Codex Book Fair & Symposium

In another week I’ll be taking a day off to go to the Codex International Book Fair in Berkeley (it’s Mon Feb 9 – Wed Feb 11). I went to the first fair two years ago, not only to see the books, but to see bookish friends and meet some of the authors who generously wrote Ampersand articles for me. This time is no different — I’ll be looking up Steven Daiber owner of Red Trillium Press in Massachusetts, who reviewed an exhibition for Ampersand. Last year he went to Viet Nam through a co-sponsored venture with the Boston Printmakers and the United States Cultural Ambassadors Program where he taught classes and worked on a 12-artist collaborative book celebrating the 1000 year anniversary of Ha Noi. You can see photos of the trip, the making of the book, and also papermaking in Viet Nam on Steven’s flickr pages.
One of my friends who has a table is Judy Serebrin (that’s her bookwork “Soul Book: Ok, Not Ok With Me” to the right). In addition to books, she often makes one-of-a-kind pieces of porcelain with small cavities that contain books — the books represent the soul or story of the figure. They all have a peaceful yet enigmatic quality that I find appealing. You can see more about Judy and lots of photos of her work here.