A longtime collector’s gift brings a MacArthur-winning book artist’s handmade work home to the Kingdom — and within reach, on request.

By Caitlin Justice, for the Community News Service

Under lock and key at the Craftsbury Public Library is a special collection of 93-year-old artist Claire Van Vliet’s handcrafted, limited-edition art books.

Van Vliet’s longtime friend and patron Paul Gruhler has collected these art books for 20 years. Gruhler and his partner, Jane Marlin, donated their Van Vliet book collection to the library early this summer.

“It’s nice to have them where someone could just stumble across them,” Andrew Miller-Brown, an artist who works with Van Vliet, said.

Gruhler said he wanted to keep these books local. This donation, which includes more than three dozen titles, makes the library one of the few locations to offer patrons the opportunity to interact with the books.

“I was very grateful that the library was willing to accept this collection,” Gruhler said.

Susan O’Connell, director of Craftsbury Public Library, was cautious when Gruhler first approached her with the donation. The library is an active place for children after school, and they did not have a place to store the books, she said.

But “after seeing the works, I had a better understanding of what an opportunity this was to expand what we offer to the community,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell brought the idea to the library board of trustees to begin working on a plan to safely display the books.

Local carpenter Jack Sumberg built the cabinet that now holds all of the creations. Sumberg has done a number of carpentry jobs with Van Vliet over the years, making wooden parts for her books.

The Process Behind the Books

Van Vliet first began publishing her books after founding the Janus Press in 1955. In 1966, Van Vliet moved from California to Newark, Vermont, to continue work at her publishing press.

When starting a new book, Van Vliet starts with just an idea. She then seeks out collaborators, such as authors, poets and artists to help bring that idea to life, Miller-Brown said.

“There’s always a meeting at the beginning to just talk about what she wants and then try to figure out how to get there,” Sumberg said. “It’s always interesting to work with Claire.”

Through Sumberg, Van Vliet declined an interview with The North Star Monthly. But the artist has spoken publicly about her inspiration and creative process over the years. In a 2019 essay for Poets House, a New York City library and meetinghouse, Van Vliet wrote that the physical components of each book can help readers better understand “the essence of the text.”

“The paper acts much the same way as the binding — through the sense of touch as each leaf is fingered, turned — smooth, soft, hard, stiff, pliable, opaque, transparent,” Van Vliet wrote. “The placement and spacing of the text along with the shape of the page visually control the movements of the eye.”

Each book is published and produced at Janus Press. It’s a long process to publish a book, and according to Miller-Brown, can sometimes take years.

“There’s all sorts of different stages,” he said. “There will be several projects going at the same time.”

Each of Van Vliet’s works is unique. Her books feature folding paper structures and creatively incorporated texts that are different from a traditional book layout. “Aunt Sallie’s Lament,” which is available for viewing at the library, takes one of these sophisticated forms. Its accordion-like structure features a complex series of cutout paper to mimic the patterns of a quilt, interspersed with poetry written by Margaret Kaufman.

In 1976, Van Vliet received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and began experimenting with pulp painting, a technique that uses colored paper pulp to create images.

“The things that make her books unique are the quality, attention to the details, the materials and the construction, combined with the care she puts into selecting the authors and artists, or if she’s the artist, how they go together,” Miller-Brown said.

Built to Last

In 1989, Van Vliet was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for her innovative designs. Van Vliet’s books are bound together with woven and interlocking paper structures so that no glue is needed. Van Vliet binds the limited editions — about 100 to 120 copies of each book — with a small team.

“She’s very careful about what materials are used, and how they’re put together so that they will not wear out quickly from being open and closed,” Miller-Brown said.

The 93-year-old artist is still working out of Janus Press today.

“She loves doing the work and she likes hanging out with the people who do the work with her,” Miller-Brown said.

See Them Up Close

The Craftsbury Library is taking precautions to keep Van Vliet’s books safe. The librarians can remove the books from the cabinet upon request so that people can interact with them up close.

The library is hosted Miller-Brown on Nov. 8 to give the community an overview of the Janus Press. Visitors attended the talk to learn more about the creation of Van Vliet’s books.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for The North Star Monthly