Maryhill Museum offers one for the books
Ah, the power of the media.
Every week, gleefully rubbing my hands together, I wonder how I can unduly influence you to do my bidding.
Shall I send you lemming-like to Snohomish County? Or can I somehow persuade you to adopt my way of thinking on such important matters as William Shatner, the cheeses of Spain or the pernicious epidemic of “creative” spelling?
Today, I choose to convince you of the wonders of books.
And my partner in this endeavor, the Maryhill Museum of Art, has scheduled a summer’s worth of propaganda specially designed to inculcate you.
“Maryhill hasn’t done an exhibit about contemporary books produced in the Northwest,” says Lee Musgrave, who ought to know since he’s the museum’s curator of exhibits. “It’s been on our list for some time and we decided to move it toward the top.”
The resulting “Gadzooks! Amazing Books by Northwest Artists” opens July 21 at the quirky spot overlooking the Columbia Gorge, just down the road from Goldendale, Wash.
The museum’s Web site calls these volumes “visual journeys, unfolding dramas, sequenced ideas, with unusual bindings and molded cases where illustrations pop off the page or unfold like origami, and letters take three-dimensional form.”
And you thought books were just words on a page.
To celebrate the opening, Musgrave will take you on a walk-through with the artists. You can also sign up for an all-day workshop, “Altered Books, The Basics and Beyond.” According to Musgrave, participants will learn how to turn an ordinary book into an “artist’s book,” by doing to books all manner of things you’ve been told all your life not to do.
Book artist Corinne Stubson will teach you her “book altering techniques” using rubber stamps, acrylics, inks, adhesives, ephemera and found objects. Bring an old hardbound book or two and $50, which covers museum admission, lunch and supplies.
Register in advance by calling (509) 773-3733 or e-mailing maryhill@maryhillmuseum.org.
Or if your newfound love of books cannot be contained in a single day, Maryhill has just the thing for you, a weeklong Explore Art Workshop, “Beyond Words: the Art of Books.”
You’ll spend July 23 to 27 up to your eyeballs in lectures, study, hands-on art studio sessions, field trips and more with the help of guest artist Roberta Lavadour. The noncredit version costs $175 or you can earn college credit or clock hours and pay more.
Stay with me now. The book orgy continues with “Maryhill Fun Day: Calling All Books!” on Aug. 12. Fun Day activities are included with museum admission and children under 17 are admitted free with one paid adult.
Jack Walsdorf – according to the museum, a noted book collector, author and retired librarian – gets things started as host of a “Book Lovers Road Show.” Following remarks on book collecting, he’ll invite audience members to bring a book or two forward for appraisal, a la “Antiques Roadshow.”
And if you don’t have a book, no worries. You can make one with Lavadour’s help, and join a growing movement.
“It’s been gathering steam throughout the world in the arts community,” Musgrave says. “Since the onslaught of the digital age, there has been a lot of discussion about, ‘Is there really any need to have printing presses any more?’ All of these artists are buying up letterpress shops and turning them into studios and making their own books.”
Learn more about books and the museums who love them at www.maryhillmuseum.org or by calling the phone number above.
Last stand, one more time
This sort of thing puzzles me.
Some 300 people are coming together to mount “Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment” June 22 to 24 near Hardin, Mont. And you are invited.
Play-acting about killing people strikes me as an interesting choice. Nevertheless, if all those guys who slap on fake mustaches and pretend to fight the Civil War are any indication, this is a popular activity.
And you can see it for yourself when organizers come together for their annual re-creation of “a pageant of Montana history, honoring the brave men and women on both sides of the conflict who lived and died during the early days of this state.”
They work from a script based on notes written by Crow tribal historian Joe Medicine Crow, and some of the participants are direct descendants of people who were there 131 years ago.
Once Custer is defeated yet again and the bodies lie strewn about the field, don’t miss out on the snacks and souvenirs!
Find out more at www.custerslaststand.org or call (888) 450-3577.
Regional events
“Shoreline Arts Festival, June 23 and 24, Shoreline, Wash. They’re packing in the fun with music, dance, juried art, a photography show, hands-on art, readings, theater presentations, a used-book sale, food and more. ( www.shorecham.org/ 206-361-2260)
“Annual Garden Tour, June 24, Boise. See what’s growing in Boise’s backyards and take a turn through the Idaho Botanical Garden. (www.idahobotanicalgarden. org/877-527-8233)