in bookmaking, with an emphasis on the creative possibilities of ancient craft and contemporary art. In the Library’s Book Arts Lab, students will learn to set type by hand and print on hand presses. Students will create limited edition broadsides and artists’ books.

From the San Francisco Art Institute:

Artists’ Books—Structures & Ideas
This class uses the form of the book as a source of inspiration and as a medium for expression, building upon many traditional bindings and newly created structures. Students will acquire technical skills and explore different media as they create a series of contemporary artists’ books. For each book, emphasis will be placed on the interactions between words and images and on using materials and a binding that support the theme or meaning. Conceptual approaches, sequence, design, editioning, and experimental books will be discussed.

From the School of the Museum of Fine Arts,Boston:

Artist’s Books: An Introduction
An in-depth introduction to one-of-a-kind artists’ books. This course is for artists of any discipline who want to work in the book format. Students learn many book structures, including portfolios pamphlets, multi-signature, concertinas, Coptic and clamshell boxes. We also explore a variety of image and text-making techniques. During open studio time students develop ideas and complete ‘a book a week,’ which may include edible books, altered books, books made of natural materials, visual books or books that tell stories.

From Middle Tennessee State University:

Book Arts
The Book Arts Program offers two classes in book arts (ART 3550 & ART 4110) and two classes in letterpress printing (ART 3770 & ART 4770).In Book Arts I and II students learn various book binding and book designing techniques and skills. The concept of the artist’s book is explored and students are encouraged to work with both traditional and non-traditional book forms and materials. In Letterpress I students learn the basics of letterpress printing using raised metal type to form text and relief printing processes to create images

From Smith College:

The Book: Theory and Practice I
Investigates (1) the structure and history of the Latin alphabet, augmenting those studies with an emphasis on the practice of calligraphy, (2) a study of typography that includes the setting of type by hand and learning the rudiments of printing type, and (3) the study of digital typography.

Of these nine schools offering introductory experiences in book arts, eight schools promote the technique of binding as central to the practice, six of the nine schools use letterpress as the method of choice for creating text, six of the nine list artists’ books either as the title of the class or as a potential outcome for the class. It is really fascinating to note that seven of the nine approaches frame book making as an expressive or artistic form and talk about conceptual issues in making books. The relationship of form to content seems to be at the heart of much of this activity; at these schools, the focus is on the book as a place to make art. Wells College uses the terms "artistically innovative approaches" to letterpress printing, signaling an intention to use letterpress as a mode of art making. Smith College alone does not use any language explicitly talking about art or expression, but Smith also teaches a class called The Artist’s Book in the 20th Century, so The Book: Theory and Practice (just look at the name!) is clearly taught in a historicized and theory-rich environment. (to be continued)

(be here next time for part 2 of "a little meador will do ya good")

TidBits and BitTids.

* Book x Change opens on October 5th at the student gallery "The Galley" opening is from 5
until 7. The show runs from September 29th through October 28th.

*Sheets, Planes, & Pulp Works On (and Out of) Paper runs through October 21st and features the art stylings of alumn Benjamin Chandler, current grad student Kirstin Demer, and current
professor extraordinaire Melissa Jay Craig. Here is the info (Evanston Art Center2603 Sheridan
RoadEvanston IL847.475.5300 Gallery hours, Mon - Thurs, 10am - 10pm Fri - Sat, 10am - 4pm Sun, 1-4pm)

*Special Congratulations to Kirstin Demer who won best in show at this show HOORAH!!

*Fictional Characters curated by Audrey Niffenegger A show coming up with a star-studded cast including Kevin L. Cuasay, Jen Blair, Jill Huntsberger, Elisabeth Long, Jennifer Thomas,
Ami Trosley, Meredith Winer, Benjamin Chandler, Stephen DeSantis, Ken Gerleve and April Sheridan. The opening reception is from 4-7 on Saturday October 6th at the Lil Street Gallery. Here is the info (Lillstreet Art Center 4401 North Ravenswood Chicago, IL 60640 Hours:Monday-Thursday: 10am-7:30pm Friday-Saturday:10am-6pm Sunday:10am-5pm)

*Drew Matott will be presenting Pulp Politics: Dissent and Intervention at the Friends of Dard Hunter Annual Meeting in Washington, DC onOctober 19-20. The presentation features his experiences conducting streeet interventions using pulp as an interactive medium. He will also perform his People's Portraits of Bush "street intervention" on October 18th at the Pyramid Atlantic Center. These presentations continue Drew's artistic theme of using street art media and communitycenters as a means to produce political, dissenting and interventionist art.

*Also Drew has been selected to exhibit at Northern KentuckyUniversity (September 27 - October 26) at its "On Its Feet: Contemporary Letterpress Book Art - A National Invitational Exhibit",and has been invited to show at the Book Arts Exhibit in the Fine ArtsGallery at SUNY Oneonta from January 21 - March 7, 2008.

*Joseph Lappie will have work represented by Allegoric Space gallery from October 11 - 14th at the Bridge Art Fair in London's beautiful Trafalgar Hotel. Also he will have a series of drawings in the Poetry Journal Ocho, tentatively scheduled for October 5th.

*Have information for the bittids section? Openings, anecdotes, interesting shows or sites? Anything really just send it our way at either pulpinkthread@yahoo.com or pepticrobotpress@hotmail.com

That's it for this round. Come back soon where we'll talk more about stuff and stuff. Also I'm sure that there are errors on this blog (hopefully only grammatical) but please feel free to point them out to me. I'll fix them at the quick pace of a turtle. Take care.

Like a Sleepy Phoenix From a Bourbon Bottle

2007-05-03T02:34:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile. What's that you say? It's been awhile since the last post and you missed us like the loss of a thousand puppies? Well don't blame us. We've been busy improving our nunchuck fighting. A very important skill in this mad, mad world. You can now proudly say that you are a part of a premiere group of trained nunchuck book artist's. Take that Philadelphia.

Ahem...

Artist of the Week

Inge Bruggeman

Dear Ol' Pacific Northwesterner Inge, a staple of the west coast print scene did not always live there. Oh no, she went to school and received an MFA in Book Arts at the University of Alabama in the mid-nineties. (which one or two of you will be reminded that we will host an exchange show with them in October) Before that she worked on getting a B.A. in French at the University of California. This is not surprising as the first thing one thinks of when one hears her name is "Boy, that sounds French."

Anywho, in 1992, while working on the coveted M.F.A., she began her own press entitled INK-A! Press (INK-A! = Inge) She started making artist's books, broadsides, and prints like all get out. Hey let's check out a few.

Jack On Jack On King On King (1996)

Untitled (1997)

Simple Harmonic Motion (2001)

What, you think that's all she's got? No way dude. In January of 2000, on a dare from a visiting Tibetan monk whose fascination with wood type nearly equaled his determination to reach enlightment through Welcome Back Kotter episodes*, Bruggeman started up her next endeavor...Textura Letterpress Printing. Textura's big focus is on the magic C, that is to say collaboration and customization or as the west likes to call it Pimpin' Your Press. Alright, alright. We've got us some pictures from there as well.

7 Haiku on Death (2002) Text by Kevin Sampsell (I know this guy and this was my first interaction with her work!)

Days (2002) Text by Hank Lazer

In 2001 she was hired on at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. (formerly Oregon School of Art and Craft) Within a year she gained adjunct status and has been adjusting the minds of potential book artists every day since.

Also for those of you in the know she will be one of the visiting lecturers this Fall for the Book as Art, Book As Structure Tag Team.

Here is her website. http://www.texturaprinting.com/index.html

*certain "facts" in this story may in "fact" be "false". However the moral of the story

is so very true.

Have You Heard About This One?

*Local Papermaking/Printmaking Queen Andrea Peterson on Lead

Guitar and Cowbell

http://www.bookarts.ua.edu/podcast/052707peterson.mp3

*Resident Studio Coordinator Brad Freeman on Drums and Vocals

http://www.bookarts.ua.edu/podcast/011306freeman.mp3

Bonefolder Interview

To continue our faculty extravaganza here is a piece (by former grad Jen Thomas nonetheless) about Melissa Jay Craig's artist's books. (It's lengthy but well worth the biographical content and artistic insight.

The Book Art of Melissa Jay Craig
By Jen Thomas

Melissa Jay Craig is a book artist whose work easily inhabits both the craft-based world of traditional book arts and the sculptural world of fine art. For reasons unknown to most working within the field of book arts, this feat seems difficult to achieve. Her freestanding book objects are easily at home nestled between other artist’s books or displayed as purely sculptural objects on their own. Life-size book forms resembling trees rising up from the ground force viewers to challenge their idea of what a book should look like. Bark becomes spine. Lichens become pages. Trunk becomes book.

Craig’s work has slowly evolved into many different forms over the last 30 years. She began her career as a painter in Cleveland, Ohio after briefly attending Cooper School of Art in the seventies. Though she had developed a small collector base, Craig became disillusioned with painting, realizing that collectors looked straight through her painstaking work, choosing paintings simply because they matched their decor. She began to make assemblages in addition to the painting, and also to implement large-scale outdoor "non-commissioned public works" that were installed in the dead of night around the city of Cleveland, with a group of friends known as the Regional Art Terrorists.

In 1986, she moved to Chicago to study at the School of the Art Institute, where she discovered book arts almost by accident. One semester into her painting degree, Craig began experimenting with book art while looking for an affordable, more democratic way to make art that could easily be distributed to a wider audience. By working with the book form, she could also actively engage the viewer with words, images, and 3-dimensional forms.

Though initially drawn to the democratic and economic nature of the book form, Craig soon became completely absorbed in the expressive potential of the book. Its physical form and the processes needed to create it all fascinated her, but she was particularly enthralled by the potential of the book to communicate and express, as well as contain ideas. She translated themes from her paintings into traditional book forms and then began to experiment by altering existing books. This allowed her to play with words and the action of reading. She soon left the painting department and never looked back.

Craig then began to use the books themselves as objects or building blocks, creating installations with them to actively engage the viewer in the act of reading, as well as in the act of moving and absorbing visual information.

It was during this time at the Art Institute that she studied under Ray Martin and Joan Flasch, both of whom encouraged Craig to explore the creative potential within the book form. Soon her pieces evolved from traditional book structures into stylized book objects. She took these book objects a step further and created an installation titled Library. Without a universally accepted critical definition of book arts, Craig was free to let her ideas materialize without the limitations that painting had previously presented.

Though Craig felt free to experiment with the book form, not all those working within the field of book arts recognized her work as artist’s books. The critic Clive Philpott once derided Craig’s work during his lecture at an artists’ book event at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Craig says, "I had some of my altered books there and he referred to them directly, saying, ‘These are NOT books. They are fetishistic objects.’ Knowing his particular bias, I felt honored to be included in his condemnation. I do make objects. Books are objects. What makes them fetishistic is their inherent resonance, the ability to communicate on a visceral, nonverbal level. So, like the issue of beauty, I can embrace that description; fetishistic objects carry an implicit communicative power. They can be read."

In the years after leaving the Art Institute, Craig’s book forms continued to shift and change, while still remaining "fetishistic objects" and retaining her unmistakable satirical voice. She moved away from installed work to focus on books constructed with found objects. Soon she found herself teaching book arts to a new generation of art students who had never before discovered the form that she had fallen in love with.
Though she had never intended to become a teacher when she began her Master’s program at the Art Institute, in 1991 Barbara Lazarus Metz asked Craig to teach a bookbinding class at Artists’ Book Works and she agreed. After that she was offered many more teaching opportunities and spent the mid-nineties running between classes at Loyola University, Gallery 37, School of the Art Institute, Artists’ Book Works, and the Newberry Library, often all in a single week. She also traveled, teaching workshops at different locations around the country, and managed to continue free-lancing as a set builder for commercial photo and video productions.

Artists’ Book Works was enveloped by Columbia College in 1994, becoming Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Book and Paper Arts, and Craig continued to teach there. She then slowly relinquished all of her far-flung part-time teaching jobs to focus her energy into helping to grow this new Center, first as Exhibitions Coordinator, then part-time faculty, and finally as a full-time Artist-in-Residence, a position she still holds today.

Since joining the Center for Book and Paper, Melissa has created seven courses that are now included in the permanent college curriculum. Her classrooms have become communities in which students can continue to experiment with the book form without limitation and push boundaries in a supportive environment. Her students approach book arts from a variety of disciplines – papermaking, performance, video, sculpture, writing, printmaking, and fine binding – and Craig manages to encourage each of her students to create book and paper art that reflects their personal affinity for these unique and disparate backgrounds. Benjamin Chandler, a former student and educator himself, says, "She has the ability to go to the meaning and heart of what you want to say in your work and help you to say it better. She is enthusiastic about her students’ work." This sentiment was echoed over and over by former students who offered "It is rare to find a teacher who has the degree of deeply heart felt dedication to the success and well being of her students", "Melissa is very generous with herself", and "I loved that she never projected her own agenda or issues onto me, and listened to me fully as my own person and artist." She has also been able to balance being an inspiring teacher and successful working artist simultaneously, a balance that many artist/educators find extremely difficult to achieve. In 2002, Melissa Jay Craig was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at Columbia College, an honor she received by being nominated by both students and fellow faculty.

Though she’s been receiving kudos from former students and faculty for the last several years, Craig has said that it wasn’t easy for her to find a home in academe.

Her artist’s books were considered too sculptural and, well, too wacky for institutions looking for a fine binding instructor or an artist who focused exclusively on multiples.

"I’m difficult to pigeonhole. I’m not exclusively a sculptor, a bookbinder, a papermaker, a printmaker, an installation or collage or assemblage artist, yet I do all those things, without a set hierarchy. I use what I learned as a painter and a carpenter constantly as well, and periodically incorporate my drawing into my work, and I tend to think and solve problems with drawings rather than in words. Book artist is the most convenient term, but it’s one that people like to argue with.

I came into the Interdisciplinary Arts Department’s developing book arts MFA program at Columbia College in 1996, and this unique approach allowed me to embrace teaching as well."

Several years ago, Craig’s approach to book arts changed dramatically after learning that she was losing her hearing. She was shocked at the news and stopped making artwork in order to process it; she needed to mentally prepare herself for a future without sound. Audrey Niffenegger, in an act of faith, invited Craig to create a piece for an exhibition she was curating, on the basis of one of her sketches. Melissa revisited the altered book form, arranging them into the expanding rings of a large tree trunk named DisAfter. This was the beginning of a new phase of work in which her books took on more forms pulled straight from nature. When she finally returned to making art, she began to experiment with kozo, a papermaking fiber that she had never used before. Having no formal training in papermaking, Craig spent her first residency at the Ragdale Foundation the following year to experiment with kozo exclusively. She found that this quiet plant fiber could speak so loudly on its own, taking the place of words in her new pieces. Her new books took the form of trunks, empty shells of books with no pages, no words, to reflect her future world without sound.

As her hearing had slowly deteriorated, Craig had unconsciously learned to read lips to compensate for the lack of sound. "I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing; I read lips so well that I actually believed that I was hearing", she says. When she discovered the extent of her hearing loss, the sudden realization that she had learned a whole new form of reading began to heighten her awareness of other forms of reading. Her books then became more far more tactile, compelling viewers to absorb meaning through the smell or touch of plant fiber and the book’s physical form, instead of the written word strung together in a standard narrative. Craig’s physical limitation seemed to unleash creative possibilities in her new artist’s books.

Craig’s deteriorating hearing also piqued her interest in other forms of entropy occurring in nature. She began to collide the book form with decaying carriers of information found in the environment – seed pods, plants, desiccated tree trunks, and fungi. These often huge sculptural bookworks are at once compelling and repellant, urging viewers to touch, but warning them that nature is fragile and there could be bugs hiding in there! (At least that’s what I always think when I contemplate pulling back one of her brightly colored kozo fungi pages.)

She continued to experiment with kozo, in addition to other plant fibers such as abaca and flax. Craig began molding these fibers onto forms and eventually added color to them with procion dyes. Her tree books grew a host of paper plant life bursting with the color of fungus. She was now thoroughly seduced by paper and eventually acquired her own beater, turning her basement into her own papermaking studio.

Craig brought her paper experimentations into the classroom at Columbia and designed a sculptural paper class. The woman who dropped out of papermaking class within the first week while at the Art Institute and waited ten years to try it again had now fully embraced the medium and was intent on sparking that same enthusiasm in her students. (After writing that sentence I’m reminded of my own grad school beginnings, eye-rolling at the thought of having to make my own paper. Now I work almost exclusively with handmade paper. Do all book artists go through this love/hate relationship with paper?) When I asked her the same question, Craig offered, "It is weird… the material just suited me so well that it demanded that I learn it, and it continues to demand that I keep expanding."

As Craig has expanded her work with paper, her artist’s books have achieved a level of aesthetic beauty that she had almost deliberately avoided in making earlier pieces. Admittedly afraid of making "beautiful" work, Craig struggled with the new natural forms that her books were taking. She feared that viewers would only see the beauty and then move on without further exploring or engaging with her pieces. It is a struggle that most artists deal with – making work that is aesthetically pleasing, yet thought provoking at the same time. She says she has finally embraced making beautiful things, and lost the accompanying uncertainty about how they’ll be perceived.

And for those who are reluctant to call her a book artist, Melissa leaves us this thought, "…Though my art is often called sculpture and often called book art; to me, it is simply my art. It is firmly based in the book, in my fascination with book structures, and in how books function for us; my work would not exist without my strong and multifaceted relationship to books and especially to reading. But in the end, I simply make things that I personally need to see existing in the world." Regardless of what kind of artist she is or isn’t, I’m glad that her pieces exist in this world - whatever anyone chooses to call them.

Jen Thomas is a writer, printmaker, and book artist who lives and works in Chicago. When she’s not constructing three-dimensional board games about renter’s nightmares and painful weddings, she spends her time editioning etchings of trailer parks under her own imprint, Veronica Press. Her writing has appeared in Punk Planet, Afterimage, and Blister Packs - a Love Bunni Press anthology.

For Images of Melissa's work and other great articles check out http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol3no2contents.htm

It's not pop-rock

It's not Pop Rocks

It's Pop-Up Rock

Unfortunately I have not figured out the fine art of posting videos (although the instructions seem fairly simple) So I advise going to youtube and typing in pop-up video . It will be the first one with the song title "OK".

(and how did that band get hold of my nickname?)

special thanks to Loni Diep for finding this

Tidbits and Bittids

- Saint Bartholomew: One of the original 12 apostles turns out to be the main saint of bookbinders. (along with St. Columba, St. Christopher, John the Apostle, and evidently a host of others.) How did he get this title? He was flayed alive by people not so into his message. His image usually depicts him holding his own skin. Way to go bookbinders. Continuing the awkward leather connection since the 1st century c.e.

- Jane Hammond: I went a'visiting Madison, Wisconsin a few weekends ago only to discover a pretty awesome printer/painter who works on mostly (although not exclusively) handmade paper. She also has several artist's books mounted to the wall and in vatrines. Check her out at http://www.janehammondartist.com/

- Jen Thomas is in a group show at the Morpho gallery (5216 N. Damen Ave.) through Sept. 4th go see her etchings.

Have information for the blog? Send it to our email at Pulpinkthread@yahoo.com

Because We Care

2007-04-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

Oh Boy, what a week we have for you. Let's get started with the next installment of what we here at P.I.T. like to call...

Artist of the Week

Julie Chen

<------ I think this is her preparing for an odd masonic ritual.

Unlike last weeks artist, Julie Chen is still alive and kicking. She is the proprieter of Flying Fish Press http://www.flyingfishpress.com/ and an active instructor at Mills College in sunny Oakland, California as well as a teacher of workshops around the nation. (Maybe even the world!!! Also maybe not. I really don't know.)

Flying Fish Press was started in 1987 and while it currently is used solely as an imprint for her own work has, in the past, been known to publish collaborations with artists such as Nance O’Banion, Lois Morrison, and Barb Tetenbaum. That means 20 years as a successful Artist's Books Publisher. (Perhaps supplemented slightly by teaching.)

Chen is known for her high regard to craft, typography, and the book as a three dimensional object that is meant to be viewed sculpturally as well as being handled. (The way any naughty book should be) My understanding (potentially made up) is that she produces approximately one-two books a year in an edition of anywhere from 10 to 150. (Although it appears to have a pretty hefty average of 100.)

The "Spark" (don't ask) has this to say about her "Chen works like a conceptual artist, allowing an idea to determine its form and content. Her book forms reflect the variety of concepts that fascinate her, including language, history, memory and time. Every element -- structure, shape, color, material -- is in symbiotic relationship with the concept. To read one of Chen's books is to engage with a complete, discrete experience that is simultaneously literary and sculptural."

Like before here are some images of her books.

The Veil (2001)

Personal Paradigm (2004)

Leavings (1997)

Full Circle (2006)

For a detailed description of the content of these and most of her other books please check out the website link above and head to the Gallery page.

*note* despite popular belief this is not the host of the popular "Big Brother" series. Sorry everybody.

Hey Have You Heard This?

Young Master Meador doing what he does best.
http://www.bookarts.ua.edu/podcast/011406meador.mp3

P.I.T. Won Some Awards

Seriously, we just found out that we won "Best New Student Organization" and "Most Productive Organization" It was a surprise and we are really honored. It is great to be recognized by others for our hard work. So good job every last one of you. Without everybody's support this would not have happened.

So now you may be asking yourself "Self? What did we win?" Ooooooooohhhhh let me show you the prizes.

Award for Most Active Student Organization (Leadership is usually in brilliant gold - i guess gold does not translate on my scanner)

Award for Most Outstanding New Student Organization (again with the lack of gold flavor)

Young Captain Tommy models our awarding winning size small Columbia College Chicago T-Shirt and psychodelic senior year picture background

Spaghetti shows what's it like to be so write and so wrong with our fancy Student Leadership Recognition Pen

Spaghetti reading our prize book - Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven - (first off this is a weird prize, secondly there is no mention of Natalie Portman in the book so it is false advertising, and thirdly Spaghetti looooooooooooooooved it!)

Congratulations again to everyone for this unexpected and fairly exciting achievement.

(additional note) I've been thinking about this and I think the shirt represents pulp, the pen represents ink, and the book stands for thread. how about that, huh? how about that?

Other TidBits

- This weekend Liz Wolf and Jill Lanza will have their editions showcased at the Powell's booth at Art Chicago in the Merchandise Mart.

- Joseph Lappie has a suite of prints and a book represented at the AI gallery (booth 8) and Alumna Aimee Lee has work on display at the Orleans Street Gallery (unknown booth #) at the Bridge Art Fair in the building directly next door to the Merchandise Mart.

- Thesis Opening is this Friday. Pictures to follow.

- We are trying to compile a list of Grad, Alum, Faculty, Staff Websites. If you have one send it to us at pulpinkthread@yahoo.com

Until next time, sleep well little kiddies.

Death, Life, It's a cycle of Rebirth Folks

2007-04-17T01:27:00.000-05:00

That's right ladies and gents it is time for the P.I.T. week in review. Lets begin with an exciting weekly installment we like to call...

Artist of the Week

Sol Lewitt

09/09/1928 - 04/08/2007

Sol Lewitt was one of the go-to artist's when one wanted to talk about conceptual art, minimalism, or early postmodernism. He liked drawing simple geometric shapes, particularly squares and cubes, and had a penchant for linework. Some of you may know him as the guy who would draw up a simple repeatable schematic for large wall drawings and then have others, interns, museum workers, day-painters, your mom take over and draw the piece. Sometimes those drawings would accidentily get damaged and then the museum would call him up and tell him what happened. No worries though, he usually just said "Well, get someone to draw a new one." Usually they got it in writing. It should be said that he felt that he was a composer and the workers his orchestra.

We know him also as a book artist. It's funny because many of the eulogies or life biographies that I have looked up have failed to mention him as an earlier creator of contemporary American Artist's Books. He was also on of the founders of Printed Matter in New York.

Lewitt made approximately 64 books in his lifetime 57 of those before 1990. That's quite a few books so it is surprising the lack of mention they have received when people sum up his life's work. He was quoted as saying "The serial artist does not attempt to produce a beautiful or mysterious object, but functions merely as a clerk cataloguing the results of a premise." Not necessarily something I would agree with, but he was a conceptualist you know.

For a description of some of his books please go to http://www.vrc.dundee.ac.uk/CAB/PDF/Sol_Le_Witt_essay.pdf

and for one of many obits:

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/obituary/0,,2053745,00.html

I'll leave you with some images.

images from Autobiography (1980)

Fifteen etchings: Straight Lines and Four Directions and all Their Possible Combinations (1973)

The man is nothing if he isn't honest about his titles.

The Queen Is Dead, Long Live the Queen:

After an incredibly successful first year it is time for a new executive commitee. Effective as of the summer our new Pulp, Ink & Thread representatives are:

President: Lauren DeBeau

Vice President: Amy Jacobs

Secretary: Kenneth Gerleve

Treasurer: Former Vice President Stephen the Desantis

SOC Rep: Brandy LaChapelle

Alt SOC Rep: Sara Andrews.

Congratulations to these fine young soldiers of art.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this first year so incredibly successful. It was completely a group effort and everyone should be patting each other on the back. With the exception of Brandon who I do believe a few of you have a 15 foot restraining order on.

Other News:

-Bill and Vickie from Vamp & Tramp stopped by on Friday to do critiques and to talk about their traveling experiences and collection expertise. Unfortumately I was unable to make it (due to a golfball migraine behind the eye) so if anyone wants to comment on this please feel free.

-Unfortunately the June gallery show at AllRise Gallery has been cancelled due to unexpected costs. I humbly apologize for this and am taking quick steps to get a replacement gallery as soon as possible.

-Lessons in Learning: Art and Education from the Artist's Book Collection is a show currently exhibiting at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Evidently the head curator of the Artist's Book Collection doesn't like what we do here, but that is no reason for us not to go see some of the earlier examples of American Artist's Books. I'm sure there is lots of Ed Ruscha.

-Like Prints? You have got to check out the Glore Print Study Room at the Art Institute. It is amazing. They also have a selection of books, but I'd go there just for the Paula Rego.

Signing Off...Until next time we always remain P.I.T.

One Half Of One Third Part Deux

2007-04-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

Because you demanded it here is One Half Of One Third Part Two featuring Renee Bair, Mark Moroney, Lani Shembrimai Schuster, and Zeke Williams. This show runs from Middle of March through the middle of April.

The opening case with Lani Shembrimai Schuster, Zeke Williams, and Renee Bair

The Selling Shot: Bair books in the foreground with Moroney prints looking on approvingly in the back

A really awful picture proving that framing is important. Notice my inadvertant focus on the empty space. If you can get past that there are two Penee Bair prints, Two paper pieces by Lani Shembrimai Schuster, and just a hint of a Mark Moroney broadside. I cropped it because if you had seen any more it would have blown your mind.

Zeke Williams all askew.

A closer look at Mark Moroney's prints (and paper sample)

Another selling shot. (really it is the fire extinguisher that makes it worth it)

The quadratic cases return

tip toe shot

Lani Shembrimai Schuster's abaca vessels

a book by Renee Bair, A book by Renee Bair, a book by Renee Bair, and a book by Renee Bair. Oh and widgets also by Renee Bair

The Lani Shembrimai case

A bit of Mark Moroney

The long hall strikes again

That's all for now. Come back soon.

2007-04-05T22:34:00.000-05:00

Our very first non-center based Chicago group show. Our host for the month was the lovely Vespine Gallery and I want to say that this was a near full student-body show. Also I feel that it was the best attended group show that I have ever participated in.

plus edamame...and whiskey.

the details.

A Few Things You Should Know - an exhibit with artist's books, book art, and fiber art.

Vespine Gallery March 1st thru the 31st.

East<--->Midwest, the battle continues

2007-04-05T01:35:00.000-05:00

Yep, finally something none of you have seen before. The fabled second-half of the exchange show. This took place at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a school gallery called 633. Very cryptic and alluring to be sure. Alright, alright it's the name of the room, but I think you'll agree that it shaped up into a fine looking gallery with all of our stuff hanging out in it.

So without further dawdling or digressive asides we present to you East <---> Mideast (The East Years)

A tent featuring (l to r) jill lanza, lisa swiltalski, and renee bair ( cursed fluorescent light why do you hex poor jill with your shininess and abnormally straight posture?)
(f to b) kirstin demer, some weirdo, some weirdo and brandon graham collaboration, lauren debeau, and i don't know...i'm very sorry)
liz wolf and robert possehl (on wall) and a really intense show down between two tents.

drew matott and a lovely (i'm sure) description of the the show.
(l to r) drew mattot, erin cramer, stephen desantis, the entire 1st year letterpress class (last year so technically the second years of this year being 2007 although only the 1st half of 2007 because the second half would make them 3rd years) and jenny kim...you'll also notice the return of mr. posture aka. the fluorescent light
(l to r) from another angle jenny kim, stephen desantis, the entire 1st year letterpress class (last year so technically the second years of this year being 2007 although only the 1st half of 2007 because the second half would make them 3rd years...again), erin cramer, and drew matott. ok, now someone is just being a photo hog. i think we know who i'm talking about.
marion runk and some dangerous looking edges.
fluorescenttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! trying to hone in on lani shembrimai schuster's wing (a wing that found it hard to fly home, but that's another story and shall be told another time.)

hey everyone! book lookin'
posed? i don't know, there seems to be an awful lot of thoughtfulness going on.
i heard that guy read stephen's entire book, oh and that lady stood there until he was done.
there's mark moroney's print in the background

So there you have it. proof that the show was not an elaborate ploy to get dna samples off as many students as possible in the hopes of creating a clone army, but in fact a very successful first exchange show.

Tune in next time faithful viewers for more pertinent rambles.

(As a quick note, I belief the unidentified book featured near the beginning

of the series may have been joseph lappie's. The bland style seems to befit him. Ha! Take that lappie!!)

East <---> Midwest

2007-04-03T23:05:00.000-05:00

so here it is, our first attempt at an exchange show as seen through the eyes of us. we threw out all the stops on this...cookies, carrot sticks, fruit platter. the opening was also pleasant because it allowed for us to touch the books, fondly caressing their handmadeness, rubbing them ever so gently across our rosy winter red face cheeks.

East <---> Midwest

an art exchange between University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

and the Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts Program at Columbia College Chicago

i don't have the UA artist's names on me right now so if anyone has questions please feel free to ask your nearest P.I.T. representitive.

a vitrine full of goodness
you guessed it...another vitrine full of goodness
wall case with books, broadsides, and little tough man drawings
the long hallway
the quadratic cases
offset, letterpress, photo, and handwritten all in one
magnetic book in the middle (personal favorite)

postcards and a dapper shadow
quadratic cases but from their movie star side
the "untouchable" case
the corner is sharp

15 bookmarks (only 13 shown)

This is a great beginning to what hopefully becomes an annual event. Part of the reason the gallery was started was to have a space where we could not only showcase our work, but also have opportunites to get to know other programs. Within the year we hope to have exchange shows with University of Alabama and the University of Arizona. (We're going for the A states)

Until tomorrow.

"One Half of One Third" part one or "How I Learned To Install a Wall Case"

2007-04-03T00:03:00.000-05:00

The second show brought us a little thing i like to call "One Half of One Third Part One."

This is a partial show of the third year MFA IB&PA students (Jen Blair, Jenny Kim, Rebecca Rakstad, Lisa Switalski)

This show took us through November and December. It also provided us with two additional vitrines and the quite snazzy looking third wall case.

lisa switalski

jen blair and lisa switalski

wall o' rebecca rakstad

long shot

power vitrine (jenny kim, lisa switalski, rebecca rakstad)

jen blair to the right and upper left, rebecca rakstad to the lower left

a random picture of a press and hallway

sweet!

it's all lisa switalski

jenny kim

onward and upward.

"Finally Joseph Gets His Act Together" Or "Faculty Pics"

2007-04-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

The Galley opens to a grand beginning. Many faculty and staff members were kind enough to help us out by submitting work for the inaugural show. This took place in October and was a little bare-bones, but would help get another wall-case and vitrine...plus two awesome signs

Melissa Jay Craig "the hammer", Andrea "Paddy O'Reilly" Peterson, and

Brad "Fuzzy Wuzzy" Freeman

Andrea "Paddy O'Reilly" Peterson and Anita "Hey There" Garza

Clifton "that's dude with a small seriphed d" Meador, Andrea "Paddy O'Reilly" Peterson,

and Anita "Hey There" Garza

Two Wall Panels

Different view of Melissa Jay Craig "the hammer",

Andrea "Paddy O'Reilly" Peterson, and Brad"FuzzyWuzzy" Freeman

Melissa Jay Craig "the hammer" and Marilynn "Socks Off" Sward

Mary "Kickin'" Kennedy, Bill "Dandelion" Drendel

and Melissa Jay Craig "the hammer"

All works by Bill "Dandelion" Drendel

Thanks to everyone for their patience and humor while I figure out what the hell I am doing.

December Update

2006-12-08T12:52:00.000-06:00

– The Holiday funraising sale was an overwhelming
success! With total sales of $2172 and $1600 of that
going directly back to students for their work that
was sold, it was one of the top ten student
fundraising sales at Columbia.

– Including the few dollars we had left from the fall,
additional matching funds for raising money, and next
semester's standard budget funding from SOC, we will
start the Spring semester with a balance of about
$1350. How should we spend it?

– The Spray Booth has arrived! Brad is working towards
getting it into the basement sink room, assembled and
ventilation connected in time for the new semester.

– Don't forget tonights Visual Environments opening
and tomorrow PIT meeting at 4 pm with food, drink and
talk by Stephen Asma.

– Columbia College is holding an auction of student
work next Friday to benefit scholarship funds. If you
have work that you might be interested in donating,
contact Vanessa at vtorez@colum.edu BY TOMORROW and
she will give you the details.

– make sure to be in touch with Joseph bey December 15
about submitting work for the University Arts exchange
show.

Fundraising Sale

2006-11-05T09:04:00.000-06:00

The Fundraising Sale dates have been changed slightly:
instead of November 27 - December 1 (Monday - Friday),
the NEW dates are November 28 - December 1 (Tuesday -
Friday).

At next Friday's PIT meeting (4:00 in the new
classroom) we will finalize all the details for
submitting your work for sale, volunteering to work at
the tables, and volunteering to hang advertising
posters.

Loni D. still needs more volunteers to help her bake
November 17 - 20 --- talk to her soon for details.

Welcome to Pulp, Ink & Thread

2006-11-04T15:14:00.000-06:00

We are so glad you visitied check out all that goes on in the world of Book and Paper.