"As Above, So Below" work by James MacSwain

Currently on display at Hermes Gallery in Halifax, is a solo exhibition of work by local artist, James MacSwain who passed away two months ago.

James MacSwain was active in the Halifax art scene since the 1970s and was well-known for his queer and art-culture activism which he expressed through short films and stop-frame animations. As an extension of his work with moving images, he collaged dynamic static images, not only as 2D collages, but also in the form of tunnel books and star books which can be viewed up and down, side to side, or round and round.
His colour palette is bold and his choice of imagery is rich. Combined with his use of structures like shadow boxes and star books and even some of his own marbled papers, James MacSwain's work is both a joyful and thoughtful visual experience.

The exhibit, "As Above, So Below" will be on display until December 21, 2025. Hermes Gallery is located at 5682 North Street in Halifax and is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (12pm-6pm). More information can be found on the Hermes Gallery website.

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.

"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.

Workshop: Miniature Books

As part of the Book Club exhibit at Hermes Gallery in Halifax, our group held a bookbinding workshop at the gallery this past weekend. Participants each handbound their own miniature book featuring the text of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

The workshop was conducted by Rhonda Miller, who prepared this tiny textblock specifically for this session, and provided each participant with a little kit ready for the making.


Voila, a tiny edition of tiny books!