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.
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Our sign on Agricola beckoned people in to share "What is your favourite thing?"
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| Charles brought some very fitting marbled balloons! |
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| Craft scissors, pencil crayons, highlighters, paper scraps, stamps, and more! |
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Charles and Marilynn set up the sign for the sidewalk.
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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.”
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| Follow Katie on instagram at @woodshedpress! |
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| Katie makes sure everything is aligned. |
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| 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.
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| Rhonda Miller starts sewing together the pages. |
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| This gorgeous front page was created by Stephanie Morley. |
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| The binding in it's final stages. |
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| 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!
Written by Ariel Bissett
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