May Study Group Explores Collaboration

A dozen Study Group members gathered at the Art Academy on May 11 to begin exploring the idea of doing a collaborative book, a project we hope to complete this fall. Guest speaker Jan Thomas, coordinator of the WomenWorkBook Collaborative at Art 4 Artists, began the meeting with an overview of that group effort: how it was organized, some of the challenges, the heightened sense of community the collaboration fostered, and the unanticipated outgrowths that took the project into the wider community. We were able to examine some of the books participants created, and I'm sure this writer was not the only one who wished we had had more time to look at the wonderfully imaginative creations more closely. Many thanks to Jan for sharing her time and expertise with us, especially since she had a solo show opening that night!

Jan's presentation was a great lead-in to a discussion of our own upcoming project. On June 8, CBAS will be taking a field trip to the Vent Haven Museum in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. Vent Haven calls itself "the world's only museum dedicated to the art of ventriloquism," and has a fascinating collection of ventriloquists' dummies and other props, dating from as early as 1910. Using the field trip as our inspiration, our plan is to create a collaborative book using the exquisite corpse format in which several artists contribute to create a single collective image. Peg Rhein will be leading a session in September guiding us in compiling the finished books.

To get us into the spirit of things, Study Group Coordinator Janice Kagermeier led the group in  working together to make some quick exquisite corpse images, encouraging everyone to have fun, enjoy the process and not concentrate on making serious works of art. What a great gallery of images emerged.

If this is the result of an hour's worth of work, just imagine what our collaborative books will look like!

Thanks to Janice K. for this report and images.

Pop-Up Book Weekend with Paul Johnson

The Cincinnati Book Arts Society presents 

Visiting Artist Paul Johnson

internationally known English book artist, 
children's literacy advocate and paper engineer

Free Lecture

Friday, June 28, 7:30 p.m., Auditorium, Art Academy of Cincinnati, 1212 Jackson St. 

Watch Paul Johnson pull a library's worth of pop-up books—many his own, others made by British schoolchildren—from a single suitcase! He will talk about the endless power of the book as an aesthetic, architectural form and its special fascination for children of all ages.

2-Day Workshop

Saturday & Sunday, June 29 & 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Art Academy of Cincinnati

The Book as Architecture: Make a gazebo using Paul Johnson's special technique inspired by architecture. No folds and therefore no paper fatigue. Learn to fasten sections together using a range of paper hinges, locks and dovetail joints.

Spirit House (pictured here): Make a 3D pop-up spirit house from paper with no folds, inspired by the spirit houses of Southeast Asia. Learn to make hinges and dovetail joints so the whole structure (over 30 separate parts) folds flat!

Workshop registration required. $150 covers 2-day workshop and includes all material fees. Brown bag lunch. Reservations will be honored in the order received (no phone or email reservations). All details, including cancellation policy, are on the registration form below. Click on the form, save it as a jpeg and print it out full size.

**Deadline for reservations June 14**

Paul Johnson has an international reputation for his pioneering work in developing literacy through the book arts. He is author of over fifteen titles including A Book of One's Own, Literacy Through the Book Arts and Pictures and Words Together (all published by Heinemann, USA.) Recent teaching tours include Sweden, South Korea and Thailand, and he regularly teaches in the USA.