Book Swap 2024 - Rhonda Miller

Rhonda Miller made this book and box for our recent book swap. The book is made using the sewn board binding technique with custom endsheets that feature an original lino print. This custom clam shell box and matching book are both made with Rhonda's original marbled paper. There is a faux leather spine and the marbled paper has a polished beeswax coating.

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.

"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.

Book Swap 2023 - Rhonda Miller

Rhonda Miller made this half leather binding for the NSBAG book swap. The structure is a split-board library binding and the cover features some of Rhonda's original marbled paper paired with dark green goatskin leather. There are silk hand-sewn headbands and Bugra endpapers. Rhonda can be found online via her website and on Instagram: @myhandboundbooks.

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