Bay Area Book Arts

Bay Area Book Artists is a group of independent artists bound together by a passion for the book arts. The group meets twice monthly. On the first Sunday of each month they meet for four hours for share studio time and for mini-workshops or demonstrations run by members. On the third Thursday of each month they meet to plan events, exchange information and share books in-progress. Since 1995, BABA has presented exhibitions at local galleries and museums. In 2002 BABA members organized the first Book Arts Jam at Foothill College.

http://www.bayareabookartists.org/

and since I'm writing about the book arts, don't overlook the current exhibit at the SF Center for the Book: Wings for Words: New Bookworks from Korea and Japan

The San Francisco Center for the Book presents an exhibition of bookworks from fourteen professional artists working in South Korea and Japan today. These contemporary bookworks embrace a variety of techniques from altered books to woodblock printing. The artists bring their individual styles to their works, inspired by cultural, natural, and personal themes.

Some of the books, like Ryoko Adachi's bioethical version of Jack and the Beanstalk, have narrative text, other books, like Haran Kim's Striped Dictionary are altered, sculptural works, with the words used as visual texture. Kyung Hee Kim uses bird imagery in Plus & Minus, while Sangmi Chun shows the story of Snow Queen as a snowflake, also reminiscent of flying. In this exhibition, "wings for words" becomes the metaphor for the books themselves; books are the wings, transporting the artists' feelings and thoughts to the readers. The works are in Korean, Japanese, German, and English.

For many of the participants, this will be the first time their works will be shown in the United States. The artists, chosen from recommended lists, have sent their books via air to San Francisco: Ryoko Adachi, Sangmi Chun, Hiroko Fukumoto, Ryo Hamada, Haran Kim, Kyung Hee Kim, Narae Kim, Kahoru Otani, Eunkyung Park, Veronika Shäpers, Kanako Shibata, Hea lim Shin, Mitsutaka Tanimoto, and Young Kil Yim.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm. http://www.sfcb.org/index.php