book arts studio

Cincinnati Classes

2010-11-07T08:06:00.008-06:00

So when did you last have Skyline Chili or Graeter's ice cream? Next weekend, I'll be teaching three book making classes in Cincinnati, my last classes for calendar 2010. I call this grouping the Bookmaker's Gifts; all are structures that will make beautiful gifts for the people on your holiday list this year. There is a hardcover paper pad folio, the two-sewn-as-one book structure, also with hard covers, and a lovely little leather book sewn in longstitch with a decorative spine weaving. The little leather book is one of the most popular projects I've taught anywhere; it never fails to please the maker or the recipient!

Classes are taking place at Stamp Your Art Out, one of the largest and longest surviving rubber stamp stores in the U.S. I first wandered into SYAO back in the early 1990's, shortly after the store opened, and was immediately sucked down the rubber stamping rabbit hole. I volunteered with the first Stampaway USA convention by designing the logo and helping to lay out the vendor booths, crawling around on the floor with my carpenters ruler and a big roll of masking tape. Connie Williams is the proprietor of both the store and the event; she has managed to thrive in a time when most other stores and events have folded.

All of the materials for these projects are precut so we can get right to work, and require only a minimum of book making tools. There are just a few spots left in the classes; if you are interested, visit the website here or call the store to register. I'll be going out for a 4-way and a mocha chip that weekend; hope to see you there!

Marble-ous Weekend

2010-11-04T21:19:00.010-05:00

The Newberry Library in Chicago is a fabulous resource for study in many areas of the book arts, including decorative papers. Their first floor gallery is currently showing the work of local artist Norma Rubovits, with about 60 examples of marbled paper and 17 books she has bound, taken from their larger collection of 4,000 (be still, my heart!) marbled sheets. You can preview the exhibit here; it will be on display until the end of the year, and I highly recommend it as a field trip.

Norma, who is now 92, donated much of her work to the Newberry when she downsized her home and no longer had a laundry room to serve as a marbling studio. She is particularly noted for her marbling vignettes, tiny manipulated images in the vein of Turkish Ebru marbling, and they are exquisite. How small are they? Let's just say there is a bowl of magnifying glasses available at the door with which to look at the images in detail. So much to see in so little space!

In conjunction with the exhibit, the Newberry scheduled a lecture and a demonstration by well known marbling artist Steven Pittelkow on Saturday afternoon a few weekends ago. My friend Leslie and I attended the event as a kind of preview of things to come. As we waited in the meeting room for the lecture to begin, in walked Norma Rubovits to attend the lecture. What a treat! She is sharp as a tack and a really lovely lady. Another role model for how to do your 90's in style!

Pittelkow is also pretty amazing; he works at an incredible rate of speed, using acrylic paints applied mostly with eye droppers and corn broom whisks. Keep in mind that he was marbling in a lovely library type lecture room; if you have made any marbled papers, you know how slimy a newly marbled sheet can be, and that of course comes after the flinging of the paint onto the surface ahead of printing the paper. Somehow he managed to just keep on producing one beautiful sheet after another (those are snippets of one of his papers, above) despite the challenge of his location. Amazing!

We returned to my studio inspired to make tools, and so went to Lowe's and bought a corn broom to dismember, and to JoAnn's for hundreds of long straight pins to fashion ourselves a Norma comb with a book board handle just like we saw at the exhibit. Although it is quite a task to take apart a broom, the whisks came out terrific; we wrapped the handles with thick waxed polyester thread in different colors. Today I finally began the task of gluing straight pins onto the book board, one eighth inch apart. This one is going to take some time to complete!

All this in preparation for taking Galen Berry's marbling class at Hollander's the following weekend. More about that in the next post!

A Cautionary Tale

2010-10-26T19:21:00.004-05:00

Since we've already left the tour for last week's sad news about Mike Meador, I'll just go ahead and use this opportunity to tell you another story about why you can never take anything for granted.

Shortly after returning from our British Isles vacation this year, I spent a week going around to all the various annual health check-ups I do at least once a year —general check-up, dental, ob/gyn, annual mammogram, vision. All the usual routine boring stuff . . . except for that spot on the mammogram. If you've been paying attention in October, you might already know that 80% of these spots turn out to be nothing. This year, I found myself in the 20% that are cancer. The big C. The club I never wanted to join. Stunned is the only way I can describe it.

No family history, no hormone therapy, I was sure I was exempt.

After surgery to remove the lump came some good news: it was very small, and it had not spread to the lymph nodes. I'm healing from the surgery and, every day this week, I am having follow-up internal radiation therapy twice a day at the hospital. I come home between treatments each day and do lite versions of my usual daily activities. By Friday, the device that delivers the radiation will be removed after my last treatment and I will be done with the hard stuff. The return rate on this type of breast cancer is very small.

My surgery was done on September 30, one day before the start of breast cancer awareness month. I know, it's a lot of pink ribbons and heavy merchandising all month, but if you take nothing else away from the campaign, ladies, please get those annual mammograms. My spot wasn't there last year. If I had waited two years between mammograms, I don't think my outcome would have been nearly as positive as it has been.

So that's my story. At the end of this week, when the last treatment is done and the device comes out, I'm tossing my apron in the car, picking up my friend Leslie in Valparaiso, and heading out to make marbled papers with Galen Berry at Hollanders, something I've wanted to do for years. More details to come!

Farewell, my friend

2010-10-22T12:07:00.004-05:00

Along with many other friends today, I am stunned at the news of Mike Meador's untimely death yesterday. Mike was the owner, or rather the instigator, of the artistic craziness that was Coffee Break Design. With humble beginnings as a rubber stamp company, peddling images that were so not cute from the back of RubberStampMadness magazine, Mike moved on to products that would soon change the world .... small colored eyelets in every possible color, stencils that came with the admonition to use them responsibly, and the world's best double stick tape.

Mike was a show man, a great think on his feet comedian, a musician who wrote about us. Who can forget the Ode to Keith LoBue? Or the exploding Peeps in Ginny's classroom, and the stencil barista who worked for tips? His delight in coaxing his wonderful wife, Chris, to do her imitation of Dorothy Hamill skating backwards into a room. Those late, late nights at Ginny's during ArtFul April weekends with MaryJo and Gayle, where we never stopped laughing with Mike. I will miss him dearly, but I can only imagine the tremendous vacancy that Chris and Andy feel in their lives.

I can see him now, working on that next stencil: This is heaven, this is not heaven .....

Arts & Crafts in Glasgow

2010-10-18T07:37:00.006-05:00

After that lovely day in the Irish countryside, we decided to do city sights at our next stop in Scotland. Glasgow was the birthplace of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, architect, designer, painter and sculptor, a leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau. When I was a graphic designer in the 1990's, one of my favorite fonts was inspired by Mackintosh's meticulous hand lettering, and it is still available today from ITC fonts.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh showed talent for architecture right out of the gate, winning competitions for building design in his early 20's. While in Glasgow, we visited two of his early works: the Lighthouse, which now houses a Mackintosh museum of his drawings, models, and designed objects, and the nearby Willow Tea Room. Alas, Mackintosh got into architecture just as the country was falling on hard times economically, forcing many architectural firms to close. He migrated to watercolor painting, then fabric design, often struggling to make ends meet. Sadly, he died of throat cancer at the age of 60. His work has become much more celebrated in recent years; there was a sort of Macintosh revival in the 1990's. We noted many similarities in his life and work to that of Frank Lloyd Wright in the U.S.

After our little Mackintosh fest, we decided to tour the streets of Glasgow to get a feel for the city. Many cities in Europe have these convenient "hop-on, hop-off" double decker buses, where you purchase a ticket for the day and are then entitled to board these special buses at any of their stops, getting off and spending time where you like, then re-boarding. It's a handly, inexpensive way to get around, and allows you to be somewhat spontaneous if you see something along the route that you'd like to explore in more detail. We hopped on at George Square, a main public area in the heart of the city, and rode around until we reached the Glasgow University area where we hopped off for our next adventure.

It was lunchtime, and although we rarely eat fried food, we had promised ourselves we would have a real fish and chips meal sometime during this trip. When we got off the bus, we were clearly in a student area—dozens of coffee and tea shops and Thai restaurants populating the street. But there, on a corner, we saw Tennants, a classic looking Scottish pub, and decided to poke our heads inside to see what they had to offer.

The interior was everything you might expect in an older pub; the menu claims it has been in this location since the 1500's. Tables were populated with older men, fixtures with their newspapers, swapping stories and downing pints, all of them characters. We sat down; I was longing to pull out my camera and take some photos but didn't want to jeopardize our position with the locals. We ordered lunch, and had the best fish and chips ever for less than the cost of a mediocre burger in the states. Outstanding!

Fortified by our substantial lunch, we walked on until we reached the fabulous Botanical Gardens, and could not resist going in for a visit. The conservatory was quite large and beautiful; the grounds even more so. We spent most of the afternoon there, then walked to another bus stop to catch our ride back to the heart of town. A short train ride back to the ship, and we were off to our next port in Scotland.

How McCool is this?

2010-10-13T08:01:00.009-05:00

Upon arrival in Belfast, we immediately departed for the countryside. There is nothing more green, and more beautiful than the Irish coastline. On earlier trips to Ireland, we had seen the Ring of Kerry, and took this opportunity to see the coast from the northern part of the island. These earlier trips had taken place during times of conflict in Northern Ireland, and we had never been able to come as far north as Belfast.

Our destination this day was the Giant's Causeway, a breathtaking group of about 38.000 interlocking basalt columns, ranging from ground level to 36 feet high. They are mostly hexagonal, but some rocks have fewer or more sides. Grouped together, they form stepping stones leading from the surrounding hills into the water. Scientists explain that the formations are the result of volcanic activity 60 million years ago, but locals and storytellers have a much more colorful explanation.

Legend has it that a giant named Fionn macCumhaill—Finn McCool— lived on the north coast of Ireland with his wife Oonagh. Finn was being tauted by his rival across the water in Scotland, the giant Benandonner, and created the Causeway as a challenge to lure Benandonner across the channel for a showdown. Oonagh, however, decided to use a tactic of stealth over strength, and disguised the sleeping Finn as a baby in a large gown and bonnet under a blanket. When Benandonner arrived, she invited him in for tea and asked him not to wake the baby. Benandonner took one look at the size of the baby and thought better of the challenge, retreating home to Scotland and tearing up the Causeway on the way back.

Remnants of Finn can still be seen, such as his giant boot in the photo above. The rock formations are fascinating, and then there is the breathtaking sea beyond the rocks. You can probably find a remnant of Finn yourself if you live in a town with an Irish population... there are dozens of pubs and restaurants that bear his name here in the U.S. So now you know all about Finn McCool.

From the Giant's Causeway visitor center, you can see the town of Bushmill, famous for, well, Bushmill's whiskey, and site of the oldest distillery in Ireland.

On our return to the ship, our guide took us through the streets of Belfast, something we were never able to do in the past. Despite the relative calm that now prevails, there are plenty of signs of previous strife. Neighborhoods are either Catholic or Protestant; you instantly know by the flags that are flying from the houses and businesses. The two simply don't mix. Between neighborhoods, you will often find empty blocks of "no man's land", keeping the peace by maintaining some distance. In some parts of town, streets are blocked off with large iron gates and mural covered walls to keep the factions apart, a grim reminder that things haven't always been quiet in Belfast.

This was our last stop in Ireland, but it won't be our last visit. Ireland will always be on my list of places to return to again and again.

Happy Birthday John Lennon

2010-10-04T06:53:00.009-05:00

When I was about 15, I was lucky enough to see the Beatles in concert at Cincinnati Gardens during their first tour of the U.S. Never mind that this was a terrible venue for musical events; you couldn't hear the music anyway for the screaming that accompanied all of their early concerts. I was one of those screamers; a fan then and still a fan today. You can find me every Sunday morning having Breakfast with the Beatles, a radio program on Chicago's WXRT-FM hosted by Terri Hemmert.

So naturally, we opted for the In the Footsteps of the Beatles tour when we landed in Liverpool. There is a wonderful museum to visit, The Beatles Story, which starts at the very beginning, long before the group came together. It is jam packed with audio and video clips, musical instruments, items of clothing, and other ephemera tracing the amazing journey of the fab four from poor scruffy lads to larger than life musicians. After the museum, we boarded a bus and went to see first hand the childhood homes of John, George and Paul; Ringo's home, alas, is in a part of town than has been blocked off for redevelopment and is no longer accessible. We went to Penny Lane, the roundabout with the bank and the barber shop, and stopped at the gate to Strawberry Fields, a former orphanage. All of these once ordinary places, now forever famous in songs we'll never forget. It was a fantastic day.

Next weekend, October 9, would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday, and I know I've gotten older as well, but every time I hear a Beatles song, I become 16 or 20 again. Long live the power of music!

Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

2010-09-20T08:47:00.006-05:00

The Book of Kells was just the tip of the iceberg in Dublin. After our morning visit to Trinity College, we found our way to Dublin Castle and finally to one of Ireland's greatest treasures, the Chester Beatty Library. If you love books you must add this spot to your bucket list; I promise you won't be disappointed.

First of all, let me tell you a little about Chester Beatty. He was born in New York, and graduated from Columbia University as a mining engineer. (My husband, who is also all of these, felt an instant kinship.) Beatty headed west and started shoveling rock in Denver, worked very hard, and before long had built a successful consultant business based in New York. His first wife died of typhoid fever; Beatty left New York for London.

As a child, Beatty had collected minerals, bottles and stamps; as an adult, he moved on to Persian and European manuscripts. In a position to travel the world with his successful business ventures, he expanded to Japanese and Chinese, Egyptian and other bindings. He was particularly fond of highly illustrated books, fine bindings and beautiful calligraphy. In 1950, he moved to Ireland and built a library for his collection, which was given to a trust for the public when he died.

The Library consists of two floors of books and manuscripts. The first floor features the Arts of the Book which, at the time of our visit, had several books from India from the first half of the 17th century, mostly very small, so small you were provided with a hand magnifying glass so you could view the remarkable details of each page through the glass. The illustrations were absolutely breathtaking! The color, facial expression, costume detail and page composition were all exquisite. As no photographs were allowed, I'm reproducing several note cards I picked up in the gift shop just to give you an idea of what we saw.

On the second floor are the Sacred Traditions texts, including Jewish torahs and scrolls, early Christianity testaments, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism manuscripts, Egyptian papyrus fragments and scrolls, along with videos that explain the various rites of passage for the different belief systems. There is also a lovely roof garden, and in the library book store there was a little niche filled with marbled papers and handmade books from last year's discovery in Florence, Il Papiro.

Outside the Library, there is a delightful walled garden with a view of the Castle and surrounding buildings. Nearly the entire day had passed, without stopping for lunch or noticing the time, and we had to rush to make our way back to one of the last shuttles to the ship. All in all, what a great day for enjoying book arts!

The Book of Kells, Dublin

2010-09-16T08:34:00.007-05:00

Our next stop was Dublin, home of Trinity College and the largest collection of books in the world, including the enchanting Book of Kells. Trinity College Library houses over four million volumes, collected since the end of the 16th century. It was certainly going to be a book lovers day, to be sure, overwhelming and inspiring at the same time. So let's begin.

We took a shuttle bus into the city, as we had decided to do Dublin on our own instead of with the group. As you draw closer to the main part of town, the magnificent Samuel Beckett bridge greets you, spanning the Liffey River. Designed by architect Santiago Calartrava, the cable-stayed structure resembles a giant harp on its side. It appears to be weightless, a stunning contrast to the surrounding buildings, typical Dublin skies and dark water below. Lucky for us that the timing of this trip made it possible to see, as the bridge was only installed in late 2009.

Dublin is all about the book. Our first stop was Trinity College, where we joined the long line waiting to view the Book of Kells. We had last visited Dublin about 30 years ago; at that time, the Book of Kells occupied one modest glass case inside the Long Hall Library. Today, there are several rooms and a wonderful exhibit that accompany the display of the Book of Kells, located on the level below the Long Hall. Before you view the actual Book folios, there is an exhibit that explains the history, the production (thought to be done by a team of four monks), the techniques, tools and materials, all fascinating details to those of us interested in making books. Examples of Ethopian bindings, many with their own box-like leather carrying cases are included in the exhibit, and don't be surprised if some of next summer's workshop projects are inspired by what I saw here.

Alas, no photos were allowed inside, so you'll have to do a little online surfing of your own to see photos of the magnificent pages. They are incredibly colorful, almost contemporary in appearance; just imagine this intricate work being done with a tiny fraction of the tools and resources we have available today.

After the Book of Kells exhibit, we took the stairs up to the Long Hall, a library so over the top that you must take a deep breath when you enter and just take it all in before you proceed. Picture two very tall stories of floor to ceiling books for more than the entire length of a city block, with an even taller arched ceiling joining the two sides. The length is broken down into nooks, each with its own ladder to reach the upper shelves, and on both floors. It is more books than I have ever seen in one fell swoop, enough to make a book lover swoon.

The walls between the nooks each have a bust of a literati. Many volumes, due to age or condition, appear to have pages and covers tied together with a length of linen tape; you can see these bundles on the shelves in the photograph reproduced above. And then there is that wonderful library book smell that fills the hall. I'm pretty sure this must be what heaven is like.

After our visit, we walked around the Trinity College campus for awhile, noting that even the statues here are all holding books. It was a lovely morning, and in the afternoon we had another book related adventure which I'll share in the second part of this post.

Colorful Kinsale

2010-09-14T00:26:00.006-05:00

In the afternoon, we went off on a side trip to Kinsale, famous as the town closest to where the Lucitania was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915 during World War I; the wreckage lies under the sea about 7 miles from the lighthouse. Of the almost 2,000 passengers on board, only about 800 survived, as the ship sank in less than 20 minutes after it was attacked. This was the second of what would become three major ship losses from this area; we'll talk about the third in a future post.

What a visual treat we encountered when we entered the town! The buildings were painted in rich colors, adorned by beautiful flowers in window boxes and shop goods hung outside to lure the customers in. And there were plenty of customers ... this town was hopping! Lots of lively little outdoor cafes, bookstores, pubs and shops -- and for once, it was mostly the townspeople and not so many tourists. I popped into the town's two bookstores, hoping to find some older titles on bookbinding but, alas, there were none to be had. We did find some lovely Aran yarn to bring back to our knitting friend, and Irish tweed woolen goods were plentiful and nicely priced. We marveled that even this town had a Thai restaurant. No Starbucks, and not missed.

So, enjoy this charming tidy town through the photos, and next post we'll enjoy the delights of a big city.

Cobh, Ireland

2010-09-05T23:11:00.007-05:00

We spent the next morning walking around the town of Cobh (pronounced Cove), our first stop in Ireland and port for the city of Cork, Blarney Castle, the Waterford Crystal Factory, and Kinsale (more about this in the next post). Cobh is known for a few things: it was the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic on her maiden voyage in 1914, before setting out on the Atlantic. Cobh was also the departure point for many thousands of Irish who fled the country to escape the potato famine in the mid 1800s.

Cobh is a town of tiny houses painted in wonderful bright colors, dominated visually by a ginourmous cathedral on top of a hill. Once again, we marveled at the lavish use of flowers all over town, and began to covet the tall, three-tiered flower boxes for our own garden at home. We spent our morning walking the streets, slowly winding our way up to the cathedral, and were rewarded on top by some lovely views.

My memory of this port will be the texture of all the houses when seen from the ship; row after row of tiny random color chips that seem to get along with each other just fine. Shown here are a few photos from our morning walk; in the next post, we'll take a field trip in the afternoon to Kinsale.

Guernsey Literati

2010-09-02T22:46:00.007-05:00

Last year, our book club read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a novel based on the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II. Guernsey was the only part of Britian that was so occupied; the island is located just 8 miles off the coast of France, so it was inevitable that the Germans would take it after France had fallen. Britian could not afford to defend the tiny island without tremendous loss of civilian life, and so decided to evacuate all the children and adults who wished to go, leaving behind a handful of brave men and women to continue. It's a great read, written in the form of correspondence between the main characters on Guernsey and mainland Britian and U.S. I didn't know at the time that I read it that I would be visiting there so soon!

We had sailed from Southampton the day before and arrived in St. Peter Port early the next morning. The dock there is quite small, so our giant ship could not come all the way in; we anchored just outside the harbor and went in by tender (small boat). Approaching the island, you can't miss the giant fortress; while many others in the group opted to go there on a tour including the underground tunnel museum, we decided to stay above ground and explore Guernsey by foot.

Our first stop was St. James Church, the tall spire you can see in the photo above. Housed inside St. James are the Guernsey Tapestries, a collection of 10 unique, heavily embroidered works, each depicting a century of Guernsey history. They were created as a collaborative work by residents of the 10 boroughs that make up the island. Dozens of needle artists of all skill levels contributed hundreds of hours to the completion of these tapestries over the course of about three years. They were finished around 2002; the Queen visited for the opening and awarded a medal to the organizer of the project. She probably was invited to one of those garden parties as well. You can see more of the tapestries here .

Guernsey has more claim to fame than good looking cows; it was also where the first post box was invented. While French is the official language, English is most often spoken; they have their own pound currency (I brought a bill home to press in my book) and postage stamps. One of the churches that we visited was having a sort of spontaneous rummage sale, and I purchased several collections of colorful Guernsey stamps to use in future art projects. As we passed the pub shown above, I wondered if it was the site of the original cock and bull story. Who knew?

Next stop was the Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery, high atop a hill with the best views in town. The Museum is full of war time memorabilia and provides an excellent commentary on the German occupation. The adjoining Art Gallery was showing art created during this time by residents who had the added challenge of not having very much to work with. It's amazing how resourceful people can be when circumstances call for it. Many household items were repurposed during this time, and here you thought our current frenzy for altering things was a brand new idea! At the museum I purchased a great little reproduction book of a government war publication, titled Make Do and Mend -- I see it is also on amazon.com. Oh, and there was tea and scones at the adjoining cafe in the gardens.

Our final destination was to find the house where Victor Hugo lived for about 14 years while in exile from France. It was here that he wrote Les Miserables among other works. The house is lovely; the gardens in the back even more so, with views of his beloved France from the upper windows. I've included a few photos above. Alas, all we could see across the water on this day was the giant cruise ship waiting down in the harbor.

Long before our day ended there, I had fallen in love with Guernsey. The flowers all over the island were magnificent; hundreds of hanging baskets and tiny courtyards filled with beauty; the temperature was around 75 degrees; a welcome escape from our sweltering Chicago summer. So, if I go missing sometime, there is a good chance you will find me here again in this charming, inspirational setting.

The Other Queen

2010-09-02T14:28:00.005-05:00

Ginny Carter Smallenburg and I have had this Queen thing going on for years. It started back in the days of Art Continuum and the Creative Block, and to this day I start nearly all my correspondence to her addressed as The Queen. So imagine my surprise to find there is another Queen out there, with maybe an even larger home and fabulous gardens to match!

Our second day in London was spent at Buckingham Palace. In the morning, we saw the changing of the palace guard. We were approaching the palace along a wide, grand boulevard when the guards suddenly just marched in front of us! We shot some photos, then tried to keep up with them on the sidewalk as they approached the palace, a task that became increasingly difficult because the crowds were enormous around the palace gates and surrounding circle.

Our timing for this trip was perfect, for when the Queen is away on vacation (she goes to Scotland for two months every summer), the Palace state rooms are open to the public for tours. There are a total of 26 rooms altogether ... ballrooms, sitting rooms, music room, throne room (and we're not talking toilets, here) receiving rooms, grand staircases, painting gallery rooms and many others. There was also a very nice exhibit of Queen stuff ... gowns and crowns, those ever present hats and sensible handbags, swords and pillows, and a collection of this year's birthday cards to the Queen ... a delightful display, highlighting all of the Queen's many official responsibilities throughout the year. And you thought you lived a highly scheduled life!

My new goal is to get myself invited to one of the three garden parties held each year on the grounds ... about 8,000 people attend each one, so surely there is a chance for me somewhere! (Memo to self: do something worthy of Queen attention.)

We decided to have lunch at the Palace because, in the summer, you can. Even our coffee came with this special insignia. Lovely!

At the obligatory stop at the gift shop as we left, I happened upon this fabulous box which, when opened, turned out to be not only a sewing kit, but a kind of book structure that I have seen somewhere before. Don't be surprised if it finds its way into my repertoire at some point!

Next post we're off to the Isle of Guernsey, where we had several artful adventures.

Paper Frenzy in London

2010-08-31T15:17:00.005-05:00

There we were, fresh off the plane and standing in the lobby of our hotel near Buckingham Palace, when we learned our room wouldn't be ready for a few hours. What's a girl to do, except go paper shopping? Never mind that we hadn't slept on the way over, or that we could use a shower and a change of clothes .... musn't waste this opportunity! So off to Southampton Road to visit Falkiners Fine Papers, also known as Shepherds Bookbinding, for a paper grab. My husband was happy to walk over to the nearby British Museum while I shopped; he was longing to see the parts of the Parthenon that were missing on last year's visit to Athens.

This is one fabulous paper and bookbinding supply store! They have, literally, everything you could want ... hundreds of beautiful decorative sheets of paper, delicious paper for the text blocks, quality hand tools, pastes and glues, sewing thread, large wooden equipment, all located on two floors and with floor to ceiling paper racks. Amazing! There are many sheets of decorative paper stored on ladder-like bars, and even more sheets to buy, stored in large sample books at a counter and organized by type of paper ... Japanese, hand marbled, utility papers. You can settle in with a nice long list and a pencil, and just keep writing in your selections until you run out of room on the sheet.

I surrendered once again to the sirens' call of the hand marbled papers .... gorgeous big sheets, very nice quality base paper and reasonably priced, all made by Payhembury Marbled Papers in Cambridge. I have not seen these before in the U. S. or my other travels; they are exquisite, using an interesting color palette very different from the French, Spanish or Italian papers. Lucky for me, several of my selections from the books were out of stock at the store, so that left room to add from the Japanese screen print collection as well as some lovely little screened prints that will be perfect for endpapers.

My prized find of the day, however, was beautiful red sewing thread. You know how hard it is to find linen thread in a good red color here; I was so excited to see it I bought several "hanks" of it. The thread is 18/3 weight and unwaxed; although I haven't measured, there seems to be a generous amount in each bundle. Now my decorative spine bindings are going to be so much more colorful!

The staff there is very helpful and graciously allowed me to leave my purchases there for two weeks while we went off on our cruise, giving me the perfect excuse to return before we left for home. A great way to spend our first day in London!

I Could Have Written Sooner

2010-08-30T22:25:00.005-05:00

Heaven knows there were enough post boxes around, but who had time to write? We're just back from almost three weeks in the beautiful British Isles: England, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Guernsey and the Normandy beaches in France. There were so many things to see and do, including lots of side trips related to books and paper, art and architecture. I'll be posting here over the next few weeks about our adventures; hope you'll enjoy this vicarious tour!

S C C Workshops

2010-08-05T09:33:00.004-05:00

There was more fun to come in Pittsburgh, where I returned for my annual week long workshop at the Society for Contemporary Craft. I first began teaching at SCC when I lived in Pittsburgh from 2000 to 2005; this organization is so well run, it is a pleasure to work with everyone there. Many of my students there have been coming since the beginning, and this was, I believe, our sixth year to hold the week long bookmaking workshop. So, lots of friendly familiar faces, lots of laughs, lots of great coffee from the 21st Street shop across the way, and breakfast at Pamela's almost every morning make for a fantastic environment.

Our projects for the week included four decorative spine bindings, a Japanese stab binding, the Butterfly binding, a rounded back Bradel binding, a box construction with loose fitting lid, the Blizzard and Crown books, a cereal box journal, several french fold booklets, and orizomegami, or tie dyed paper. Above are a few photos of our paper and box work. On Saturday, I taught a separate class on constructing a leather journal sewn over colorful leather tapes.

We're already making plans for next year's workshop at SCC, so watch for details. It will be in June, 2011 and it will be fabulous!

Q S D S Workshops

2010-08-04T22:02:00.006-05:00

The first week of June marked my return to teaching at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. This was my second time to teach at this event; I was last here in 2006. This year's offerings included a three day workshop on silkscreening and fabric books, and a two day workshop on silkscreening and a wall hanging/palm leaf book.

Silkscreening fabrics took up the first half of each of the workshops. I had encouraged students to bring in pages of their own handwriting or letters, and printed pages from old books and other publications. There was tremendous variety—old birth documents, children's writing, poetry, quotations, pages from random publications, scribbles, intricately drawn illustrations, and . . . Sitting Bull.

One student had found a great photo in an old magazine; we turned it into a screen print, and SB soon became our mascot for the first session. Students and their friends were screening him on everything they could find, including the shirts off their backs. It's all part of the infectious enthusiasm that comes from the speed of this medium .. once you've made the screen, you can get the image onto anything you can get on the print bed, and right quick, too. Instant gratification!

In the second workshop, our new mascot became Bob the Dog, the pet of one of the students. Bob had been through quite a lot and certainly deserved his own screen. By the end of the workshop, he was also the subject of a fabric based book and turning up on shirt backs everywhere.

The QSDS experience is always fantastic. In addition to top notch instructors and classes, there are many exciting activities in the evening hours ... presentations by artists about their work, artist vendor night where you can get some gorgeous stuff to use in your work, a hand dyed fabric sale, a mini quilt auction, ice cream by the pool .... the list goes on. One of my favorite parts is the long hall where vendors keep shop hours every day, so you can stroll down the hall any time and pick up that fabulous hand dyed fabric or extravagant button that just makes your piece sing!

Good news for all you fabric buffs in the Cincinnati area: Becky Hancock of St. Theresa's Textile Trove has reopened shop on the first floor of the Pendleton Arts Center. Hooray! The hand marbled fabrics I got there were breathtaking. Now I must make some bookcloth!

Isn't She A Beauty?

2010-08-02T16:55:00.004-05:00

Gosh, where are all the posts about my adventures in making books for the last few months? Oh wait ... I guess I forgot to blog. Thanks to all you loyal readers who have checked in periodically, and let's get this train back on the track.

Since I last left you on the streets in Paris, I've been traveling mostly in the U.S. There were fabulous classes in Columbus, Ohio and Pittsburgh, and both sessions of the Book Arts Coterie here at my studio have all since taken place. During the July fourth weekend, we dashed off to New York for a fantastic wedding at the Vanderbilt estate. Preparations are now underway for our next trip to Europe, visiting the British Isles for several weeks. Life is good!

Meanwhile, I have to share this recent addition to the studio, a vintage book press purchased from another book artist in the Chicago area. It's a great size, it's cast iron and unbelievably heavy, and .... it's RED! What could be better than that? It's in excellent condition. I've wanted an older press for awhile, and have looked for one in the junk stores, flea markets and antique stores around here without success. This one turned up on a book arts bulletin board, and was worth the almost two hour drive to pick it up. Moving a book press down a flight of stairs from the car to the studio is character, if not muscle building experience; now it has a home atop my grandmother's treadle sewing machine in the library area of the studio.

Stay tuned for photos and reviews of the summer workshops ... after taking a break from teaching last summer, it was fun to be back in full swing this year. There were also new tool adventures, new friends, new projects .... all of which you'll see soon.

Rue Vavin

2010-03-29T06:49:00.006-05:00

After the experience at Relma, I headed for another favorite paper store in Paris, Marie Papier. It is located at 26 Rue Vavin in Montparnasse, a few Metro stops and a short walk away. Rue Vavin is one of my favorite small streets in Paris; it is lined with one little boutique after another and makes for great window shopping while you head for your destination. In addition to Marie Papier on Rue Vavin, there is also an Art du Papier shop (think very small Paper Source type store; these are found in several locations around Paris) and also a fabulous game shop, with a display window guaranteed to pull you in if you weren't already so inclined. What's the attraction? A collection of stunning and fanciful Tarot and other card decks, handcrafted wooden games with very cool game pieces, small figures, small toys, little figures .... so wonderful, you'll think you've gone down the rabbit hole.

Marie Papier is a lovely store, the walls lined with beautiful hanging sheets of paper, and a huge center island with dozens of small objects in little wooden bins ... pencil sharpeners, miniature pens, clips, tools, erasers, calligraphy ink canisters and pen holders, everything to do with writing and making marks on paper. The store also carries its own line of exquisitely made journals and portfolios, in luscious colors, many soft bound, in a wide variety of sizes. On my visit here in 2009, I had purchased some papers, and my visit this time was not only to see what was new but to do a little buying for friends who had been lusting after some of last year's purchases.

Shown here are some of the papers that I purchased this year. I am absolutely in love with the batik style dot paper, so I bought it in every color. It folds nicely and takes adhesive well; it's also quite strong. Haven't seen it anywhere in the states. The striped sheets are screen printed and also fold and glue well, like a fine Japanese yuzen sheet. The "olives" were just too much fun not to bring home. Martini book, anyone?

You can make a virtual visit to Marie Papier using the link at right; the website has an English language option, and if you click on La Boutique you can see the store for yourself!

Another post, another paper store ....

A Visit to Relma

2010-03-10T12:19:00.005-06:00

I can't imagine a trip to Paris without a visit to Relma, the mecca for bookbinders and lovers of fine art papers. There are so few retail stores in the world devoted entirely to our craft, and this one is perhaps the finest of them all. Tucked away on a little side street close to St. Michel, Relma is easily reached by Metro (exit St. Michel) followed by just a short walk on Rue Dandon to Rue de Pointevins. The street is so small, it did not appear on any of my maps, but not to worry, because each Metro station has a highly detailed map of the quarter it serves, and a good index so you can find even the smallest of rues.

This is not to say the store itself is small; oh no, quite the contrary. There are at least four large rooms, and probably more that are not open to the public. Relma sells everything for bookbinding--decorative papers, luscious leather skins, headbands and linen tapes, adhesives, hand tools, instruction books and breathtakingly beautiful wood equipment: sewing frames, presses, and so on, along with cutters and board shears. Conspicuous by its absence is the lack of waxed linen sewing thread in the many colors we love to use; Relma sells only white thread for this purpose.

When you walk in the front door, you enter a large room with ceiling high, three inch deep shelves around the entire perimeter and several large tables in the center. This is the marbled paper room, with a few leather skins occupying some of the back portion and a large display of hand tools on the wall. There must be several hundred different pattern and color combinations of marbled paper housed here. To the left, a similar room devoted entirely to leather and suede skins, arranged by color. To the right, a room devoted largely to book cloth, with a wall of open shelf storage and a hundred (perhaps more) little cubby size drawers, each one containing a tool or supply. The fourth room, reached only by walking through the book cloth room, contains the fabulous wooden equipment for which Relma has been known in fine binding circles for decades.

Entering the store calls up all sorts of sensory delights; it looks like something from 50 years ago, and it smells, well, like paper and leather and wood all mixed together .... three of my favorite things. I take a deep breath as a I close the door behind me, because I know I'm going to be here for a long time. The staff is small, usually one or two people, but there is a nice Indian gentleman who always seems to be there, and he speaks English very well, enough to answer the technical questions you might have. Otherwise, you can simply wander from area to area, pulling out the papers you want to see in detail, creating your stash on the tables in the center. No one seems to mind if you want to open the many cubby drawers to see what delightful items are waiting inside. You're never rushed or pressured to move on; it's a little piece of heaven where time has stopped just for you.

My mission was to find some luscious papers for my summer students, and I also had shopping lists for friends and students with specific requests. So, I will share with you photos some of my paper purchases, knowing that some of you will actually be able to get your hands on these and work with them for our book projects in July.

In a small lapse of judgement, or maybe not, I purchased a bookbinding book, La Reliure (the French word for binding) because it has good photographs inside of some production techniques that interested me. I will sit down with my LaRousse French English reference at some point and translate the sections that are most useful. I have checked for this book in English but it does not seem to exist in any other language, nor is it available from Amazon.

This is not the only paper store I visited on this trip--more to come in future posts--but if you love making books and find yourself in Paris, you should treat yourself to this heady experience.

Bon papier appetit!

Back from a paper grab

2010-03-09T11:09:00.005-06:00

Well, yes, I did leave you here with a couple of CDs for quite some time. Not too long after my last post here, we had an unexpected trip to New York, a flurry of events and activities here, and then shortly after that, took off for France for my annual paper buying frenzy. There are all kinds of wonderful things to show and tell, so watch for a series of posts in the next few days about these adventures.

I also want to report that my summer workshops here at the studio are full; if you didn't apply in time for 2010, please consider this experience for next year. In the meantime, you can still catch me in Cleveland, Columbus or Pittsburgh. Check the workshop schedule in the right column and click on the links for availability and other details.

Jet lag sucks. I must sleep now...........

Artist's Books on the Play List

2010-01-14T21:50:00.004-06:00

If you've been to my studio, you know that I like to work to all kinds of music. So what could be better than music that is also packaged like a book? Two recent CD acquisitions in my collection fit this bill, and I thought you might like to see them.

The first, Steve Martin's The Crow ( the original wild & crazy guy), is his 5-string banjo music. If you've never worked to banjo before, it is great for book making. Try Bela Fleck or Elliott Sussman (oh, shameless plug here; that's my boy). Got a deadline? Get out the banjo CDs and slide on home!

Inside The Crow's front cover, there is a wonderful 3-D pop-up construction of a stage. An extra panel with a sleeve in back contains a little book with back story on the compositions, a kind of musical colophon demystifying how and why the tunes came to be. There's no need to fill those pages with pesky lyrics when you write banjo music, no sir. The graphics throughout the package are retro cool and the whole thing is just delightful. Martin declares, "this is the most expensive banjo album in the history of the universe." Did I mention his banjo music is also very nice? Truly Wonderful and Just As Advertised.

Another example is "Draw the Line" by David Gray, a songwriter favorite and regular on the playlist here. This package is bound like a hard cover book with a french groove on the spine, and incorporates a ten page signature that includes all the words to the songs. The lyric pages are a fanciful combination of graphics and type headings that look rubber stamped, like an artist's visual journal. The limited color palette (sepia with selected photo tinting and the song titles in neon orange) gives the album a nostalgic feel, reminding me of the glory days of rubber stamping.

Music grows increasingly digital, and little gems like these will surely disappear as more of us click and buy online. For now, I love a little documentation with my music, and kudos to these two artists for creating wonderful, unexpected visual treats.

Equal Spacing; No Math!

2010-01-12T22:42:00.004-06:00

So what if I told you there is a tool that will let you mark perfectly spaced holes for sewing stations in your handcrafted books without doing a lick of math? No more troublesome fractions like thirty-seconds and sixty-fourths to fill your head when you're trying to calculate the spacing for your hole punching template. And, the holes don't have to be readily recognized increments like half inches; they will be whatever is appropriate for whatever distance you happen to working with, and you won't have to measure a thing.

Called the SimFlex Expanding Sewing Gauge, this tool is sold as a buttonhole spacer from sewing supply companies, but it is also a great bookbinding tool. Tightly compressed, it is 3" wide and just a little over 6" tall. Fully extended, it is about 24" wide. It features 8 points, each with a notch cut into the tip for your pencil or hole poking tool to fit in exactly the right spot. At full length, it somewhat resembles the fence of a play yard for your little purse size dog; if you hung it on the wall, you could stick lots of notes and receipts into it like a high-tech bulletin board.

So how does it work? Let's say you want to make a Japanese four hole binding, and you want the holes evenly spaced between the head and tail of the book. Place the first point of the SimFlex where you want to begin the stitching, then extend it so that the fourth point falls where you want to end the stitching. (Since the SimFlex has eight points, and you only need four for this project, the unused points can simply extend past the project. Check out the above photo for an example.) Use a pencil or hole punching tool in the notch to mark the sewing stations. Viola! Perfectly spaced holes, no math needed!

You can also use this tool to mark sewing stations on a jig or template for punching signatures or sections in a hole punching cradle. Eight points will likely take care of all but your largest book projects, but if you need more than eight stations, just mark the first eight and then slide the first point of the tool to hole number 7 and then continue merrily on your way.

The SimFlex also features additional markings (in inches and quarter inches) etched into the metal, useful in lining up the tool along the spine edge. You can find this very useful item in a well stocked sewing/fabric store, or you can get it online from Nancy's Notions. Nancy's printed catalog is chock full of wonderful aids and gadgets for working with needle and thread; makes a great read on these cold winter evenings. Bet you can't order just one thing!

2010 Book Arts Coterie

2009-12-31T15:14:00.005-06:00

So, what are you doing next summer? If you've been thinking about taking classes or exploring book arts in greater depth, I hope you'll consider my week long workshops at my studio in 2010.

Information for the 2010 sessions is now available; I'll start accepting applications from blog readers who want to attend on January 15. If you are interested, please send me an email (pamsussman@aol.com) and I'll reply with basic workshop information and a registration form by email attachment. You can snail mail the registration form at any time after you receive it, but it will be held until January 15 when all mail will be opened in the order received.

There will be two sessions, both in July, and attendance will be limited to 6-7 students per session. You'll have ample space to work in, plenty of personal attention, and loads of fun and memorable experiences! This is the third year for Book Arts Coterie, with many students returning year after year. We typically make between 12 to 18 books during the week, and create a stash of papers and fabrics for future book projects as well.

I'll be happy to answer any individual questions you might have; just send them along in your email request. Hope to see you here in the summer of 2010!

My Studio

2009-12-06T19:57:00.012-06:00

Lynne Perrella throws the best parties, many of them within the pages of her books. The latest addition to the growing Perella section in my resource library is Art Making & Studio Spaces, fresh off the press and finding its way to booksellers everywhere. This work is a celebration of the workplaces of 31 different artists, including the author's space and OMG, my studio is in there, too!

The book features luscious, full page color photos of spaces where artists work, accompanied by commentary on how and why it works for that particular artist. You can't help but pick up a lot of great ideas for arranging your own space, no matter what size it might be. One thing is certain; no matter what medium you explore in art, it is going to take stuff to make it. And everyone in this book has lots of stuff. You'll see something that you'll love. At the moment, I am coveting R. O. Blechman's ladder in his library (page 118), and find myself sketching ideas for a faux version for my own bookshelves.

I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this project. Lynne puts together a wonderful package with everything she does, so I knew it would be a first rate publication. I'm also quite passionate about my work space. When we moved here four years ago, we chose this house because it had the best studio space potential. This is studio number 5 for me over the past 15 years, so I've had lots of time to work out the arrangements in a variety of environments. It took about four months just to unpack and put away all the boxes, but the truth is, something here continues to change every few months .... furniture arrangements, additions and subtractions, supply storage, task lighting, seating. My studio is a living, breathing entity all on its own. And, I have to tell you how much fun it is for me when someone visits here for the first time; well worth the effort just to see the response.

All publications have limits, and there simply isn't room in the book to show all the nooks and crannies that are mentioned in the commentary. One of my summer workshop students, Andrew Borloz, did an excellent photo piece on my studio for his blog during the 2008 sessions; you can visit it here if you'd like to see more. If you'd like to see my studio in person, consider coming for one of the 2010 workshops. Information about dates and curriculum will be posted here by the end of the month.

Book Gift Idea

2009-12-02T10:49:00.004-06:00

You remember the stick & band binding, don't you? You take a stack of text pages, put a cover sheet on the front, wrap a second cover sheet around the spine onto the front from the back, punch 2 holes in the spine, secure a rubber band around one end of a stick and insert through one hole, then pull the band through the other hole and secure it around the other end of the stick. You're done so fast, it takes much less time to make the book than to read the description.

I recently made this batch of stick & band journals for a local charity, and was reminded once again of how simple ideas can often be very exciting. This book structure is one that I learned in my first hour of study with Shereen LaPlantz, and I've taught it as part of my beginning bookbinding class, Five Easy Pieces, for more than 10 years. When I'm asked to do programs with large, non-bookbinding groups, this is one of my go-to favorites as I know everyone will be successful in making the project. There's just something magical about using a stack of paper, a stick, and a rubber band to make a book.

The simplicity of this binding also makes it a good candidate for those occasions when you need to create a number of gifts quickly and inexpensively. Whether you go to the effort of printing the inside pages first or use plain sheets for a blank journal, most people really appreciate a hand-crafted book, and you can be pretty sure it won't be regifted.

These particular books have deckled interior pages (I used Rives paper) torn down from the parent sheets using one and a half sheets to make 24 pages. The hand torn deckle makes a wonderful soft edge, but you can also cut the pages straight on the paper cutter. Since I used heavier paper, each page is a single leaf, but I have also made this project in thinner weight text and folded the sheets at the fore-edge for a stronger page. You can use your funkiest gnarly papers for the covers, and then there is the thrill of the stick hunt. These came from my backyard, but you can also use chopsticks, pencils, bamboo shoots, hair pins .... you get the picture. Best of all, absolutely no glue, none at all.

If you decide to whip out a number of these beauties at one time, here are a couple of tools that will make the task go faster: a two-hole punch from the office supply store (Office Depot makes the best one), and a crochet hook. The punch will help you center the spine holes and will most likely be able to punch through the entire book at one time. The crochet hook will help you pull the loose end of the rubber band through the second hole if your connections are tight. European Papers, listed on the supply resources at right, has good quality black rubber bands.

These books retail at Chicago galleries/gift shops for about $25; they can be easily made with quality materials for well under $5. Perhaps they will become your go-to gift favorite this year as well!

A Fairy Tale

2009-11-17T21:40:00.007-06:00

Long ago, in a land far to the north, there lived a gentle and generous Queen. The Queen loved her people and showered them with many kindnesses, including the annual gathering and renewal of the artists. It so empowered the people that the Queen declared it would be called the Art Continuum, a powerful force that would always be there to sustain and inspire her subjects.

For many years, the artists celebrated their annual convergence for one week each year, and creativity fluorished and it was good. Art was made and altered, bought and sold, auctioned and traded; friendships were cemented, 'zines went forth, book deals were done, and everyone was happy.

Alas, the day arrived when the good Queen had to depart for new lands, to claim her King and apply her deft hand to remodeling yet another castle. The Art Continuum vanished overnight, and though the people cried and wrung their hands, and the artists withered, the Queen could not be persuaded to return to the north lands. Like the four winds, the artists dissipated and scattered over the world, some never to return, some lying in wait, hoping for the return of a better day.

Like so many twists of fate, while the Queen labored mightily in the west, the art gods were busy making other plans for her. The King retired from his subjects and heard a strange calling from the east: words like snow and golf and fishing filled his dreams, and he longed to live in a land where the sun did not shine every day. Together, they explored many great cities and the countryside, seeking the most perfect spot in the entire world to live. The exhaustive search continued until one day, when they realized they already knew where they should go, and returned speedily to the north land of the Queen.

The people in the land rejoiced, for surely this signaled the return of their beloved Art Continuum as well. They called and wrote and tweeted the Queen, but alas, time had taken its toll on her reclaimed kingdom. No suitable location could now be found to host the event, yet the Queen believed in her heart that it must be found so that the people could be restored and renewed once again.

And the day finally came when a location was found, although it was much less grand than the Queen would have liked, and certainly not able to accommodate all the artists at one time. But the Queen did not despair, instead, she had a flash of royal brilliance: why not spread the spirit of the Art Continuum throughout the year, and celebrate the arts each month instead of only during one week?

So this is how it came to pass that Ginny Carter Smallenburg will begin hosting her Small Studio Workshop series next year, and I am so honored to be a part of it. Details will be forthcoming in late January, but you already know you want to be there!

Making Your Mark

2009-11-13T23:02:00.005-06:00

Do you sign the books that you make? My bookbinding teacher, the late Shereen LaPlantz, taught us how to compose a colophon at the end of our artist's books, giving the reader information about how the book was made, what materials were used in its construction, and other pertinent details such as the names of the typefaces or fonts used in the text. At the bottom of the statement, you'll typically find the number of books produced and the specific number of the book in hand, along with the date it was created and the artist's signature.

This is all well and good if you are making books with content, but what about your unreadable books? Those blank journals and class models into which you've poured many, many hours of labor, don't they deserve your signature as well? As a producer of mostly books without words, I like to think that all work deserves the final mark of the artist's hand. Of course, you can simply pick up your favorite pen or marker and sign your name, but here are a few ways you can add your signature without lifting a pen to give your books a spiffy, if not official-looking, finish.

Rubber stamps. Some of you are accomplished eraser carvers, so you'll have no trouble creating your own design, and you'll have the finished product to work with as soon as you're done carving! If this isn't your cup of tea, go ahead and splurge on your own custom rubber stamp. Every small print shop and office supply store makes these; just create your art in the size you wish and take it in for an estimate, or choose from their stock template designs. If you decide to have a stamp made, it usually takes just a few days. Order it as a stand alone stamp, as opposed to a self-inker, so you can play with lots of different stamp pad colors when you stamp your books.

A company called Expressionary offers a fabulous line of pre-inked round or square rubber stamps with cool designs and type faces. I recently had several of these made, not only for my "signature" stamp but in address stamps for the studio and my summer workshop logo. The service was fast (about a week) and the stamps produce very clean, sharp images.

A friend of mine visited China a few years back, and brought home chops (Chinese signature blocks) for several of us. They are carved into stone, with amazing handles ... little works of art on their own. I love to use these on my Asian-inspired binding projects. If your city has a Chinatown, poke around the shops and you'll probably find a supplier who can make a chop for you.

You can also consider having an embossed image created with your logo. These look great pressed onto the first or last page of a book (I like to use them on gift journals), and you can also use them in conjunction with metallic seals to create fabulous packaging for your books, or to seal wrapping paper around journals given as gifts. Williams-Sonoma, the kitchen shop/catalog, offers a nice range of embossers that you can personalize with one of their graphic elements as well as a good color selection of seals.

If you make fabric books or other cloth creations, why not have some cloth signature labels made to complete these works? Of course, you could make your own with a personal labeling machine that takes iron-on tape, or you can custom design your label with companies that offer lots of sizes and design options for tags and labels. You can find ads for label suppliers in the back of any good quilting magazine; Sterling Label made the labels shown here. Delivery takes a little longer for these products, but it is a very exciting moment when your personal label shows up in the mail.

Enjoy branding your books with your personal marker!

Stalking the Elusive Cigar Box

2009-11-12T08:39:00.004-06:00

About six months ago, my friend Jan gave me a cigar box that was an often seen brand, but in an unusual size: the lid was only 3 1/2 x 5, roughly the same as a standard index card. Many of you know that I have taught classes using cigar box lids as book covers, requiring 2 identically sized book covers for the project. I was so thrilled with this petite gift that I immediately set off in quest of a second identical box.

Apparently I live in a heavy smoking area, for there are no less than a dozen cigar & smoke shops within a ten minute drive from my home. A year or so after moving here, I made two field trips just making the rounds of all the possible sources, noting which shops had the cooler brands, which ones had the most gorgeous wood boxes, and what they charged for them. (Why is it that the shops with the highest priced boxes put the money directly in their pockets instead of the cash register? Hmmm..... ) This helped narrow the list to about 5 or 6 shops that are now my regular haunts when I need to build stash.

After scoping out the usual suspects, I found only one carried the cigar brand and size I was seeking and, alas, they did not have any more empty boxes. They had a full box, but it was securely shelved in the walk-in humidor, and I was assured it wasn't going anywhere until all the cigars in it were sold. So, yes, I did the math -- 10 cigars at more than $10. a pop -- and decided not to make the book with the hundred dollar covers at this time. Thus began my new adventures in stalking.

This is a slow moving cigar, folks. I popped in every two weeks in the beginning, and never found more than one cigar gone from my target box. After a few months, when there were five left in the box, I stepped up my visits to weekly. No trouble to visit often. This particular store always has a wonderful collection of the all-wood boxes, which they price at a dollar or two each, so my supply shelves are currently filled to capacity with beautiful all-wood boxes. When we got down to two cigars, I started going in every other day. The day arrived when only one cigar remained. I could not stand the drama any longer and purchased it along with the box. Success at last, after five months of stalking! Now, does anyone out there want a nice cigar?

So, now I am working on this book and it is nearly ready to be prepped for sewing. I added some collage elements to the covers on both sides, and decided to use a multitude of checkerboard and stripe papers as signature wraps because I love the way they create patterns on the exposed spne binding. Stay tuned for the finished product!

Make Your Own Soft Weights

2009-10-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

Don't you need something new in your tool box? Here's a little project that will keep you busy this weekend, and it includes a field trip.

We covered the virtues of using brick weights for book projects in earlier posts, but there are some projects that just don't lend themselves to being bricked. Box construction falls in this category; if the box is small, a brick is just not going to fit inside. So, whip up a few of these soft weights, and you'll be all ready to press the next time that odd shaped project appears.

You'll need 2 pieces of sturdy cotton fabric, 5" wide x 6" high. Use solid colors or fun fabric prints. Place the right sides of the fabric together and hand or machine stitch on 3 sides, using 1/2" seam allowance. Trim the seams to 1/4" and zig zag, serge or overcast the seams to finish. Turn right side out. Here's an option: blanket stitch around the three sewn edges on the outside, leaving extra thread to stitch the final edge when it is closed.

Fill a small (3" x 5" or thereabouts) plastic zip lock bag with copper coated premium BB's, about 1 to 1 1/4 pounds. Close the zip lock and slide it inside the fabric bag. Fold the remaining open seam edges to the inside, finger press, then slip stitch the edges closed. Complete the blanket stitch around the last edge if you chose this option.

Ta Dah! You've made your very own soft weights! Now, where does one buy BB's? Why, at a Man Store, of course. I went to Cabela's because we have a giant one nearby. As soon as I walked in the door, I could sense the testosterone rising, and felt strangely compelled to start scratchin', belchin' and droppin' my g's .... Just go to the gun department, get a nice big bottle of BB's and then get the heck out of there before you find yourself looking at the fish lures and wondering if they would make nice earrings or book embellishments. Enjoy your field trip and your new tool!

Marbling 101

2009-10-13T17:04:00.006-05:00

After several months of collecting beautiful hand marbled papers from my travels, I decided to take the plunge and try making my own. Learning to marble has been on my wish list for some time now, so I set aside a couple of days in August.

First of all, you have to do a little planning and procuring in advance. You'll need to round up the tools and trays needed, in addition to the paints, paper, marbling gall, and other materials, and massive amounts of paper towels and newspapers. I've always admired the marbling done by Galen Berry; last spring I purchased his instruction book for marbling at Hollanders, and I liked his approach, so I chose to buy most of what was needed from Galen. I used some plastic drawer units from Target for my marbling trays, as I wanted to work small for this first batch of sheets.

The day before you plan to marble, you need to prepare the size and the paper. I used carrageenan for size; it comes in powder form and is mixed with water in a blender, then poured into a larger container with more water added. (I made a gallon for my session, in a recycled plastic iced tea container.) The paper was sponged with an alum mixture on one side, then dried for several hours. To prevent wrinkling, I pressed the dry sheets in my book press overnight. I made my brushes by banding plastic broom sticks together, making one for each paint color.

The next day, I mixed up some paint colors and began my adventure. The first sheet I pulled was exciting for me but technically not wonderful; some air spots between the paper and the paint didn't yield the even results I would have liked. However, by my third sheet, I had found that using a small plastic squeegee on the back side of the paper while it rested on the size would remove the air bubbles. My sheets became progressively better.

I grew more adventuresome with using the combs and rakes, trying to master the basic gel-get and non-pareil patterns so I could move on to peacock feathers and other exotic designs. Creating these patterns was the most fun, as you can achieve surprisingly sophisticated results with relatively simple, layered moves using the tools. The small tray and paper I was working with began to feel limiting as the session progressed, so I made a note to find a larger tray for the next session.

What fun I had in the morning! I pulled about 10-12 sheets, and was quite pleased with them. Then, in the afternoon, the chemistry began to change as the August humidity found its way into the studio. I tried a new batch of size, and began adding more marbling gall to the paints, but alas, the colors began to sink to the bottom faster than I could pull them from the surface. All of these observations were carefully recorded in a notebook that I kept nearby; sometimes in these sessions, we need to be as much scientist as artist. When you're embarking on a new venture, it's good to document the process.

So, here are a few of those first sheets. All in all, a fine first day! Stay tuned for more as I continue to explore this exciting media.

Flying Carpet, Landed

2009-10-12T22:02:00.004-05:00

I didn't want to leave you wondering about the Turkish carpet we purchased in Istanbul. It arrived about two weeks ago, not by post but by personal delivery from the salesman in the store! He was visiting the Merchandise Mart in Chicago for a carpet show, and thought he would just stop by Munster on the way and drop it off.

After the initial shock of getting that phone call, I had a huge wave of guilt for not believing the story about his brother who lived in Chicago, and how that translated into a special price on the carpet, just for us. My bad.

So the rug was, indeed, delivered in person, AND it was the same carpet we chose. Amazing! Don't you just love it when everything works ?

Of Sighs and Good-byes

2009-10-05T15:36:00.003-05:00

The Doge's Palace in Venice is undergoing some renovation; in place of the usual boring scaffolding, the Venetians have chosen to wrap the entire area in a bright blue vinyl covering, featuring the sky and some figures. It definitely stood out among the other buildings of Venice; we could see it during our approach on the ship, and experienced it first hand when we walked across the footbridge that overlooks the famous Bridge of Sighs.

The Bridge of Sighs is entered through the Doge's Palace. If you were one of the unfortunates whose name had turned up on an anonymous note as described earlier, you were tried in the court rooms of the Palace and then went directly to jail, via the Bridge. The Bridge was your last look at lovely Venice (hence the name, Bridge of Sighs) as you headed to the hoosgow, never to return. I took a surreptitious photo of the view from the tiny window as we were crossing over; I wonder how many other last views also consisted of a gondola and a jeering crowd?

So this, dear readers, is the end of my travels in the Mediterranean. While you've been vicariously enjoying the tour, I've been busy learning some new book making skills, firming up plans for classes in 2010, and setting the calendar for the Book Arts Coterie, the summer week long workshops held in my studio. I'll be posting more details in the days to come.

Venetian Blind

2009-10-04T19:39:00.006-05:00

Our brief afternoon in Venice included a gondola ride because, well, we were there and that's what people do. A few hundred years ago there were literally thousands of gondolas operating in Venice, today there are only several hundred, with just a handful privately owned. Operating a gondola requires a permit that is granted after years of training, apprenticeship programs, and formal testing, and is often passed down from one generation to the next within a family .

Before we arrived, I thought each gondola would be an artistic visual delight, perhaps reflecting the personality of the gondolier or the owner but, no, they are all remarkably the same. All are painted black, both a tradition and a law, and share the same design built from 280 pieces of wood of seven different types. It is propelled by an oar, not by a pole as you might have seen in every Venetian gondola parody ever written. The waters of the Venice canals are so deep, there isn't a pole long enough to do the job. The goldolier stands on the very back of the boat, steering with the magic strokes of the oar that keep it gliding along, and he never forgets to duck when he goes under the footbridges. (OK, maybe SOME of them forgot once, but never again.) They banter back and forth with the other gondoliers in rapid Italian, because you are never more than a few yards away from another gondola, discussing the weather, the soccer match, and the fashion mistakes of the passengers.

The gondoliers are also oblivious to your fears about tipping over. There were 5 people in our little boat, and every time someone shifted to take a photo or get into a more comfortable position, the rest of us held on for dear life, certain that we or our cameras, glasses, hats and totes were goners for sure. Once we got our gondola legs, however, we relaxed and began to have tourist fun, waving and calling to the pedestrians going over the bridges we were passing under, and hurling the traditional "eh, paison!" to the second gondola holding the rest of our group as we took turns passing each other. We saw all sorts of intriguing passageways, back doors of buildings whose fronts we would never know on this visit. Shown here are a few photos taken along the way.

After the gondola, we were off to see the Doge's Palace, the quintessential Venetian structure where nearly every surface is embellished but in a lovely, highly decorative way. We were not allowed to photograph inside the building, although I did sneak in a photo while crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs from the inside view. Housed inside the palace are some of the largest paintings you will ever see, all magnificent, very ornate, laden with symbolism and religious meaning, looking just as they did in the slides from your Art History class. The Doge and his posse had a system for routing out the sinners or thieves in their midst: a mail drop where any citizen could write out the complaint and post it anonymously to them, and they would take it from there. The stone face above is the repository for these deadly missives. Gee, do you think someone might have ever used this great system for evil?

We went to a glass blowing demonstration held at one of the hundreds of blown glass galleries and shops located in Venice; the shop owners invited us to stroll around after the demo and then discreetly kept turning off the lights behind us as we walked to the next room. It was nearly 6 pm on Sunday and they were so ready to be done with us. So, no glass purchases here; in fact, no glass purchases this day anywhere, because the shops really DO close at 6. Time to say good-bye.

Venezia

2009-10-01T23:22:00.006-05:00

Allow me to set the stage for one of the most beautiful Sunday mornings I've ever experienced. We are sailing into the port of Venice, last stop on our tour. It is about 9 am in the morning; the sky and weather are perfect, there is a light breeze. The sound of church bells can be heard from a distance; just a few at first, then many bells from dozens of different towers. The city is just coming into our view and we are on the top deck taking it all in, spellbound.

Suddenly the air fills with the voice of Andrea Bocelli, singing Time to Say Goodbye; the ship is playing his music over the sound system at full throttle, and coming into sight are the rooftops, houses, and foot bridges over the canals. We're actually here! Our ship is so tall, and the city is so dwarfed by comparison, I am reminded of the Thorne miniature rooms at the Art Institute in Chicago, and feel I am a curious bystander watching a tiny Venice start its day.

As we sailed on, the streets became increasingly more populated near Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square. The lagoon began to fill with water taxis and other boats going about the business of getting around in a water town. We continued our approach and ultimately docked around 10 am. We were all anxious to leave the ship and get out into the streets with the rest of the tourists, as we had a tour of the Palace and a gondola ride scheduled. Alas, it is Italy, and the schedule has become a suggestion, not an actual timetable.

A half dozen or so passengers had become ill earlier in the voyage (not swine flu), and had been isolated from the rest of the ship, but the Italian health officials were not satisfied. Thus, before anyone could leave the ship, we had to complete a questionnaire and have our temperature taken ... all three thousand of us. This doesn't happen quickly in Italy (or, I suspect, anywhere else.) Several hours after our scheduled departure, we finally disembarked and set off on our tour. We took our gondola ride, saw the Doge's Palace (more about these in the next post), went to a glass blowing demonstration and then finally, finally, it was free time to walk and shop.

Armed with my list of a dozen paper stores which my spouse had carefully mapped out in a plan of attack, we quickly discovered that retail stores close at 6 pm on Sunday in Venice. As we were leaving for the airport at 7 am the next morning, there would be no paper shopping in Venice on this visit. One should always have a reason to return!

Athens

2009-09-29T23:04:00.005-05:00

After Kusadasi, our travels took us back to Greece to visit Athens, where they know a thing or two about temples and pleasing tempermental gods. Temples, and parts of temples, are all over the city, so in our short given time we had to pick just a few to visit. Our first choice was the Temple of Poseidon, high atop a hill well outside of Athens, giving us a chance to explore the Greek coastline as we traveled by bus to our destination. This spot was a favorite of Lord Byron, who carved his name onto a section of one of the columns, and it is, indeed, a lovely sight. There is a wonderful breeze that flows through the area, almost making you think you are at sea instead of on land. Best of all, because of the location, there are far fewer tourists than you will find in the city, giving a little extra time to drink in all this beauty at your own pace. This is how we began our day.

Next stop was the Acropolis. This one takes some effort to reach; the bus can only take you so far, and then you must climb to the top of the hill on your own. Another hot day, another path paved with slippery slabs of marble that someone thought was a good idea back in the day. Not the best surface to walk on; many people spent most of the hike up cursing their shoes and other wardrobe choices for this adventure. I have to put in a shameless plug here: I did this climb, and every other walk in the Mediterranean I've written about, in a pair of flip flops. Happy feet every day.

Once at the top, a huge surprise .... how can this be? The Parthenon has been here for thousands of years and it is still under construction! Scaffolding around the structure, piles of broken pieces of statues and columns, and no landscaping to speak of. The view of Athens from here, however, is spectacular, and well worth the hike. Although we did not visit the adjoining museum, we were told that most of the actual structure is now housed there to protect it from the elements.

Back down the hill again, we made our way to a small tavern where I had the best Greek lunch ever, with all the classics: spanokopita, moussaka, salad with tiny tomatoes that were as bright red inside as their outside skins, spicy beef, and many other dishes. Waiters would rush by and, seeing a vacant space on your plate, immediately toss on more of yet another yummy dish. The entrees ended with a round of Greek spaghetti, and for a brief moment I was back at Skyline chili in Cincinnati again.

After lunch, we strolled over the the Plaka to see what the shops had to offer. Alas, no paper to be found. Enroute we passed this colorful street art and, as I don't know any Greek, I apologize in advance if it says something naughty. We were delighted to find a shop that sold beautiful decorative glass trays, plates and bowls that we have purchased in Chicago -- the artist is Greek, and we had by accident found the source of her beautiful work.

Our trip is drawing to a close; we have only one more city to visit in the next post!

Ephesus

2009-09-27T23:49:00.004-05:00

If you love a good crumbling column or two, then you would enjoy a visit to Ephesus in Turkey, the ancient Greek city where the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was located. All that is left of the Temple now is a nice teetering column, but the rest of the town still provides plenty of visual wonders to enjoy.

I confess, I was not a student of history in my formative years, and somehow Ephesus just slipped right under my radar. (However, I did pay attention during Pompei, as you know from the earlier post.) Ephesus is reached from the port of Kusadasi--just rolls off the tongue, yes? It's a pleasant drive through the Turkish countryside once you leave the port; along the road I saw potentilla bushes growing wild and beautiful .... why don't they look like that in my backyard at home? This was another very hot day, well over 100 degrees, and there were no shade trees in sight. I was sorry not to have brought an umbrella for heat and sun protection, as the usual sunglasses and hat weren't doing a very good job.

We walked the ancient streets lined with slabs of marble that once graced the sides of buildings. Ephesus was a sizable city at one time; makes Pompei look like Munster compared to Chicago, and it had everything ... theatre, library, shops, dozens of temples and, as a consequence, lots of crumbling columns. Our only respite from the heat was a tour of the hillside excavation where a massive home is being reconstructed; it was under cover and provided a much needed break from direct sun. Some of the interior rooms are shown in the photo above; it is remarkable to see firsthand.

After spending several hours exploring Ephesus, we dragged our wilted bodies back to the bus, but not before stopping at the tourist shopping area where I saw this wonderful sign, and where I successfully bargained in the parking lot for 20 bookmarks that are woven miniature Turkish carpets. The book club will love these!

Flying Carpets

2009-09-08T22:46:00.005-05:00

First, let me set the stage for the seduction. You're traveling in Istanbul and you've had a long, hot day of palaces, mosques, and the Grand Bazaar. The temperature is over 100 degrees and you've done a week's worth of walking in one day. Your water bottle was emptied an hour ago, the back of your neck is soggy from the humidity, and your feet are begging for a break. That's when the silver tongued Turkish devil invites you in for a glass of cold apple tea or a beer, and offers you a seat in an air conditioned room several floors above the crowds.

Welcome to the Turkish rug salesroom. We were drawn in by the warm hospitality, promise of education about the weaving process and, well, because we just wanted to sit down for a bit. As you are well on your way of enjoying your tasty beverage served on a silver tray, the story begins. First, you marvel at the silkworm cocoons and how the cool, broom-like tool pictured above is used to find the beginning thread of each cocoon. Next, the rug weaver, usually a young woman, arrives with her loom and shows you how deftly she ties the double knots to secure the fiber. Working from a drawing, she creates the pattern one row at a time.

But then it is show time. A team of young studs arrive and start pulling carpets from the inventory at the far end of the room. Whoop! the rug rolls out on the bare floor area in front of you, followed by a another on top of that one, and another still .... carpets in colors you're seeing for the first time, beautiful lush silks and wools, simple patterns, complex florals, whoop! whoop! one rug after another until there is a great teaming pile of overlapping rugs. The guys especially love to roll out the long hall runners, timing their release so the fringe ends just at your toes, a red carpet just for you! They save the little ones for last, because they've perfected a tossing technique that spins the carpet around two or three times like a pizza thrower before it lands on top of the pile. Real theatre!

If you find yourself in this situation, you must not let your curiosity get the best of you. I made the error of asking the price of one I saw fly by, and that was all it took to engage the salesman. We moved onto his radar screen and couldn't shake him for anything. The original price quoted was dropping by the minute "just for you, because you are from Chicago where my brother lives!" We hadn't even thought about buying a carpet on this trip, so it was easy to appear uninterested. After 10 minutes or so, the salesman followed us down the three flights of stairs to the door and we walked.

We strolled around the Grand Bazaar for about an hour and I completely forgot about the carpet. Not so, my spouse. Just out of the blue, he bet that he could get the carpet for 40% of the tagged price. We were approaching the meeting place for our tour which, not uncoincidentally, was just outside the carpet store. I told him to go for it; that I would stay outside to remove any emotional involvement with the purchase.

Thirty minutes later, he emerged from the store with a receipt and a triumphant look .. he had done exactly what he set out to do. Too large to bring home on the plane, the carpet is being shipped to us, but apparently it doesn't fly, it comes by very slow boat in about 10 weeks. Every night I pray to the carpet gods for these things: one, that it will actually arrive, and two, that it will be the same one I saw go flying past. I will post a photo when it arrives!

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

2009-09-03T23:36:00.006-05:00

As you pull into the port of Istanbul, you know you're not in Kansas anymore. The skyline is distinctively different, with mosques and towers spread all over the city, and it just looks more, well, exotic, than most of the other cities in Europe. Istanbul is quite large (over 12 million people) and the traffic is tremendous, so it took a while to get to our first destination on the tour, the Blue Mosque.

You must be appropriately dressed to go into a mosque--no shorts above the knees or bare arms, and no shoes, but that works out just fine because the floor is lushly carpeted inside even though the area is massive. The guy with the vacuum cleaner must have to start very early in the morning just to finish up by dinnertime. I spent most of my time inside the mosque looking up at the beautiful tiles and wonderful, larger than life letterforms on the walls, pillars and ceilings.

Historically speaking, the Turks have been there and done that for just about every major culture -- Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, and more. This makes for some interesting architecture as a result. Great cathedrals which later became mosques, then reconverted to churches, and then to museums. Hagia Sophia is one of these structures, and it was the next stop on our visit.

From Sophia, we went to Topkapi Palace, home of the sultans and their families during the Ottoman empire. The compound on which the Palace sits is almost as large as my little town here; once you've entered the gates, you stroll down a wide promenade through beautifully landscraped grounds, past a row of shops including a post office, and then finally you reach the Palace gates. The group of buildings that make up the Palace appear simple in contrast to what goes on visually inside. Colorful tiles are everywhere, pattern upon pattern, in every room and space available. We were able to tour the harem quarters; one of the photos here shows a bedroom. Incredible!

There is also a museum within the compound that displays swords and jewels and ancient artifacts, including books. From Topkapi, we went to the original mother of all shopping malls, the Grand Bazaar, with over 4,000 booths or stalls selling everything under the sun, with heavy concentration on jewelry, scarves, handbags, textiles and cheap souvenirs . We decided to save our money for a more interesting purchase, which I'll tell you about in the next post.

Mykonos

2009-08-28T22:30:00.004-05:00

Mykonos is all about the blue ... incredibly blue water, blue sky and blue doors and window frames on the most dazzling white buildings you have ever seen. Nearly every structure is painted white; so is the mortar between the cobblestones on the street, and the trunks of the trees. And it all looks like it was just painted yesterday, especially for your arrival. This town is absolutely brilliant, so if you go be sure to pack your darkest shades.

We did our own tour of Mykonos, arriving by tender and wandering into the side streets from the dock, venturing up the hillside and capturing the view, then coming back down to navigate the narrow streets and shop a little. All in all, it was a lovely visit, except I could not get the Fleet Foxes song Mykonos out of my head the entire time.

And you will go to Mykonos

With a vision of a gentle coast

And a sun to maybe dissipate

Shadows of the mess you made ....

You go, wherever you go today

For all the whiteness, there wasn't a single sheet of paper to buy. But it was a great photo day!

Pompei

2009-08-26T20:18:00.006-05:00

The destruction of Pompei in 79 AD was always one of the more memorable stories of ancient history when I was in grade school. I was fascinated by the idea of everything becoming frozen in time, just as it stood, until it was discovered over 1,500 years later. It never occurred to me then that I would be able to visit it one day, but here we were, walking down the stone paved streets and peering into homes and businesses and public buildings, all under restoration since its discovery in the mid 1700's.

We could see Pompei approaching from quite a distance. It is in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, and the whole town has a kind of smoky appearance from a distance, although I did not sense it as much as we toured the site. A major earthquake took place early in the morning on August 24 in 79. As the residents were recovering from the after effects, Vesuvius exploded with such force that the city was buried under about 60 feet of rock and ash in fairly short order, within 48 hours. (How weird is it that I'm writing this post on nearly the exact annniversary!)

If you love a good crumbling column (and what artist doesn't!) then you will certainly be happy here. The buildings that have been restored are really incredible ... private homes that were quite large and elaborate, with pools and beautiful courtyards and lovely mosaics and frescos on the walls. Businesses, such as the bakery (above is a photo of the ovens) were found with the baked bread still intact inside. Apparently the baker, who came in to work before the earthquake, never removed the loaves and they have been amazingly preserved. The bath houses, the library, the brothel ... its all still there. You get such an eerie feeling walking around in the footsteps of the former residents.

I was struck by how many of the everyday objects of art survived ... vases, urns, there are hundreds of shelves like the ones shown here, with items from the excavation. There are also casts of the residents' remains that are similarly eerie ... captured forever in their last poses. A dog. A pregnant woman. So sad to experience such an untimely end.

The textures on the buildings and walls were an amazing visual treat while visiting the site. All in all, a fascinating day, and there wasn't even a paper store to visit!

Amalfi Paper

2009-08-23T20:39:00.008-05:00

Back in the 13th and 14th centuries, Amalfi had a currency as good as gold .... its beautiful handmade paper. Most of Europe functioned on the barter system during early times, and Amalfi paper was very much valued as payment. The paper has a 100% cotton content; it is thick and luscious and the most beautiful shade of cream white. When you are faced with an entire book of its pages you nearly swoon from delight. To see it and touch it is to love it and want it!

We had about an hour to spend in Amalfi; the bus had passed an interesting looking archway going back into a bustling piazza (which turned out to be Duomo Square, where the giant church from yesterday's post is located), and that is where we headed. We crossed the street from the parking lot and WHOA! what was this! Right on the corner at the archway was an inviting shop, La Scuderia del Duca, selling Amalfi paper.

If you are ever fortunate enough to go to Amalfi, you must visit this shop. This is the store that book artists see in their dreams. A wonderful blend of old and exciting. Floor to ceiling inventory. No possible way to see everything on the first, second or third visit. No particular order to the merchandise -- papers in flat piles, papers rolled and stuck into huge colorful jars, papers here, there and everywhere. And handmade books, blank and with lines and for accounts and for music writing, and antique pages from books framed on the walls, and some rolled for individual purchase. The store is not very wide, but it encompasses two long rooms and has an impressive inventory.

So of course I bought some Amalfi paper, and a few large sheets of hand marbles which were made in Florence, as well as some of their handmade books for gifts. I also found this beautiful piece of paste paper done on an Amalfi sheet. Thanks to the magic of the web, you can go visit there now using the link under websites at the right. Stay as long as you like!

Amalfi Coast

2009-08-22T20:21:00.004-05:00

A few years back, when I visited St. Thomas for the first time, I told my buds that if I ever disappeared, they should look for me there. I was totally in love with the climate, the pace of life, the color of the sea and sky. Well, move over, St. Thomas, because Amalfi has bumped you from first place.

Such a day we had there! First of all, we were all chomping at the bit to get back onto dry land after the extra day at sea. During the night, the water had calmed considerably and returned to the beautiful blue we remembered from Monte Carlo. There were two parts to our tour for the day; a drive along the Amalfi Coast, followed by a visit to the ancient city of Pompei. We arrived in Naples very early in the morning, and were soon on our way.

Within 30 minutes we were looking out over one of the most beautiful places on earth. The Amalfi coastal highway (and I use this term loosely, as it is mostly only 2 lanes) rises high above the sea, making for breathtaking views at every turn. Did I mention there are over 1,060 curves on the highway that we covered? Very little of this road is straight for more than a few dozen yards. To this, you add lots of huge tour buses (ours included), lots of fast moving small Italian cars, and two gazillion motor scooters, some being driven by tourists who have never been passengers, much less operators, of such a bike. The locals call them the kamikazee. Somehow, everyone gets along just fine for the most part, As a tourist on the bus, you can distract yourself by just taking in one jaw-dropping view after another, and not have to worry about who is driving or what their credentials for the job might be.

When your home is hanging off the side of a cliff, it creates a unique challenge for parking your car. Thus, many of the residents park their car on the roof, mostly at street level. Others park their cars in the smallest possible space available, wherever that might happen to be. The no parking signs, our guide explained, are more of a suggestion than a rule. I recalled our experience in looking for street addresses in Florence, and then I understood-- we were in Italy!

We wound our way around the many towns and villages, the guide pointing out highlights such as the little island off the coast that was once owned by Rudolph Nureyev, and Sophia Loren's villa when she was married to Carlo Ponti. Watchtowers along the coast, no longer needed for protection, have been converted into private homes or businesses. One of them has become a disco for the very rich; you enter the tower and an elevator takes you down to the fun. Oh, and you'll need an invitation to get in. Apparently the sultan of Brunei is a regular there, so you get the idea.

Our bus took us through and around Sorrento, Positano (did you see Under the Tuscan Sun? That's where Diane Lane wore the white dress to visit her beau.)

We made a stop in the town of Amalfi, known for centuries of making incredible handmade paper, so of course there was paper shopping, which I'll share in a future post. The town is absolutely charming. It is closer to the sea than many of the coastal towns, and has a very useable sandy beach in place of the usual large rocks found in this area. There were plenty of tourists, but the crowds were smaller and friendlier than those we encountered in the large cities.

Our guide took us to a small hotel restaurant for lunch. Imagine my delight to learn the building was a former paper mill, owned by one of the older families of the area. The photo of the large stone wheel, which I believe was used in the pulp making process, was taken there. There is a paper museum in Amalfi; alas, our schedule didn't permit a visit, but it is so on the list for next time. And there will definitely be a next time here.

Rome Drive-By

2009-08-22T00:35:00.006-05:00

This should have been the post where I tell you about our fabulous day in Rome, but alas, it did not come to pass. We were supposed to dock around 7 am, and most of us were leaving on various land tours shortly thereafter. Mother Nature, however, was working very hard while we were busy making plans. Winds in the harbor at Civitavecchia, Italy, the port for Rome, were gusting at 50 knots, and the captain and pilot deemed it too dangerous to try to dock. So instead, we had an extra unplanned day at sea.

The waves were the largest I have ever seen while on a cruise, and the going was a little rough for the next several hours. We wandered the halls of the ship, staggering like drunken sailors, careening off the side walls and railings. I visited the ship's library and checked out a good Thomas Harris mystery, then headed down to the promenade deck to find a nice spot to read while the waves were crashing all around us. In honor of doing Rome drive-by, we had pizza for lunch.

So, we will do Rome some other day, perhaps when we revisit our favorite spots another time. The next day proved to be one of the most memorable of the trip.

Paper Shopping in Florence

2009-08-19T22:40:00.003-05:00

No self-respecting book artist could leave Florence without a few sheets of paper. Florence is known for its hand marbled papers as well as those delightful Florentine prints you would recognize anywhere in the world. I confess, I am not a fan of the small prints for my work, so I focused my search on finding some drop dead gorgeous marbled paper.

We had about two hours and five different store addresses to search. Earlier in the day, when we were on the tour, we walked right past Il Papiro, an Italian store chain of lovely papers and handcrafted books, but could not stop without losing the guide. When we finally reached the free time in the afternoon, we used some of it to speed visit the Uffizi gallery, and when we emerged from there we had about 90 minutes left until we had to meet up with the tour group to return to the ship.

Address book clutched in hand, we set off to find as many of the recommended stores as we could in the time allotted. After searching for several, we experienced firsthand the logic of Italian numbering. It's possible to find the street names on a map, but the numbers of the buildings are not necessarily sequential. No. 5 was sometimes next to no. 14, with no. 7 on the opposite side of 14, 4, 6 and 8 where nowhere to be found..... you get the picture. The address is more of a suggestion, and not an actual number on the building. I finally actually found one of the stores, but they did not stock any hand marbles; it was more of an invitation store. Even my husband, who has the best sense of direction on the planet, could not make sense of the addresses. There was no there there!

I didn't really want to abandon hope, but things were looking grim and time was running short, so we began to wander around, and soon streets became more familiar looking ... we had been there earlier in the morning on the tour. I looked up and saw the Vini sign pictured in yesterday's post, and I knew we were close to ..... Il Papiro! Yes, there it was! We dashed inside, feeling smug at our good luck in finding it.

The shopkeeper spoke very nice English, and pointed me in the direction of a huge stack of large hand marbled sheets. While I worked my way down the pile, he demonstrated how marbled paper is made, distracting my husband from the growing size of my stack. Here are a few of the choices I made. The patterns are very detailed but have a soft focus quality to them, and the colors are very beautiful. Full sheets were running in the $12-15 range. The store also has nice packets of smaller sheets in assorted sizes; a great way to obtain many patterns and a wide variety of colors.

With my stash of treasures and less than 30 minutes to spare, we made our way back to the meeting point, stopping for a yummy cool gelato on the way. It was hard to say good-bye to Florence, but we were going on to Rome the next day. Or so we thought.

Details, details

2009-08-17T19:20:00.004-05:00

In yesterday's post I mentioned how the architectural and other details on the buildings we saw were pretty fascinating all by themselves. As part of our continuing tour of Florence, I'll share a few close-ups with you. All of these items were found attached to, embedded in, or hanging on, buildings around Florence.

The Medici practiced embellishment with a capital E. I took it all in with a great sense of awe and wonder. Who thought of these things, and how did they come to be way up there? (Some of these items are 20 or 30 feet above street level.) Given the large number of tourist heads that block a clear sightline of just about everything at eye level, I was grateful that I could look up from time to time and forever capture just a little moment in Florence on film.

Tomorrow we'll go paper shopping in Florence. Bellissimo!

Fun in Florence!

2009-08-16T22:09:00.005-05:00

After Monte Carlo, we sailed to Livorno, our first stop in Italy and the port for reaching Pisa and Florence. It would have been cool to see the Leaning Tower, but we opted to spend the full day in Florence instead, as it was our first visit ever to this magnificent city.

Being a tourist in Florence requires a little multitasking. First of all, you are walking all day on cobblestones and uneven bricks down narrow streets, often with little Italian cars and motor scooters whizzing right by your side, so you must pay attention to where you are putting your feet at every step. If you are on a tour, you are likely wearing what the tour guides call "the whisper," a small radio receiver around your neck, and a bluetooth wannabe looking earpiece on your head. To this you must add your camera (assuming you are the designated photographer, as I am), your bottle of water, and your purse or totebag, which must also be under your constant surveillance due to the abundance of pickpockets in heavily populated tourist areas. Whew! Add to this temperatures exceeding 100 degrees fahrenheit, no shady trees or benches, and you get the picture. It's not easy being a tourist.

But that doesn't stop us from coming. Florence was swarming with people at every corner and every attraction; tourists from every country in the world (and not, I might add, a whole lot of Americans this time), bus loads of high school and college age kids, bus loads from the cruise ships, throngs of people everywhere you go. The next time I do Florence (and other cities visited on this trip) I will go before June or after August, when both the crowds and the temperature have dropped to more comfortable levels.

This is the city of the Medici and grand high ornament carried to extreme. I found myself marveling at the architecture of larger structures, but totally captivated by the details. It is also the city of Michaelangelo, Dante, and Galileo and bigger than life sculptures and paintings that look oh, so familiar when you finally see them in real time.

Our day started with a walking tour to the Duomo (main cathedral), past artists' studios and other points of interest until we reached the Medici palace and the Uffizi museum. Adjacent is the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that crosses the Arno River. Those charming little huts that seem to be stuck to the side of the bridge were the studios of the craftsmen in the days of the Medici rule.

We had some free time in the afternoon and were able to secure tickets to go inside the Uffizi gallery to see the paintings whose lectures I slept through as a freshman in Art History back in the day. (Class started at 8 am; by 8:20, when the lights went down for the slides, pretty much everyone was back to sleep until the lights came up again--guaranteed 40 minute power nap, three times a week.) There were so many, it was a bit overwhelming visually until we invented a little game called "find the book in the painting." And, by golly, we did find one or more books in just about every painting!

After two hours of uber-culture, we went out into the streets in search of paper and more architectural details to photograph. More on these topics tomorrow!

Monte Carlo Malaise

2009-08-14T14:44:00.008-05:00

Our first port of call after Barcelona was Monte Carlo in Monaco. The country is so small it is nearly all visible at one glance, only a few miles wide and a mile or so deep, just like Munster, Indiana where I live. This is basically where the rich come to hang out when they just want to be one of the guys. Most of them, however, have vanished for the summer because Monaco, like most of the places we visited, is so awash in tourists it's hard to walk down the street, or even get to your yacht.

We chose to walk up from the dock to the Royal Palace, a trip that involved many, many, many staircases until we leveled off at the top. The city is spotless; no litter or graffiti here; everything, everywhere is freshly painted, neatly trimmed, highly polished, and very lush. This is the point at which you realize how brilliantly blue the Mediterranean is, even more so than the best photographs you've ever seen -- the color is quite remarkable. Flowers grow everywhere here, in an explosion of color across buildings, hillsides, balconies and in parks. I would say I could get used to this type of lifestyle, but I didn't see a single paper store anywhere, so it is definitely not going to work for me.

The palace lines the main square in the heart of town and is a beautiful, classic style building. Daily changing of the guard takes place just before noon; we missed it by a few minutes (it was those last few staircases that did us in) so the guard I photographed was fresh on the job and looking very buff. Other stops included the massive church where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace (Kelly) are buried; the royal crests shown here are engraved on their grave stones.

On a short train ride around town, we saw how the rich air their interesting laundry, and also where they grow those lovely Hermes scarves and handbags (oops, my bad).

Chicago had life size cow sculptures all over town in the 90's; Cincinnat had flying pigs,. Monaco has giant birds, including one on the palace balcony and others in various public spaces.

Monte Carlo is one of those places that makes for a nice day visit, although I don't think I will be going back again anytime soon. Too many other adventures await!

Street Art

2009-08-12T20:11:00.004-05:00

Street graffiti and signs in Barcelona are nearly as fascinating as the architecture and market displays. Many of the shops have pull-down doors that have been painted by street artists, making for colorful walks down the side streets in the evening or early morning hours. Here are a few that I photographed, along with a mixture of street signs and commemorative tile plaques adhered to the sides of buildings along the way. Tomorrow's posts will move on to Monte Carlo, so enjoy your last day in Barcelona!

Barcelona Paper Shopping

2009-08-11T22:33:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you guessed there would be paper shopping on this expedition. A week before we left, an article appeared in the New York Times with the headline Paper Too Beautiful To Use, going on and on about hand painted paper found in Madrid and made by an artist in Barcelona, followed by a store name and (conveniently!) an address. So off we went early one morning, in quest of the Beautiful, arriving just a few minutes before the store opened. I think the owner has seen this look of longing before; she appeared shortly thereafter and graciously opened the doors for me.

Once inside, I was awash in books and papers. Raima could be the Spanish equivalent of Paper Source here., a nice mixture of quality, mass produced journals, fine writing tools, note pads, pencils, markers, pens and desk accessories and, tucked away on the second story, floor to ceiling racks with large sheets of decorative papers of all kinds. The racks were so tall, you could not see the contents beyond your own height, but there were generously sized, nicely organized samples of each paper on the racks at eye level, and the staff was happy to retrieve any sheets not visible by using the ladder. I browsed all the sample selections, then made some choices of hand marbled papers and some exciting black and white screen print papers that I have not yet seen in the U.S. The handpainted Beautiful was nowhere to be found.

I pulled out my copy of the New York Times article and showed it to the clerk, whose English was very good, and inquired about the paper. He became very excited--it seems that the store owners had heard about the Times article but had not yet actually seen it. I told him he could make a copy of the article (and here come the NYT copyright lawyers swooping down on my blog, even as I write) which made him very happy. He made the copy, showed it to the owners, and came back with the sad news that alas, they do not carry, nor had they ever carried, the Paper Too Beautiful To Use. Had my husband been there at just that moment, there would have been the highly audible sigh of relief, as prices listed in the story said it was in the $25 to $60 per sheet range . So, let this be a lesson to you--just because you read something in the New York Times does not mean they check ALL the facts (and here come the lawyers again.......)

I also found an interesting tool at Raima, a huge wood folder, just like the one you see in the Josep Cambras books on bookbinding. I was hoping to find the spine former tool that he uses to round the backs of books, but no luck here. The lightweight wood folder is substantially larger than a standard bone folder; will try it out and let you know if it makes the next Top 10 Tool List.

Later in the day, we visited a large, covered market where everything looked like a photo in Gourmet or Bon Appetit magazine. Fruits and veggies in wildly saturated colors, fish with bright eyes, and bin after bin of olives, nuts, candies, smoked meats, eggs. Good thing we visited after lunch.

The papers travel with me in a large cardboard tube, about 3" in diameter and 24" long. I found on previous expeditions that I can get 30 to 40 sheets inside; they stay protected, and I can just carry them home on the plane. If I happen to reach the inside capacity of the tube, I can roll the extras around the outside and then place the whole tube in a long plastic bag with a carrying handle.

Gaudi's Barcelona

2009-08-10T19:47:00.006-05:00

The main attraction, for me, in Barcelona was a chance to see the strange and wonderful architecture around the city created by Antonio Gaudi. Only a few hours after leaving the plane, we were walking to Sagrada Familia, the ginormous Church of the Holy Family begun in the late 1870's. Gaudi spent over forty years of his life on this project, living on site the last 12 years, and it is truly a sight to behold. Always, eternally still being constructed according to his directives, it doesn't appear it will be finished anytime soon, in my lifetime or yours. You can only marvel at the details; the building is so large you can't even take it in as a single image.

Our next Gaudi stop was Casa Batllo, an apartment building that must have been the talk of the town back in the day. This is another decorative wonder on steroids, inside and out, with colorful glass and flowing wood shapes throughout the building. The idea behind the design was to create the feeling of water in color, design and light. A fabulous sculptural garden crowns the flat roof with colorful mosaics. It all looks so contemporary; yet it is a hundred years old.

The final Gaudi stop was La Pedrera, a much larger apartment building that covers an entire city block. Although the outside appearance is less decorative than Casa Batllo, the inside is once again fabulous, and yet another rooftop garden with multiple sculptures reached by staircases on many levels is your reward for reaching the top. Built in 1906-1912, one of the apartments inside is open for touring, and I was amazed at how trusting the Spanish must be, to allow so many visitors to see the contents with very few constraits and protective devices in place. This makes for great photographs when you don't have to shoot through glass or from behind ropes.

And yes, there were a few books on the desk in the apartment (you knew there would be a book in here, somewhere).

Such an exciting and beautiful start to our big adventure, but of course there was more to come. We'll check out Barcelona shopping for paper in the next post!

Back from the high seas

2009-08-09T22:01:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, you're grown very weary of being greeted by steel bars when you log on here. I've just returned from a fabulous trip throughout the Mediterranean, so that's my excuse. Too busy taking photos and having fun to blog, and we have a family pact that computers do not go on vacation with us!

Outside the U.S., our first landing was in Switzerland, where we spent an hour running from one airline terminal to another. Saw some great watches in the windows as we sprinted by. From there we were on to Barcelona, Spain where we spent the next few days prior to the departure of our cruise. Our ports of call were Monte Carlo (Monaco), Livorno/Florence and Naples (Italy), Mykonos and Athens (Greece), Istanbul and Kusadasi/Effesus (Turkey), ending in beautiful Venice. Coming home, we did another one hour sprint through Frankfort, Germany where both we and our luggage made the connection. Amazing! When the dust settled, I found I had 0ver 1600 photos on the camera and a few things to share on the blog. I'll be posting the best for you over the next several weeks; it's the least I can do after leaving you alone with Superman for the past month!

This photo was taken just across the street from our hotel in Barcelona, It's the biggest book I ever saw, an outdoor sculpture piece on permanent display there. A great way to begin the adventure -- I took it as a sign of things to come!

A Salute to Steel

2009-06-25T23:20:00.002-05:00

I know a thing or two about steel. Growing up, my dad worked in the steel industry as a technician. My husband heads up the research lab for the world's largest steel company, so he definitely knows a few things about it.

No book arts studio is complete without a few hunks of cold hard steel in the tool shed. Whether you need a high degree of accuracy, some substantial weight, or just a true and steady surface to work with, you'll probably find a steel instrument does the job better than most anything else. Here are a few items that I find extremely useful when making books and boxes.

Starting from the upper left corner, a set of 3 angle plates keeps projects with 90 degree angles nice and square. I also use the flat side of these angles to weigh down the interior of my paper boxes so they dry nice and flat. To the right, the steel machinists' squares are also indispensable for making boxes: I use them to make sure my sidewalls are glued straight to the base of the box. At bottom right, the large steel right angle, about 1/4" thick, is perfect for folding signature sheets without having to think too much about it. Place the right edge of the paper against the steel corner, then bring the left edge over to match. Perfect folds every time!

The golden rectangle on the left/middle is a steel bar that has been covered in bookcloth, for weighing down glued materials. Steel is way heavier than a comparable sized brick, and this particular one is 2" square (by about 6" long), making it easier to fit inside boxes than the covered brick weights I've talked about in an earlier post.

Where does one obtain these heavy helpers? The angle plates and machinists' squares are from MicroMark. The large steel square is from Hollanders. (Check the supply resource list at the right for links.) Superman (holding a book) is from Krypton, but that's another story.

The steel bar was the most fun to obtain. Since moving here several years ago, I have been driving by a steel supply business several times a week. One day I decided to go in to see if they could duplicate those sexy, expensive steel weights I've seen at the big bookbinding supply houses for less money. The guys were very helpful and sent me back to the warehouse to pick out the thickness of steel I wanted, then they would cut it to any length I wished. Well, that may sound simple, except that steel comes in 16 to 20 foot lengths, and even just one of those babies has to be lifted by a crane, it is that heavy! The crane is suspended overhead and runs on tracks that span the entire length and width of the very large warehouse building. So, when they pick up your bar from the great and mighty piles and raise it up above the floor inventory to bring it to the cutter, you can see it coming for a very long time! When it finally arrives, the long bar is lowered into a track for the cutter, which is the biggest, meanest lookin' chop saw you ever saw, about the size of my first car. There, they cut the ginormous bar into your little measly lengths. It's all very very loud, and oh what fun to watch the sparks fly! Quite an experience in exchange for a nominal cutting fee, one even Superman can appreciate.

Tool Box Tour: Second Tier

2009-06-24T20:47:00.008-05:00

Resuming our tool box tour from an earlier post, I've assembled the next top dozen tools that will go to the island with me when I become marooned. (And if it is one of those islands inhabited with third tier tarantula eating has-beens, I'm so not going there!)

From the upper left corner:

1. Portable hole punching cradle, to punch sewing holes in signatures, for use on the road

2. Teflon folder for black and other dark color papers, to prevent unsightly shine

3. Two-ended scoring stylus, when a thinner, cleaner score is needed than I can get with a bone folder

4. UFO hammer, for setting eyelets, hammering tiny nails, and beating errant materials (like thick corners and tight coptic stitching) into submission. Quite possibly the world's coolest hammer. Comes with three interchangeable heads. Bang bang, Maxwell!

5. Paper knife for slicing parent-size sheets of paper quickly and neatly

6. Reverse grip tweezers, to grab and hold those things in areas too small for fingers

7. Spring dividers, to take the pain out of measuring all those equal distances

8. Bulldog clips, for holdings covers and signatures together during sewing. Note these are not owl clips which will leave a wretched permanent crease in your papers.

9. Quilter's ruler for quick, easy cutting of paper pieces without a lot of tedious measuring

10. Japanese hole punch (and selection of bits), to make clean, accurately sized holes anywhere on board, paper and leather

11. Golden needles, sturdier than their silver counterparts and easier on their eyes and mine

12. Graduated awl, for enlarging areas such as punched holes. Never use this to punch sewing holes in your signatures unless you want different results each time.

I can hear the next question formulating in your mind even as I write this: where can I find all this bounty to call my very own?

The teflon folder, paper knife, and dividers are from Hollanders; bulldog clips from Staples; scoring stylus, quilter's ruler and golden needles (made by DMC) from Jo-Ann fabrics and crafts; Japanese punch and bits (go ahead, get them all!) from Bonnie's Best Art Tools, reverse grip tweezers from European Papers. My UFO hammer came from Thomas Mann, but I no longer see it on his website so try Otto Frei. Graduated awls can be found at jewelry supply vendors, bead shops and shows, and hardware stores. I made the portable cradle from a Scrabble board using directions from my very first class with Shereen LaPlantz. Most of these and other resources are listed at right so you can embark on yet another shopping frenzy for the perfect tools!

A Useful Sewing Reference

2009-06-22T21:18:00.003-05:00

Still somewhat on the topic of things to keep us busy for quite some time, The Guild of Bookworkers has some useful resources on its website, including this delightful little booklet, Stitches and Sewings for Bookbinding Structures. The booklet was a handout for a conference presentation in Toronto last year, and features sixty (count 'em, 60!) sewing structures for books. Prepared by Betsy Palmer Eldridge, a name you will recognize if you have ever found your way through the Keith Smith books on non-adhesive sewing, the pages are descriptions and reproductions of five dozen ways to bind a book.

While the booklet is mostly a visual reference (the photos are digital images of the presentation boards), you can find your way through the sewings by following the helpful arrows that appear on each example. Where Keith Smith explains each movement of needle and thread in great detail, this instruction provides only a succinct description and is elegantly simple, maybe just enough to learn a new binding or two. If nothing else, you can appreciate the thread color patterns, use it as a quick visual guide when reading Keith's books, and marvel at the imagination of those who came up with all these variations. (Ooooh, bright color thingies .........)

Did I mention this treasure is free? You can download it from the Guild of Bookworkers as a handout or in booklet format that you bind yourself. (I printed out my copy on nice paper and bound it with the 7-hole pamphlet stitch. I may add a cardstock cover with a nice label at some point.) While you are visiting the GBW resource collection, you might browse the other resources there and see if anything else catches your eye. See how easy it is to expand your project list? Enjoy!

Hedi Kyle Festschrift

2009-06-21T20:44:00.004-05:00

If you've ever made a blizzard book or a flag book, you can thank Hedi Kyle for inventing these structures among many others. My book arts teacher, the late Shereen LaPlantz, attributed both her inspiration to create artists' books as well as numerous projects to Hedi in her final book, The Art and Craft of Handmade Books (Lark Books, 2001). Shereen loved to tell Hedi stories in class; tales of inventing book structures in the car on the way to teach the class (thus was born the Interstate Highway Book, later renamed the Slip and Slide). A few years later, my friend Smudge (Becky Erickson, from Dayton, Ohio) brought us a blizzard book and a sheath of photocopied hand notes on how to make it. I spent the next few months taking apart and reassembling the model, interpreting and rewriting the notes, until I could successfully make it on my own.

Written on my bucket list is "Take a class from Hedi Kyle," something I have never quite managed in all these years. If you have a similar wish and experience, take heart--I may have found the next best thing. In conjunction with the recent book arts conference sponsored by The Hybrid Book/University of the Arts in Philadelphia, a wonderful collection of articles on Hedi Kyle's work written by many noted book artists has been published. My copy arrived last week and I haven't been able to put it down.

The spiral bound, soft cover booklet is 330 pages, black and white, with many illustrations, diagrams and photographs, in addition to written contributions. It is jam-packed with lots of how to do it instructions for several of Hedi's creations, as well as for structures created by the various artists who were inspired by or are based on Hedi's work. Contributors to this Festschrift (anniversary booklet) include Keith Smith, Pamela Spitzmueller, Emily Martin, Carol Barton, Julie Chen, Betsy Palmer Eldridge, Timothy Ely, Susan King, Claire Van Vliet, and Peter Verheyen, just to name a few. As you can see by the scanned photo above, there are enough post-it notes on my copy to keep busy for several months.

The book is available from rutherfordwitthus. Now I must go find my bucket list so I can rebind it in a Hedi-inspired format!

Screen Printing 101

2009-06-11T08:40:00.004-05:00

The schedule was clear this week, creating the perfect opportunity to really get into a few projects I've been hoping to explore this summer. When I was a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati back in the day, I majored in graphic design and printmaking. My real love then was silkscreening. It always seemed like a magical process to me. There were no color printers on everyone's desktop or color copy machines. It was one of the few ways to create quick multiple editions of art. Screening ink always produced a solid, matte finish print, a visual quality that I also prized. I produced about a half dozen prints that semester, many of which sold through local galleries and art fairs.

Later in life, I acquired a Gocco printer, the small Japanese screen printer that exposed screens with photo flashbulbs. The manufacturer discontinued this item a few years back, and supplies are becoming more scarce, plus the Gocco had a limited image size (roughly 4 x 6 inches). It was a real workhorse, however; for one Art Continuum project, I pulled 900 prints of a program cover from one screen! (The usual life expectancy for a screen was about 125 prints.)

I always meant to return to silkscreening, but life and work intervened. By taking some time off from teaching this summer, I finally have time to explore some of these past obsessions. It is amazing how today's equipment for screening hasn't changed too much, except the manufacturers have figured out how to take some of the mess out of the process. Last winter, I got a Yudu screen printer, an all-in-one unit that exposes and dries the screens and provides the print bed. This week, I finally got to try it out. It took nearly all day to produce a good first screen: some of it the time between steps to allow for drying, and some of it due to very poor instructions provided with the unit. But, when I finally got an acceptable screen, the printing process itself was just as easy and magical as I remembered.

Some of the paper ephemera I acquired in my recent trip to Paris served as my graphics. I enlarged some of the handwritten letters, cleaned them up, scanned them, printed them out on transparency material, and then created my screen. I chose a variety of materials to print--fabric, boards, text weight papers, canvas, vellum-- to get some preliminary experience with how the ink and the process would work on the materials I am most likely to use in making books. Just about everything I tried produced good results. Some of the more textured surfaces printed fuzzier than the smooth ones; that was to be expected. I experimented with pulling ink several times over the same surface to deliberately get a more muted, blurred effect. Above are some photos that are representative of the day's explorations.

I'll be testing the use of these printed materials in my next several projects so I can see how they glue, fold, and otherwise survive the bookmaking process. Stay tuned!

Lit Fest Roundup

2009-06-10T07:25:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was the Printer's Row Lit Fest (formerly the Book Fair, and let's be fair, it is still all about the books!) We were there for the opening bell, and it did not disappoint. There seemed to be more vendors than last year, and, good news for the economy, people appeared to be buying lots of books. This event is all about the thrill of the hunt, so here are a few of the items I found in my quest for cool.

A 1934 booklet on Block Printing with Linoleum, that begins ..."Linoleum block printing is comparatively new, starting with the discovery of linoleum ......" All of the illustrations inside are block prints, including the ones with text, and are quite charming. A few weeks back, I had found a book of John DePol's wood block prints, so I can see where the next collection of resource books might be headed.

My favorite find of the day was a collection of 12 stencils from the 1893 World's Fair Expo in Chicago, depicting the various buildings at the fair in great detail. They are about 8" wide by 4" tall and are in excellent condition, still in their original container. When I took them out at home to examine them more closely, there was a nice little stash of stencil drawings at the bottom of the box. I'm happy the stencils had some use in their original life; the drawings are signed with children's handwriting. I do believe I feel a "Devil in the White City" artist book coming on! (If you haven't read Eric Larsen's book of this title, it is a great summer read.)

And, there was a wedding at Lit Fest, for a couple that met there two years ago. The wedding programs were bookmarks; the bridal party's flowers were origami blossoms made from old book pages, the bridesmaids carried Japanese paper parasols, and the groom's boutonniere was made from a copy of a Kipling poem that was the favorite of his deceased father. Apparently our invitation went astray, but we did read about it in the Tribune.

We attended a talk with Elmore Leonard, an author who still actually writes all his manuscripts in longhand and does not own a computer. He once owned a Royal manual typewriter, but quickly discarded it when it didn't cooperate with his typing style. He doesn't do email; he has a website which he has never visited (he has people), and in general has no use for computer technology. Amazing!

The rain cut our visit to Lit Fest a little short, but the weekend was long on fun. We had Mary Beth Shaw and her husband, John as our house guests this weekend. Mary Beth was showing her work at the 57th Street Art Fair, and we got to spend a little time together before we went off to our respective events. I also missed Mike Meador's annual warehouse sale (in Indianapolis) and all my buds who went to that event .... can we please get these calendars coordinated so I can do it all?

Printer's Row Lit Fest

2009-06-02T07:47:00.003-05:00

The final countdown is on for this weekend's Printer's Row Lit Fest in Chicago, my favorite festival of the year. This will be my fourth time to attend, every year since we moved to the area. Up until last year, it was called the Printer's Row Book Fair, but this year the name was changed. For some, it is all about the content of the books and the authors; for me, it is all about the physicality of the books, just what you would expect for the maker of mostly unreadable bindings. We don't need no stinkin' content to enjoy the books! Whatever they call the event, it is certainly a lot of fun and always holds fabulous discoveries and adventures for me.

The many different bookstalls are lined along the streets in the Printer's Row district of Chicago, home to the city's main printing industry back in the day. A few printers still reside there, alongside some good pub-style restaurants and specialty shops including several rare book stores. During the fair, you can stroll from tent to tent, browsing tables of books, prints, paper ephemera, and who knows what else you'll find to amuse. When you become weary, you can pop into one of the author's tents and take in a lecture or discussion panel, enjoy some music at one of the entertainment stages, or pop into a rare book store and gaze in wonder at the beauty contained within the shelves and cases.

It's also a great place to see and meet your favorite authors, up close and personal. Last year we saw (not so close, as it was in a large auditorium) Studs Terkel, just a few months before he passed away, still sharp as ever in his 90's. I attended a discussion panel with Lily Koppel, author of The Red Leather Diary (which I had just finished reading) and Deborah Rodriguez, author of the book about becoming a hairdresser in Kabul. In the afternoon, I wandered into a tent with a panel that included Tony Fitzpatrick, a mixed media Chicago artist whose work I had just discovered a few months prior. My authors' list this year includes seeing Elmore Leonard, Lynda Barry (What It Is), Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) and Chris Ware.

There are always some interesting booths of self-published poetry books, 'zines, and my new friends at the Chicago Calligraphy Collective (whom I taught this past weekend) will be lettering your name on beautiful bookmarks at their table. Book arts students at Columbia College sometimes sell their work at very reasonable prices, and a few other handcrafted books usually turn up in unexpected places.

My search list always includes looking for older books on bookbinding and related topics, ephemera that I can incorporate into my art, new titles from small press publishers, and stuff that just calls to me. There is an origami paper and book vendor, and you can always find old type drawers and wooden letters., postcards, posters, postage stamps, and more. Paperbacks and hard covers, new and used, rare and not really, it's all there for the finding.

The photos above include a few of the treasures I've found in years past, including books on books, an entire album containing hundreds of vintage non-postage stamps, silkscreened prints from old high school yearbooks, and French postage stamps on communication.

And now I'm off to plot my adventure for this year . . .

Making Bookcloth

2009-05-25T18:04:00.006-05:00

Between family visitors and lots of gardening this weekend, I made a big batch of beautiful Japanese bookcloth for the class I am teaching at the end of this week. We've made bookcloth in some of the classes I teach, and during the summer sessions at the studio we make it throughout the week, along with paste paper or tie-dyed paper, for projects and to take home.

I start with fat quarters of 100%, good quality quilting fabric. Iron the fabrics with plenty of steam. If you have a project size in mind, cut the fabric about 2 inches larger than you need on each dimension. Otherwise, just cut the fat quarter into 2 or 3 pieces.

You'll need Yes paste, stiff brush (a large stencil brush is shown here), large acrylic brayer, large piece of acrylic for a work surface, artist's tape, and backing paper. I like to use ArtKraft white paper, on a 24" wide roll. Cut the paper a few inches larger than the fabric on each dimension.

Thin the Yes paste before using. Scoop out half the (8 oz.) jar and transfer to another container. Add 1/4 cup water to the paste and stir until it is the consistency of fresh honey. If more water is needed, add it one tablespoon at a time. This will cover about 50, 9" x 12" pieces.

Tape the paper to the acrylic sheet with artist tape. Apply a thin but even layer of paste. Gently lower the fabric down onto the glued surface, and smooth out the air bubbles, first with your fingers, then with the acrylic brayer.

Untape the paper sheet and move it to another surface to dry. This will take a minimum 45 minutes. I let my sheets dry for several hours. Check after 10 minutes for any air bubbles; remove if needed.

When completely dry, cut the cloth to the project size and iron it again. Quilting tools work great for cutting!

Viola! Beautiful bookcloth made by you!

Stab, Cover, Button & Bind

2009-05-22T10:23:00.004-05:00

Next weekend, I'll be teaching the above workshop and projects at Benedictine College in Lisle, Illinois for the Chicago Calligraphy Collective. We'll be making a collection of 3 Japanese stab bound books along with a custom slipcase, as well as the Buttonhole Book, a lovely case bound book with cut-out openings across the spine, bound with the buttonhole stitch. There are also a few surprises in store which I won't go into here; if you like working with paper, you'll love the bonus!

In preparation for the slipcase, I'm busy in the studio today making book cloth from a fabulous stash of Japanese fabrics that I acquired at the quilt show last month in Chicago. I am taking photos as I work and will post a little "how-to" on making your own book cloth in a future blog entry.

This is the only class I am teaching this summer during my sabbatical, and I understand there are still a few spots left. If interested, you can view the details at the CCC website (see link at right). You don't have to be a member to take the workshop, and you don't have to be a calligrapher, although some of this might rub off on you when you hang out with these talented folks. Book virgins (never made a book before) are also welcome; you'll be amazed at what you make your first time out. Hope to see some of you there!

Signs of Summer

2009-05-20T19:28:00.007-05:00

I have missed posting here for the past week, and also missed hearing from you in response. Alas, work and life sometimes get in the way. It has finally begun--the steady stream of summer houseguests arriving here to enjoy nearby Chicago. This past weekend we had family visitors for several days, and managed to pack in a ton of activities including a walking tour of Little Italy, a visit to the newly opened modern wing of the Art Institute, dinner in Greek Town, a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and a visit to Powell's Bookstore in Hyde Park. (No Obama sightings to report.) Along the way, we passed the site where Mrs. O'Leary's cow started the great Chicago fire, now the site of the Chicago Fire Museum.

Objects related to books seemed to be everywhere. In Little Italy, at the Jane Addams - Hull House, there was a wonderful display of a bookbinder's bench, a cast iron nipping press, a small standing press, a hot stamping tool, and a leather parer, along with a sample of a handbound book with marble paper and leather on the spine. Bookbinding was taught to the immigrants along with several other crafts as a way to help integrate new arrivals into the community.

Powell's Bookstore has a fabulous, full bookcase of older books on bookbinding and related book arts; I often visit there when I am looking for something that is out of print or hard to find. This time I came away with two treasures: a book on decorated paper designs from the 1800's, and a small book of John DePol's wood engravings. When visiting Hollander's last week, I had purchased a couple of the DePol reproduction papers, mostly because I liked the way they looked. Now I have some background reading to do on the artist. And where did I put my eraser carving tools?

Another treasure I saw at Powell's, but could not justify the expense, was a copy of Bernard Middleton's Restoration of Leather Bindings, with hand marbled paper and leather spine, a real beauty. At $225, it was not in my budget, but I did get to hold it and turn the pages, savoring the smell and the feel of this exquisitely bound book, a limited edition. When my soft-bound, mass market copy arrives from Amazon next week, I'll have the same content but, alas, not the joy of holding the original.

The first weekend of June brings more fun guests and the Printer's Row Book Fair, my all-time favorite summer activity in Chicago. I'll be posting more about this event in the weeks to come; if you're a real "bookie" and have been thinking about visiting Chicago, this would definitely be the weekend to come!

Catch of the Day

2009-05-13T22:09:00.005-05:00

I spent most of today in the fabulous Hollander's paper store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My husband periodically has business in Detroit, and since Ann Arbor is on the way, he drops me off for the day. Today was make-up for the same trip we tried to take back in mid-February, right after a terrible ice storm the night before. We got on the highway, and after going only 6 miles in 2 hours, had to turn around and go home -- no business AND no paper that day!

Hollander's is one of those mecca stores -- you decide to go, anticipate the trip, make a wish list, and when you finally, at long last, arrive, you feel overwhelmed when you walk in the door. So much beauty, so little time! Will you ever be able to experience it all? Well, been there, and done that. My eyes no longer glaze over and I can get right down to business. This leaves time to go upstairs later to the wonderful Found store for a few vintage baubles.

Mostly I bought paper and boards, and a small bottle of thick PVA to try, especially recommended for box building. Also purchased a spool of waxed linen thread in lime green. I buy one every time I go, whether I'm running low or not, because no one else seems to have this funky color, and I have an innate fear that one day I will go and it will all be gone forever.

Today also had bonus: the artisans' market that adjoins Hollander's building was open for business, and what a treat to walk through, looking at the flowers and fruits and veggies, as well as the breads and other homemade treats, interspersed with beautiful leather handbags and funky jewelry. If you live anywhere near Ann Arbor, this weekend is their Antiquarian Book Fair, a great place to find all sorts of wonderful stuff related to books.

So, here for your virtual enjoyment are my "swatch books" of papers from today --Japanese screen prints, Indian screen prints and marbles, french marbles, a few DePol prints, and some novelty choices. The larder is now bursting with papers, so it's time to make more books!

Gone Papering!

2009-05-12T11:54:00.002-05:00

I'm off to Hollander's in Ann Arbor today and tomorrow for a paper frenzy! Wish you all could come with me. I'll be posting a full report when I return.

Weighty Matters

2009-05-11T20:16:00.008-05:00

This is easily one of the most efficient, effective pieces of equipment I have in my studio -- a book cloth covered brick. Bigger than an ashtray, smaller than a book press, the simple brick does as much to make finished work look professional as careful cutting and measuring. Your paper and board projects, especially those that have been glued, can be placed under one or more bricks for several hours and will emerge nicely flattened every time. This is the antidote to those papers that wrinkle terribly when you first apply glue; a little weight, properly applied early on, can do wonders for final appearance.

I have a cart of these in my studio, about 25 in all, so that I always have plenty for myself and for visiting students. The bricks come from the home improvement store; usually under a buck each, or maybe you already have a stack in your garage. Be sure to use only the smooth, solid ones, not the ones with holes in the center or grooves cut into the outer edge. I cover the bricks with unlined book cloth (no paper on the back) but you could also use the lined version. Book cloth is preferable to paper, as you'll be placing the bricks on damp surfaces which may damage a paper covering. You'll need a hefty portion of PVA for the job, along with a wide (1 1/2") inexpensive paintbrush and a pair of scissors.

Treat the brick as if it is a package you are wrapping, and cut the book cloth accordingly. Apply a lavish amount of PVA to the cloth as you wrap--the brick absorbs an incredible amount of moisture, and will soak up more glue than you might expect. Instead of folding and overlapping the two short ends of the "package," cut from the edge of the cloth to the brick at each of the four corners, then glue on the resulting four flaps one layer at a time. Your brick will be prettier if you arrange for the cut edges of cloth to end at an edge of the brick.

Allow your newly covered bricks to dry overnight before using them to press projects. You can turn them to expose another surface every hour or so to speed up the drying process.

Be sure to wrap any project you place under brick weights in a waxed sheet before you apply the weight. If your project is larger than one brick, just put another one (or more) side by side to cover the full surface. For thicker projects, you can stack bricks two layers high. On slow days, when nothing needs to be pressed, place one weight in each hand and repeat: lift left, lift right, lift both -- get those endorphins flowing so your creative juices will return!

I have a field trip tomorrow!

Book Stimulus Package

2009-05-09T09:32:00.014-05:00

The government may not have any money left to fund your art projects, but Fiji Island Mermaid Press has stepped up to the plate and is offering 8 free mini books by book artists for you to download. The files are provided in pdf format, then you print them out and assemble them. How cool is that?

Most of the books are bound using the french fold. If you're not familiar with this simple binding, you'll find directions on how to do it included with several of the downloads. While you're visiting Fiji Island's website, click around and enjoy some of the many visual treats they offer throughout their site. BTW, if you want a bonus free book, check out the 2008 artist book listings and download Body Language.

You can claim your stimulus package at Fiji Island Mermaid Press. No pesky forms to fill out, no empty promises to stop making sub-prime books, it's free and it's fun! Perhaps you'll make a little box or slipcase on your own to house this collection, or better yet, you may be inspired to create your own artist book. Enjoy!

The White Journals

2009-05-08T22:21:00.005-05:00

Work is moving along on my white journals project. Four are now completed, all taken from Keith Smith's non-adhesive bindings book 2. The single section sewings did not charm me, so I skipped that part and went directly to 2 section bindings. So far, I have completed the Parallel Bars, the Diagonals and Bars, the Standing Z's or Lying N's, and the Lattice selections. Now that there are four of them to stack up, they are becoming more interesting as a collection.

It's not easy for me to work in white. I love the way that all white things look, but when I start working on a white project invariably a little color sneaks in there somewhere, and then a little more, and before I know it, the color is all over and the white concept is no more. This time I am making a conscious effort to keep it white, even though I did switch to color thread so you could see the sewing more easily. Okay, so I've used four different color threads on the four volumes. Now you see why this story always ends the same way.

Two of the four bindings have had different hole punching templates for each of its two signatures, with one spine template. I have found that it is easiest to create the page templates after the spine template has been made, making sure I transfer only the markings for that particular section to each template.

For my materials, I've learned that museum conservation board, even the lightest weight, is too thick to fold simply by scoring with a stylus. I'm getting a much sharper, even fold by using my x-acto knife with a very light touch to create the score line, being careful not to cut through the entire board, just the top layer.

Stay tuned for more additions to the growing library!

Glue Pots

2009-05-08T00:51:00.004-05:00

When I first began teaching, I took PVA to classes in plastic squeeze bottles. While this is a good way to store and travel with glue, a squeeze bottle delivery system isn't always the best for controlling the amount of adhesive on the gluing surface. Either too much comes out and you are forced to remove the excess before proceeding, or not enough comes out and you must race to squeeze out more while the initial application quickly dries before your eyes. And then there is the annoying little red cap that is always missing, so the nozzle clogs up and you have to use your pokey tool to get the glue flowing again.

You'll have much better results if you store PVA in a wide mouth container that allows you to dip in your glue brush, taking up as much or as little as you need for the task at hand.

Some PVA is sold in wide mouth plastic jars with screw on lids, and they work well until you forget to wipe off the rim and the lid sticks. While you can add a little petroleum jelly or oil to the rim to prevent this problem, I've found that using a ceramic kitchen storage container, with a tight clamp and a rubber gasket in the lid, will solve all these problems and more. You can dispense the glue directly from its original container into the ceramic jar, or you can place the wide mouth plastic jar -- minus its lid -- directly into the storage container and you're good to go. Just remember to close it up tight when you're done.

When I'm working with a mixture of PVA and methyl cellulose, I mix up a small batch, a little more than I think I will actually need, and store it in the same type of container, but a smaller size. These are easy to find at the dollar store or Wal-Mart. The PVA-methyl cell mixture will last up to two weeks in this container, if stored in a reasonably cool room. Don't refrigerate this mixture or your PVA. Ever.

I mix up methyl cellulose from the powder form, about 8 ounces at a time, and store it in my refrigerator in a tightly closed plastic jar. I find it will keep for several months this way.

You'll still want to keep a squeeze bottle of PVA around the worktable, as it comes in handy for gluing small jobs.

BTW, I've started posting the white models at right. The first one was quick to do, exciting to learn something new. In order for you to see the stitching clearly online, however, I had to abandon the white thread and replace it with color. Watch for new additions, and I'll do a follow-up post next week when I have a few more under my belt.

Making Models

2009-05-07T12:03:00.005-05:00

When I am teaching myself a new binding from a book or periodical, I often start by making a model. Models are good for many reasons: they can be made from whatever materials you happen to have around, and by using your less than best materials, you've given yourself permission to make mistakes and learn about the binding as you go. Here you can make the adjustments, fine tuning, and improvements to the structure and just write your notes directly on the model. Once you've worked out the major bugs, you can cut into that sheet of precious paper you've been saving with confidence, and make a beautiful finished book.

Learning some new decorative stitch bindings has been on my "want to do" list for some time. My copy of Keith Smith's 1-2-& 3-Section Sewings has had about a dozen post-it flags sticking out the fore-edge for months, and so now it is time to hunker down and do it. I've also had a project in mind to make an entire bookshelf of various white bindings, so I'm going to combine these two ideas to make about a dozen or so white model books.

To make it easy to begin and continue over a period of time, I decided to cut enough materials at one time to make all 12 books. I'm starting with half a ream of Neenah Classic Columns 20 lb. writing paper, but you could also use white copy paper. To keep things simple, I cut the ream in half so that I now have 500 sheets of paper that are 5 1/2" high by 8 1/2" wide, to be folded down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" page size. For the covers, I'm using white museum conservation board from Hollander's. I cut the boards into 5 1/2" tall strips, and left each strip the full width of the board (13") so I'll have some options for folded panels if I want them later. Poster board could also be used for covers if you're making the budget version. White and natural linen thread, waxed and unwaxed, in 2, 4 and 7 ply thicknesses complete the supplies for now.

If you don't want to spend a lot of time at the paper cutter, take the ream of paper to your local print shop, office supply store copy center, or Kinko's and ask them to guillotine cut your paper in half, a job that usually costs a couple bucks and takes about two minutes.

I'll be posting my projects as they are completed over the next several weeks, so perhaps you'll join me in learning something new!

Party On with Fabric Scraps

2009-05-05T19:20:00.007-05:00

This past February, in the middle of the winter that would not end, I hosted an afternoon pincushion party at the studio for about a dozen ladies. Fortified by a mighty fabric scrap bin and a stash of luscious fat quarters, we made two projects: a Tidy Tote which houses a little pincushion inside, and Raindrop, a tiny good luck doll that is really a drawstring pouch. Okay, so technically only one was a pincushion. There were no complaints!

I found these projects in my resource library, taken from two of a series of three books by Kumiko Sudo: Omiyage, and Kokoro no Te, collections of small handmade fabric gifts in the Japanese tradition. The third book, Wagashi, features mostly Japanese fashion art, so I knew I couldn't get that in under the pincushion umbrella. Directions are easy to follow if you know basic handsewing techniques, no Japanese or French required, and the author provides patterns and templates to copy in the back of the book.

Like the paper scrap bin books from my earlier post, these little lovelies are a great way to make use of your fabric scraps. You'll also learn several new embellishment techniques that can be used in your fabric journal projects.

This required no sewing machines; everything was done by hand. We spent way more time choosing our fabrics, felt, buttons, beads and cords than we spent actually making the pincushions, because it was just fun to play with all the possibilities before making a choice. It was okay to change your mind even after you had committed! It was all about having a good time and making a little something together, regardless of skill level. There was warm jasmine tea and little cookies and beautiful Gerbera daisies on the table. And a good time was had by all!

Scrap Bin Books

2009-05-05T07:23:00.004-05:00

When you make a paper or fabric book project, I hope you save all your scraps. When I make a project with beautiful papers like the 10 paper box a few days ago, I can prolong the experience by making a miniature item with what is left. This little book is 2 inches square with a 3/8 inch spine, and about 40 pages inside of very lightweight watercolor paper found in my scrap bin.

An easy way to make a miniature of a favorite book structure is to take the instructions and divide all the measurements for materials in half, and photocopy any templates or patterns at 50% reduction. This will result in a book that is approximately one-quarter size of the original. For example, if your instructions are for a 4 x 6 inch book, 50% reduction will produce a book that is 2 x 3. When reducing the dimensions, you might want to add just a little extra for the turn-ins for covered board projects , as it is difficult to work with 1/4 inch wide paper for this purpose.

The other way is simply to let the size of the scraps dictate the project. A lovely little woven spine book that I taught at this year's ArtFest was created as a by-product of having some luscious Fabriano watercolor scraps from the previous year's summer workshop leather journal. (When you prepare as many as 50 class kits, you end up with some serious scrappage!) Let the materials you love the best determine the direction, and make it up as you go. Seredipity is good!

I keep two scrap baskets on my paper cutting table. One is for decorative, text and cover weight papers; the other is for board scraps. When they reach overflow status, they are roughly sorted by size and transferred to larger plastic bins. When those bins overflow, it's time to make a donation to a local art teacher or to students if we are in summer session.

Now I'm off to hunt up some old French postage stamps to collage onto the pages inside. Sometimes I actually do make books with content!

TOOLBOX TOUR: My Top 10

2009-05-04T00:18:00.006-05:00

Whether I'm teaching or taking a class, it's only a matter of time until we get around to the toolbox tour. You've got cool stuff in your toolbox, and I've got some good stuff in mine. Here is my "If I were stranded on a desert island and could only have 10 tools" list.

A board or mat cutter with an easy to change blade. Meet Mr. Fish.

An x-acto knife with a handle that is easy to control, comfy to hold, and quick to change blades. Very Martha.

A short Zebra mechanical pencil with a point that seldom breaks. Really.

A hole pokey tool that I decoupaged many years ago. I keep the needle point stuck in a cork.

The world's smallest brayer. This one performs lots of glue miracles on papers that misbehave, rolling out little tiny bubbles until they are gone, gone, gone.

A genuine bone folder, handmade by Jim Croft, that fits my hand perfectly and gets into the smallest places. It is so beautiful it glows.

A tiny brass triangle, with a pick-up handle, for mitering perfect corners without thinking or measuring.

A small metal square, which keeps my lines honest and true.

A reliable glue brush with a plastic ferrule that won't rust when I forget to take it out of the water jar for several days.

And finally, the tool tray by John Derian. This tray lives next to my cutting surface and is the catch spot for all the tools I'm currently using for a project. When the project is done, I put them all away, then reassemble a new mix for the next project. There must be a surgeon or dental assistant somewhere in my past.

Next time we tour the toolbox, we'll look at the second tier of favorites. For now, I'm off to find some paper on this mythical island to make a book!

Letters from Paris

2009-05-03T14:52:00.005-05:00

Among the art papers that I purchased in Paris last month were several dozen old letters, with incredibly beautiful handwriting that was the style back in the day. Some of these were purchased at the Postage Stamp and Telephone Card Market, just off the Champs-Elysees, where vendors are set-up year round in large white tents, one after the other, stretching for a few blocks along Avenue de Marigny. Here you can find vintage postage, postcards, letters, and other collectibles on paper, a real treasure trove for ephemera lovers.

Most of the booths are wonderfully organized--postcards and letters by location, other collectibles by subject matter--which is what sometimes happens when one has too much time on one's hands. Nonetheless, this works to your advantage, for if you came looking for Paris or Marseilles postmarks you can have them in multiples if you want them, and right quickly, too.

Since it was my first experience at this market, I proceeded with caution and purchased only a few things that I really admired. This turned out to be a good strategy, because later in the week I found an entire street of dealers for the same items, just a few blocks from my hotel, and their prices were much friendlier than those at the open air market. Perhaps this was because I was just looking for lovely handwriting samples; the postage stamps on the missives didn't matter so much to me.

Written on thin paper of pale colors, most of these letters have no separate envelope. The message is written on one side, then folded into thirds across the width, ends folded to the center. Next, the short ends are tucked in no more than an inch, creating a self-contained packet. The address information was then written on one side, and a wax seal applied to the back to hold the loose edge in place. The inks are mostly sepia, although a few are black. Every one of them, even those that appear to be simply statements of accounts and notes written in haste, feature handwriting that most of us could not approach after many months of calligraphy lessons.

Most of these are dated from the mid to late 1800's, although a few that I chose were from the 1700's. They have held up remarkably well, and I hope they will have a new reincarnation in a forthcoming series of book related projects that I have in mind to do this summer.

10 Paper Boxes

2009-05-02T11:30:00.011-05:00

Last night I made a 10 paper box, one of the projects I designed for students in last year's summer workshops here at the studio. The box is built from binder's board; the base is 4" square, and the lid overhangs the sides about 1/2 inch. I call it the 10 paper box because the challenge is to incorporate at least 10 different papers into the design. Some students like to choose all 10 papers at once before starting the project. I usually choose a couple of papers to start, and then I let the remaining choices happen serendipitously as the project moves along. When I begin the project, I'm never quite sure how it will end, and I enjoy that process of discovery as each addition takes the box in another design direction.

The papers for this box were all chosen from my Paris paper stash, a combination of hand marbled papers, screen printed loktas, and a few wax resist designs. I use straight PVA to build the box and to adhere the various covered boards together, and a 50/50 mixture of PVA and methyl cellulose to cover the boards with the decorative papers. Adding methyl cell to the mixture extends the drying time, a helpful feature if you don't position the paper exactly where you want it on the first try. All of the papers glued up nicely, so this is encouragement to buy more next time!

This box is going to a local charity for their annual fund-raising auction in a few weeks. If you can, please consider helping your local organizations by donating your art or services. Most are having a difficult time in the current economy. Use your wonderful power of creativity for good!

My Resource Library

2009-04-30T19:20:00.009-05:00

My love of books does not only encompass making them ... I also collect books about making books, books about books that have already been made, you get the picture. If I visit a bookstore, I seldom leave empty handed. Did I mention that Chicago has over 350 bookstores? When amazon announced they had located one of their distribution centers in little Munster, Indiana where I live, there was dancing in the streets. My art buddy Leslie Cefali, who also lives in northwest Indiana, and I are plotting to show up at the dock and see if there are any free samples, or maybe a big dumpster out back to dive into.

My very first book on bookbinding was Hand Bookbinding, A Manual of Instruction by Aldren A. Watson from Bell Publishing Company, printed in 1963. As a calligraphy student my first year at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, we had to make a hand lettered, bound book for the last project of the semester; Watson's book was our text for the course. I adored Watson's book. It had black and white illustrations throughout, no photographs, and included such side topics as how to letter labels and make your own tools and equipment. There was even a drawing to show you how to organize the work bench for making books!

So I made my book, lettering some lengthy poem by an author I can no longer recall, but the binding is still crystal clear in my mind. It was a case-bound, classic codex, about 6 signatures, with the case covered in a hot pink geometric mod fabric that was way cool for 1968. Because I am left handed, I had to letter the pages upside down and backwards to prevent dragging my hand through the wet ink, so little wonder that I can't recall today what it said. Maybe this is why I now make so many books without any content ... I am really all about the binding, not so much the words. Unreadable books.

In the years that followed, as a continuing student, I moved many times and both my handmade book and my beloved textbook disappeared. I mourned the loss, but I was busy with other things in my life and did not get back to making books again until the mid 1990's. In 1999, I attended Ed Hutchins' Book Arts Jamboree in upstate New York, a fantastic week long workshop that included many fun events in addition to making books. One evening there was a silent auction of artists' books and book related items. There on the auction table was a copy of Hand Bookbinding! I think I claimed it for about ten bucks; I can't tell you how happy I was to have it in my possession again! It still holds that same enchantment for me, even forty years later. Dover Publications reprinted this book in soft cover in the 1990's and it is still widely available from the usual suspects.

My resource library today has several hundred titles, and is organized into general categories. Top shelf across, fabric related books; second shelf, book binding books; third shelf, paper related crafts (surface decoration, origami, collage, and the like) and fourth shelf, miscellaneous crafts such as metal work, jewelry and polymer clay. The bottom shelf holds periodicals, organized first by publication and then by year. Not exactly the Dewey system, but it allows me to find what I need quickly.

The bookshelves and wooden magazine files are all from Ikea. A campaign desk that I bought as a college student miraculously survived my son's entire childhood and serves as a research desk. New acquisitions usually land here first for several weeks so they can be explored before joining the collection. Nearby, there is a slipcovered sofa for reading and a coffee maker. Life is good!