Arlene Warner is a professional graphic designer and has been working as a fine artist in the Rogue Valley since 2013. In addition to her mixed media pieces, she creates hand-made books, journals and specialty cards. Arlene’s work has been exhibited in various galleries throughout Oregon and across the United States. You can view her work at arlenewarner.com
Connie Stricks studied art history and upon moving to Fairbanks, AK, began taking courses in metalsmithing and bookbinding at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival and Focus on Book Arts. She has been working with paper in various ways for over 25 years and has been actively involved in book arts since 2015. She has given workshops at the Folk School of Fairbanks, the Northwoods Arts Guild and Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival. Her work as appeared in group and two-person shows in Alaska, Oregon and Colorado.
Dolores Guffey has been involved with book arts since 1995 and has taught numerous workshops for the Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival, Focus on Book Arts Conferences, North Redwood Book Arts Guild (NORBAG) and other guilds in California, Oregon and Pennsylvania. She is a founding and avid member of NORBAG. One of her books is included in ‘Thread Loves Paper’ by Emily Marks
Donna Gephart lives in Eureka, CA, in Humboldt County, home to redwood trees, the Pacific Ocean and many beautiful rivers. She graduated from Humboldt State University (HSU) with a degree in Spanish. Later in life, Donna earned a teaching credential and taught first grade. After retiring from HSU as the program coordinator for extended education, she began looking for artistic outlets. Donna discovered book arts and joined the Northern California Book Arts Guild (NORBAG). She has taken and taught workshops at NORBAG, San Francisco Center for the Book and Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival since 2016.
Glenda Goodrich (“GG”) is a mixed media artist, art doula and trained SoulCollage® facilitator. GG learned mixed media through a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a professional artist, educational workshops and by experimentation. She enjoys helping others find their journey toward wholeness through creativity. Her students describe her teaching style as welcoming, open, warm and supportive. Through her teaching and guidance, people find simple and joyful ways to awaken creativity and find passion in life. She has taught mixed media collage classes at the Currents Gallery, The Art Department Supply Store, Breitenbush Hot Springs, Chemeketa Community College, Keizer Art Association, Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, the Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival, Runaway Art & Craft Studio and in her home studio in Salem. www.glendagoodrich.com
Iris Sullivan Daire is an artist and naturalist dyer who uses site-specific pigments and dyes to add new layers of meaning to the narrative of her work. She relishes using science, metaphor and story to bring the materials to life while teaching. Iris lives with her family next to the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. She grows traditional dye plants and has been quietly mapping the hidden colors contained within the native and invasive plants of the North Oregon Coast. She holds a bachelor of arts in fiber arts from the University of Oregon and has been teaching for over 20 years.
Margo Klass creates artist books and box constructions. In both, found objects are a springboard for content. Aesthetically she draws from her study of medieval art and travel in Japan. She has received awards from the Rasmuson Foundation and Alaska State Council on the Arts, and was the 2015 recipient of the Alaska Governor’s Individual Artist Award. www.margoklass.com
Moe Snyder is an accomplished book, box and drawing artist with a bachelor of fine arts in book arts from Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland. Her work and her teaching focus on connection to the natural world, the joy of fine craft, and the richness to be found in mindfully connecting the two. She recently completed a printmaking residency at In Cahoots Residency in Petaluma, California. She lives and explores from her home in Seal Rock, OR.
Pietro Accardi owned the Bookbindery in Turin (Italy) for 12 years. He worked for Turin’s Main Library, Municipal Archives and University Libraries, restoring and binding documents and books. He also runs his own paper-marbling and decorative box-making business. In 2012, he relocated near Lake Tahoe with his wife and cats. Since 2015 Pietro has been teaching workshops at the San Francisco Center for the Book and at the Reno Nevada Museum of Art. Pietro and his wife, Vanessa, currently offer private workshops at their newly built studio.
Sandy Vrem moved to Arcata, CA, in 1980 and has enjoyed that part of the world with all its beauty ever since. She was a mathematics instructor for 38 years, she joined the North Redwood Book Arts Guild (NORBAG) in 2003 and it opened a new world to her. She loves color, texture and the many structures and bindings that exist. Sandy has taught classes for NORBAG and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Humboldt State University.
Susan Jones purchased her first loom at a garage sale in 1983, influencing her art in unexpected ways. With a background in loom weaving to guide her discovery of three-dimensional shapes and forms, she studied with many West Coast weavers, basket makers and paper artists. Exploring the forest and beaches became her daily quest, as she learned to sustainably harvest plants for her baskets. Challenging herself to use every bit of what was gathered, the plant scraps were cooked and pulverized into paper pulp as she enthusiastically discovered the paper arts. Finding satisfaction using discarded and otherwise overlooked materials, she eventually found herself collecting food from the garden to make vegetable papyrus, laminating fruits and vegetables into sheets, exploring translucence, texture and patterns. Susan has been an instructor for Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Oregon Book Arts Guild, Columbia Basin Basketry Guild, OSU Craft Center, Bay Area Basketry Guild and Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival.
Wendy Schwartz recently retired and relocated to Newport, Oregon after owning Stampadoodle, a Paper Crafting and Art store, in Bellingham, WA for 29 years. She has a master’s degree in education from San Diego University. Wendy has over 30 years of experience teaching a variety of art and craft classes, including, book binding, mono printing, mixed medium and collage, paper making, stamp carving and card making. Helping students to explore and expand their creativity has been Wendy’s greatest joy.