BOOKWORKS XV — CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Cincinnati Book Arts Society (CBAS) invites you to participate in its fifteenth annual exhibit to be held at the Main Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Bookworks XV will open on June 10, 2014, and run through September 7, 2014.

CBAS is seeking handmade, hand bound, unique and small edition artists' books, fine bindings and sculptural books, to portray a diverse and representational showing of the region's book arts. Bookworks XV is open to all CBAS members and non-member artists. CBAS makes every effort to include all submissions in the show. A digital catalog will be produced to accompany the exhibit.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: APRIL 21, 2014

To submit work send:

• Two (2) copies of the completed entry form,
• Your entry fee, and
• Your book(s) to

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Genealogy & Local History Dept.

Attn: Jeanne Strauss-De Groote

800 Vine Street

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2071

If you (right) click on the Entry Form below and save it as a jpeg, you can print it out full size.

Books may be mailed or hand-delivered. You will receive an email confirmation that your work was received. Please DO NOT call the Library directly with any questions or concerns. All questions should be directed to CBAS at cbasinformation@gmail.com

Thank you for your interest and participation in Bookworks XV. CBAS appreciates your support and will be in touch regarding opportunities for artist tours of the exhibit.

Disclaimer: The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton Country is not responsible for any items loaned for exhibit. Any materials left at the Library more than four weeks after the exhibit closes may be disposed of by the Library. The Library is not responsible for theft or damage to items, nor does it carry insurance on exhibited items; insurance is the sole responsibility of the lender.

Note: Submission of Entry Form gives CBAS permission to photograph exhibited work for use in CBAS promotional publications and events.

Busy Hands, Talking Heads

On Saturday, February 8, the CBAS Study Group took on our most challenging book project to date—binding the exquisite corpse book TALKING HEADS. This collaborative effort was inspired by a visit to the Vent Haven Museum in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. (See blog posts of 6/9/13 and 9/23/13.) Sixteen images and verses provided by members had been cut into three sections and then were assembled by members in this workshop.

Collage of images that appear in our book

A huge THANK YOU to Janice Kagermeier for the months of work in editing, planning, making prototypes, getting the printing done and problem solving with assistance from Margaret Rhein, Lou Kroner and Jo Diamantes.

To take a look at our book making process:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperpeg/sets/72157640752665504# 

Mark Your Calendars for BW XV

It's time to start planning for your 2014 Bookworks XV entries! If your creativity hasn't frozen solid in this cold weather, use it to come up with one or two great ideas and then get busy turning them into amazing books. Our annual exhibition at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County features work by CBAS members and non-members.

Artist Walk-through, June 2013

Please put these reminders on your calendar:

April 21—deadline for entries

June 10—Bookworks XV opens

June 22—Artist walk-through, 2:00 p.m.

July 27—Bookmaking demo in Library atrium

August 3—Artist walk-through, 2:00 p.m.

September 7—Bookworks XV closes

Check back for more details and for the official Call for Entries coming soon.

Ida Martin Visits City Hall

Congratulations to Judith Serling-Sturm, CBAS board member, for the installation of her book Ida Martin in the office of Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann. Judith was alerted through the Pendleton Art Center that "Cincinnati-inspired" artwork was being sought to rotate in and out of city offices. What a perfect opportunity to place her recently completed piece.

Judith Serling-Sturm's Ida Martin

Before Nicholas Longworth planted his vineyards on the hillside of Mt. Adams and before it became the home of the first professionally outfitted observatory in the country, local history claims Ida Martin was this area's earliest resident. She worked as a laundress, taking care of the needs of residents stationed at Fort Washington, built in 1789 at the base of the hill. It has also been reported that Ida had an unusual house—a very old sycamore tree! In fact, Mt. Adams was called Mt. Ida until former US President John Quincy Adams visited the observatory in 1843.

Judith thoughtfully constructed her book of water-colored sheets of paper interleafed with hanging pieces of "boy and girl" fabric scraps. As Judith says, Ida was a "woman who spent much of her time with her hands in a bucket of suds." The pages are joined with a blanket stitch and attached to the hollow of a large piece of tree bark. An accompanying 4-stanza poem by Judith runs through the book and takes its spark from the children's rhyme, "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe."

There once was a woman

Who lived in a tree

High on a hilltop

In Cincinnati.

A laundress by trade,

She washed all the clothes

Of all the brave soldiers

In the fortress below. 

She stripped off their topcoats,

Removed pantaloons,

And she scrubbed dirt and blood

And she tended their wounds.

Now homes crowd the hilltop

The fort—history,

And more word of the laundress

Remains mystery.

MAKING TRANSFERS

The new year got off to a great start for CBAS Study Group on January 11 as a dozen members learned the art of making transfer prints from photocopies. Longtime Art Academy of Cincinnati printmaking instructor April Foster was a wonderful guide through the process.

April mixing ink.

April first demonstrated the steps of mixing ink until the right color, transparency and viscosity are reached, then preparing the photocopy for accepting ink, and finally running the treated original and receiving paper through the press.

Rubbing the photocopy with gum arabic so the ink adheres to the image.

Lightly rolling the specially mixed ink onto the prepared photocopy.

The enthusiastic and well prepared participants then went to their own carefully organized work stations to follow April's instructions and begin making their own prints. Images members brought to work from ranged from vintage family photos to elements found in nature to architectural designs to pet portraits, and everyone had the opportunity to experiment with the process. Excitement mounted when we gathered around the presses to watch participants lift the corners of their papers to reveal the newly created prints.

Tah-dah! A first-time printmaker's first prints are revealed.

For those who want to pursue their printmaking, April encouraged membership in Tiger Lily Press (TLP), which offers a variety of classes and opportunities for members to sign up for open studio and use of the TLP presses. Check them out at http://tigerlilypress.org

Many thanks to April for sharing her expertise and enthusiasm for a kind of printmaking that has myriad applications for bookmakers.

April, the perfect guide for our experiments, answers a Study Group member's question.

 __________________________________

Thanks to Janice K., Study Group Coordinator, for images and a wonderful report on this event.

vintage postcard

CBAS member Diane Stemper alerted us again after she received this info below from Peter Verheyen (Philobiblon). She recommends it for a chuckle. Good cartoon about how one might better market print media with some choice descriptions.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/30/opinion/30opart-handy-interactive.html

CBAS is gearing up for a great 2014. Keep checking our blog!

Check out this article!

CBAS member Diane Stemper sent us this link to a recent New York Times article. As we already know, artists' books are alive and well. Still, it's great to see coverage in the media.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/nyregion/printed-books-are-alive-and-sometimes-weird.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131115&tntemail0=y

 Happy Holidays to one and all from CBAS!