Upcoming OCAC Worshop: Book as Architecture

Barb Tetenbaum, book arts department head of the Oregon College of Art and Craft, has asked us to help spread the word about a special workshop this March.

British pop-up star Paul Johnson is coming from London to spend nearly a week in Portland, and to teach a weekend workshop March 25 and 26. A lecture is planned the Friday before that will be open to the public. Barb adds, "But first we need the workshop to fly and are hoping some of your members will be interested and tell their comrades...It will be such an honor to bring Paul to town and we want to share his talents with as many as we can."

A full description of the class and on-line registration is available on the OCAC website. 

Important: There's an early bird registration option, making the price for the workshop $275 + $15 studio fee before January 15. The price goes up $30 after January 15.

Pictured is Paul Johnson's unique book, Enchanted Garden, which you may well remember from the 2010 Pop Up Now! show at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Shawn Sheehy's Mechanics of Movables workshop, sponsored by the GBW in October, was a great success, and we hope to help bring other book arts luminaries to the region in the future.

GBW NW Chapter Members' Show

The exhibit of artists' books by members of the Northwest Chapter is on display at the Marriott Library of the University of Utah through February 12, so if you or someone you know will be in Salt Lake City, please don't miss it. Visiting information is available on the library website. 

The exhibition's first stop was Idaho Sate University, where it was on display in October and November, 2011.  Two works in the show were selected for purchase awards by Karen Kearns, Special Collections curator at the Eli Oboler Library at Idaho State. Pictured below is "Be the Change" by Bonnie Thompson Norman, a vertical concertina with a dynamic interpretation of the quote by Gandhi printed on letterpress.

The second purchase award went to Andrew Huot for "Directions," a set of five letterpress guidebooks using ephemeral and shifting landmarks, such as "Turn right at the poodle on a walk," and "Stop at a cold breeze and wait for the green light." Congratulations to the award winners!

Special thanks to our chapter president, Paula Jull, for arranging the exhibition.

The Mechanics of Movables

Instructor: Shawn Sheehy
Time: Oct 22, 23, 2011, 10am-5pm
Location: Oregon College of Art & Craft, NW Barnes Road, Portland, Oregon

Pull a tab. Turn a wheel. Bring new life to your page by animating it with movables! In this 2-day workshop participants will learn the fundamental principles that guide the movables seen in many interactive books published today. Beginning with basic tools and techniques, the workshop will quickly move on to building a series of increasingly complex movable structures based on wheels, pull tabs and other ingenious mechanisms. Participants will leave with a bound collection of 10-15 models. Throughout the workshop, participants will view and discuss the work of commercial paper engineers and discuss conceptual possibilities for movables in their own work.

No experience necessary, though patience is a must!

Workshop Fees

GBW members: $180 (includes materials)
Non-GBW members: $210 (includes materials)

Register for This Class

Contact Shu-Ju Wang, shuju@fivebats.com, 503-245-8177.
GBW members have priority registration through September 10; after that, registration is open to all.

Friday Evening Lecture

Oct 21, Friday, at 23 Sandy Gallery, free and open to the public. More information to come.

About the Instructor

Shawn Sheehy combines paper engineering and paper making with an interest in biology and science to produce sculptural pop-up books. Shawn has taught workshops at PBI, Penland and the Centers for Book Arts in Chicago and New York. His commercial pop-up clients include American Greetings, Pee-Wee Herman and Vintage Magazine.

Some sample models from the Mechanics of Movables workshop:

For more information about Shawn, visit his website.