“We Right The Book” VI

“We Right The Book” VI

I was honored to serve as Artist in Residence at Verdugo Hill High School in Tujunga,  CA (Los Angeles) for a group of 41 Senior English class Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) students.

Our project ,  “We Right the Book” was supported by an Artist in Residence grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.  I worked with the students on a series of bookmaking projects during weekly workshops held right in the classroom from September – December, 2017.

The students’ completed book works were exhibited at the Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library on December 13, 2017.
Accordion fold books, flag books, tunnel books, scrolls, and side bound books…the results were stunning.
Below is a digital tour through the show.

Each student’s works were displayed together, except the scrolls, which were hung on the walls.

Students created extraordinary Tunnel Books with whimsical, innovative and imaginative use of materials.

They made Flag Books…with “Found” (collected from existing print media) Writing.

and Accordion Fold Books…

with elaborate pop-ups.

 

The students completed their final projects for the class in their side bound books…the theme: IDENTITY…Who they are…Where they want to go…How they see themselves.

A Junior VAPA English student peruses the side bound books. She looked at each and every one.

I would love to work with her next year!

Fingers Crossed for next year’s Residency!
Thank you, LA DCA.

“We Right The Book” V

“We Right The Book” V

I was honored to serve as Artist in Residence at Verdugo Hill High School in Tujunga,  CA (Los Angeles) for a group of 41 Senior English class Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) students.

Our project ,  “We Right the Book” was supported by an Artist in Residence grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.  I worked with the students on a series of bookmaking projects during weekly workshops held right in the classroom from September – December, 2017. Students also assisted with bookmaking workshops held for the community at-large in the Sunland-Tujunga Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

In our Library Program on November 29, 2017, five wonderful student artist teacher assistants helped to teach the Flag Book structure, to a group of children ranging in age  from 5 – 12, accompanied by parents, grandparents and other family members.

The students demonstrated how to fold the accordion spines from “bright tagboard”, add railroad board covers, and finally, attach the flag pages.

The students shone at showing techniques, then moved through the crowd, assisting participants one-on-one.

Once the books were assembled, participants could experience the joy of developing them….

adding color, collage, drawing, stickers,

and Titles!

Mothers worked side by side with their children…

Upon completion, participants proudly shared their books with the group.

It was beautiful to see and hear! 

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 3

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 3

“The Orange”

Pages created of  single folded sheets called “bifolia“.

Meditative pose..

Folded arms.

Ribbon slipped under stitches.

Each bifolium stitched to spine, and covers and spine stitched to felt, which hinged covers to spine and allows book to open.

Covers are textured with crumpled repurposed tissue that once separated metallic leaves, and Mod Podge.

Layered textures, patterns and colors. Ribbon used as a visual accent inside as well.

Ribbon “gesture” changes the look and feel of the piece.  Above, serious, sober, quiet.

Here, flirty…coquettish…ready for anything!

Ribbons folded into interior, slipped under inside stitch.

Gold leaf…shock top…juxtaposed verbiage creates text tension.

“Unfolding”

“Old World Art” metallic leaf packing repurposed into folded pages stitched together like multiple signatures.

The orange of the repurposed tissue and strips of ribbon sang together.

Pages unfold and create sculptural spaces.

Flattened…

Bound back…open spine.

The ribbon eventually was adhered…the color was fun to play with.

“Open Book 1”

“Arms outstretched”…

Polka dots…

And more polka dots…

“Open Book 2”

Inside

Outside

Dots in a row…

And a Robbin Ran Through It.

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 2

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 2

The ribbon is a line, a shape, an adornment, utilitarian, a communicator of color, a texture…and strangely, emotional. Ribbons can even become anthropomorphic…(more on that in a subsequent post).

The following are all “signature” bindings.

Ribbon becomes closure and design element.

Ribbon integrated into book structure: held between cover boards and that which covers them.

Tied and untied. Tried and untried?

Closed, open and seen from the back..

Openness, step by step.

The colors and patterns of the ribbon become integral to the design of the whole.

use of ribbon can engage the viewer, user, handler, of the piece…tying and untying, opening and closing, and where does the ribbon go when reading, writing or drawing in the book, or even “just” perusing it?

Something so deceptively simple becomes a source of mystery that continually changes.

Like Life.

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 1

And A Ribbon Ran Through It 1

Beyond adornment…ribbon can add mystery, privacy, secrecy…to a piece. When tied shut with a ribbon, an extra effort is required to open the book, and plummet its depths.

Side bound.

Front and back.

Single signature with stitched ribbon.

Single signature with glued ribbon and stitched edge.

Front and back inside cover ribbon framing.

Ribbon closure with button and and stitched buttonhole.

Ribbon embellishment.

Hyper ribbon embellishment.

Tied ribbon, woven ribbon, glued ribbon.

Woven and wrapped ribbon with repurposed felt button closure.

Accordion book ribbon ties using two ribbons.

Accordion book ribbon closures using one ribbon.

Accordion book ribbon glued under cover adornment.

Fan book ribbon ornament.

PaintedPages2: The Painted Book

PaintedPages2: The Painted Book

Painting on denim, reading color, the ties that bind, the vocabulary of color. 

These are themes that come to mind when creating “painted books”.

A multiple signature book, bound with hemp cord, covers of board covered with painted denim,  pages made of painted denim bifolios.

One piece covers front and back covers, and spine piece.  Creating a book with a painting..

Edges left raw.

Inside front cover is unpainted denim, overlaid with painted piece.

    The acrylic painting gives the pages a satisfying heft…The content is color…

and texture.

And a river runs through it…when do the elements of shape, texture and color come together to create an image that would be interpreted by the viewer as in generally the same way?

When does a collection of elements become a “thing”?

Behind the Mask 3

Behind the Mask 3

It has been fun integrating my Mom, Judy Disman’s “mini-masks” into a series of my handmade books.

The series is comprised of small (approximately 4.5 x 6 x1-1.5″), single and multiple signature books,

made of repurposed board, paper, jewelry parts,

hemp cord, linen thread, and Eco-fi felt (made from recycled plastic bottles.)

It is a joy to play with color and  the tension of opposites.  Here the compliments blue and orange, are couched in bright white, reflecting flag colors of red, white and blue, with a twist.

The stitched, or “lashed” edges are inspired by  medieval clothing and lacing.

Braided ties can keep the books closed, and the pages are blank.

All the better of stashing secrets!

 

Behind the Mask 2

Behind the Mask 2

It has been fun integrating my Mom, Judy Disman’s “mini-masks” into a series of my handmade books.

The series is comprised of small (approximately 4.5 x 6 x1-1.5″), single and multiple signature books,

made of repurposed board, paper, jewelry parts, and raffia,

as well as hemp cord, linen thread, and Eco-fi felt (made of recycled plastic bottles.)

The stitched, or “lashed” edges are inspired by

medieval clothing and lacing, and of course…color.

The books tie together, and the pages are blank…

all the better of stashing secrets!

 

Behind the Mask 1

Behind the Mask 1

It has been fun integrating my Mom, Judy Disman’s “mini-masks” into a series of my handmade books.

The series is comprised of small (approximately 4.5 x 6 x1-1.5″), single and multiple signature books,

made of repurposed board, paper, jewelry parts, and raffia,

as well as hemp cord, linen thread, and Eco-fi felt (made of recycled plastic bottles.)

The bound edges are inspired by

medieval clothing and lacing,

and of course…color.

The books tie together, and the pages are blank…all the better of stashing secrets!

Making the French Connection: Linkage

Making the French Connection: Linkage

I have already posted about learning the “French Link” binding technique, twice. But here I wanted to take a look at the bound backs, aka, the “spines” of my explorations of this binding, and see how they play as a collective grouping.

Sample…sometimes the little “models become the pieces I like the most. This practice piece is made from repurposed board, newsprint, paper image, cord and ribbon.

I don’t think I am alone in being fascinated by groupings, collections, series, and other means of seeing how singular parts can come together to create  a unique whole.  A group of things brought together will often become something wholly different ( pun intended) then (indeed transcend) the sum of its parts.

Here then, I peruse my forays into The French Link, (a form of Coptic binding) as a way of exploring not only the technique itself, but also this phenomena of parts coming together to create new meanings, often unintentionally.

The book I made in the class. with covered boards and 6 sections. A bit wobbly with only 2 connector ribbons.

Seeking to heal the “wobble”, I added a third connector ribbon (my nomenclature), and two more ribbons to tie the book closed. Made of board covered with Eco-fi felt , repurposed paper, hemp cord, and ribbon.

Continuing the polka dot theme…this two connector ribbon book was made in honor of an eight-year-old’s birthday. The thickness of the ribbons also helped with the wobble.

Red and black book fit for a warrior, and one turning six, who is fascinated by outer space. Because the “space” connector ribbons have such bling, I used thin off-white linen thread for the stitching, so as not to compete.

Wanting yet more polka dots to show, I added some slits to the covers of this book to weave the connector ribbons through, thus adding strength to the structure. The pages are made of foam sheets, all the better for the three-year-old owner.

Inspired by the bear,  this book is a plain, brown, bare ode to the bear, a favorite ‘spirit animal” in our household. Made from bits and pieces of this and that…one of my favorite ways of working. With books, that is.

As I continue to delve into the rich and endless world of bookmaking as an art form, separating works into groupings lends some sense of direction and  organization around the process, a  container for limitless exploration.

Looking at books from the back can be an interesting vantage point. I have their back, so to speak. And so do You.