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Westminster College announces the newest art exhibit, “The Making of a Book

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Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Westminster College announces the newest art exhibit, “The Making of a Book,” open October 19 through November 13 during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) in Foster Art Gallery, Patterson Hall. In collaboration with the exhibit opening, the artists will host a reception at 5 p.m., October 21. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

The event will feature poetry readings, a display and art explanations by Philip Terman, poet; James Stewart, artist; and Susan Frakes, book binder. Together, they created a book consisting of three poems and the illustrations in response to the poems. Featured in the exhibit, “Like a Bird Entering a Window and Leaving Through Another Window” is a collaborative project that centers on the creation of a book by the three artists.

“Each book has been bound, using a simple but unique sewing pattern and book form which reflects its hand bound nature,” said Peggy Cox, professor of art. “The book was produced in a first edition of 31 copies, and is now in its second edition of 41 copies.”

Terman is the author of eight collections of poetry, including the most recent, Our Portion: New and Selected Poems (Autumn House Press, 2015).  His work has appeared in many journals and anthologies.  He teaches creative writing at Clarion University, where he directs the Spoken Arts Reading Series, and is a co-director of The Chautauqua Writers’ Festival at the Chautauqua Institution. Occasionally, he performs his poetry with the jazz band, The Barkeyville Triangle. Learn more about Terman, here: www.philipterman.com.

Stewart is a working painter who has exhibited for many years with a Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia and Gallery 71 in New York. He is a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of a 2009 Ballinglen Ireland Fellowship. His most recent solo exhibitions were in 2015, one in each gallery. Learn more about Stewart, here: www.stewartpainter.com.

Frakes has been practicing hand bookbinding for over 20 years, studying bookbinding in southern Germany. She enjoys experimenting with both traditional and experimental book forms, especially limp leather and vellum bindings, as well as paper decoration and box making and enjoys the challenges presented by restoration work. Susan has owned and operated BLowfiSH Bookbinding in Clarion, Pa. since 1993 and has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. This is her first collaborative effort with fellow artists and she hopes it will not be her last. Visit www.blowfishbookbinding.com to learn more about Frakes.

For more information about the exhibit or the fine art program at Westminster, contact Cox at pcox@westminster.edu

*Photo via www.philipterman.com​.