{"id":8608,"date":"2014-10-05T01:00:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-05T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=8608"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:03:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:03:49","slug":"new-england-chapter-of-the-guild-of-book-workers-mini-conference-in-maine-day-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/05\/new-england-chapter-of-the-guild-of-book-workers-mini-conference-in-maine-day-two\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers \/\/ Mini-Conference in Maine \u2013 Day Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
\n<\/strong>9:00 – 12:00
\n<\/strong>Morning Workshop Session
\n<\/strong>The mini-conference offered two half-day workshops with calligrapher, Nancy Leavitt<\/a> and papermaker, Katie MacGregor. The group of participants were divided into two groups. For the morning session, I attended Nancy’s workshop titled\u00a0Pen, Paper and Paint<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nancy’s first attempt at calligraphy came by inspiration from a Seventeen<\/em> article; clipping the tip off of a felt tip pen. To pursue the practice of calligraphy, Nancy studied with Peter Halliday in the 1980s. Even though the workshop lasted for only three hours, Nancy was able to pack years of knowledge into her instructions.<\/p>\n

At the start of the workshop, Nancy presented her creative process. When commissioned to calligraph the lyrics to six Beatles’ songs, Nancy took the project beyond the initial request and created an in-depth artist book to incorporate the historical and social events occurring at the release of each song. In the image below,\u00a0Nancy shows us her charts and mock-ups developed\u00a0during the creative process.<\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour17-ErinFletcher\"<\/a> \"MaineConferenceTour12-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After whipping up some egg glaire and adding water to the gouache one drop at a time, Nancy presented some tips on mixing paint, filling pen nibs, and painting. Each student received a special packet of paper varieties. One half of the packet included a selection of Katie MacGregor’s handmade paper ranging from 1 day old to 20 years old. Nancy loves to allow her paper to ‘age’ because it creates a more agreeable surface to work on.<\/p>\n

As we experimented with the paper varieties and pen nibs, Nancy came around to write each of our names on the paper of our choice.\u00a0Towards the end of the workshop, Nancy gave a demonstration on turning a feather into a quill. Nancy shared her\u00a0amazing collection of feather quills, which are carefully and lawfully collected. First, Nancy removed the membrane from the shaft by running it along a hot iron. Then she revealed her coveted penknife from her apron, a tool specifically for shaping the tip of a quill. Each student was presented with a keepsake quill, which we played with by filling the nib with gouache and writing on each of our paper samples.<\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour11-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1:00 – 4:00
\nAfternoon Workshop Session<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour15-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the afternoon, my group headed over to Katie MacGregor’s studio for our second workshop session, A Hand Papermaker’s Perspective<\/em>. Her studio is just steps from her home, set back in the woods and down a long gravel road. Katie invited us upstairs first, to share with us her creative process, how she logs her formulas and a collection of books created using her papers. Katie has also worked on a variety of custom paper orders for institutions and artists, including a three sheet order for the most vibrant and saturated red she could make.<\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour13-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We headed downstairs for the actual labor. Katie first mixed up a bucket of fresh pulp and pigment, which she then added to the large vat. The smaller vat was given an addition of flax. Each student was given the opportunity to pull one small sheet and one large sheet. Katie gave a quick demonstration of the proper posture and techniques for shaking the mould, then the process of tipping the mould onto the felts in order to couch the sheets. After watching Katie, each student embraced the messy, wet process of papermaking.<\/p>\n

As a treat, Bernie Vinzani added a special watermark to the larger sheets. Using vinyl lettering, Guild of Book Workers Maine 2014<\/em>, was heated to the wire threads of the mould, a quicker alternative to the traditional technique for making watermarks.<\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour14-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once the last sheet was couched, Katie moved the paper into her hydraulic press, squeezing out the excess water. Then she carefully separated each sheet from the felts for the next stage in the drying process. As we\u00a0finished the workshop, Katie’s close friends were preparing a wonderful spread of hors d’oeuvres and libations. Katie and Nancy also put together a selection of items for sale and I delightfully walked away with eleven new sheets of handmade paper, two of which I’ve already sewn into two soon to be fine bindings.<\/p>\n

\"MaineConferenceTour16-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

7:00 – 9:00
\n<\/strong>Evening Presentation
\n<\/strong>Wild blueberries are native to parts of Maine and Canada. As an added treat for the mini-conference participants, Nancy and Katie prepared a wonderfully home-cooked meal of Blueberry Chicken over Rice. After our meal, Nancy’s husband, Blueberry Specialist David Yarborough gave a thorough presentation on the history of the blueberry plant and its involvement in Maine’s agriculture industry.<\/p>\n

That ends the festivities of the mini-conference. As the first event of this scope I’ve put together, I think it was a success\u00a0from the point of view of the CCLC, conference participants and workshop instructors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 9:00 – 12:00 Morning Workshop Session The mini-conference offered two half-day workshops with calligrapher, Nancy Leavitt and papermaker, Katie MacGregor. The group of participants were divided into two groups. For the morning session, I attended Nancy’s workshop titled\u00a0Pen, Paper and Paint. Nancy’s first attempt at calligraphy came by inspiration from a Seventeen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[68],"tags":[1585,1155,1570,1584,1586],"class_list":["post-8608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookbinding","tag-calligraphy","tag-katie-macgregor","tag-nancy-leavitt","tag-negbw","tag-papermaking"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2eQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8544,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/23\/new-england-chapter-of-the-guild-of-book-workers-mini-conference-in-maine-day-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":0},"title":"New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers \/\/ Mini-Conference in Maine – Day One","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"September 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"What began as a simple workshop idea between myself and papermaker Katie MacGregor, turned into a weekend long mini-conference event.\u00a0Over the past year, part of the NEGBW team (myself, Todd Pattison and Lauren Telepak) along with Katie MacGregor, Nancy Leavitt and Alan Furth put together the plans for a mini-conference\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookbinding"","block_context":{"text":"bookbinding","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/bookbinding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/MaineConferenceTour10-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/MaineConferenceTour10-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/MaineConferenceTour10-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/MaineConferenceTour10-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8710,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/09\/bookbinder-of-the-month-sol-rebora-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":1},"title":"Bookbinder of the Month: Sol R\u00e9bora","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Sol R\u00e9bora bound this special one of a kind text by calligrapher Nancy Leavitt after a serendipitous meeting. The book is bound in the French-style of fine binding in full violet goatskin. The decoration is divided into six levels with onlays in purple and white goatskin. The text within this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/BaladaParaUnLoco3-SolRebora.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/BaladaParaUnLoco3-SolRebora.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/BaladaParaUnLoco3-SolRebora.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/BaladaParaUnLoco3-SolRebora.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8099,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/26\/book-artist-of-the-month-roni-gross-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":2},"title":"Book Artist of the Month: Roni Gross","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"May 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Night of the Hunter\u00a0is another collaborative artist book between Roni Gross, Peter Schell and Nancy Campbell. The text comes directly from a poem by Nancy Campbell of the same title, which was based on her residency on a remote island off the coast of Greenland during the winter of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/TheNightHunter6-RoniGross.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10458,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/30\/making-miniatures\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":3},"title":"Making Miniatures with James Reid-Cunningham","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"March 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, I took a workshop at North Bennet Street School on Miniatures Bindings with James Reid-Cunningham. Bookbinding itself has a certain lure, but miniature bookbinding can pull you in even further. There is always this challenge of how small can one actually go while still keeping some integrity to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "my hand"","block_context":{"text":"my hand","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/my-hand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MiniWksp8-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MiniWksp8-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MiniWksp8-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MiniWksp8-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7877,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/02\/may-book-artist-of-the-month-roni-gross\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":4},"title":"May \/\/ Book Artist of the Month: Roni Gross","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"May 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tikilluarit was created for the An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street exhibition, which began in 2012, exhibiting nationally and internationally until 2015. The exhibition showcases a collection of artist books and broadsides that are a response to the explosion of a car bomb in Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of bookselling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tikilluarit4-RoniGross.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tikilluarit4-RoniGross.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tikilluarit4-RoniGross.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12696,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/08\/100-day-project-panels-91-100\/","url_meta":{"origin":8608,"position":5},"title":"100 Day Project \/\/ Panels 91 \u2013 100","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"June 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are the final ten panels in my 100 Day project. 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