A History of the Bone Folders Guild

The Bone Folders’ Guild (BFG) has always been project-driven group for book artists to both share and learn skills. The group’s home base is Madison, Wisconsin.

At the first meeting, February 2, 2001, eleven artists with an interest in book making met at the Wisconsin Center for Book and Paper Arts on Willy Street in Madison. For the first project, each artist designed an A2-sized envelope and made ten copies with the theme “Beginnings”. At the second meeting, members shared the story of how they created their envelopes and what they meant. Everyone received one envelope from each of those founding members. At the third meeting, the idea was to turn those envelopes into a book, if they wanted to. There was never any pressure to do any or all of the proposed projects.

And so it began.

By 2002, the Guild started its long-standing participation in the Wisconsin Book Festival with the Wisconsin Humanities Council. Every year, the book festival had a theme that the Bond Folders Guild adapted for creating books for that year’s exhibit. One year they had a Fashion Show of Wearable Books.

One of the biggest ventures for the book festival was the SIXTY BOOKS Project. With a grant covering supplies, twelve members of BFG each made five blank books that were distributed to the 60 libraries in the South Central Library System. Patrons were able to check out the books and write, draw, or paint in them. After a year in circulation, the books were then displayed at the next book festival. Eventually, the books were digitized by the University of Wisconsin Madison and are available to view online. 

During the book festival, BFG exhibited book art at the Kohler Art Library, The Wisconsin Union, local art galleries, Anthology on State Street, and the Overture. One year, the members of the Bone Folders Guild taught simple bookmaking structures to the public during an exhibit at the Overture. There have been three exhibits at the Overture Center for the Arts — 2006, 2017 (the 15th Anniversary of the BFG), and 2026 to celebrate twenty-five years.

As BFG grew, members created different projects for more exchanges. Most notably were the 2”x2” books. Each member made one 2”x2” book that was exchanged at the year-end meeting. That started in 2008 and continues today. If you look at The Bone Folders Guild Facebook page, you can see some of those 2”x2” gems.

During the Pandemic, BFG continued to meet monthly via Zoom. Today, all meetings have a Zoom component for those who cannot physically attend. Meetings are generally a gathering place where members discusses workshops they have taken, new techniques learned, and show and share new work. Sometimes members will share a technique with everyone. Members have learned about linoleum block printing (another exchange project), along with gel plate printing and making bark lace from kozo fiber.

Planning for the twenty-fifth anniversary exhibit at the Overture Center in 2026 began two years prior. Discussions started at one of the first in-person meetings after Covid. Thinking about the landmark anniversary coming soon, the group decided to go ahead with a theme and see where they could market the show. The chosen theme, The Book as Sculpture, was broad enough for everyone to interpret it in their own way and make a sculptural book.

BFG has always had members with various art skills. From photographers, writers, metal artists, paper-cutting artists, origami masters, papermakers, calligraphers, painters, and more, members bring different mediums to the “Art of the Book.” When Overture offered an opportunity to exhibit in their Playhouse Gallery, members knew it was going to take some work, especially since pedestals and vitrines would be involved in the display of 3D books. And for those who do not know what vitrines are, let us explain. They’re those acrylic boxes that cover books/3D art on a pedestal. The process of measuring the pedestal “footprint” was something new for some of the members, but in true form, everyone worked together. 

BFG continues to create artist books in the spirit of celebrating the book.

The images below are from the Inaugural A2 envelopes by founding members Karen Timm, Katherine Engen, and Nancee Wipperfurth.