The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art shows off its collection of artists’ books as well as delves into the production of these one-of-a-kind pieces in the DogEar Festival, June 3-5.

The three-day festival explores artist’s books, print works, and letterpress with drop-in activities, live music, demonstrations, presentations, and panel discussions. Among the activities planned are steamroller printing with Wayzgoose Kitsap, self-serve typewriter poetry creation, and a Print Plein Air Printing Parlour. Look for talks from artists and browse St. Rita’s Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary (TB&TA). A complete festival schedule is available at BIMA’s website.

Artists’ books may use the form of the book but are often produced as tactile objects. Others may be printed in limited edition through older forms of printing, such as letterpress. In the making of these books, artists employ drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, gluing and binding, sculpture, photography, textiles, creative writing, and storytelling. The Museum’s website calls these fascinating pieces “the Trojan Horse of the art world…you don’t know exactly what is inside until it is revealed.”

The Museum changes their exhibition of books three times a year as well as hosting a series of videos on the pieces in their collection: Artist’s Books Unshelved.

Bainbridge Island is connected to Seattle by ferry and to Kitsap County by bridge. The Museum is located in the Island’s only large town, Winslow, and is approximately three blocks from the ferry dock, making it possible to walk from the ferry to Museum and back for Seattle booklovers.