Fat and Fast Futura, collaborative poster, Chicago, IL

On view April 29- June 29
^{Opening reception May 10th, 5:00-7:30, open to the public
The Letterpress will be set-up for Visitors to make & take-away an original letterpress print.}

For those who delight in the printed letter, Homegrown Alphabets is an exhibition not to be missed. Juried by local artist and letterpress printer Eleanor Annand, the show promises to be a celebration of the ascenders, descenders and serifs that compose our written language. Artists across the country have submitted work that uses letterpress and printmaking processes to showcase the beauty and versatility of typography in the tradition of print graphics. The result is a clever and varied pool of work featuring original alphabets and fresh uses of existing type, from which Annand will curate the show. Visitors to Asheville BookWorks are invited to explore the studio and revel in the playful ingenuity of these typographical works of art.

Eleanor Annand has a background in printmaking that spans 14 years and has brought her to the 7 Ton Letterpress Collective

Gutenberg Remix, Jamie Mahoney, VA, printed from type made on a 3-D printer.

of West Asheville. Her experiences with typography extend to a variety of mediums, and she hopes to represent a range of aesthetics and processes in curating Homegrown Alphabets. She will also look for artistic care and intention in submitted work.  “You know how you can tell when a meal is made with love,” says Annand. “I want that feeling except with type.”

Exhibition Dates: March 1 – April 26, 2013
Reception on Friday, March 8, 6 – 8 PM. Join us at 7 PM for An Artists’ Talk: Alternative Photographic Processes with Clay Harmon, Bridget Conn, and Lynette Miller

AFTER YOU lauds the creative synergy of marbler Stephen Pittelkow and photographer Alyssa C. Salomon. Together the artists marry marbling—a method of creating unique prints by transferring paint from the surface of water or other viscous matter onto paper or fabric—and photography through their interwoven creative processes. Their work will be on display at BookWorks from March 1 – April 26, 2013.

Their ongoing collaboration began out of generous curiosity.  Teaching in adjoining studios at Penland School of Crafts, Pittelkow offered Salomon, “If you give me one of your cyanotypes, I’ll marble it.” The resulting marbled photograph was dazzling and fresh.  The pair continues to send prints back and forth, working like jazz musicians, improvisationally, leaving space for the ideas and skills of the other, producing electric, surreal dreamscapes on paper.  This exhibition features work from several series from the ongoing collaboration, as well as tools used in marbling and the handmade photographic processes and information about how the work is created.  A May weekend workshop with Steve and Alyssa at Bookworks, “Marbling Meets Cyanotype,” gives community members an opportunity to experiment with and learn both.

February 23^rd, 6 – 8pm

Asheville Bookworks is delighted to host a book signing event with Jessica C. White, author of Letterpress Now: A DIY Guide to Old & New Printing Methods. A contemporary how-to manual for all things letterpress, this book is ideal for the new printer just getting started, a teacher looking for good resource materials, as well as the seasoned printer looking for new projects and challenges.

Jessica covers everything from how to choose the right press for you to the technical aspects of setting up a press for printing, and then leads you through 20 projects step-by-step from beginning to the end. It’s chock full of photographs and illustrations to help guide you along the way, and also features inspiring stories of contemporary working printers.

Please join us February 23^rd, 6 – 8pm, for light refreshments, meet Jessica in person, and even pick up a special printed gift!

Juried exhibition of works from the Southeast Guild of Bookworkers, FREE and open to the public.
On view in the BookWorks Gallery, January 3^rd- February 24^th, 2013.
Sat evening Feb 16, following the class, 6 PM a gallery talk by Sonja Rossow, Current President, SEGBW

The Southeast Guild of Bookworkers (SEGBW) is a regional chapter of the Guild of Bookworkers, a national organization of book artists founded in 1906 with intent to unify marblers, printmakers, bookbinders, conservationists, calligraphers, paper makers, and letterpress printers under a common craft. Today, these artists still come together within this community to organize a yearly conference, numerous traveling exhibitions, publication of a newsletter and journal, and a range of study and professional opportunities. Chapters, like SEBGW, divide the larger organization into subsets of artists united by proximity and regional culture.

The 60 members of SEGBW represent an expansive region of the country. From the Carolinas and Kentucky, south to Florida and as far west as Louisiana, these bookworkers sustain a vibrant southern book arts community through exhibitions and workshops. SEGBW’s regional span has allowed them to host workshops in cities like Tuscaloosa and Atlanta within the last year. The upcoming show at Asheville BookWorks speaks to their growing presence in the Carolinas.

SEBGW is currently focused on expanding in order to better serve their membership, and to draw non-members into the world of book arts. SEGBW recognizes BookWorks as an ideal venue for this show because of its accessibility to the Asheville community. “We felt that BookWorks would provide a new venue for people who aren’t perhaps familiar with SEGBW to see what it is our membership is all about,” says Sonja Rossow, one of the Workshop and Events Coordinators of SEGBW. “We think Asheville, with its vibrant art community, makes the perfect place for the exhibition and to get the word out about SEGBW.”

The show will feature a selection of work by members of the Southeast Guild of Bookworkers, and will be juried by Laurie Corral, owner and director of Asheville BookWorks. Clara Boza (NC), Anna Embree of (AL), Michelle Ray (FL), and Peter Bain (MS) are among the 26 artists whose work will be on display.

BookWorks Workshop with Sharon Sharp, SEGBW member, Boone, NC -
THE ENVELOPE PLEASE
February 16 – 17,  2013

Sat and Sun, 9:00 am -4:00 pm
(snow dates, if necessary on March 2 & 3, 2013)

Description: By creating handmade envelopes, you can artfully place special containers within other special containers—that is, you can make countless kinds of unique envelopes and merge those with the design of your handmade books. While weaving in lore about envelopes’ history, we will make a variety of envelopes and explore ways of joining those with several simple book forms. We will make an envelope-style book, an accordion-style book incorporating envelopes in several ways, and a pamphlet-stitched book in which we not only insert envelopes but also create envelopes as extensions of the pages. Also, we will discuss ways of meshing the various parts’ images, text, and form to achieve a desired overall effect. By the end of the workshop, you will have patterns for a wide variety of envelopes, plus a wealth of ideas and techniques for envelope-book combinations.

To register: click here

April 5, 2013 – New Deadline for Entries

Homegrown Alphabets is an exhibit intended to showcase the exciting ways in which type design and printing come together to form refined letterforms as well as wildly experimental letterforms. Homegrown Alphabets will be on exhibit in the BookWorks Gallery, May 1 – June 30, 2013

We’re seeking type specimen sheets or pangrams that feature your innovative or experimental alphabet. These pieces can be one-sheet poster-style or folded pieces. Alphabets can be generated by any means possible but must be translated into a print process such as the following:  letterpress, linocut, laser cut, woodcut, photopolymer, or offset lithography. Entire alphabets are wildly anticipated, or maybe you have carved one big amazing letter, we’d want to see that too! A new take on an old typeface is fine, as long as it has been altered in someway. The point is to showcase homegrown typography and the printmakers who make it happen! Experiment, go wild, or rein it in and work on your x-height. We want to see it all.  Juror: Eleanor Annand

PDF of prospectus : HomegrownAlphabetsProspectus

Deadline for Entries: April 5, 2013

• Up to three pieces may be submitted
• Three images per piece may be submitted
• $20 non-refundable entry fee covers one, two or three pieces

Proceed to submission form.