A Sampling of past Book Arts Events from 2007

Endless Path, Beginningless Journey
a talk and exhibit visit with Jim Koss

Thursday January 25, 2006, 7:00 p.m.
Maps/Special Collections Classroom
Suzzallo Library Basement, Room B89
University of Washington Libraries

Jim Koss is a visual artist and writer who has generally, though not exclusively, worked in book form. Employing many media, from pencil and ink drawing to watercolor, gouache, paper cuts, photographs, collage, woodblock and linoleum prints, monotypes, alkyd and oil painting, Jims imagery is drawn from landscape and a vast vocabulary of abstract form. The images are joined with his own texts, letterpress printed or hand lettered. Jims work is content-rich, invoking large themes & ideas. The Book Arts Collection includes more than 40 of Jim's titles acquired during the last 24 years. "Endless Path, Beginningless Journey" exhibits many of these, in addition to artwork on loan. The show illustrates the accomplishment and versatility of this dedicated artist.

Jim learned about art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Art Institute, Skowhegan School, Osaka University of the Arts, Japan, and Mills College in California. For 27 years he taught art at Mills, Montana State University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cornish College of the Arts, and elsewhere.

the Book Arts Guild & University of Washington Libraries present

Searching for Morris Fuller Benton:
Discovering the Designer through His Typefaces

a lecture by Juliet Shen

Thursday, March 29, 2007 7-9 p.m.
Maps/Special Collections Classroom B89
Suzzallo Library, University of Washington

Morris Fuller Benton (1872-1948) was the chief type designer for the American Type Foundry Company for 40 years. He is credited with designing more typefaces than any other American type designer: well over 200 typefaces. If you are using ATF foundry type today, you undoubtedly have some of his designs in your type cases. This talk touches on the economic climate that formed him, why he isn't more famous, and takes a fresh look at the quality of his designs. Some surprising facts are presented about innovations he made which were disregarded in his time and later credited to others. Juliet wrote her masters thesis in 2006 on "Searching for Morris Fuller Benton: Discovering the Designer through His Typefaces".

Juliet Shen is principal of Shen Design, a graphic design studio she founded in 1989, and has taught design and typography at School of Visual Concepts, Cornish College of the Arts and Art Institute of Seattle. She holds a Master of Typeface Design degree from the University of Reading, England. Her thesis typeface family, Bullen, appeared in Computer Arts and Typo magazines in December 2006. Current projects include type design for the University of Oxford Press children's division. Her annual Chinese New Year cards have been circulating in Seattle and other parts of the world for 17 years.

A Passion for Word & Image:

Books by Enid Mark

a talk and exhibit visit with Enid Mark
Thursday April 19, 2006 7:00 p.m.
Suzzallo Library Basement, Room B89
Maps/Special Collections Classroom

This exhibition celebrates the work of Philadelphia book artist Enid Mark who reminds us that books can be innovative without sacrificing tradition.
Founded in 1986 by Mark, ELM Press publishes finely crafted limited editions that feature hand-lithography, letterpress printing, and archival hand binding.

From the beginning, Mark's books were distinguished by subtle colors and shapes, each having a unique character, blending text and image seamlessly.
Mark's images dance across the page, expand to the edges and ignore the normal boundaries of "illustrated" books. Mark weights the selection and arrangement of the poems she uses as heavily as she does her images. Her books reveal a thoughtful and insightful reader who shares with us her vision of how a book should be considered.

the Book Arts Guild and University of Washington Libraries present

WHAT’S NEW IN THE
BOOK ARTS COLLECTION?
hosted by Sandra Kroupa,
BOOK ARTS & RARE BOOK CURATOR

Thursday, May 31, 2007 7-9pm
Maps/Special Collections Classroom
Suzzallo Library Basement Room B89

Periodically, Book Arts Guild members are invited to a special evening event to see material recently acquired for the Book Arts Collection. This visit will focus on new items added or cataloged in the last two years in a variety of areas of interest to the book arts: modern fine printing, papermaking, decorated paper, illustration, typography and that lovely catch-all, artists’ books. Most of the items will be modern work and created outside the Pacific Northwest area—to give you a chance to see pieces you will not have seen before. Some were acquired at the Codex International Book Fair held in San Francisco in February 2007. Others are the result of Sandra’s recent travels to Philadelphia’s University of the Arts and to Washington University in St. Louis to speak to book arts groups, visit with faculty and students and see lots of interesting new work. Many items will be available for direct handling. Some pieces will be presented by Sandra, who will then allow supervised handling.

A special focus of the evening will be advising members who make books on how to present information and document work—answering the questions, “what do libraries need to know” and “what information should I put in my book”. Book Arts cataloger Mary Mathiason and BAG member and volunteer Book Arts cataloger Diane Baker will be on hand to make suggestions and answer questions.

the Book Arts Guild & University of Washington Libraries present

a lecture by
Catherine Alice Michaelis
MAY DAY PRESS

Thursday, July 19, 2007 7-9pm (doors open at 6:45)

Maps/Special Collections Classroom
Suzzallo Library Basement Room B89
University of Washington

Catherine & her May Day Press celebrate 15 years in operation this year & a publication list of 35 editioned books, a stack of ephemera, and a handful of one-of-a-kind books, broadsides, & collaborative prints. Known for her imaginative and inspired work Catherine’s career has included beautifully crafted letterpress printed poetry books, sculptural pieces, conceptual work and artwork of a kinds including a pop-up origami crane in Lost in Japan [1999].

A book artist since 1990 [before becoming May Day Press], Catherine has over 30 pieces in the Book Arts Collection. Her exciting work was recently the subject of a fine exhibit at the John Wilson Special Collections of Multnomah County Library, from May 1-June 30, 2007. Catherine spoke at that exhibit but many BAG members were unable to attend.

Here is your chance to hear Catherine talk about her work and see examples from the Book Arts Collection. You will be able to handle many of the pieces. Catherine will talk about her work, themes, collaborations, and inspirations. Get a peek at the nearly finished book: A Revealing History of Women’s Underwear.

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