April 30, 2020

Nominations open for Northwest Chapter Board Positions



I know you have been anxiously awaiting this opportunity to nominate yourself or someone you know for election to the regional board. 


Rather than compete with the national nomination process we have usually waited to keep nominations and election dates closer together. [It keeps things fresh in everyone's minds as well.]


Nominations may be submitted to Elsi Vassdal Ellis who will confirm nominations and work with the national board to create an electronic ballot by June 15. The electronic ballot will be sent out to all current members on [or slightly before July 1]; ballots must be completed/returned by midnight, July 31.

You will receive reminders of dates. The most important one to remember right now is JUNE 1.



The board positions open for nomination are:

Chapter chair (currently Sarah Mottaghinejad)
Vice-chair
Secretary (currently Elsi Vassdal Ellis)
Treasurer (currently Elsi Vassdal Ellis)
Website/Communications Director (currently Elsi Vassdal Ellis)
Newsletter (currently Elsi Vassdal Ellis)
Events Coordinator (currently Sophia Bogle)


Just so you have some idea of what the positions are all about, I have included the information from the GBW Chapter Handbook.

From the standard Chapter Handbook:
Every chapter must have a Chair.  [No chair, No chapter].

Other offices are optional, depending on the needs of the Chapter.  Regardless of the number of officers or officer title, the duties listed below must be fulfilled.  
 ​
Chapter offices and duties that might be considered: 
1.    Chair (or Co-Chairs). 
Responsible for the smooth and effective running of the chapter Coordinates the other officers Communicates with the chapter membership Represents the chapter at the meetings of the GBW Board of Directors Quarterly conference call meetings Board of Directors annual meeting at the Standards Conference Chapter Chairs annual meeting at the Standards Conference
2.    Vice-chair  
Is an understudy for the President or Chair Takes on assigned tasks 
3.    Secretary (recording & membership) 
Receives and handles mail 
Takes minutes of meetings 
Writes (or assigns) reports of events 
Keeps chapter membership lists (names, phone, email) 
Collects permanent records and materials for the GBW Archives. 
4.    Treasurer 
Creates annual chapter budget with Chair 
Oversees all financial activities (events, etc.) 
Records all financial transactions 
Collects, approves, and forwards all bills for payment 
5.    Website/Communications Director 
Creates &/or monitors web site information 
May maintain a blog or other social media for the chapter 
6.    Newsletter Editor 
Edits regular chapter newsletter content and production 
7.    Events Coordinator (may be divided into two positions if desired) 
Meeting and Program/Workshop Planner Exhibition Coordinator 


If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me or Sarah [sarah@editions.studio]. [And no, I am not a position hog; board members resigned because life called upon them to shift priorities elsewhere, and so I filled in on things as needed. To be honest, I could have done more. . .]

And yes, there will be weekly reminders. I will haunt you until the nomination deadline!!!! [Remember that Halloween Exchange???]

January 9, 2020

Call for workshop proposals

The Focus on Book Arts (FOBA) conference is looking for instructors for the fifteenth biennial conference.  Conference dates are Wednesday through Sunday June 23-27, 2021 with a check-in day of Tuesday, June 22, 2021. This event is held at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon about 30 miles west of Portland, Oregon. We are looking for beginning, intermediate and advanced level workshops. We would also like to consider master level workshops that may involve critical problem solving or more advanced hands-on work.

The format of the conference is in classes of one, two, or three days. All three-day classes will be on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There will be a limited number of one day classes each day. Instructors may submit proposals for the length of days they think appropriate for their class. We encourage instructors to submit a combination of workshops that cover the entire five days of the conference. Each day would be six contact hours, 9:00 until 4:30 with a 1½ hour lunch break. In addition to the individual workshops, the conference will host evening activities and receptions, a trade show, a sales store (The Artists’ Fair), and a Faculty/Staff exhibit.
Deadline for proposals: May 15, 2020
For more information go to:

https://focusonbookarts.org/workshops/call-for-proposals/

January 2, 2020




Halloween Print Exchange (finally posted!!)



Three email calls went out in September soliciting participation in the second Print Exchange for the Northwest Chapter. This time it was for Halloween/Days of the Dead/.

Yes, it was another busy time of the year for an exchange with November and December celebrations falling close together.

The call went out suggesting not to think of the exchange as Trick or Treat but as Treat and Treat! To reduce the haunting fears of how many ephemera to make, the spirits of another GBW chapter was channeled and whispered, “Just a maximum of 10 is all.”

A second call went out soothing would-be participants by emphasizing no one had anything to FEAR! There will be no zombie apocalypse. No crazed Jack-O-Lanterns and werewolves. There could be flying bats but certainly no vampires hiding in the dark, waiting for you to fall asleep.

As a woman with skeletons in her closet and sitting on her bookshelves, one last call went out with the help of Casper, the Friendly Ghost.



Here are the results of the Halloween Print Exchange call.

Mary Ashton















Sophia Bogle




Susan Collard





Karen Hamner





Paula Jull





Marilyn Mohr





Elsi Vassdal Ellis




























May 9, 2019

Upcoming workshop @ Washi Arts



Paper Voodoo: Transforming Japanese Paper with Konnyaku Starch

This is a one-day workshop for book artists, paper lovers, and fiber artists. In Japan, the traditional technique of kneading konnyaku starch into kozo fiber papers, was developed to make paper cloth for use in kamiko / clothing and other household goods.
Learn how to create momigami (kneaded / crinkled paper), textured papers and paper cloth for paper and book arts, paper sculpture, fiber arts, and  sewing. Participants will work with a range of Japanese papers including chiyogami (yuzen), katazome-shi, heritage washi, dyed papers and decorative opaque papers. These strong treated papers are great for book covers, cases, boxes, artist books and fiber arts projects. Leave with a book of samples and techniques for reference in your art studio.

Date: Sunday May 26, 2019
Location: Blaine Harbor Center / 235 Marine Drive Blaine WA 98230
Times: 10:00am — 4:00pm
Workshop Fee: $125.00

For more information and to register go to www.washiarts.com/workshops
or contact linda@washiarts.com