Brick & Mortar since 1991. Blogging since 2006. From Jason Thompson, Rag & Bone founder & creative director. We write about the things we love: bookbinding, book arts, paper arts, the bindery, personal stuff, our kids, our travels, sometimes food and sometimes art.
As far as I can tell Cardboardia is an artist gathering in Moscow which takes place in/around a cardboard ‘village’ called cardboard town. I don’t speak or read Russian, and online translators are buggy, but it looks like a less-drug-centered burning man - with cardboard. Artists gather and share their work & performances in and around the cardboard town, many of the works consist of actual cardboard. Some of the performances are musical, there even was a cardboard town group wedding. Looks like fun, whether you’re into cardboard or not - or if you speak Russian or not. The first event took place in 2007 in Moscow, there have been several Cardboardia events since. Looks like the next one takes place in 2011.
Our biggest trade show of the year took place a few weeks ago at the Javits Center in NYC. It was our 16th Stationery Show and I still feel like we learn something new every year. Our booth looks a little better each year, as do our books. After 19 years making handmade albums, we’re getting pretty good at it I think. The show was much smaller than it has been in years previous - fewer exhibitors. Parts of the trade show floor were actually closed off. Overall, this was good for the vendors who attended the show. Traffic was good for the first two days, slowed down the final two. We met our goals which in this economy is a success.
In my opinion, the most exciting vendors at the shows are the new companies who are showing for the first time or first few times. Two Trick Pony, Ink + Wit, Timeless Paper, Wiley Valentine, Egg Press, Rifle Paper Co, Old School Stationers, Hello Lucky, and many more. I get so inspired by these great companies. The last thing I ever want our customers to think is that Rag & Bone is ‘old’. Sure, we’ve been around for a while, but I appreciate color & design trends and admittedly get bored with designs quickly. What’s new? What’s fresh? These companies get it and I expect them to be around for a while, setting the design trends for Stationery Shows to come.
France’s Royal de Luxe street theatre company performed this larger than life sized animatronic street spectacle titled The Berlin Reunion a few weeks ago. 1.5 million Europeans lined the streets of Berlin to see these amazing ‘puppets’ walk the streets looking for each other. “Part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Reunion show featured two massive marionettes, the Big Giant, a deep-sea diver, and his niece, the Little Giantess. The storyline of the performance has the two separated by a wall, thrown up by “land and sea monsters”. The Big Giant has just returned from a long and difficult - but successful - expedition to destroy the wall, and now the two are walking the streets of Berlin, seeking each other after many years apart.” View all the images at the Boston Globe website.
The 2009 invite for the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair arrived in the mail this morning. The Boston Book Fair is one of the oldest and most respected antiquarian book shows in the country. It takes place November 13 through November 15, 2009, at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. I usually go with Faye and we spend our money on lunch and blind boxes. Admittedly, we can’t afford much at the show, but I look for Polar Exploration books. Last year I met Antipodean Books who had just purchased a large polar exploration collection with memorabilia - gloves, news clippings, etc. The show doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller, though there are fewer buyers to nudge shoulders with. Here’s my review from last year’s show.
Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair
Hynes Convention Center - Boston, Mass.
Friday November 13 - 5pm to 9pm
Saturday November 14 - 12noon to 7pm
Sunday November 15 - 12noon to 5pm
The Boston Book, Print & Ephemera Show also takes place on Saturday, November 14, 2009 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at the Radisson Hotel just down the street. See you there!
The Sketchbook Project: Library project hopes to gather personal journals, diaries, sketchbooks and artist journals for a traveling library. The exhibition is a collection of sorts similar to a library which houses personal journals by participating artists. These are contemporary artists books & sketchbooks which can be checked out just like a library - no white gloves, no books behind glass. If you would like to participate, the Sketchbook Library is accepting submissions. NOTE: There is a fee to participate.
The closest the library will come to the East Coast is New York next February. The website lists locations the mobile library will visit next year, five exhibitions have been confirmed for 2010.
The library will house thousands of sketchbooks from artists that reside all over the globe. We’ll be touring around the United States with the collection starting in April, followed by a permanent location for the library in 2010. Your sketchbook will become part of our permanent library. Sign up receive a blank sketchbook marked with a barcode that links it to a searchable database. When you send your completed book back to us, it will be included in the library. Future library patrons will be able to browse books alphabetically, by location, theme, etc.
Saturday, October 17, 2009, 7 - 10 pm
Pratt Fine Arts Center
1902 S Main St, Seattle, WA
Print Arts Studio: Yellow Building
$15 / 2 for $25
Join Seattle Center for Book Arts for our third annual Accordion-A-Thon. This event is a chance to gather with the book arts community in the Northwest, celebrate all things accordion, and have a great time. We’ll have beer, great food, and music to set the mood. There will also be a silent auction to benefit SCBA’s ongoing efforts to bring book arts to a broader audience. Be sure to bring cash or checks (preferred) or a credit card to pay for silent auction items. The Accordion-A-Thon is an all ages event — kids are welcome!
National Book Festival
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
Washington D.C.
{various venues}
There are so many events going on, literally hundreds, I recommend you visit the website for further details. Author signings, book readings, children’s events, history events and more. Presentations will be available as Webcast videos shortly after they appear at the event.
“The Westand”, featuring work by Joanne B. Kaar and Lynn Taylor, is an artistic celebration of the 1879 maiden voyage of the “Westland” from Tail ‘O The Bank in Scotland, to Port Chalmers in New Zealand.
The exhibit includes bookish compositions, paper and textile work, and nautical themes objects. The exhibit looks great, I wish I was able to attend. I’m a fan of victorian age polar exploration and love books & paper. Joanne’s work has been featured on the blog before, check out her website for more paper and bookish works. The exhibit opened with the sale of one-of-a-kind paper boats donated by fellow artists all over the world to benefit the Caithness Heritage Trust.
Be sure to also read the 1879 diary pages from passenger Jonathan Moscrop who sailed on the maiden voyage of the “Westland”.
On display now until September 27 at the Ancorage Gallery in Port Chalmers.
Paper Works
Through 19 September 2009
1-5 Needham Road, London
Tel: +44 (0)20 7243 0782
info@flowgallery.co.uk
Paper Works, an exhibition featuring twelve international artists at Flow, harnesses the sensitivity of the hand-made object. Fragility and transience are the immediate connotations which resonate in the use of paper as a medium for creating three-dimensional form. Single sheets are either reworked or pulped to form visually striking works of art. Here, paper is not just used for the printed word, but given a chance to speak for itself.
Papershapers, curated by Giant Robot opens on April 11 at Scion’s 4,500 square foot Installation L.A. Gallery in Culver City. Papershapers is a group show featuring ten artists who work with paper-not “on paper.” The exhibition will feature works that are cut, torn, folded, and sewn into unique creations. Shin Tanaka will be making a rare U.S. appearance at the opening and will be on hand to show original pieces and fold paper with attendees.
The opening reception takes place April 11, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. and will run through May 2 at the Scion Installation L.A. Gallery, 3521 Helms Ave. (at National), Culver City, Calif. 90232.
Scion Gallery Online
{Flash Site, link will break when show ends}
The 2009 dates for Journalfest have been announced
October 21-25, 2009
Fort Worden
Port Townsend, Washington.
The wonderful Teesha Moore organizes Journalfest (as well as Artfest and Fiberfest). Join 200 attendees and dozens of teachers for classes such as “inspiration Sketchbook”, “the Upcycle Journal”, “Handbook Of Elements”, “Shopping Bag Journal”, “Altered Photos Re-Explored”, “Wearable Journal”, and more.
We are limiting Journalfest to about 200 folks for the first year to keep it more intimate for the after hours journaling events we have planned. In the tradition of Artfest, we will again be offering 3 full days of workshops to choose from. You will arrive on a Wednesday at 3pm and depart on a Sunday morning at 10am. The evenings will consist of “Journal Jams” where we will get together to journal and socialize and listen to live music. Friday night will be a marketplace of journaling supplies, handbound journals and related stuff you can purchase.
If you love journals, journaling, friends, creativity and teachers such as Teesha Moore, Anahata Katkin, Dan Essig, Traci Bunkers, LK Ludwig - you’ll love Journalfest!
The “23 Sandy Gallery”, located in Portland, Oregon, will exhibit artist books in their gallery show “Material Maternal Legends” opening December 5th. These images are from the show, the full gallery is online at www.23sandy.com
Maternal Legends
A National Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Artist Books
December 5, 2008 - January 3, 2009
A robot arm transcribes the bible.
This calligraphic writing Bionic arm is part of an installation by Artists Matthias Gommel, Martina Haitz, and Jan Zappe for an upcoming exhibition titled “Medium Religion” at the ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Their project is called “BIOS [Bible]” and you really have to see the video of the robot in action to appreciate how carefully its arm creates each letter form. The completed pages don’t look computer driven or overly symmetrical. If I didn’t know better, I would think this was created by a master calligrapher. There must have been a lot of trial and error to get the writing to look as well as it does. I appreciate the slowness of the moving arm - it retains that careful and methodical feel of a true calligrapher.
The installation ‘bios [bible]’ consists of an industrial robot, which writes down the bible on rolls of paper. The machine draws the calligraphic lines with high precision. Like a monk in the scriptorium it creates step by step the text. Starting with the old testament and the books of Moses ‘bios [bible]’ produces within seven month continuously the whole book. All 66 books of the bible are written on rolls and then retained and presented in the library of the installation.
My apologies to all the calligraphers in the house if I’ve compared a robotic arm to a truly skilled calligraphers hand. We work with a calligrapher to personalize our albums and I have admiration for their skilled work.
Photos from the Fall River, Massachusetts Open Studio event last weekend. Enjoy.
Hijacked Ceramics
Nate is our Rag & Bone studio assistant - he binds books and manages our materials, fabrics & paper - but in the evenings and weekends he’s a potter and sculptor. You can visit his Etsy site here.
Faye & I walked the South Boston Open Studios on Sunday. We visited the Distillery and King Terminal. The very first Rag & Bone studio was located in the Distillery in 1991. We also lived next door and our old studio apartment was open too (I took photos). We met with our friends over at Two Trick Pony for their “Three Ring Circus & Bake Sale” - Yummy Peanut Butter Brownies - and discovered for the first time that we have old friends in common even though they live in Boston and we’re in Providence. Small world.
Here are a bunch of photos in no particular order.
Just received an announcement for the new Fall River Open Studios in Fall River Massachusetts:
Artists across the city will be opening their studios to the public on Saturday, November 8th, from 11am to 4pm. Trolleys will be shuttling from one point to another in a continuous loop throughout the day. On display will be oil painting, drawing, woodworking, metalsmithing, jewelry making, ceramics, sculpture, basketwork and textile art, to name a few. In addition to seeing visual arts, the audience will be invited behind the scenes to witness dance in rehearsal and theatre in pre-production.
This is the first Fall River Open Studio event so stop by and support them if you can.
Fall River Open Studios
Saturday, November 8
11am to 4pm
{Several Locations / Trolleys available}
16 Anawan St. – Narrows Center for the Arts
104 Anawan St. – On Stage Productions
192 Anawan Street - Page-B Studio & Smokestack Studios
25 North Main St – Storefront Artists Project and Children’s Museum
45 North Main St – Elizabeth Graham
371 Pine St. – Nilsa Garcia-Rey
18 Pocasset St. (above the WOW building) – Smokestack Studios
340 Prospect St. – Little Theatre of Fall River
18 Purchase St. – Scott Camara
288 Plymouth Ave. – Spindle City Ballet
1 West St. – Border City Studios
A map and full, up-to-date list of the studios, artists, and the artists’ websites, with directions, is available at the Arts Express/Open Studios website.
Just got a message from our friends at Two Trick Pony:
It’s Open Studios time again in South Boston and Two Trick Pony will be hosting an arts, crafts and bake sale event in Carrie’s space. In addition to Two Trick products, several other talented artists and craftspeople will be displaying their wares.
Faye and I will be going on Sunday - hopefully it won’t be raining or freezing. But if you’re in the Boston area, it’s a great way to spend the afternoon - Rag & Bone recommends it!
South Boston Open Studios
Saturday, November 1st 12am-6pm
Sunday, November 2nd 12am-6pm Details & Directions
Faye and I drove up to Boston and walked the Fort Point Open Studios last weekend. It was fun, fun, fun! The new studios off of “A” Street are beautiful. We met our friend Chris Watts and played foosball for about an hour on a “Bay Of Pigs” foosball table, the men were little Castros and the playing field was a beach. Faye met an artist who was creating clay vessels along the sidewalk, sort of a public art exhibition - anyone could play along. We took the opportunity to get our hands dirty and if you ask Faye, I think this was her funnest part of the day - even more fun than foosball I think.
We met Rob Charlton of Goosfish Press again, he has a new studio in South Boston too, so he will be open for the South Boston Open Studios as well. I wish we could have met with Laura Davidson again, but either her studio wasn’t open, or we missed her.
As usual, I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have, but I met a new paper artist {new to me} who I’ll write about next. In the meantime, here are a few photos of us having fun!
Fort Point Open Studios
Friday, October 17th 4pm-7pm (Opening Reception)
Saturday, October 18th 11am-6pm
Sunday, October 19th 11am-6pm Details & Directions
This is a walking tour, the buildings are all pretty close to each other. It’s usually a cool day, the weather says low 60’s so bring a light jacket, but the buildings are usually pretty warm. There are LOTS of artists with open studios - painting, installation, textiles, paper, bookbinders, etc. See our earlier posts here, here, here and here. I’ll bring my camera on Sunday. If you’re in our near Boston, this is a great way to spend your Sunday. Bring the kids too!
South Boston Open Studios
Saturday, November 1st 12am-6pm
Sunday, November 2nd 12am-6pm Details & Directions
This is where Rag & Bone was started, our first bindery was at the Distillery Building in South Boston. It’s is an old Rum factory that is really a bunch of buildings connected to each other so the floors don’t always meet (Third floor on one building is the second floor to the one connected to it). We worked there in 1993 and there are still a few folks there when we were there. It takes a few hours to walk the whole building and look at everyone’s work. This is another open studio even that we recommend.
It’s not too late to register to exhibit at the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair, there are still a few tables still remaining.
In partnership with the Visual Arts Program of Montgomery College [Silver Spring, Maryland], Pyramid Atlantic is pleased to present the 10th Biennial Book Arts Fair & Conference. The event connects international artists and booksellers with collectors and scholars of the book arts through a dynamic book fair, stimulating conference lectures, exhibitions, panel discussions and events. Pyramid Atlantic, in its 27th year, serves as a contemporary visual arts center and gallery dedicated to the creation and appreciation of paper, prints, book arts and digital media.
Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair and Conference
November 8-9, 2008
Cafritz Foundation Art Center
Montgomery College
930 King St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Visit bookartsfair.org for registration information and conference and events details
