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BAL Scrapbook 2001 -2 |
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•The loss of friend of printing, and a friend of printers. •The Vandercook 219 gets a cleanup.
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 East meets WestON SATURDAY, October 6, 2001, the Book Arts League held a papermaking The class was well attended but small enough that everyone had plenty of time at the vats. All the participants came away with half-size and full-size sheets of beige paper made from the kozo fibers, as well as blue-dyed paper and blue-dyed envelopes. A highlight of the day was the rare opportunity to carelessly fling around the word "couching" (pronounced "kooching") a technical papermaking term. --Christine Hurley
TOP: Instructor Betsy Dollar arranges a newly-formed sheet for drying. BOTTOM: (L-R) Betsy Dollar, Emily Epstein, Richard Hurley, Christine Hurley, Ann Marie Fleming and Robin Lacey examine the kozo they will use to make paper. Photos: Jeff Becker
A DISPLAY of varied work by Book Arts League members plus miniature presses and tools of "the black art" captured attention at the Boulder Public Library's Meadows Branch throughout August, 2001. Featuring works as varied as a long garland of printed prayer flags, carousel books, broadsides, and items from the Ephemera Exchange, the exhibit was installed by Kay Moller in a tall glass display case just inside the library entrance. With glass on two opposite sides, the case invited looking through the display as well as detailed viewing from both sides. It was well received by library staff, and produced enquiries about the League from the public. The League has produced similar exhibits for Norlin Library, BPL Main Branch, and the Lafayette Public Library.
IT WAS INTENSE! And in tents! The temperature, and the Lafayette Art Fair, respectively, that is. Book Arts League members braved 90 degree plus temperatures to share space with other arts and crafts exhibitors under canvas on Saturday, June 30, 2001. With bands playing nearby and bicycle racers whizzing around Lafayette streets in a criterium, downtown Lafayette took on something of a circus atmosphere. Tom Parson brought a tightly-packed carload of presses, cuts, and printed items in support of the League's display. As is often the case, the presses, a Pilot press and a small proof press, proved popular, allowing the public a chance to interact with the exhibit by printing keepsake items for themselves. And as is also not unusual, there was the one kid who was completely mesmerized by this oldfangled technology. One 9 year-old whose parents were also exhibitors at the fair gave Tom's proof press such a workout that by the end of the day he was peddling his creations around the tent for quarters.
Above: Ben Franklin? No, that's Tom Parson with his trusty Pilot press, and a potential apprentice. Left: An enthusiastic young printer shows off his work. Photos: Kay Moller.
POP-UPS, those playful papercraft constructions that bring animation to the printed image, were explored in an introductory class led by Kay Moller. Nine people joined Kay at the Lafayette Art Center, May, 2001, to cut, paste and improvise. “I loved the variety,” said one participant following the class, “from Christene’s elegant botanical card to Nan’s flying head of Rob. I also liked the way we each did as much as we could; some did more complex pop-ups or added to the basic design.” |
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class at the Art Center in the Lafayette Public Library. The paper was made from the boiled fibers of a Thai kozo plant (related to the mulberry bush), which the group beat and mashed. The papermaking techniques, taught by instructor Betsy Dollar, were a mixture of Eastern and Western methods.
The League's exhibit was organized by Kay Moller and tended by Julie Seko and Emily Epstein who stayed all day; Nana Mizushima, Nan Wigington and Rob Slentz, Earl Noe, and Louise Padden and Evert Brown, who also lent tables.