Collins Unbound

A Creative Journey Through Time

See the PSBA Exhibit Award Winners here!

Collins Library welcomes back the annual PSBA exhibition! Playful and profound, the Puget Sound Book Artists 13th annual member exhibit on the theme of Time Travel will be exhibited at the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, from June 4 until August 1, 2024. It will also be shown at The Evergreen State College Library, in Olympia, from September 29 until December 20, 2024. 

On display will be a total of fifty-five artist books from forty-two different artists representing all parts of the Puget Sound and the western United States.  Ann Storey, exhibit team chair, stated: “It is always a wonderful surprise to see how creative people interpret and play with an exhibit theme. The topic of Time Travel seemed to be especially resonant and sparked imaginative leaps across both time and space. After our recent experience of lock-down, when we couldn’t travel physically but managed to travel metaphorically, and when we confronted time in the form of facing our mortality, we have such interesting ideas to draw from in creating the artist books in this show.”

Some of these books time travel to the past to celebrate the strength and grace of ancestors, while others look backwards for a different reason–to question received wisdom. Judy Cook takes a more humorous approach by illustrating vignettes from her high school Home Economics class–the time when a runaway electric mixer sprayed chocolate frosting around the classroom and girls were taught how to gracefully exit cars. 

Susan Aurand takes an original, science-based approach, stating “When I thought about this theme, it came to me that bits of us (the atoms in our bodies, the air molecules we breathe) are part of a continuous circulation of matter and energy moving among all living things…This idea fascinates me and makes me wonder about experiences that bits of me have had as other beings.”  Her unique assemblage helps to make visible these esoteric ideas–a bridge between the visible and invisible. 

Abbie Birmingham touches on both science and geology. She created an evocative piece that originated with a poem, Raven, and then meditated on the dramatic landscape of the channeled scablands of eastern Washington. Her poem begins, “The faces in the cliff are silent,|Riddle of ice, fire and flood.|Encrypted. Then decoded|By the ones who slowly walk the land…”  Birmingham alludes to the tremendous ice age floods that sculpted this landscape and the dawning understanding of this phenomenon within the scientific community. 

Other artists draw inspiration from nature. This could be celebratory or to issue a warning about our destruction of wildlife and habitat. For example, Jan Dove explains her entry Don’t Go, by saying “I’m living in a time when even the trees must travel to find a place to survive.”

There will be an opening reception on Thursday, June 6 from 4:30-6:30 pm at the Collins Library. Award winners will be announced in five categories including most innovative book structure, best original writing, award of overall excellence, most exciting first time entry and thematic merit. The public is welcome. During two open case events artists will personally share and discuss their works. They are scheduled for June 15, 2-4 pm, and July 16, 1-3 pm. A free online Time Travel art workshop will be offered to PSBA members by Ann Storey and Belinda Hill on July 13, 10-11:30 am. Participants will create a story map about travel to an imaginary time and place using body mapping and a Turkish map fold structure. 

The Collins Memorial Library is pleased to support this event as shared in remarks by Acting Library Director Peggy Burge: 

Collins Library is very pleased to host the PSBA annual exhibit once again.  This has been a summer tradition at Collins for the past 13 years, and we look forward every year to seeing and celebrating the creativity of our regional book artists. We welcome both new and returning visitors to the exhibit.

This enthusiasm is reinforced by remarks shared by Sally Alger, President of the Puget Sound Book Artists:

Each year in our members’ exhibit the Puget Sound Book Artists show us all how to explore ideas about books and art. The depth of thinking… and the fun of making books is very infectious.

This year’s exhibit team consists of Belinda Hill, PSBA board member, artist and educator; Carrie Larson, Judy Cook, and Diane Miller, artists and writers; and is chaired by Ann Storey, PhD, art historian and artist, faculty emerita of The Evergreen State College. 

• For more information on the exhibit, please contact psba.exhibition@pugetsoundbookartists.org
• For more information on Puget Sound Book Artists, please visit our website:  https://pugetsoundbookartists.wildapricot.org/

Related Events:

• June 6:  Opening Reception, Collins Memorial Library. 4:30-6:30 p.m.  See University website for parking information.  

• June 15:   Open Cases, Collins Memorial Library. 2-4 p.m.  Informal opportunity to meet and listen to artists.  

• July 16:  Open Cases, Collins Memorial Library.  1-3 p.m.  Informal opportunity to meet and listen to artists.

• July 13:  Story Map and Time Travel – Zoom based online workshop for PSBA members.  10-11:30 a.m.  Participants will create a story map about travel to an imaginary time and place using body mapping and a Turkish map fold structure.   Information will be distributed to members prior to the event.

University of Puget Sound parking and campus information:  https://www.pugetsound.edu/security-services/campus-parking-traffic-and-transportation-information

PLEASE NOTE: This event is not held in the library, but will be in the Tahoma Room, located in the Thomas Hall building.

This event will include a talk by Professor Tiffany Aldrich MacBain and a showcase of artwork from the exhibit.

Works by Becky Frehse, Beverly Naidus, Debbi Commodore, Deborah Greenwood, Dorothy McCuistion, Gabby Cooksey, Jessica Spring, Lucia Harrison, MalPina Chan, Paige Pettibon, Victoria Björklund, Yoshi Nakagawa, and Yuka Petz will be on display.

Light refreshments will be served.

* * *

About the exhibit itself: The Collins Memorial Library exhibit, The World Through Abby’s Eyes, is about the nuanced life of women in the American West in the early twentieth century. The focal point of the exhibit is Tacoma resident Abby Williams Hill (1861-1943). Hill was a landscape artist best known for her oil paintings created en plein air depicting the scenery of the American West.

The exhibit focuses on four significant roles Hill held: artist, advocate, mother, and woman. The exhibit features original works by local artists, all of which explore the life and experiences of Hill. Building on these themes, the rich and vibrant history of Tacoma is on display through documents, photographs and artifacts from the Archives & Special Collections and Tacoma Public Library. The display includes journals, letters, photographs, artifacts, ephemera, original paintings by Abby Williams Hill, and other materials.

Remarks from the curatorial team and awards will be presented during the reception
at 5:30 pm.

The Puget Sound Book Artists are pleased to announce the 12th Annual Members’ Exhibition. The exhibition will be on view at the Collins Memorial Library at University of Puget Sound from June 5th -July 27th. The suggested theme is “Collaboration” and illustrates the organization’s efforts to build community throughout the region. Every member of PSBA has the opportunity of displaying a book in this exhibit, and the curatorial team of Abbie Birmingham, Jan Dove, Rachel Watson, Gina Pisello, and Belinda Hill are excited to work with the artists and share their distinctive creations. The books are created from various materials, including old books, found objects, metal, fabric, etc., and come in many sizes and structures.

The Members’ Exhibition is especially important to lead curator Belinda Hill. Years ago, it was her first introduction to book arts. “It was a revelation seeing the idea of a ‘book’ redefined in so many different ways,” she says and continues; “I was so excited that I went home and started making books, and now I can’t stop. Now I’m happy to work on sharing these amazing pieces of art with more people.”

“The PSBA Annual Members’ Exhibition is now a summer tradition at the Collins Library and in Tacoma,” says Library Director Jane Carlin. “Each June, we eagerly await the arrival of the curatorial team to work their magic in staging the exhibition. And we are never disappointed! This year we are particularly excited to see the books as the exhibition’s theme is collaboration. We all know how important it is to work together and learn from one another. The Book Arts Community is filled with such talent and generous artists that reach out to share knowledge and artistic expertise and to tell their stories.”

For more information about the Puget Sound Book Artists and the Annual Members’ Exhibition, please visit the website at:
https://pugetsoundbookartists.wildapricot.org/

For additional information regarding the exhibition, send inquiries to exhibitpsba@gmail.com
Media contact: Belinda Hill exhibitpsba@gmail.com