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.