Archived entries for Book Arts

The first printing press in the Americas

The viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza established the first printing press of the Americas at location in 1536. The typographers were Esteban Martin and Juan Paoli. Centro historico, Mexico DF ,Mexico. (Photograph by Jim Escalante/Photo by Jim Escalante)

The viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza established the first printing press of the Americas at location in 1536. The typographers were Esteban Martin and Juan Paoli. Centro historico, Mexico DF,Mexico.

If you get a chance to travel to Mexico City, you owe it to yourself to visit the “Centro Historico.” On Sundays, they close some of the streets and merchants and performers fill the street. The historic center of the city or the Zocalo, has been the cultural, spiritual and political center of the city for 500 years. Yes, 500 years. I can’t think of any other location on this continent that has seen as rich of a history. Unknown to some, is that inside this building, in 1536, the first printing press was established in the Americas. They even give credit to the first two typographers!

  • March 26, 2011
  • In Book Arts
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Combat Paper returns to UW-Madison

(Photograph by Jim Escalante)

Drew Cameron, Drew Luan Matott and Margaret Mahan from Combat Paper returned to provide a workshop for students and veterans at UW-Madison’s Paper Lab. The paper for this piece was made from military uniforms and the image was created by spraying pulp through a silk screen stencil.

  • March 25, 2011
  • In Book Arts
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Up and 99% running.

(Jim Escalante)

Thanks to a new theme and some recent updates, the site is back on line. Lets hope the cyber pranksters have moved on.

Handmade Paper in Motion portfolio

Porfolio #9: Handmade Paper in Motion. This extraordinary assortment of collaborative artwork--14 pieces by 28 artists--features pop-ups, movable devices, and other forms of dynamic paper engineering. The motion and imagery is enhanced physically and conceptually by the use of handmade paper designed and made specifically for each edition...The movable elements are as captivating as an African mask or a working sundial, as intriguing as a sealed packet or a 'magic window' into plant fiber mysteries, as surprising as a spilled ink bottle or a jar of snakes! Imaging techniques include suminagashi marbling, woodcut, linocut, letterpress, pochoir, pulp painting, and screenprint. The paper is enhanced with watermarks, natural inclusions, double couching, multi-colored pulps, and other innovative methods. The artists incorporate a wide variety of paper fibers. Some are utilitarian and traditional such as cotton, abaca, and flax; others are more unusual such as yucca, gingko, and bamboo...A custom-made clamshell box houses the work, each in a protective folder imprinted with the artists' names. A handbound booklet contains statements from each artist and a commissioned essay by well-known pop-up collector and author Ann Montanaro, who founded the Movable Book Society...Artists in the portfolio, both juried and invited, are: Richard Aldorasi & Colette Fu, Tom Balbo & Michael Durgin, Michelle Bayer & Kyle Olmon, Rachelle Chuang & Joan Michaels Paque, Helen Hiebert & Betsy Cluff, Amy Jacobs & Philip Bell, Jeanne Jaffe & Alisa Fox & Hedi Kyle, Tom Leech & Sally Blakemore, Bridget O'Malley & Emily Martin, Margaret Prentice & Ed Hutchins, Winnie Radolan & Pamela Wood, Erin Robin & Mary Tasillo, Shawn Sheehy, Lynn Sures & Carol Barton...The portfolio is designed by Steve Miller and edited by Mina Takahashi...Our four jurors are renowned in the world of papermaking and paper engineering. Robert Sabuda has over five million pop-up books in print. Margaret Prentice is an avid collec (Photograph by Jim Escalante)

I had the pleasure of taking photos of the newest portfolio from the Hand Papermaking Organization group. About every two years, Hand Papermaking issues a call for submissions and curates a national competition to promote fine made made from handmade paper. The most recent issue in Handmade Paper in Motion. This link will take you to a gallery of photographs of Portfolio #9 Handmade Paper in Motion. Visit Hand Papermaking Organization for more information about the organization. Purchasing information for Paper in Motion is here.

College Book Art Association

Julie VonDerVellen at the CBAA Members Exhibition

Julie VonDerVellen at the CBAA Members Exhibition.

The College Book Arts Association conference took place at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana January . The CBAA is an organization dedicated to promoting Book Arts in Colleges and Universities. This year University of Wisconsin-Madison Alum Julie VonDerVellen took first place in the student section. Click on this link to see more photographs of Julie VonDerVellen’s artwork.

Charley Trujillo visits with faculty and students

(2010 © Jim Escalante)
Charley Trujillo is a small publisher and author. Several years after serving in Viet Nam, he wrote about his wartime experience in his book “Soldados: The Chicano Experience in Viet Nam.” He included stories of 19 fellow Chicano veterans from Corcoran, California. A great lesson for all of us is that his manuscript was rejected by dozens of publishers. It left him with no alternative, but to publish the book himself. In 1991 he received the American Book Award. He has a small publishing company called Chusma House Publishing which is located in San Jose, CA.

  • September 13, 2010
  • In Book Arts
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Books made from one sheet of paper


It is not that important to find a definitive answer to the question “Can you make a book using only one sheet of paper.” For some turning over a sheet of paper or unfolding it, is enough. At the very least, the viewer must pick up a sheet of paper and turn it over or in some way interact with it. Does the simple act of picking up a sheet of a paper make it a book? Maybe, maybe not. But Margaret Mackenzie’s adaptation of a mobius strip surely is an interesting use of form and content. She hand wrote the lyrics to a never ending song. I will add more photos of student examples as soon as I take the photos! Please stop back.

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