Summer Newsletter 2017

Contents

Announcement of
new RMC Elected
Officers
page 2

Interview with RMC

member Priscilla
Spitler: The Future of
Bookbinding in the
21st Century, from a
Veteran of the Guild
Making books with vegetable dyed pages and plant imprints
page 2

Dear Rocky Mountain Chapter Members,

Upcoming classes
and workshops In this summer newsletter issue, we include a list of the
elected Rocky Mountain Chapter officers. You can read
page 6
about them below. We extend our thanks to each one of
them as they volunteer their time and energy to the
chapter. After leading a great Denver workshop on
Current and Coming concertina binding, Priscilla Spitler sat down to share her
Events views on the future of bookbinding in the 21st century in
page 7 an interview that starts on page two. And dont miss the
excellent upcoming RMC workshops that will be offered
in Utah see page six.
Things of Interest
page 8 In upcoming newsletters, we would like to feature a
members binding as the top picture. If you are interested
in sharing a picture of one of your artists books, bindings,
custom boxes or decorative papers, please send the image
and description to pleutz@me.com.

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Announcement: The Future of Bookbinding in the 21st Century,
from a Veteran of the Guild: An Interview with
RMC Elected Positions
Priscilla Spitler
Co-chairs:
Emiline Twitchellis a book
and paper conservator and
book artist from Salt Lake
City, Utah. She currently
works preserving
thecollections of the Church
History Library. Prior to
becoming a conservator, she
worked for the Book Arts
Program and Red ButtePress
at the University of Utah.
Emiline is experienced with
letterpress printing,
bookmaking, typography and
book design,
exhibitions, and teaching. Her
work has been exhibited
locally and is held in
collections nationally. Emiline
loves her kitty, her garden, and
her music turned up loud.
emiline.twitchell@gmail.com

Karen Joneshas been a book

and paper conservator in
private practice in Denver for
over 30 years. A professional
associatemember of the
American Institute for
Conservation since 1990, she
also works for Jefferson
County Public Library. A great
fan ofthe book arts, shes been
working on accumulating her
own collection for years. Shes
served as co-chair of the
Rocky MountainChapter
2003-07 and 2014-present.
karen.jones@jeffcolibrary.org
Priscilla in her studio in New Mexico (courtesy of P.
Spitler)
When I joined the Guild, fresh out of the London College of
Printing in 1981, my assessor, Bernard Middleton, said in our
one-on-one interview that what is most important is community.
He wanted to know what I was going to do with the skills [I
developed during my training] once I got back to the United
States. He stressed keeping in touch with community, and the
Guild of Book Workers was my lifeline to bookbinding in New
Mexico. I was in the middle of the high desert with a few people
like Pamela Smith who was at the Press of the Palace of the
Governors Museum. There was also Mina Yamashita, who was
my first bookbinding teacher [before London]. She had been a
calligrapher-designer at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, and she
had the idea of starting a book arts festival at the Museum. We
selfishly had this book arts program to bring people to us.

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Tresurer:
Emily Tippsis Instructor,
Program Manager and Assistant
Librarian (Lecturer) at the Book
Arts Program at the University of
Utah,as well as the proprietor of
High5 Press, which publishes
innovative writing in the form of
handmade artist's books. She
holds anMA in Creative Writing
from the University of Colorado,
and an MFA in Book Arts from
the University of Alabama. Emily
has servedas the Rocky Mountain
Chapter treasurer since 2011.
emily.tipps@utah.edu
Workshop Coordinator/Utah:
Allison Leialoha Milhamis a
book artist, musician, and
proprietor of Morning Hour
Studio. She has a BFA in Studio
Art from SanFrancisco State
University (2006) and her MFA in
Book Arts from the University of
Alabama (2012). She has taught
book arts andprintmaking at the
college level for the past five
years and is currently serving as
the Book Arts Program
Community
OutreachCoordinator. Her work
is held in multiple public
collections including Yale
University Arts Library and The
Library of Congress andis
represented by Vamp & Tramp
Booksellers and Booklyn.
allison.milham@utah.edu
We invited guests from afar. Claire Van Vliet came one year.
When I joined the Guild, I was one of the newbies, 26 or 27
years old. There were members I remember calling the grand
dames of the Guild: Mary Schlosser, Margaret Johnson, Signa
Houghteling, Jean Stephenson. I looked up to them. I realize
now that I am probably the age now, in my 60s, that they
were then when I joined the Guild. It makes me think of the
future of our organization and what has transpired since that
time in the early 80s. I ended up in Austin, Texas, doing a
master class with James Brockman and then was hired by
Craig Jensen, where I had the opportunity to work with him
and Gary Frost during those magical years at BookLab for
eight years, from 1987 1995. There was such activity in the
book arts there in Austin. That was the era of the [Guild]
Chapters. I was a co-founder of the Lone Star Chapter of the
Guild, along with Mary Baughman, who has now started the
Book Arts Center in Austin, since her retirement in 2015 [from
the Harry Ransom Center at University of Texas]. That was
the heyday of the chapters opening up. You were seeing the
Lone Star Chapter, the Rocky Mountain Chapter; the
California Chapter joined the northern and southern groups
of California; there was the Southeast Chapter that opened up
during that era, based out of Alabama and the book arts
program there. And there were the old chapters, like New
England and Midwest. It was a really active period in the
Guild.
I was one of the last of a generation of Guild members that
actually went to Europe to study. We didnt have the
opportunities [to study here in the States] in the 70s. Unless
you were able to find a European binder here in the states, you
went to England or Ascona, Switzerland, or Germany or
France or Belgium or Paris. You got your skills there and came
back to the States. I can remember attending the international
bookbinding conference in Brighton, England in 1984, New
Horizons in Bookbinding. I was asked to speak on a panel,
representing the U.S., on why I went to Europe to study. There
werent any opportunities here, in my opinion, unless you went
into a library program, and even those were sparse. But since
then, and even at that conference, they were looking to the
States for the future, that the States would be the place to
keep our craft going.
[In Europe] I have seen schools close, programs close - even
the London College of Printing has changed its emphasis and
gone more into book arts and film. One by one in Europe, the
programs have closed. We do have the opportunities here in
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Workshop Coordinator/
Colorado:
Martha Romejoined the Guild in
2014 following five years of book
arts classes at RISD, North Bennet
Street School and theAmerican
Academy of Bookbinding. She
continues to work on both fine
binding and conservation in both
her home studio and atthe AAB
while continuing her career in
health care. Martha has worked in
three areas for over 40 years:
healthcare systemsimprovement;
public health program
development and management;
and clinical care. She holds a BSN
from New York
University and an MPH from
Hunter College in New York. A
recent Colorado transplant, she
lives with her husband, grown
daughter and 2 dogs in Louisville.
She has served as our Workshop
Coordinator since 2015
martha.g.rome.cambridge@gmail.com
Communications:
Pamela Leutz studied at The Craft
Guild of Dallas. She later studied
in Switzerland and the Czech
Republic. She taught bookbinding
in Dallas for over 15 years and her
bindings have been exhibited and
are in collections in the USA and
the Czech Republic. She currently
lives and works in Denver. In 2010
she published The Thread That
Binds; each chapter describes the
challenges, successes and
common threads among the
twenty-one selected binders. She
has served as Communications
Chair for the RM Chapter since
2015.
pleutz@mac.com
the States. We have the Center for the Book, the earliest one
in New York, and then Minneapolis, and now Austin, TX. We
have programs like [Master of Fine Arts in the Book Arts] at
University of Alabama, and master classes in Portland,
Oregons School of Arts and Crafts. And weve got wonderful
programs like North Bennet Street School. I cant tell you how
thrilling it is to go to a meeting and see all these young people
coming out of the program at North Bennet Street, the
American Academy of Bookbinding, and University of
Alabama. These are young people that are excited about the
craft like I was. Having just taught this workshop here in
Denver, there were only two familiar faces in the class: Pam
Leutz and Karen Jones, long time members of the Guild. The
rest were all new faces. We had our introductions and heard of
their backgrounds and their reasons for pursuing book arts. It
may have been that they were calligraphers wanting to learn to
house their craft; many said they had gone to the Center for
the Book in San Francisco and took classes, or they went to
American Academy of Bookbinding or they went to the North
Bennet Street School, taking workshops here and there. Its
keeping our craft alive and vital, though maybe the emphasis
has changed.
The Guild membership used to be mostly bookbinders and
fine binders in the early days, and its shifting. We saw this in
the beginning of the 21st century with the Guilds In Flight
exhibit in 2003 - I was chair of exhibitions, and Laura Wait
was my co-chair. I made many trips to Denver then, helping
organize this show, which opened at the Denver Public
Library. The In Flight show was probably the last show when
actual books were [physically] entered for the jurors to see.
The theme that we chose In Flight had such a broad
interpretation that it was flooded with book arts. I think that
was the first exhibit that had book arts or artist books. Out of
100 entries we had about 10 or 12 fine bindings. It went to
dierent chapters they hosted the shows. It traveled for a
couple years. I think that was the turning point in the Guild
when we started seeing the excitement of new technology. We
saw inkjet-printed texts, original texts, non-traditional
bindings, accordions, flip books. We saw unusual box-making
as a book arts form, expressed with three dimensional pieces,
and it was an exciting time. We also learned it was such a job in
dealing with these books. Members of the Rocky Mountain
Chapter in Denver had to help pack up the books that were
not accepted. That was a huge job. I had tried to devise a jury
form, where jurors could individually rate each book. They
were all anonymous. We had to cut [the entries] down to half.
Maybe that wasnt so popular in the end when those whose
books werent accepted got feedback, though I would have
liked feedback. I had a book not accepted in the 2000 show,
4
and I wanted to know why.

Peter Verheyen took on the role [as exhibit chair] again after serving in the role in the 90s, and
after that Karen Hanmer took over. In the 21st century, weve seen new technology coming in -
were using digital printing; we no longer have to rely on letterpress work. Even the letterpress
printers are now using computer-generated type through photo polymer plates. Theyre not using
the lead type so much.

As an edition binder winding down my production business, I hope to just concentrate on my art
bindings and my fine bindings, at this stage in my life. What Im seeing, and what concerns me, is
the materials that we use. The quality, the demand for fine leathers, fine papers, bookboards. The
nature of the work is changing. The costs are very expensive. We have to balance that as
production people, and as artists. We are dealing with the high cost of shipping materials. But with
other venues through the internet like Etsy and Facebook pages people are using those like
websites now - you can be in a little town nowhere and have your bookbinding craft or business. I
think that is really encouraging. And there are other sources of funding, like GoFundMe.com. It
will be exciting to see how we as small craft people can survive in the 21st century and be inventive.
Were making our own paper; we may have to learn how to make our own tools. Weve seen Jim
Croft, who lives out in the wild, who tans leather and makes bone folders. We may need to be more
resourceful and more local-community oriented to keep this craft going. But on the flip side, it is a
global community. Its changing, but I believe, and Im hopeful that the craft is going to continue. I
see hope in the young people who are joining the Guild.

The community part is such a big deal. I love bookbinding; I love working with my hands; but I think it is
community that is so important to me. Its helped me to meet interesting people and made my life interesting.

Oh, I would totally agree with that. My choice - for whatever reason it was that I ended up on this
path to choose to go study bookbinding - it was a lightbulb moment. This makes sense to me. It
combines all my interests. It has been a life that exposed me to the most interesting clients,
whether writers or artists, and to students that have flocked to me who want to learn how to bind
their books, that love handmade books. I started teaching more actively in the 90s and 2000s. I
tried to teach one semester in an academic setting, but it wasnt for me. I didnt want to have to
grade students. I found a dierent kind of student in that situation. In a workshop where a student
really wants to be there, and there is not such competition for grades, its sheer joy. I know its a
struggle for some students there is always that student in the class that needs maybe more
attention - but still, the enthusiasm and excitement keeps me going. I love that exchange. And at
this point in my life, in my 60s now, its my turn. I need to pay it forward by giving back and
sharing what I know and keep the craft going. I believe it is important in this decade of my life to
be passing that on. Now that Im beginning to wind down my business, maybe I can finally turn to
[writing] my various manuals to leave behind.

I was really encouraged with the group that was in the workshop this past weekend. They were all so
enthusiastic and are interested in getting together to continue working on projects. I think we started building a
community.

In New Mexico, a study group has been getting together and are working through Karen Hanmers
latest manual, Contemporary Paper Bindings. Its a really great thing to do. For me, Im overjoyed
when I can see students go back, especially with the handouts I labor over, and make another book,
and send me a picture of what theyve done. Thats the most rewarding thing to me.

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Upcoming Classes/Workshops:

COLORADO
Denver
TBA Rocky Mountain Chapter-Denver classes Box-making - learn to make slipcases, clamshell
boxes, and variations. Classes will be offered in the fall.

Classes at Arts Student League in Denver, 200 Grant St, Denver, CO

http://asld.org/adult-classes-workshops-student-information/ Moxie U Peep Show Binding with
Alicia Bailey, August 10, 10:00-3:00

Mary Jo Hamilton classes, 3040 Blake Street, #150, Denver, CO

Register at acornbookbindingllc@gmail.com , classes limited to 4 students
August 30, 2017 6-9 pm $50
Basic Bookbinding
Single Pamphlet & Accordion Book
Make two books learning useful basic binding techniques.
No previous experience necessary- All materials provided

September 6, 2017 6-10pm $60

Secret Belgian Binding
Previous experience helpful- All materials provided

UTAH
Salt Lake City

Making Short Work of the Long-Stitch

Emily Tipps
August 5
Saturday, 1:005:00
$65
A multi-signature, non-adhesive binding with exposed sewing on the spine, the long-stitch structure is
relatively quick and simple to bind; yet once the basics are learned, limitless creative interpretations
are possible. This workshop teaches the basic long-stitch technique and demonstrates how high-
quality materials, used thoughtfully, increase the tactile and visual impression of a hand-bound book.
Participants incorporate a leather spine, handmade paper covers, hand-colored linen thread, and
decorative endsheets to create an elegant variation of the versatile long-stitch binding. Space is limited
to 15 participants.
-----
Register: http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/book-arts/community/workshops.php

Drop-in Session
Paper Decoration: Suminagashi & Pastepaper
August 19
Saturday, 1:005:00
Free and no registration necessaryjust drop by!
Join us any time between 1 & 5 in the Book Arts Studio on the 4th floor of the Marriott Library! These
Drop-in Sessions are informal opportunities to get your hands dirty and try some new techniques,
ranging from alternative printing processes to paper decoration and much more. Free to the public and
no experience necessary. Must be 16+.
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Current and Coming Events:

COLORADO
Denver
The 33rd Annual Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair
Friday and Saturday, August 4 and 5, 2017
Denver Mart - I-25 & 58th Avenue, Denver
http://www.rmaba.org/rmbpf/2017/rmbpf_2017_GeneralInfo.html
Our chapter has had a table at the Fair, along with other book arts related groups, for the past several
years. This year, Denver Public Library special collections will have an exhibit adjacent to GBW, too. If
you are interested in volunteering at the chapter table, please contact Karen Jones,
karen.jones@jeffcolibrary.org.
Presenters include: Keynote Speaker:CAROL PORTER GROSSMAN: History of the Limited Editions
Club, Friday, August 4 6:00 p.m., and
Featured Presenter:KAREN JONES: Caring for your collection
Saturday, August 5 1:00 p.m.
Learn best practices for keeping your collection in prime condition. Basic care and safe
handling of books and paper will be covered, with time for questions and a short
demonstration. Karen has been a book and paper conservator in private practice for 30 years.

Arvada
Paper.Works
June 1 - Aug. 20
Exhibit at Arvada Arts Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80003

Durango
Autumn Arts Festival September 16-17
In beautiful, historic downtown Durango, Colorado to celebrate the 23rd annual Durango Autumn Arts
Festival.

NEW MEXICO

Santa Fe Book Arts Group

https://santafebag.org
Rotunda Exhibit Opening: Open to the Public
Friday, September 8, 2017, 4 pm to 6 pm
Capitol Rotunda Gallery at the New Mexico State Capitol Building
Portable Magic: the Art of the Book is the theme of BAGs exhibit at the Rotunda Gallery. It runs from
Friday, September 8 through Friday, December 15, 2017. A companion book will be available.

Place, Time, and Multicultural Experience in the Creation of My Artists Books, a presentation by
Beata Wehr
Open to the Public; Free
Friday, October 13, 2017, 7 pm to 9 pm
Santa Fe Community College Boardroom (Main Building)
Beata Wehr is an award-winning visual artist and educator. She paints and creates artists books,
examining in her work ideas of home, place, time, transience, and multicultural experiences.

7
WYOMING
Laramie
SOUVENIR: ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER MEMBER SHOW
The show is currently up at the University of Wyoming in Laramie late July through late September.
Online catalog
https://www.scribd.com/document/344150171/Souvenir-Exhibition-Catalog-Rocky-Mountain-
Chapter-of-the-Guild-of-Book-Workers

Cheyenne
Utopia/Dystopia: Inspiration and the Artist Book - Exhibition
Now - August 7, Library Hours
All Ages; All Floors
Accomplished artists from Wyoming and around the country interpret bookmaking techniques and forms
into original pieces of art inspired by the ideas of utopian and dystopian worlds. Curated by artist Sue
Sommers.
Laramie County Library System, Cheyenne, WY For more information, http://lclsonline.org/exhibits/

Things of Interest:

Colorado

Concertina Book Structures with Priscilla

Spitler June 10, 11.
The full class was held in Pamela Leutz's
home studio. Priscilla is a great teacher; full
of practical advice and happy to share her
expertise and creativity. Everyone, including
our youngest student (14 years old), finished
their projects with time to spare. We left in a
happy buzz, excited to do more with our
newly learned skills. Priscilla showing a conservation style concertina

Artists' Book Cornucopia VIII

@ Abecedarian Artist Books
Call for Submissions
Curated by Abecedarian Artists' Books, Artists' Book Cornucopia VIII will be on view at Art
Gym Gallery, Denver, Colorado. <http://www.artgymdenver.com/gallery/>,
For more info seebit.ly/ABC8-prospectus<http://bit.ly/ABC8-prospectus>
Juried by Cynthia Nourse Thompson, exhibition dates areOctober 12 - November 4.The final
deadline to submit isAugust 21.Submission discounts to members of Art Gym, members of
Guild of Book Workers and students.

Significant Artifacts Program

Nominations openfor Colorado's 2017 Significant Artifacts program!
Colorado's Significant Artifacts program, sponsored by an IMLS Grant and the Auraria Library at
the University of Colorado Denver, is beginning its FIFTH YEAR! When you nominate an
Artifact from your collections, it helps highlight the importance of our state's historic and
cultural heritage!
8
Every artifact cared for by Colorado's cultural heritage organizations tells a story that
collectively represents the diverse history of Colorado. This campaign honors and recognizes
the care and preservation of documents, films, diaries, books and other artifacts that allow
visitors to better understand the diversity of our states history!
Help highlight the importance of Colorado's historic and cultural heritage and the role that
artifacts play in telling the story of Colorado. Awardees will be announced in December 2017.
Nomination Deadline: August 31, 2017
Nominate Your Artifact <https://collectioncare.auraria.edu/content/colorados-2017-most-
significant-artifacts-nomination-form>

Bibliothecarii et Glutinatores
Curated by Abecedarian Artists' Books, Bibliothecarii et Glutinatores will be on view at Denver
Public Library, Gates Exhibition Hall, Denver, Colorado.
Deadline to enter is November 15, 2017.
For more info<http://www.abecedariangallery.com/assets/content_files/opportunities/
Biblio%20prospectus.html>

Wyoming

Cheyenne Arts Festival

The 6th Annual Cheyenne Arts Festival (CAF), August 18-20
The Festival is located at the historic Cheyenne Depot and Depot Plaza in Downtown
Cheyenne.
The CAF is a production of Arts Cheyenne, with key sponsorship from the Cheyenne
Downtown Development Authority/Main Street and the Wyoming Arts Council.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter blogsite, http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com , includes a member page

http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/members.html and calendar http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/events-
calendar.html ). If you would like your contact information included or updated on the member
page, http://rmcgbw.blogspot.com/p/members.html, please send information to pleutz@me.com.

To receive an email message each time that a new posting is put up, please go to the website and
put your email address in the box underFollow by email.

Please send articles, tips, and book related news and event information to pleutz@me.com by
October 15 so they can be added to the next newsletter that will come out November 1.

Warm Regards,
Pamela Train Leutz
Communications Coordinator, pleutz@me.com