The call for entries to the 2018 PSBA Annual Members’ Exhibition is CLOSED.
We hope you have a chance to view the exhibit during its run at Collins Memorial Library, or see you at the Artists’ Reception, Artists’ Conversation or Panel Discussion.
For more details on each event listed below, go to Events.
Important Dates for Exhibiting Member Artists:
Submission drop-off: Thursday, May 31, 2018 – 10:00 am to
Artists’ reception & awards: Thursday, June 7, 2018 – 5:00 to 7:00 pm
Pick up submission: Monday, July 30, 2018 – 10 am to noon
Location for all: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound
Exhibition Dates and Events:
Exhibition dates: June 4 – July 26, 2018
Artists’ Reception & Awards: Thursday, June 7, 2018, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Conversation with the Artists: Thursday, June 21, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Panel Discussion: Thursday, July 12, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Location for all: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound
General Information about the Annual Members Exhibit:
The Puget Sound Book Artists Annual Members Exhibit is open to all current members. Each member artist may enter up to three artist books and will be represented by a minimum of one artwork. “Artists Book” is interpreted widely and can include many iterations of artwork that includes in some way the idea of a book.
Timeline: The prospectus is generally available in January, entries received in April, notification shortly after the entry deadline, artworks received in late May and the exhibition and surrounding events take place in June and July at Collins Memorial Library on the University of Puget Sound campus.
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Puget Sound Book Artists 8th Annual Members’ Exhibition
One of the things we love about this organization is that it welcomes and encourages book artists who are new to the art form as well as professionals who have made bookarts a centerpiece of their careers and everyone along the spectrum. It is especially gratifying to see bookarts newcomers take the step to complete an artwork they feel is ready for the exhibit. I know many of you have been taking workshops and spend many hours honing your skills in whatever work space you have, be it a dedicated studio or your kitchen table. If you fall into this category of having never entered the exhibit, the curatorial team strongly encourages you to make this be the year you take the bold step to enter the exhibit. The curatorial team is here to support you. Scroll down to click on the link to the 2018 prospectus!
We look forward to receiving your entries!
The Curatorial Team
Dorothy McCuistion, Lead
Sally Alger
Gabby Cooksey
Kat Gower
2018 – EIGHTH ANNUAL MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION—PLANNING CALENDAR:
| Location | Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA |
| Exhibition | June 4 – July 27, 2018 |
| Photography Session | Saturday, March 24, 2018 (Room 020) |
| Submission Deadline | Wednesday, April 11, 2018 |
| Submission Notification | Friday, April 20, 2018 |
| Submission Drop Off | Thursday, May 31, 2018 – 10:00 am to 12:00 noon (Misner) |
| Opening Reception | Thursday, June 7, 2018 (Pacific NW Room) |
| Conversation with the Artists | TBD |
| Moderated Panel Discussion | TBD |
| Pick Up Submission | Monday, July 30 ,2018 – 10:00 am to 12:00 noon |
PSBA Exhibition Prospectus 2018
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Puget Sound Book Artists 7th Annual Members’ Exhibition
Exhibition dates: June 1 – July 28, 2017
Featuring 31 artists with 47 unique and original books.
The public is invited to attend special, free events that will run alongside the exhibit.
All events will be held in Collins Memorial Library.
Opening Reception:
Thursday, June 8, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Artist Conversation:
Thursday, June 22, 2017, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Collins Library Room 020
Panel Discussion:
Wednesday, July 19, 2017, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Collins Library Room 020
What images, words and ideas occur to you when you hear the phrase Pacific Northwest?
PSBA came up with a few: Trees, ferns, slugs, smog, eagles, clams, blackberries, tulips, sea glass, herons, mountains, fog, rain, crows, berries, beaches, arsenic, pho, seals, tankers, whales, sand, beach glass, boats, ships, containers, paper mills, logging, clear cutting, planes, traffic, grunge, coffee, tattoos, salmon, diverse communities and traditions, methanol, ferries, independent thinkers, technology, green, grey and blue, climbing, kayaking, markets, crabs, sun, water.
All this and more is our community, an inspiring and often mystical and magical place. The chosen theme for the 7th Annual Members’ Exhibition for the Puget Sound Book Artists is Northwest Musings. This year’s show marks a departure from previous exhibitions. Books in the show run the gamut of celebrating the beauty and grandeur of the Northwest, to providing commentary on social issues that affect our communities. (Left artwork image: “Thuja Plicata” by Patricia Chupa)
Jane Carlin, a member of the PSBA Board and Collins Library Director, is excited about this new approach to the exhibition. “A goal of the PSBA is to make the book arts more accessible and we thought a themed show would resonate with the Tacoma and Puget Sound community. We want to celebrate our location and give back to Tacoma for all the support that our organization has received. We hope the community will be excited to see the area reflected in the book form.”
“Themed exhibitions are always a challenge and “Northwest Musings” is no exception,” said Mark Hoppmann, current President of the Puget Sound Book Artists. What better way to test our imaginations than by celebrating the Pacific Northwest and sharing our visions in this exhibition, Northwest Musings.
Jan Ward, Lead Curator for this year’s exhibit says, “The artists this year have challenged our thinking from the serious and disturbing memories depicted in Lynn Skordal’s work, “The Bomb” to the delight of exploring our area celebrated in Peter Newland’s “Travel Musings”; from Suze Woolf’s careful use of native woods to create unique books that can be “read” as stories to Laura Russell’s “Hit the Road” Highway 99 pop-up books. The diversity of skills and forms used to depict each artist’s musings makes this a must see exhibit.”
Curators for the 2017 exhibition include:
Jan Ward is a book artist from Edgewood, WA. Her unbridled exploration and use of all manner of materials, techniques and methods often leads her work to the edge. Her current interests are in uncovering, exposing, and disentangling the chaos of life so things can be reexamined and appreciated.
Dorothy McCuistion is a printmaker and book artist living in Tacoma, WA. Her work focuses on monotype prints and she often combines these prints to create unique art books. She strives to make universal connections and statements that begin from a personal perspective.
Bonnie Larson, who lives in Federal Way, Washington, expresses the beauty of nature and color through handmade books, watercolor paintings, sewing projects, and calligraphy pieces.
Sally Alger is a papermaker from Tacoma, WA. She studied art and art history at the University of North Dakota and for the last few years has had a special interest in the challenge of transforming scraps of computer paper and plant material into works of art-collages, books, and even a unique sort of jewelry.
Puget Sound Book Artists is a nonprofit organization comprised of professionals and amateurs from all quarters of the book, paper, and printing arts—including bookbinders, papermakers, printers, book artists, archivists, and conservators. The group aims to provide educational opportunities and to foster excellence through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and publications dealing with various aspects of the art of the book.
In 2013 the PSBA was awarded the City of Tacoma AMOCAT Arts Award for Community Outreach by an Organization. The group sponsors a variety of workshops, lectures and special event designed to be learning opportunities for beginning and experienced book artists.
For further information contact: psba@gmail.com
Collins Memorial Library Website
Hours: www.pugetsound.edu/libraryhours | Information: libref@pugetsound.edu
Puget Sound is committed to being accessible to all people. If you have questions about event accessibility, please contact 253.879.3236, accessibility@pugetsound.edu, or pugetsound.edu/accessibility.
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2017 Exhibition Prospectus
University of Puget Sound’s Collins Memorial Library.
PSBA Fifth Annual Members’ Exhibition
This exhibit featured 44 handmade books by 28 artists. Puget Sound Book Artists is a non-profit organization comprised of professionals and amateurs from all quarters of book, paper, and printing arts, including bookbinders, paper makers, printers, book artists, as well as archivists and conservators, for the purpose of creating a spirit of community among book artists and those who love books. We strive to increase educational opportunities for private individuals as well as institutions and other organizations, fostering excellence through exhibitions, workshops, lectures and publications dealing with various aspects of the art of the book throughout the year. Mark Hoppmann, PSBA president said, “The Fifth Puget Sound Book Artists Annual Exhibition exemplifies how much the organization has grown, both in terms of artistic commitment and in the scope of the work created by the artists as we continue our mission to further the knowledge, practice and understanding of the art of the book.”
Some of the artists included in this year’s exhibition offer new perspectives on the art of the book. Gabby Cooksey, whose delicate illustrations of monsters and beasts are cased in a traditional leather binding and Suze Woolf, who has sandwiched laser-cut pages between slices of rock to evoke canyons of the southwest. Judy Lynn places paper madeleines made from pages of a novel by Proust into a box made from its cover and Taylor Cox layers letterpress printing and embroidery atop photolithography, merging her grandmother’s journal with scientific data regarding memory loss. Each artist in this exhibition invites the viewer to explore possibilities and come to a new understanding of the book as art.
Jane Carlin, PSBA vice-president and director of Collins Library said, “To host the 5th exhibit of the PSBA is an honor. This organization started as a grass roots one to support book artists in Tacoma and the South Sound. Not only has the organization won the AMOCAT Award, but many members have been selected to exhibit in juried shows and have had their work published.” Carlin goes on to say, “One of the goals of PSBA is to educate. The exhibit offers an opportunity for members to learn first-hand about the process of curating a show. In addition, the organization sponsors a photo shoot for member’s and advice on preparing an artists’ statement.”
An Gates, Head Curator for this year’s exhibition said, “It has been exciting to work with the artists in this year’s exhibition and to see their work as it was submitted. Each year’s exhibition has shown growth in technique and ideation among our members and 2015 continues this tradition.” The 2015 curatorial team An Gates, Lynne Knopp, Jan Ward and Kim Izenman would also like to thank all of the artists who chose to participate in this exhibition, along with The University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library…particularly Library Director Jane Carlin, graphic designer Jeanne Young, Library Administrative Coordinator Jamie Spaine and photographer Ross Mulhausen for their continued support and generous hospitality.
View the books featured in this exhibition here and here.
PSBA Fourth Annual Members’ Exhibition
This exhibit was on display from June 5, 2014 to July 31, 2014. The exhibit featured 57 handmade books by 39 artists from the Puget Sound area and beyond. Book artists merge new structures with historical forms of the book to create distinctive works of art. They invite a reconsideration of the concept of book that lifelong readers may hold about conventional book forms. To challenge our ideas of what constitutes a “book,” the Puget Sound Book Artists use creative techniques from photography, printmaking, drawing, painting, hand lettering, and digital media, employing unusual and surprising materials.
Book artists distinguish themselves in the field of art by merging new structures of the book with historical forms, creating distinctive pieces that challenge our ideas of what constitutes a book. Each artist shares a personalized experience through the medium of the book as object. The creative techniques used can include photography, printmaking, drawing, painting, hand lettering, and digital media. Unusual and surprising materials are often employed.
The 2014 PSBA Members’ Exhibition curatorial team includes Deborah Greenwood, An Gates, Patricia Chupa, and Elizabeth Walsh. Pieces featured in the exhibit can be viewed in the gallery below. The exhibition catalog is available for purchase on blurb.com.
In 2014, the PSBA began providing membership awards to students of book arts and allied printing arts, giving them the opportunity to exhibit their work and to assist with events. PSBA also collaborates with other artists’ organizations to present public events, including the Book Arts Guild of Seattle, Guild of Book Workers, and Tacoma Calligraphy Guild, as well as Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound.
View the 2014 Book Arts Award Winners here.
Call for Entries
The 5th Annual
Puget Sound Book Artists Member Exhibition
June 4th -July 31st, 2015
Collins Memorial Library
The University of Puget Sound
For a complete propsectus, instructions, and guidelines for entry: 2015 PSBA 5th Annual Member’s Exhibition Prospectus
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Puget Sound Book Artists 4th Annual Members’ Exhibition
The fourth annual members’ exhibit of the Puget Sound Book Artists will be held at Collins Memorial Library on the University of Puget Sound campus located in Tacoma, Washington. The exhibit features 57 handmade books by 39 artists from the Puget Sound area and beyond.
Exhibition dates: Thursday, June 5 – Thursday, July 31, 2014.
(All events at Collins Memorial Library)
Opening Reception: June 5th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The winners of the three Awards for Excellence established by PSBA: The Collins Library Award, the Curator’s Choice Award, and the Recognition of Excellence Award will be announced at 6:00 pm.
Conversation with the Artists: June 19th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Artists will be discussing the inspiration and creative process associated with one of their featured pieces.
The Artist’s Vision: From Idea to Completion July 14th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. A panel discussion with a select group of PSBA artists, moderated by Suzanne Moore, distinguished calligrapher and book artist.
Book artists merge new structures with historical forms of the book to create distinctive pieces of art. Each artist in their own way is sharing an experience through the medium of the book as object. They invite a reconsideration of the concept of book as codex that lifelong readers may hold about conventional book forms. To challenge our ideas of what constitutes a “book”, these artists use creative techniques from photography, printmaking, drawing, painting, hand lettering, and digital media. They employ unusual and surprising materials. Mary Ashton’s In Praise of Women incorporates a straw hat; Pat Chupa’s Book of Changes has terra cotta figures as ‘covers’; An Gates’ Folium employs sheets of mica; Lucia Harrison’s Old Growth: Beneath the Forest Floor I uses hand-made papers from plants she harvests from along the Olympic Peninsula. They choose unusual styles of ‘binding’ such as Japanese stab binding, tunnel books, felted wool, accordion books, pop-ups, Coptic binding, hanging books and books of cloth. Artists Mari Gower’s (Alchemist’s Lunchbox) and Jan Ward’s (My Collaboration with Nature- Book Arts Tool Box) works are reminiscent of 17th century cabinets of curiosities. Viewers are invited to explore these visual and tactile alterations to arrive at the maker’s intent and achieve a new understanding of how a book may also be a work of art.
The 2014 PSBA Members’ Exhibition curatorial team, Deborah Greenwood, An Gates, Patricia Chupa and Elizabeth Walsh would like to thank all of the wonderful artists who chose to participate in this exhibition. These books reflect the diversity of talent and creativity that make up the Puget Sound Book Artists.
We also gratefully give thanks for the continued support and generous hospitality of The University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library; particularly Library Director Jane Carlin, graphic designer Jeanne Young, Administrative Coordinator Jamie Spaine, and photographer Ross Mulhausen.
Puget Sound Book Artists is a non profit organization comprised of professionals and amateurs from all quarters of the book, paper and printing arts, including, bookbinders, paper makers, printers, book artists, as well as archivists and conservators for the purpose of creating a spirit of community among book artists and those who love books. We also strive to increase educational opportunities for private individuals as well as institutions and other organizations, fostering excellence through exhibitions, workshops, lectures and publications dealing with various aspects of the art of the book throughout the year.
In 2013 the PSBA was awarded the City of Tacoma AMOCAT Award for Community Outreach The group meets monthly for lectures and/or play days which are designed to be learning opportunities for beginning and experienced book artists.
In 2014 The PSBA began providing Membership Awards to students of book arts and allied printing arts, giving them the opportunity to exhibit their work as well as assisting with events. PSBA also collaborates with other Artists’ organizations including the Seattle Book Arts Guild, the Guild of Book Workers and the Tacoma Calligraphy Guild in addition to educational institutions such as Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound to present public events on book arts.
We invite the public to enjoy this new and wonderful exhibition, and this year’s open public conversations about book arts. For those wishing to revisit this exhibition, the exhibition catalogue will be available for purchase. Information about ordering will be available during the exhibition and on the this blog site
For more information and directions to the exhibition: http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/collins-memorial-library/about-collins/visitor-information/
For press images and further information contact: jcarlin@pugetsound.edu
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