CURRENT EVENTS
Fall 2026
EXHIBITION: The Summer Book Arts and Print Student Exhibition
When: September 3, 2026 – October 23, 2026
Where: USM Special Collections, 6th Floor, Glickman Family Library
314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
Free and open to the public, open during library hours.
OPENING RECEPTION & ARTIST LECTURE: Lecture Folded, Sewn, Contained presented by Richard Reitz Smith
When: Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 5 – 6:30 PM; Lecture starts at 5 PM.
Where: University Event Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Library
314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
Free and open to the public. Co-presented by Baxter Society
About Presenter: Richard Reitz Smith, one of the artist instructors in the 2026 Summer Book Arts & Print class, is an artist and designer working across the fine arts, including painting and printmaking, as well as book arts. He was the founding chair of the Book Arts and Design program at Maine Media Workshops and College in Rockport, Maine, where he taught workshops in letterpress printing and book design. He holds a BFA in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in Graphic Design from Tyler School of Art. His work is included in private and public collections, including the University of Oxford Bodleian Library, Yale University Beinecke Special Collections Library, Colby College Special Collections Library, Bowdoin College Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, and more.
Share the event page and learn more about parking.
EXHIBITION: Constructed Narratives, Contemporary Artist Books by Bonnie Faulkner, ’91
When: September 8, 2026 – December 4, 2026
Where: Crewe Center for the Arts, KCCCBA Book Arts Studio 160, Display Cases
111 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04103
Free and open to the public, open during public building hours.
PUBLIC RECEPTION:
When: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 5-6:30 PM
Where: Crewe Center for the Arts, KCCCBA Book Arts Studio 160
111 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04103
Free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.
About Artist: After graduating from USM with a BS in Art Education in 1991, Bonnie Faulkner taught art for several years in public and private schools. In 2015, she completed her MFA, concentrating in glass and book arts. She has taught glass workshops throughout Maine, including at Haystack Mountain School of Arts & Crafts, Maine Art Glass, Heartwood College of Art, Bickford Education Center, and Bowdoin College.
As a graduate of USM’s Book Arts Minor, Bonnie has been creating mostly autobiographical works. She enjoys pop-up books, books with a surprise of movement, and miniature books. Autobiographical themes have focused on nature, the great blue heron, the United Society of Shakers, Jungian Mandalas, dreams, dragonflies, and the heroine’s journey.
Highly accomplished across many glass media, her work ranges from full-window and wall installations for residential, commercial, and religious spaces to finely detailed pieces. Most recently, she has created a series of glass mandalas.
Bonnie exhibits her book arts and glasswork throughout Maine at various times and has a small selection of work for sale on her website. She is represented by a number of galleries throughout New England and, exclusively in New York, by Figureworks Gallery.
EXHIBITION: Pushing (Bound)aries, Artist Books by Rachel E. Church, BA ’09, BFA ’17
When: September 3, 2026 – December 4, 2026
Where: Pope Cheney Art Studio Display Cases, Wishcamper Center
34 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04101
Free and open to the public, open during public building hours.
About Artist: Rachel E. Church has a BA in Art with concentrations in Printmaking and Entrepreneurial Studies, a BFA in Studio Art with a minor in Book Arts from USM, and an MFA in Intermedia from UMaine. In 2025, she earned a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from UMaine, where her dissertation research explored the intersection between cookbooks and artists’ books.
In addition to her interdisciplinary art and research practice, she works as an instructional designer with a focus on digital accessibility, teaches art and interdisciplinary courses, and enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and sewing.
WORKSHOP: Tactile Towels: Prints Inspired by the Natural World with Jaime Wing
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
Time: 9 AM – 3 PM (with an hour lunch break; please bring your own lunch or purchase at the USM Cafeteria)
Location: KCCCBA Book Arts Studio, Studio160, Crewe Center for the Arts
111 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04103
Workshop Fee: $80 (fee includes all necessary materials)
Maximum Enrollment: 12 (middle school ages and Above)
About:
An introduction to relief printing where participants can create their own simple, botanically-inspired linocut and come away with a useful and beautiful tea towel, as well as the knowledge of a new creative skill.
Jaime Wing is a fine artist, printmaker, and designer, often using recycled and repurposed materials to create work inspired by the natural world around him, all the things that make us human, and our relationships with nature. He has a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is currently a member of Pickwick Independent Press in Portland, Maine.
Students should bring: a studio apron or studio outfit, as we will be printing. OPTIONAL – Visual inspiration (your own leaves, photos, drawings) and any additional paper or fabric you would like to print on (t-shirts, bags, fabric scraps)
Registration will be opening soon!
PAST CONTENT
PANEL DISCUSSION RECORDING: What is Book Arts
CLICK HERE for the Video Recording of the Panel Discussion What is Book Arts
From Thursday, September 29, 2022, 5:00 – 6:00PM
Co-sponsored by USM’s Special Collections and Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts
Panelists: Liz Brown, Rachel Church, Anna Low, and Angel Simoneau
The panel discussion will be moderated by Susie R. Bock, Coordinator of Special Collections and Director of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine.
Liz Brown is a book artist, printmaker, quiltmaker and florist who is obsessed with color. She graduated from USM in 2017 with a degree in Art & Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Printmaking and minors in Book Arts and Accounting. She has participated in trips to France, Italy, and Monson, ME, to study book arts with Rebecca Goodale and Lin Lisberger. She is an active member of the KCCCBA Critique Group and works at her studio at Running with Scissor in Portland.
Rachel Church is an intermedial artist, book artist, and printmaker. She is a USM alumna, earning a BA in Art with a concentration in Printmaking and Entrepreneurial Studies in 2009 and a BFA in Studio Art with a minor in Book Arts in 2017, has participated in many USM book arts focused travel courses, and both taken and taught for the Summer Book Arts Workshop. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Maine, as well as teaching at USM and the University of Maine at Machias.
Anna Low runs Purplebean Bindery, a business focused on creating unique, durable and inspiring blank journals. She has taught workshops at the USM Summer Book Arts program and have been a member of the KCCCBA Critique Group for over 10 years. She currently serves as co-leader of the Critique Group with Angel Simoneau.
Angel Simoneau is an art educator and illustrator, heavily inspired by manga (Japanese comics). She is the current co-leader of the KCCCBA Critique Group. She graduated from University of Southern Maine in 2017 with a major in Art Education and a minor in Book Arts and has been making books ever since.
For more information about KCC ’83 Center for Book Arts, please contact:
Annie Lee-Zimerle, Program Director
(207) 228-8014 or aemin.leezimerle@maine.edu
usm.maine.edu/bookarts
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