Sustainability Through Craft

An exhibit currently at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax (on display until November 5) contains a piece by NSBAG's own Rhonda Miller. "Sustainability Through Craft" is an exhibit by members of Craft Nova Scotia. Each participant explored the four pillars of sustainability: social, cultural, economic and environmental.

Rhonda's piece is a double-sided accordion book with hard covers titled No Wood for Trees. It was created with paper, found images and found text. While browsing a discarded and damaged book about rainforests, Rhonda was appalled to discover that rainforest trees are primarily harvested for pulp, to create paper--her artistic medium. The book's nine panels display images of the vibrant life found in the rainforest. The text, displayed at the bottom of each panel on paper cut to resemble lush grasses, details the devastation of commercial logging, damaging a resource vital to the health of the entire planet. Rhonda notes that paper does not need to be made from rainforest wood pulp, and that it's important that we all carefully select paper sources not linked to rainforest deforestation.



The Mary E. Black gallery is located on the Halifax Waterfront, beside the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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Submitted by Marilynn Rudi

Exploring Nocturne 2023

Nocturne 2023 took place last weekend, my partner and I enjoyed the nice weather and wandering through the city filled with art. There were nearly 100 artists involved in Nocturne this year. We started the evening going to the Book Arts Group event on Agricola Street. The space was full when we got there, so we had to wait a second to get a place at the table. All of the people creating pages were quiet, intent on their work. Over in the corner you could print a bookmark, and people continued to pour in and ask what we were doing. All those visitors and craft supplies helped NSBAG create this amazing community art journal.

After using stamps and scraps of paper to design our page for the art journal, we continued on to the next exhibition. While walking down Agricola Street towards other Nocturne locations, we stumbled on an exhibition of the new work of Geordan Moore (@quarrelsomeyeti), the time has come, to talk of many things. It was in the basement shop of Frabjous Delights Specialty Foods. The small space allowed the artist's bright prints to easily draw the gaze of visitors. His art mostly showed animals intertwined in struggle either with a ship, a house, or the landscape. The shop also featured free chocolate tastings. (The line was too long so we didn’t get any!) We climbed back up the stairs and walked on.

Rambler's Coffee was our next stop, for the Stereo (for) Rough Waters X ODE (to) THE HUSTLE installation. As soon as we entered the door we could see a large projection of a film, with machinery in black and white whirring continually on the screen. Trades workers stood beside, in front, or alongside the machines pulling fresh newspapers off of the presses and checking them for errors. The next scene was of people using a smaller machine to slice a large sheet of metal. The ongoing motion of the machines matched the ongoing film which slowly flipped between shots, machines, and factories. Music, created by a collaborator of the filmmaker, complemented the rugged aesthetics of the film. The film was also accompanied by photographs lining the wall of the coffee shop. Each black and white image emphasized the human working alongside a huge machine. The film write-up discussed how the artists Nathanial Cole, Nathan DB Simmons and Dilshan collaborated to make a film backed with hip-hop tracks. The space communicated the increasing pressures of city life through hectic overwhelming images and sound.

Across the street was the Nomnom Truck at Cuts and Paste Gallery, which was much quieter than Ramblers. The majority of the gallery was taken up by a pink 'food' truck. The food truck menu provided an artist with "ingredients" to build the visitor a collage. We chose a black background, "space," crayons, "symbols," and yearbook photos from the menu, and watched as the artist built the collage right before our eyes. It was a fun, interactive experience, and you could tell the artist, Allie (@art.angelgirl) was also enjoying their time making on-demand collages.

With our collage wrapped in classic checkered street food paper, we walked down to Seven Bays where Cadence had one of their three exhibition sites for their Cordel Literature Treasure Hunt. The front porch of Seven Bays was covered in laundry lines with tiny colorful zines clipped all over them featuring original stories and linocuts in handmade booklets.

This project was a Nocturne-wide scavenger hunt to build a full zine. At each location there was only one chapter of each story, encouraging visitors to visit all three sites in order to collect all three chapters of their chosen zine. The windy evening was filled with the fluttering of all of the pages around us. As each guest grabbed a zine, they replaced them with a wish, leaving the cluttered space full of stories with a less dense color field of paper wishes. Each of us chose a chapter and continued to the next exhibit.

Due to the sprawling nature of Nocturne, we chose to drive to the next location. We resurfaced from the Central library's underground parking lot. We were met with haunting echoes coming from the patio behind the library. The noise came from an installantion called Qiaqsutu. A group of large, otherworldly white statues, a mixture of draped cloth and huge masks of distorted faces or animal skulls. On the chests of the statues scenes played over and over with unnerving music. Images of water flowing and animals running. The statues towered over the crowd of viewers, making us feel a part of their world, rather than them being a part of ours. The crowd stood silently, listening to the haunting sounds, a mix between sobbing, singing, talking, animals calling, and water running.

From the information plaque, I learned the artists Jamesie Fournier, Coco Lynge, Erin Gingrich, Malayah Enooyah Maloney and Taqralik Partridge were using the sounds of Inuit voices to lament the loss of animals and land that hold immense cultural significance to the Inuit people. These haunting statues were warnings, and symbols of grief. They pleaded with the viewer to do their part to stop the loss of habitats and animal life due to climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources.

On the other side of the library were beautiful quilt stars called Future Fragments stretched over the windows, a project by Millbrook First Nation youth. The large quilts took over the facade in a riot of color and pattern, transforming the usually hard-edged windows into soft textile shapes.

Our last stop of the night was to Inkwell Boutique's project, I Made You a Mixed Tape. When we arrived there was a line snaking through the entire store. Everyone had gathered to try their hand at printmaking. A 100-year-old printing press was set up with a Nocturne-specific printing block featuring an old fashioned cassette. After waiting our turn, we printed the design and admired the smooth workings of the old machine.
  
We had to end the night there, and were unable to complete the zines we had started. Our friends who continued walking through the art exhibits said that once they got to Cadence's second location on the waterfront, all of the zines were gone. It's funny to think that I might hold the last piece to someone's zine, and we all got to take a little part of the story home, leaving behind our wishes to flutter in the night.

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Written by Taryn Neufeld

NSBAG at Nocturne 2023: Photo Journal

On October 14th, 2023 the Nova Scotia Book Arts Group participated in Nocturne!

The project was simple: NSBAG provided art supplies and ample table space for anyone to answer the question "What is your favourite thing?" on a piece of paper which would then be bound into a community journal. And what a turn out! As it was the first year NSBAG participated in Nocturne we had no idea how many people may show up and we were thrilled by the amount of people that came by to take a look, the people that took a chance to sit down and take part, and by the care in the pages that were created! 

One of my favourite moments to experience, which happened a few times throughout the night while I was there, was watching someone hesitatingly take a seat. The idea of a blank page can be intimidating and it can be surprising to be handed an assignment (no matter how benign) when you aren't expecting it. Usually this would be followed by a trepidatious stare down at the blank paper below them for a few, long moments. But eventually every person must have had a version of the thought "I guess I have to start somewhere," and they'd reach over to a stamp or a marker or a scrap of paper and after the first mark every single person seemed to lose themselves to the joy of creating. I think people truly love to have fun with art and when they allow themselves the moment to sit down and play they will lean in. I also wonder if the promise that their page would be bound into a journal with care by a experienced bookbinder into a beautiful journal lended some novelty and prestige that pushed people to create something special for our book. 

But enough philosophizing! Let's get to the photos! I volunteered to document the event and popped in every few hours to take photos of the night as it unfolded.

The day started with setup: the NSBAG organizers were all assembled, alongside a few more book artist volunteers. Set up included putting up signs, hanging lights, and distributing art supplies around the table.

Our sign on Agricola beckoned people in to share "What is your favourite thing?"

Charles brought some very fitting marbled balloons!

Craft scissors, pencil crayons, highlighters, paper scraps, stamps, and more!

Charles and Marilynn set up the sign for the sidewalk.

A real highlight was the presence of Katie Prescott of Woodshed Press. When visitors stepped into the space they were welcome to print their own bookmark with the help of Katie and her letterpress. I thought this was such a wonderful addition (both Katie and her press!) and often eased people into the idea of sitting down for longer to make a page for the journal. I got to make a bookmark myself and let me tell you, there is very little that is as satisfying as pulling the roller down a press. In the end everyone walked away with a bookmark printed with the iconic Stephen King quotation: “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”

Follow Katie on instagram at @woodshedpress!

Katie makes sure everything is aligned.

The finished product next to the moveable type.

And then happy Nocturne partakers starting pouring in! It was a blast seeing people of all ages, families, and walkers by, come in and use the supplies at their disposal in such different ways. The question of the night, What is your favourite thing?, was interpreted in a myriad of ways, some funny, some sincere, some very artful, some very simple. 

As the pages started to pile up it was time for Rhonda Miller, NSBAG organizer and the evening's resident book binder, to start binding the pages together to create the community journal. The beautiful covers had been made by Rhonda earlier in preparation for the evening.

Rhonda Miller starts sewing together the pages.

This gorgeous front page was created by Stephanie Morley.

The binding in it's final stages.

So many beautiful pages!

The night was a real joy. The Nova Scotia Book Arts Group got to share their love of book arts with their city and the people that took the time to sit and make with us got to experience the joy of book making. The final physical journal will be available for viewing in future and a video is being made as a digital record for everyone to experience the wonderful pages. It will be posted here on our blog and also on our instagram and youtube channel, stay tuned!

I had a great time peeking in every few hours, seeing the pages pile up, chatting with everyone about book arts, and documenting the event. Thanks for reading, maybe you can join us next time!

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Written by Ariel Bissett

Mind Your P's and Q's

A Dawson Print Shop & Bindery Exhibition

Mind Your P's and Q's, a Dawson Print Shop and Bindery Exhibition, was recently held (Sept. 26 - Oct. 7, 2023) at the Port Loggia and Treaty Space Gallery. These bright, open, fully accessible galleries are located on the ground floor at NSCAD's Port Campus on the Halifax waterfront.

The letter "p" and the letter "q" are often confused when setting type. This exhibition takes its name from the expression, "mind your p's and q's," which was heard in print shops for generations, including the Dawson Print Shop.

As curator/organizer Odyssean Press offers, "This exhibition is a celebration of book arts and letterpress printing at NSCAD University, as well as the contributions of the Dawson Print Shop & Bindery within NSCAD and the wider arts community in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). It includes both "traditional and experimental book arts practices" including bookbinding, artist's books, letterpress printing, and tool making.

Mind Your P's and Q's features the work of 16 artists who are connected to the Dawson Print Shop, through material, techniques or training. Exhibitors include NSCAD instructors Joe Landry and Katherine Taylor and Centre for Craft instructor Rhonda Miller. NSCAD students and Dawson Print shop alumni (and their associates) include: Morgan Cruickshank, Emily Doucette, Nat:Shaw, Julie Rosvall, Ellen Timbre & Tina Arsenault, Charles Salmon, Shadow, Deirdre Sokolowska, Sush, Em Tremblay and Robin Wolfe. As well as the work of curator/organizer, Odyssean Press.

Examples of traditional bookbinding techniques with inspiring workmanship were many and included works by Robin Wolfe, Odyssean Press, and Katherine Victoria Taylor's book which was specially created for the Dawson Print Shop anniversary. The cover printed by Katherine is composed of over a thousand pieces of decorative metal type which creates optical blending to form a single letter "D."

Joe Landry with the guestbook made by Katherine Victoria Taylor		Half leather bindings by Robin Wolfe
Handbound books by Odyssean Press

Rhonda Miller's Springback Journal was bound using a traditional English springback binding technique in half leather with blind tooling. A springback binding gets its name from a spring action that is built into the spine. When the book is opened, it "springs open" and lays flat. This tricky binding is the mark of a seasoned bookbinder.

Springback journal by Rhonda Miller		Wi'katikn Wa'qn hand-forged book knife by Shadow

Unusual bookbinding examples included a rarely seen Dos-A-Dos binding, created by Joe Landry, in which two books are bound together, sharing the same back cover, but facing in opposite directions. Despite its French name, the structure originated in England with examples dating from Elizabethan times. ...

Dos-A-Dos binding by Joe Landry ...
One book's cover was made from apple twigs which are woven together using paper-covered wire. This book was made by the artist as part of a series of artist's books featuring related materials. One visitor commented, "probably the most inventive in terms of materials." ...

Cover as Metaphor, artist's book by Charles Salmon ...
The cover of another book - Interspace by Emily Doucette, "resembles an envelope." When opened, its accordion pages cascade "into a variety of different scanned envelopes." Ribbons are used to tie this case bound accordion binding shut. ...

Interspace, artist's book by Emily Doucette ...
Popular with visitors was Odyssean Press' A Family History as seen through Tattoo Traditions. Bound within this artist's book were two miniature accordion books that spoke to the different tattoo traditions of the creator's ancestors. One book was dedicated to their mother's ancestors and the other to their father's ancestors, and both incorporated watercolour and ink drawings. ...

A Family History as seen through Tattoo Traditions, artist's book by Odyssean Press ...
Other miniature books included a book bound in a box by Morgan Cruickshank that was inspired by a larger version seen at the Dawson Print Shop, which in turn was inspired by the structure of the Kennicott Bible. A miniature accordion book with striking precision, created by Sush, was among many miniatures on display that they created at the Dawson using scraps.

Benjamin by Morgan Cruickshank

scrap yard, a collection of miniature books by Sush

While some works were protected under Lucite, the majority weren't and allowed for gentle hand-held examination by visitors. Deirdre Sokolowska's creation, William & I features a series of colour photos of the creator holding a dead bird which they found. Deirdre offers, "accompanying this visual narrative is a short story recounting a childhood misunderstanding related to Resurrection Sunday." Within Sokolowska's hardcover pamphlet, kozuke paper is used to hold each photo in place. The concept of finding a dead bird as a basis for a book is reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's children's book The Dead Bird. The charcoal, graphite and ink drawings in Em Tremblay's journal is "an exploration of some of the darker parts of their mental health journey." The brown kraft-like pages are bound with a traditional Japanese stab binding.

William & I by Deirdre Sokolowska Handbound journal by Em Tremblay

The skill demonstrated in Joe Landry's full leather design binding was impressive. The cover featured abstract shapes of black, white and red leather onlays and inside featured ultra smooth black leather "doublure" - "an ornamental lining on the inside of the book." This book was Joe's final project for his design class at London College of Printing. ...

Design binding with custom box by Joe Landry ...

Superb and stunning craftmanship was in evidence with Rhonda Miller's Experiment with Embroidery, which uses stitching patterns inspired by traditional blackwork embroidery, supported by more traditional chain and link stitch binding techniques. The Dawson Print Shop was formerly part of Dalhousie University where many Nova Scotians studied and practiced book arts including bookbinders Joe Landry, Rhonda Miller, Tracy Leal, Robin Muller and librarian Patricia Chalmers, to name a few. The Dawson became part of NSCAD in 2000.

Experiment with Embroidery by Rhonda Miller

The bright and airy Port Loggia gallery (which runs the length of the Port Campus) allowed for up-close examination of Julie Rosvall's works with collaborators Ellen Timbre and Tina Arsenault. This collaboration included textile relief prints, letterpress prints and bookbinding, featuring their artist's book - Contexture - knit print book collaboration. Previously shown at the Craig Gallery, Dartmouth, Julie's practice was inspired by the work of artist and printmaker Esther Goodwin. Read more about Julie's work here.

Julie Rosvall discussing Contexture

Other printed works on display included Circle Book (Embodiment of Cyclical Growth) by Odyssean Press, consisting of bookbinding, ink drawing and relief print. ...

Circle Book (Embodiment of Cyclical Growth) by Odyssean Press ...
Playful yet moving, was the grid of twelve letterpress prints by Nat:Shaw. The white, dark brown and medium brown papers were imprinted with the phrase "Not broken just spicy." Four different spices are referenced: Paprika, Cayenne, Cinnamon and Cardamom. During their artist talk, Nat:Shaw related that they are coming up to the second anniversary of a head concussion injury. Nat:Shaw offers, "The significance of the phrase ("Not broken just spicy") being a mantra of sorts for coming to peace with being neurodivergent or "Neuro-spicy." ...

Nat:Shaw discussing their work, Various Neuro-spices ...
Seeing how artists Em Tremblay, Deirdre Sokolowska, Odyssean Press and Nat:Shaw incorporate their intimate personal experiences into their practice is both powerful and inspiring.

Equally inspiring was seeing all the thoughtfully and beautifully-made books brought together for display in Mind Your P's and Q's at NSCAD's Port Loggia and Treaty Space Gallery.

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Submitted by Charles Salmon