Hand-i-Work: Making Books
Picturing Bookmaking…the work of our hands.
Saying goodbye to summer 2016 “Wonderland: The Book Makers’ Studio. Cherish the memories!
Until next year…walk in peace, and make books…read them too!
Bookmaking: A Handy Form of Expression
Bookmaking: A Handy Form of Expression
A Picture Poem giving new meaning to hand work…handiwork…the work (play?) of our hands!
These students HANDle the form well!
Bravo!
A Visit to Wonderland: The Book Makers’ Studio
A Visit to Wonderland: The Book Makers’ Studio
Five weeks of bookmaking with students aged 5-10. An incredible opportunity to witness and nurture creativity in action!
Taking an existing book and altering it.
Some students had no problem cutting right into the book…(a paperback)…and others were more hesitant.
Some students think of books primarily as a space for their many writing ideas….
and others are focused on the visual, enchanted my the material possibilities.
Giving new meaning to the term “Getting Your Ducks in a Row”…
And the story idea…: “A Bunny With Fairy Wings”
Re-purposing tags as flags in the flag book.
The purple tee-shirted bookmaking sistahs!
Concentration. Beginning to write after creating a glittering border.
Book End (table end) inspiration.
Handmade Portfolios using hanging file folders and shoelaces.
Portfolio, and the joy of glittery stickers.
Creating dimension with “pom-poms”.
Bead embellishment
Treasure hunting.
Our piece of heaven: the supplies table.
Sketch book…
Working in a single signature book. Why use one pencil when you can use three?!
Creating scrolls…an ancient book form. We added wooden dowels later.
Thank you for visiting our summer wonderland: The Book Makers’ Studio. You can always create your won…with whatever you have on hand to create with!
To Build a World…Inspired by Louise Nevelson
To Build a World…Inspired by Louise Nevelson
What a wonderful experience to introduce young artists to the wondrous wood work of the artist Louise Nevelson…and what better way than for them to create their own (mini) wood sculptures!
Working on simple cardboard bases, students worked with an assortment of new and repurposed wood objects, in a variety of shapes, thicknesses and sizes.
Playing with shape, space, form, pattern, dimension and design, they arranged their chosen pieces into sculptures (“built environments”), and secured them using “tacky glue“.
Some used aspects of symmetry to create harmony and balance.
Some built their pieces up,
into elegant and contained structures,
some out, into strong, repeating patterns,
and some built up and out producing a magical sense of movement that is a joy to behold.
They used the color, texture and utility of the materials to establish strong compositions, sustain visual interest
and just plain have fun!
It was beautiful to see them build….their worlds.
Gratis Louise Nevelson.
Material World (4)
Material World (4)
One of the pleasures and deep satisfactions of bookmaking is delving into the visual, visceral, and tactile pleasures of materials. Though many artists do not make the kind of money that allows for indulgence in what might be termed, “material pleasures”, we may be seen as materialistic…for materials are the very warp and weft of our trade. We can find our way to the ineffable through immersion in the materials and techniques we choose to create with. Here I share some of my own investigation into the qualities inherent in materials that create texture. Though I am a visual artist, I find the sense of touch as powerful as that of sight, and am fascinated with how the two work together.
“A Stitch in Time Saves 9”, Flag Book, Title stitched onto flags, covers textured with crumpled tissue paper and adhesive, collage and repurposed beads stitched onto cover.
Textured Fan, covers covered with textured, painted and glazed paper, accordion spine made of repurposed Neutra VDL House brochure
“Brown Paper Bag”, Covers textured with crushed plain brown paper and brown paper bags, bound with hemp cord.
PaperPaintPlant, single signature binding, using paper containing plant material.
Teapot Book, Japanese Side Stab binding using thick highly textured handmade paper for covers, and drawing paper for pages, teapot rubber-stamped.
“Synesthesia” is “a rare neurological condition in which two or more of the senses entwine.”
The sense of sight and the sense of touch. How can we separate the two? Does something feel like what it looks like, or does it look like what it feels like? Powerful questions for anyone working in the visual, or any realm of communication and expression. Powerful stuff.
Material World (3)
Material World (3)
One of the pleasures and deep satisfactions of bookmaking is delving into the visual, visceral, and tactile pleasures of materials, and how to employ and combine them. The following shares one step of my journey exploring and investigating the qualities inherent in specific materials. Though many artists do not make the kind of money that allows for indulgence in what might be termed “material pleasures”, we can be seen as materialistic… for materials are the very warp and weft of our trade. We find our way to the ineffable through the use and exploitation of the materials we choose to create from.
The following books are created from basic but sturdy cardboard, the kind that drawing pads are attached to, wrapped with a felt that is made from recycled plastic bottles. That aspect alone would lend these pieces a feel-good quality, but the fact that they become warm, fuzzy and strongly tactile books for some reason is currently irresistible to me. Playing with the single signature bound book form in this way has been pure joy. All the books employ the pamphlet stitch.
WointerSuite: Gray
This is a multi-signature (gathering of folded pages) book structure, even though each signature is composed of a single folded page, stitched separately to a piece of felt that was then glued to the whole inside surface of the book. The pages are high quality drawing paper designed for pastels.
This piece is also a multi-signature structure, each signature composed of a single folded sheet, stitched separately to a strip of felt that was then glued to the spine. Two other cerulean blue sheets of felt were then glued to the inside surfaces of both covers. The pages are also pastel drawing paper, of a different sort. Yes, that is a working zipper on the spine. “Unzipped“? “All Zipped Up“?
WinterSuite: BabyPink
Fascinated by the use of Eco-fi felt, I wanted to see how felt pages would look and feel, and so bound this “BabyPink” book. It’s 6 pages are created from a single signature of 3 folded felt pieces, stitched to a strip of felt that was then glued to the spine. A piece of off-white felt was glued to the inside surface of each covers. The corners that were cut off the felt “wrapper” and other felt fragments were used for embellishment, in an effort to use the felt to its fullest. In this way, such activity becomes piece / peace work.
There is something primal about doing this… primal as regards to materials, and creating the basic form of covers, spine and pages. Even when open, the book remains mysterious and primordial form in feeling. It seems to start at the very beginning…
Material World (2)
Material World (2)
One of the pleasures and deep satisfactions of bookmaking, is delving into the visual, visceral, and tactile pleasures of materials, and how to employ and combine them. The following shares one step of my journey exploring and investigating the qualities inherent in materials. Though many artists do not make the kind of money that allows for indulgence in what might be termed, “material pleasures”, we may be seen as materialistic…for materials are the very warp and weft of our trade. We find our way to the ineffable through the use and exploitation of the materials we choose.
Front view…closed and tied.
Peeking open, ribbons wafting
An open book…
Seen from behind
Single signature binding with wrapped covers, collage, patterned paper from scrapbook pads, drawing paper, recycled shirt-weight cardboard covers, binding sewn with hemp cord, ribbon. Ribbon inserted through book, between cover board and wrapping and over spine.
Artists Books, The Book Arts, Bookbinding, Bookmaking, The Making of Books, however you want to put it, is fertile ground for this exploration/exploitation. In this sense, we are turning even our language on its proverbial head. For what might be seen as negative, such as materialism (being “materialistic”) and exploitation (making use of and benefiting from resources) becomes an act of creativity, imagination and exploration through this transformative process. Which becomes ultimately, an act of expression.
Material World (1)
Material World (1)
One of the pleasures and deep satisfactions of bookmaking, is delving into the visual, visceral, and tactile pleasures of materials, and how to employ and combine them. The following shares one step of my journey exploring and investigating the qualities inherent in materials. Though many artists do not make the kind of money that allows for indulgence in what might be termed, “material pleasures”, we may be seen as materialistic…for materials are the very warp and weft of our trade. We find our way to the ineffable through the use and exploitation of the materials we choose.
Three Books in Bows…all dressed up and ready to go. An exploration of textiles, papers, ribbons, beads, shells, repurposed materials, collage, hemp cord, jute, nylon and bindings. Textures created with tissue and brown wrapping paper and adhesive, layering of transparent material over collaged two-color cover, and stitching. Detail added with recycled and found beads, a treasured shell, and gauzy, glittery, patterned and woven ribbon.
Two Friends…My own version of an “art pauvre”, …a simple structure of humble, repurposed materials existing quietly in the world. Single signature binding of recycled graph paper pages, using jute cord, covers and spine made of recycled cardboard, covered with scraps of recycled cloth. Repurposed ornament stitched to front cover with hemp cord. The pleasures and mysteries of the seemingly mundane and everyday.
Unzipped…so named because there is a zipper stitched to the front cover…(to be depicted at a future time if a good picture can be made of it.) Another example of my expression of “art pauvre”. Single signature book with pages made from recycled paper, covers and spine made of recycled cardboard, covered with repurposed cloth. Jute cord used for binding, and to attach exterior cloth to covers. Interior cloth strips/insets glued on.
Zebra Book…Single signature binding with wrapped covers, patterned paper from scrapbook pads, recycled shirt-weigh cardboard covers, folded card stock weight spine, patterned gauze ribbon, embroidery thread used for sewing. Ribbon inserted through book, between cover board and wrapping.
Lace 2… Single signature binding with wrapped covers, collage, patterned paper from scrapbook pads, drawing paper, recycled shirt-weight cardboard covers, binding sewn with hemp cord, ribbon. Ribbon inserted through book, between cover board and wrapping and over spine.
Los Angeles, California, Single signature binding with wrapped covers, collage, maps printed on multipurpose paper, patterned paper from scrapbook pads, drawing paper, recycled shirt-weight cardboard covers, binding sewn with hemp cord, ribbon. Ribbon inserted through book, between cover board and wrapping and over spine.
Artists Books, The Book Arts, Bookbinding, Bookmaking, The Making of Books, however you want to put it, is fertile ground for this exploration/exploitation. In this sense, we are turning even our language on its proverbial head. For what might be seen as negative, such as materialism (being “materialistic”) and exploitation (making use of and benefiting from resources) becomes an act of creativity, imagination and exploration through this transformative process. Which becomes ultimately, an act of expression.
Studio Poem: Material Girl Again
Studio Poem: Material Girl Again
Card and color
Ribbon Land
Pattern Power
Ribbon Flow
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