Diamond Fold Books Workshop and Tutorial

Another great workshop at the Center for Creative Wholeness in Newbury, MA! We gathered together for a morning of bookmaking and made what I call Diamond Fold Books. They go by lots of names—origami, star, lotus—but I call them diamond fold since I most often taught them in schools in connection with geometry. I usually use all recycled paper for the books but since both sides of the paper show, we used unused copy paper for the pages and cereal boxes for the covers.

The first half was directed instruction with everyone following along as we worked step-by-step—

and the second half was play time. We had an array of collage papers, markers and gel pens, and quotes to add. Since it was close to Valentine's Day, many of the books were made as gifts and cards.

TUTORIAL:
I have made a 20 page tutorial with detailed step-by-step directions illustrated with photographs. It is available for $5.00. You can purchase it here.

Thanks to Cameron Sesto of the Center for Creative Wholeness for the photographs. Top book is by Rebecca Wish Esche.

Book Arts Tuesday-Center for Book Arts Blog

I just discovered the blog of the Center for Book Arts in New York and it is wonderful—a Monday through Friday education in the book arts through well-written and detailed posts. Here's what you'll find day by day—Monday Methods, Tuesday Typefaces, Wednesday Exhibitions, Thursday Terms, Friday Insights.

This is from today's Tuesday Typefaces:

This week's typeface is an interesting one: a modern, sans-serif typeface that still retains some qualities of the more old-fashioned calligraphy scripts. Lydian, designed by Warren Chappell for American Type Founders in 1938, lacks the extensions of letters at its terminals that would make it a serif face, but is also markedly different from last week's Futura, a typeface known for the equal weight of each line. Like a calligraphy text, Lydian's letters narrow around curves (and additional strokes, as in the "y") and thicken for straight lines. The dot of the "i," a small diamond, also looks just as if it came from a calligraphy pen.

Though not as versatile as other typefaces, Lydian manages to have an elegant feel without being difficult to read, making it good for invitations, envelopes, and the main text of signs. The diamond shape of its punctuation (seen especially well in periods and colons) as well as its delicate curves (particularly in the ampersand [&]) also add a classical feel to the text, making it useful for older letters and certificates.

Lydian was a popular typeface when it came out, with its additional styles and weights all released in an eight-year period. In 1938, Lydian, Lydian Italic, Lydian Bold, and Lydian Bold Italic all appeared on the market. Quite soon after, in October of 1939, a US patent was granted. These were followed by Lydian Cursive, an alternate and more ornate variant in 1940, and Lydian Condensed and Lydian Condensed Italic, both released in 1946.

Lydian is also a typeface that has appeared in surprising and different ways, perhaps saying something about its versatility and elegant, yet modern, style. In the 1960s and early 1970s, actress Lucille Ball used it for the end credits in both The Lucy Show (1962-8) and Here's Lucy (1968-1974). At the same time, the International Baccalaureate Organization was using it for its document headings (if you ever took the IBs, you've seen it!) and continued to use it until 2007.

Most familiar for our readers would be also be its most contemporary use: as the typeface of choice in the on-screen end credits of the television series Friends (1994-2004)!

-Christina Squitieri


CENTER FOR BOOK ARTS BLOG

Studio Sunday-Blossom!

The twigs I put in water two weeks ago are starting to bloom!

Bookmaking at Children's Hospital Boston

I spent a wonderful morning last month at Children's Hospital in Boston. We started with a Child Life staff workshop and ended with one with children. I was so impressed with everything that is done to enhance the children's lives as they undergo treatment. I was contacted by Aaron Devine. He works with individual children and small groups on writing projects and loved the idea of adding bookmaking to his sessions and giving the kids a place for their words. Among those in our adult group were a a cartoonist who worked in a similar capacity and a young woman from The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Outreach Program. We used recycled materials and made accordions, hot dog booklets, stick and elastic books, step books, and what I call Diamond Fold Books that can be either stars or accordions. They all had great ideas for adapting them to content that would be particularly relevant to the kids at the hospital.

With the children, I wanted to do a project that didn't require a lot of step-by-step directions as they might be arriving at different times throughout the hour. We made wish scrolls from prescription containers which were so easy to get started—just tape a long piece of yarn to either side of the top of the container. Sometimes I cover the whole container with paper and then add collage papers but this time we glued the collage paper directly to the containers using glue stick. The most popular item from the collage box was sticky-back sparkling silver paper.

The last step was the scroll. Aaron was absolutely wonderful in gently suggesting ideas for wishes and drawing the kids along in his own process as he guided them in theirs. Most of my work has been with large groups which is a very different dynamic. I learned a lot from watching him.

Wish scroll projects for you to make

Help! Animation

Alice Hancock shared this on facebook. It seems appropriate for me at this moment. We are in the final design phases of The Story of a Pumpkin, the Bhutanese-Nepali Folktale Project and I have been struggling with some technical difficulties in Photoshop and Indesign brought on by the fact that my knowledge is limited and things that I presumed would work a certain way do not. I have been asking for "Help!" Thanks to my son Brendan, daughter Kendra, Marci Ciro, and Sarah Raleigh.

And I love this bit of "OS Art" that Brendan sent in response to one of my many messages:

Book Arts Tuesday-Hedi Kyle Video

Hedi Kyle has been a strong and guiding presence in the world of book arts for many years. She may be best known for her invention of the Flag Book. Here is her first, April Diary, made in 1979.

Enjoy and be inspired by this enlightening video which is part of the enior Artists Initiative Inventory and Oral History Project. The first minute is a bit rough but it settles down soon. The first part is an interview tracing her life from Germany to Crete to the United States and the second is a show and tell of her work, her collections, and her studio. I was interested to see that she too saves the inside of security envelopes for collage materials, impressed by her organization, and inspired by her books, her teaching, her thoughtfulness, and her warm presence.

Heidi Kyle Interview from Senior Artists Initiative on Vimeo.

Thanks once again to Peter Verheyen of the Book Arts List for sharing this.

Studio Sunday-More Lettering

I find myself being slowly drawn into more and more lettering. I have been a marker and brush pen gal for a long time with little patience and interest for ink and pen but I am working on the cover and title page for the Bhutanese-Nepali book and decided it needed a step above an edged marker. I started with the largest nib of my new Lamy cartridge pen but the letters needed to be bigger. I took out a bottle of Higgins Eternal Ink, purchased at the closing Bob Slate Stationers in Harvard Square last year as a memento more than a material, and my old pens and nibs. I used an old basic Speedball C-0 nib to write The Story of a Pumpkin. Here is the cover, as of now, of the book.

While I was at it, I thought I'd play around with a logo for the upcoming Books in Bloom at the Newburyport Public Library. I had been requested by the Newburyport Horticultural Society, one of the sponsoring organizations, to do something. Despite my vow to "just say no" to volunteer requests, I decided to allow a quick bit of play time and submit whatever came out with the stipulation that they could do whatever they wanted with it, or not. But once they had it in their hands (or inbox as it were), I was done. I used the 3.5 mm side of a Staedler Calligraph duo 3003 marker.

Book Arts Tuesday-Books of the Heart

In honor of Valentine's Day, the Crouch Fine Arts Library at Baylor University is highlighting books from its special collections that reflect the heart and things of the heart. Except for a facsimile of the heart-shaped Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu from the fifteenth century, the books are by contemporary artists. All the images are accompanied by explanatory text. I particularly enjoyed the humor of this one by John Hastings.

"The language in Shakespeare's plays has stood the test of time, but could it survive a translation into text messages by a modern teenager? I asked my 16-year-old granddaughter to rewrite the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet as if it had all happened between two teens text messaging on their cell phones."

J: y do y have 2 b romeo? if u change ur name & promise u luv me ill change mine

Thanks to Sha Towers, Music and Fine Arts Librarian, for sharing this on the Book Arts List. Enjoy—

Books of the Heart || Heart of the Books

Happy Valentine's Day

Hawthorne Part 2

Shortly after I completed the quotes at Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace, I was asked to do one more thing—a family tree on one of the walls in the first gallery. It could be simple—the point was to show his ancestry and tree drawings and embellishments weren't necessary. I decided I wanted it to be different from the quotes and did the names in all caps which conveniently I find easier to do. It is the Hathorne Family Tree. Nathaniel changed the spelling to Hawthorne because he ashamed of the family's past—Justice John Hathorne, Nathaniel's great-great grandfather, was known as "The Hanging Judge" for his role in the Salem Witch Trials.

As before I started at home. I used smaller brushes and wrote out the names first on graph paper. I used them to plan the layout on brown paper.

I did a practice run complete with pencil lines at home. Last time we used a borrowed 4 foot metal level. This time we were using a fiberglass one that we had purchased. Its lighter weight made it so much easier to use. As before, I held the level against the wall on one side at the mark, Charlie adjusted it to make it level while I made sure it didn't move on my side, and then I ruled the pencil line.

One of the things the practice run did was show potential problems. After writing starting the second line with the wrong name, I came up with a system of folding the paper so that I could only see the name I was writing each time.

When we got to the house, we encountered a problem. The painted wall did not extend the entire height of the wall as the bottom was wood and the text as I had done it didn't fit. My heart sank. I so did not want to go home and work out another layout. Thankfully, the creative thinking of Kristin, the assistant to the Director, saved the day. I had originally been told the family tree would start with the first ancestor to come to Massachusetts and end with Hawthorne's children. The final copy I received was longer with his children's marriages and their children and that was what I had planned. Kristin said, Why don't we just stop at Hawthorne's children? Brilliant idea! She called Alan, the director, and he approved. Less work for me and better looking as the bottom was more complicated. I merrily trimmed the bottom off and we taped the brown paper version to a nearby wall. After some interruptions last time, we hung a sheet over the door so I could work in peace.

I was braver this time and did the writing directly with the brush rather than doing pencil outlines first. I had two copies of the text, one I kept whole as a guide and the other I cut into strips and taped each line on the wall as I went along.

It was great relief when the last words and dates were written. One or two near misses but no mistakes. Whew!

While there, I enjoyed the opportunity to see the galleries with the exhibits installed. This is the desk that Hawthorne used to write both The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables.

Here is the chair he sat in when he visited his cousin Susannah Ingersoll who encouraged his writing. The painting is a copy of an original potrait painted by Charles Osgood in 1840.

The empire sofa was owned by the Hawthornes when they lived in Lenox, MA.

This room has cases of drawings by Hawthorne's wife Sophia as well as a painting of hers over the fireplace.

Editions of Hawthorne's books are on display in the last gallery. The portrait is of his aunt Rachel Hathorne Forrester. The round table was originally hers and then owned by Nathaniel and Sophia.

Studio Sunday-Welcoming Spring

Spring is underway in the Celtic calendar and while the air may be cold, the light is longer and brighter. I gathered some prunings from an orchard (peach or apple I'm not sure which). They sat on the deck for awhile but today was there was time to trim cut the branches, pound the bottoms, and put in vases. I hope they will bloom.

Museum at Texas Tech

Last week I gave a talk about my work and a bookmaking workshop at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas in connection with an exhibit called Speaking Volumes: Books and Ideas from 1250-1862 with books on loan from the Remnant Trust, a fascinating organization that lends out books for exhibits and allows them to be handled by classes and special groups.

Dr. Hoffman and one of the grad students, Melissa, were so gracious and did everything they could to make my stay as pleasant as possible. Larry was so helpful with the audio-visual for my talk. It was a great experience.

On Friday evening, I gave a talk, A Life in the Book Arts.

I began with my first bookwork

and then talked about growing up in a house filled with making and the creative spirit of my mother. Although I had no natural ability to draw and never thought about being artist, I know I was deeply influenced by my environment. I showed the two things I had dabbled in—calligraphy and embroidery—before my complete immersion in calligraphy at age 27.

I talked about my passion for calligraphy and its waning as I sought a way to move away from being what my mentor Jenny Hunter Groat calls "an interpretive artist" and toward being "an originating artist," the creation of Childbirth Journey and its leading me to the book,

the development of the Spirit Book Series,

my current two-dimensional digital work,

my teaching,

and my current frame of mind where I no longer have a sense of a defined path I should be taking as an artist and am embracing all opportunities that come my way—from community art installations to book design projects to lettering the walls of Hawthorne's Birthplace.

Dr. Hoffman asked me after the talk if the fact that I did not have an art degree had made things more difficult for me. My answer was that I wasn't sure if it did in fact but for a long time it did in my own head and that it's probably only been in the last five or so years that I am completely comfortable with how I got to be who and where I am. As he was leaving an art professor from the university came up and told me I should consider my not having a degree a badge of honor. I liked that.

Saturday was the workshop—Bookmaking with Recycled Materials. We had a wonderful group of college students, parents and children, two women looking for projects for a writer's table at an art fair, a grad student in the occupational therapy program, and assorted others. It was a self-directed session with materials and instructions for three simple books and another long table for adding drawings, text, and collage. Everyone was motivated and enthusiastic and I was able to work with smaller groups and individuals on other book forms as well. It was lively and fun.

In addition to the museum activities, I had a little time to explore and an accommodating host who made sure I saw what I wanted to. Although I was tempted by the Buddy Holly Museum, I decided that what I wanted to see most was the landscape so Jill drove me outside of the city where I saw the wide horizon of the High Plains,

cotton fields (and picked a bouquet of cotton stems for my hotel room),

oil wells in the midst of the cotton fields, and windmills.

The photos of me at the talk and the workshop were taken by Bill Mueller and are used here courtesy of the Museum of Texas Tech University and Photographer Bill Mueller. Thank you so much!