A Letter from the Chair

April 21, 2011

Dear Southeast Guild of Book Workers Members:

I have recently taken the position of Binding Instructor and Studio Coordinator at the University of Utah Book Arts Program and relocated to Salt Lake City, so it is with regret that I resign as Chair of the Southeast Chapter. It has been a pleasure serving as Chair, but it is no longer practical for me to work in this capacity as I am many miles away from my sweet home Alabama.

The board has nominated Bridget Elmer (Southeast Chapter member of Asheville, North Carolina) to serve as interim Chair until our elections in 2012—and she has graciously agreed. Additionally, our treasurer Kerri Harding has moved to Arizona, so Mary McManus is serving in her place until the next election. I will continue to work with Bridget, Mary, and the other Southeast board members to facilitate a smooth transition during this time. I am confident that the chapter will continue to thrive in their competent hands, fueled by the enthusiasm and energy of our membership. Here is a little bit about our interim Chair and Treasurer:

Bridget Elmer has studied bookbinding, letterpress printing, and printmaking at the Cooper Union, Center for Book Arts, Penland School of Crafts, Asheville BookWorks, and the California Rare Book School. She received her MFA in the Book Arts from the University of Alabama, and she will soon graduate with her second Masters in Library and Information Studies. Bridget recently served as the Resident Artist at the Small Craft Advisory Press at Florida State University, where she completed her creative thesis project and taught undergraduate courses in Book Structures. She also served as Visiting Art Professor at The Press at Colorado College in the summer of 2010. In addition to her ongoing work as the proprietor of Flatbed Splendor, Bridget is a co-founder of Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts (ILSSA), an organization for those who make experimental or conceptual work with obsolete technology. Bridget currently serves as an Instructor at Asheville BookWorks and as the Program Assistant at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. For more information about Bridget's work, you can visit her website at http://www.flatbedsplendor.com/.

Mary McManus is a graduate student at The University of Alabama pursuing an MFA in Book Arts who enjoys all the processes associated with book making, from collaboration with artists and writers to letterpress printing, from bookbinding to papermaking. Her outside interests include hanging out with her corgi, Sadie, reading, horseback riding, watching movies and gardening. She hopes to incorporate some of those interests into her upcoming thesis project, a book that will examine the relationship between humans and horses. She is excited to work with Guild officers and members in the coming year.

Finally, I want to thank you for your support during my tenure as Chair. I have learned a lot, and it has been gratifying to work with such skilled and interesting people. I enjoyed meeting many of you at the Standards Seminar in Tucson, in workshops, and at other Southeast GBW events. Even though I make my new home out west, I will maintain my membership in the Southeast Chapter, and keep a fond eye on what’s going on in the region. Please feel free to get in touch with me any time at emily.tipps(at)utah(dot)edu, and remember that you can always reach Southeast Chapter board members at southeastguild(at)gmail(dot)com.

Best Regards,

Emily Tipps