Spirit Books Bookmarks

I've just designed the bookmark for The Spirit Books Pre-Publication Offer. At the suggestion of my friend Nancy Hajeski, it contains a sample of one of the papers used in the books. It has three layers—images of the Spirit Books, the signing and numbering, and the piece of Spirit Book paper.

They are held together by cord with circular copper beads.

The Pre-Publication offer closes on August 15. If you order before then, you get a signed limited edition bookmark, your book shipped one week before the official launch on September 27, and good karma for your early support of the project. The book is set to go to the printer in the next few days.

Order your book, and bookmark, at my etsy shop.

Book Arts Tuesday-Eden Workshops

Eden Workshops has a fabulous website full of treasures. This image is from the section Bookbinding Articles which include Sheepskin Leather in Bookbinding, Book Clasps, Foredge Painting, The English Chained Library, and more. There are free tutorials (Silver and Vellum Book Clasps, Book Edge Marbling, Make Your Own Sewing Frame, and more) as well as ebook and DVD tutorials to purchase and lots more to explore.

This message from Richard and Margaret Norman give you a sense of the knowledge, experience, and spirit of sharing that they bring to Eden Workshops online.

My wife and I qualified as book binders after attending a two-year, full time, City & Guilds course at Brunel College, Bristol around 1985 as mature students. Upon leaving college, we were invited by the Benedictine community at Downside Abbey in Somerset, England, to set up a bookbindery. We were given a derelict barn on a very low rent, and over the years, we restored it. We re-discovered several crafts and brought them to high standards of excellence.
Though primarily involved in book binding, we ran the workshop, along with a fine printing facility, paper marbling studio and specialist box making department for nearly 25 years before moving to France for a better quality of life and education for our daughter.

In 1997, the workshops were voted a national living treasure by Country Life magazine for their contribution to the book arts. Our workshops were extraordinary. They were a product, partly of our own energy and partly because of the willingness the community at Downside Abbey displayed to encourage our endeavours, by giving us low rent, and in some cases, free work space.

Since we went online 15 years ago, when the web was in its infancy, we have made many friends. That an independent specialist site like this can exist and thrive brings us considerable satisfaction. it would not be possible were it not for the hundreds of friends we have made over the years, the 3800 people plus who subscribe to our newsletter and the 22,000 visitors we have each month mostly from the UK and USA.


Visit Eden Workshops.

If you are a facebook person, check out Eden Workshops there for the frequent postings of great images of books from around the world and throughout time. You can find the link on the website.

Summer Refreshment

I've been making herb water for a summer drink. It's so simple. I put herbs and water in a jar, put it in the refrigerator overnight, and then pour. I replenish the water as I use it for a few days and then start over. Combinations I've tried and liked: mint and basil, mint and tarragon, lemon balm and lavender. You could also add a lemon or orange slice.

Book Arts Tuesday-Bind-O-Rama 2014

Bind-O-Rama is the annual online book arts exhibition organized by Peter Verheyen, the creator and keeper of the Book Arts Web. Here's his welcome message to this year's exhibition:

With this Bind-O-Rama we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this list (we went online June 23rd 1994) and thank everyone for being a part of the Book_Arts-L community, whether active poster or lurker. Never thought it would go on this long (the crazy part).

What started as an antidote to my professional isolation in the wilderness that was Central New York quickly grew into the most active book arts community, a placed where seasoned professionals, students, and anyone in-between talked shop and shared generously via their questions and answers. Back in 1998 I was invited to speak about the growth of the "Internet" as a tool for book artists at the 25th anniversary of the Silver Buckle Press in Madison, Wisconsin by Tracy Honn... That was 4 years into this adventure, and the talk is online at . While the growth in numbers of those online has exploded, much else remains the same. Some of my "fondest" memories include teaching folks how to use email... Looking at the list interface (subscription, posting, ...) it seems very dated, Web 0.5ish... Still, it works and is as active as ever, with many who joined in the first days and weeks still active today.

Listserv archives continue to be accessible and capture those 20 years while serving as a resource for all. Some discussions, like "what is a book" remain popular. Google searches and statistics point to uses in school papers of all levels including theses and dissertations...

The works shown below were submitted by subscribers and represent their best effort from the past 3 or so years. Given the demographics of the list I expected more artist's books than traditional bindings, but a very nice range of work non-the-less.

Enjoy,
Peter

The books are beautiful and varied and each one has the following information: Binding Description, The design /concept for the book is, and Binder's Bio. See them at Bind-O-Rama 2014.

And if you are not a subscriber to the Book Arts List, I suggest you join. You can also search the extensive archives. Everyone freely shares their knowledge and thoughts.

Book above is by Douglas Baulos, Birmingham, AL, USA.

Studio Sunday-Linen Thread

On Thursday, my friend Trudy and I went to Providence and got a day pass to the Convergence Fiber Conference. We spent a lot of time in the vendor hall. I brought home this linen thread in the most beautiful Spirit Book colors which I purchased from the Lone Star Loom Room. The friendly Texans had driven 2,000 miles from Houston to be at the conference. I also met the folks from Fiber Art Now. I thank Lauren Pearlman of Paper Connection International for posting info about the conference on her facebook. That's how I found out about it. The thread was the physical treasure that I brought home but equally important was the inspiration from looking at new materials and the wonderful exhibit of fiber in a variety of forms.

Einstein Quote

A quote from Einstein copied from the Orion Magazine facebook page for my index card file complete with a crossing out.

Studio Sunday-Flowers &

a clean desk. Feels good.

Humorous Takes on the Artist's Statement

My statement for the Spirit Books is pretty well set. Since I've been making them for such a long time, I've been able to hone it over years. I'm doing a lot of other writing about myself and my work to get ready to promote the new book and trying to strike a balance between the restraint with which I like to present myself and language that is more persuasive. These two humorous videos have been providing me with comic relief in this sometimes trivial-seeming but also serious business.

from Jörg Colberg


from Charlotte Young

Book Arts Tuesday-Bookmaking with Children in Croatia

The connections we can make today in this digital world are amazing. Here is a message from Zoran from Croatia. We are now friends on facebook and are planning a collaborative book project which I'll share with you as it takes shape. For now, here's a bit about Zoran in his own words:

My name is Zoran Vidaković, I’m art teacher at Primary school and I live in Croatia. In 2008 after returning from Japan, I started to do handmade bookbinding. This enthusiasm for creating books I wanted to share with my students.

On the Internet I've found great site http://www.makingbooks.com, through where I learn about some great ways of making books with kids, and, I am inspired with Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord so I have started to do my own workshops with kids. First workshops were in our school library, than in city library and now finally in libraries and schools all around Croatia.

Kids make books in all kind of variety and forms. So far they have created a books about love, animals, feelings. Also books have different forms like: ties, bags, hearts, houses, leafage. Kids often make their own stories and illustrations and have great fun while making their own books.

This is link for my blog http://zoranoske.blogspot.com/p/radionice.html.

Thank you Zoran!

Studio Sunday-Lavender Wand

Book Arts Tuesday-Garden Fan Book

After a hot day in the garden the most I can muster for a post is a link to a fan book made from garden tags that was published in Rhythm of the Home.

Garden Tag Fan Book