Gaspereau Press October 2024 Wayzgoose

Saturday Oct 26th was a lovely day for a drive to the valley to take in the autumn colours, the pumpkins and Gaspereau Press Wayzgoose (OK - the drive had a few glitches with highway construction on Hwy 101 & lots of traffic on Hwy 1, but other than that, it was a nice drive).

Gaspereau Press in Kentville had a open house day to see presentations and demonstrations, to try your hand at pamphlet bookbinding and small print items, and to pick up a few print samples. One of my favourite parts is a chance to grab a handful (or two) of off-cuts for $5, and of course, run into friends I've met through NSBAG.

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Submitted by Heather Loney

Nocturne 2024

Macro to Micro Bookbinding Blast!

What a wonderful idea.

Wow... I didn’t know these skills still existed!

What... you are cutting up a book? An encyclopedia?!

These were just a few comments from folk who dropped by the Nova Scotia Book Arts location during Halifax's Nocturne: Art at Night Festival 2024.

This year's theme was "Microcosm." Dozens of artists across the city responded with a wealth of illustrations and ideas about being part of the Microcosm that is Halifax/Kjipuktuk. Spaces were opened for conversations and connections about the microcosm to the cosmos and back.


The Nova Scotia Book Arts Group members completely dismantled a gigantic, 1000-page, illustrated Oxford Dictionary and using many of their skills, techniques and creativity, constructed hundreds of small books to give away to visitors. From the macro to micro volumes.

At peak production, there were eight people making books simultaneoulsy. By the end of the night, approximately 275 small books were made. Nearly all were claimed by Nocturne visitors.


There was all sorts of lively chat - the 'art' of the book; books vs devices; how/where we retain vessels of knowledge; repair and preservation... and... just what constitutes a book anyway?! How are these questions all 'bound' together?

Book enthusiasts, artists, a poet, parents and youngsters, a four-footed friend, the curious, the indifferent, potential future book binders. Each offered a unique take on 'all things bookish.' Visitors left carrying a mini volume as well as their own individual stories. All part of the microcosm.


If the exchanges and enthusiasm from the evening were any indication... the love of books is alive and well and a thriving component of the microcosm of Halifax/Kjipuktuk.


Thank you to everyone involved!

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Submitted by Sally Crawford

Fall Open Studio

To start off our new season, we had a casual open studio gathering at MyHandboundBooks Studio in Halifax since we were unable to have our previously scheduled guest speaker at the library. We'll definitely reschedule that for another time!

Instead, it was a simple drop-in event with tea and cookies and the option to make a couple of simple take-aways: book marks and buttons! The Kwikprint was set up to do some gold foil printing on bookmarks. We also had a button press on hand to make a few pin-backs.

It was good to have a chat with those of you who were able to come!

Susan Mills
Field Books: birds, buoys, seeding, rain

August 10 to September 1, 2024
Hermes Gallery

Showing now at Hermes Gallery in Halifax is an exhibit featuring the work of Susan Mills. Curator Barbara Louder writes, "Artist and poet Susan Mills activates the gallery with four new works installed directly on the walls, inviting our (gentle) touch. Patterned with colours and words, the books offer a highly sensual appreciation of visual, haptic, aural and olfactory experiences. This is a sensitive and specific creative practice. Mills' papers, fibres, inks, pigments, words, memories and observations come from specific places." Susan Mills works entirely in book form and focuses on one-of-a-kind books, chapbooks, and small editions. Her work reflects the environments in which she lives and works, including both the seaside communities in Nova Scotia and the farmlands of Saskatchewan. Both are evident in this exhibit. Upon entering the gallery, one is met with the colourful notebooks that reference brightly painted fishing buoys with the opposite wall portraying her pages of marks which invoke the broad fields of the prairies. Hermes Gallery is located at 5682 North Street in Halifax and is open Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays from 12 to 6. Susan Mills will be available at the gallery on Sundays if you would like to speak with her about her work.

Visit Susan's website www.susanmillsartistbooks.com or her Instagram account to see videos and photos of her work.

Kindred Spirits Bookbinding Exhibit

The Canadian Bookbinder's and Book Artist's Guild (CBBAG) recently launched their newest juried exhibit of handmade books. For this exhibit, all the work is inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the woman and her work, to recognize the 150th anniversary of her birth.

The exhibit opened last month in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, alongside the Montgomery conference and the book launch of a new edition of The Blue Castle. The exhibit in Charlottetown continues until August 23, 2024.

The exhibit includes an impressive array of works by 30 members of CBBAG from all across Canada. Likewise, the exhibit will travel across Canada to be shown at several galleries over the next two years. The current exhibition schedule can be found on their website (www.kindred-spirits-bookarts.com) with additional dates and locations to be added in the future.

The exhibition website also includes photos of each of the books, including two made by NSBAG member Rhonda Miller.

Rhonda's full leather rebinding of her mother's 1956 copy of Anne of Green Gables and an artist's book featuring a quote with original watercolour and ink drawings, each with original marbling and custom enclosures.

From the Kindred Spirits website, you can also download and print pages to make a small booklet inspired by Montgomery's scrapbooks. The downloadable files and instructions are available here. A hands-on session was held when the Charlottetown exhibit began, allowing members of the public to make their own copy of this little booklet and similar sessions will be held at other locations as the exhibit travels across the country. Shown here, Rhonda Miller assists with the booklet-making session in Charlottetown last month. A summary of the exhibition's opening events is available here.

Our first card exchange

A group of our members agreed to participate in a card exchange! Everyone was asked to make an edition of 11 handmade cards so that each participant would have a full set, i.e. one card made by each participant. Folks were encouraged to make anything they fancied using their array of book and paper arts skills. The results were wonderful and wide-ranging.

As shown below, the final cards included many techniques such as origami, pop-ups, collage, flexagons, fancy folds, and lino prints. Most participants created an edition of cards that were all the same; however, some participants made 11 entirely different cards and in those cases only a few of their cards are shown here.

	Emily Brown An edition of cards made using a hand-carved lino block print with added watercolour and ink.
	Jessie Bruce A set of cards each with a unique layout featuring a combination of illustration and collage.
	Larry Colwell An edition featuring the Turkish map fold made with a hardcover case for the outer card.
	Sally Crawford A set of cards featuring original eco printed botanical papers.
	Barb Dugas A variety of cards made with combinations of collage, stamping, and folding.
	Alaina Harper An edition of cards featuring a bedazzled pop-up Christmas tree.
	Heather Loney An edition of cards featuring handcut roses on the front and pop-up roses inside with origami leaves.
	Rhonda Miller An edition of flexagon cards printed with a quote from Joni Mitchell's song The Circle Game, with gold foil lettering and rubber stamp patterns.
	Stephanie Morley An edition of letterpress cards printed on her Craftsman Superior tabletop press, featuring a line from Benjamin Franklin's Aplogy for Printers, 1731.
	Odyssean Press An edition of cards featuring 'The Magician,' an original relief print, hand-carved and printed as an edition of 11.
	Marilynn Rudi Origami kite cards collaged with string and cloud prints. Each card also has a coordinating envelope.
	Rhynn Winstead An edition of cards featuring an original daffodil lino print on handmade paper.

Postcrossing and Mail Art

At our meeting this week, Marilynn Rudi gave a lovely presentation about her involvement with the Postcrossing project and how, for her, that has extended into the realm of other paper arts like mail art and collage. She explained how she got involved and how it all works and probably sparked some interest in a few of our members! Postcrossing is free and open to anyone who enjoys sending and receiving mail.

Marilynn joined Postcrossing a couple of years ago and has sent and received over 200 postcards. She has received postcards from about 40 countries. Also, Marilynn has since become further involved with other mail exchanges that include elaborate mail art featuring collage, hand lettering, painting, and other elements. Many examples of her postcards and mail art were on hand for members to admire. Thank you, Marilynn, for sharing with us!

"Book Club" exhibit at Hermes Gallery

For the past few weeks, the Nova Scotia Book Arts Group has been involved in its first gallery show, as part of the Book Club exhibit at Hermes Gallery in Halifax. The show included book and text themed works by several members of the gallery and NSBAG was invited to contribute a selection of handbound books to be part of the exhibition as well. The exhibit closes on April 21 at 6pm, so there are a few days left if you want to go!

Our members contributed thirteen handbound books showcasing a wide range of binding techniques and materials, as shown below. As well, we were able to publicly exhibit the Community Art Journal that we made last year so members of the public could see the finished book.

	Deborah Maurer Leather Journal Hand-dyed and painted leather with linocut printed skull image. Bound using a crossed structure binding technique. You can find Deborah on Instagram: @debmaureroriginals.
	Larry Colwell Double Accordion Two blank accordion books bound together with a hardcover case enclosure. Full cloth covering with debossed cover design.
	Marilynn Rudi Handbound Journal Hardcover accordion structure with spine reinforcement and button closure. Full cloth covering and original marbled paper paste-downs inside.
	Heather Loney Hand-cut Treescape Original artwork and paper cutting. Hardcover binding using a case binding technique. You can see more of Heather's work on Instagram: @hkeloney.
	Odyssean Press "Untitled (melancholia)" Modified casebound album binding with letterpress poetry. These two artist books explore the wilds of the mind as if they were a stormy sea. Poetic fragments are printed on top of previous layers, obscuring or highlighting certain words to both hide from the viewer and invite closer reflection. See more on Instagram: @odysseanpress
	Ariel Bissett Handbound Journal Hardcover journal with exposed chain stitch binding. Bookcloth spine and corners with original marbled paper. You can find Ariel on Instagram: @arielbissett
	Stephanie Morley Medieval Binding Cutaway A cutaway binding demonstrates the book construction by exposing the binding process. This is an example of a Gothic binding sewn on raised cords with sewn endbands. Spalted beech boards shaped by hand, linen cords laced in & pegged. Spine partially covered in leather. Rawhide strap closure with hand-shaped brass clasp. Handmade paper, handspun linen cords & thread, made by the binder. Deerhide tanned by the binder. Stephanie is on Instagram: @morleyambiguous.
	Charles Salmon "Opening" Artist's book exploring a non-traditional organic book shape. Cover is made using papier mâché; textblock is a concertina structure supported by a knotted spine. Clasp is a gesso-painted apple stem and paper tube. Custom 5-sided box with fall-away sides and an origami base to support the book inside. The hand-lettered text is an old English blessing for an apple.
	Sally Crawford "Marking Time" A folded book made from original botanical eco-printed papers with multiple surfaces and hidden pockets to inspire additional content creation. You can find Sally on Facebook: SallyCrawford.Art.
	Emily Doucette Blank Journal Handbound journal, drawn-on boards, bound in quarter leather with raised bands and hand-tooled decorations on the spine. Sewn endbands and marbled boards. You can see more work on Emily's Instagram: @awltomorrowsbindings
	Rhonda Miller "Bookbinding Materials & Techniques 1700-1920" Handbound book, bound using a split-board library binding with sewn endbands. Quarter leather with original marbling on covers and matching fore edge marbling. You can find Rhonda on Instagram: @myhandboundbooks
	NSBAG Community Art Journal Created during Nocturne 2023. Members of the public were invited to create the pages based on the prompt, “What is your favorite thing?” You can watch our video on Youtube to see the artwork inside. The book structure is a hardcover binding with an exposed longstitch sewn on ribbon supports. Bound by Rhonda Miller.

Thank you to Frankie and Peter at Hermes Gallery for inviting us to be part of this show! This is the final week for the exhibit. The gallery is open 12pm - 6pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.