Book As Object

I'll be giving an illustrated talk at the G.A.R. Memorial Library in West Newbury, MA next Tuesday, July 25, at 6:30 PM. I'll offer a few thoughts about the physical book in the digital age,

trace the history of the book around the world,

 Curandero Accordion Book from Mexico

 Account Book from Japan

 Cuneiform Tablet from Mesopotamia

 Sewn Binding from Japan

Palm Leaf Book from Bali

and some of the amazing work being done with the book form by contemporary artists.

 Pamela Paulsrud

 Julie Chen

 Shanna Leino

 Laura Martin 

Gail Smuda

 Colette Fu

Laura Russell

There will be a display of books from my collection and an opportunity to handle them at the end. Join me if you are in the area. Please feel free to share my information and this post with your local library. I love to give this talk.

Slat Book from 1990

Another piece from the past, this one from 1990 when I had done a lot of research into Asian book forms and had fallen in love with covered binder's board used as pages. This is based on the slat books made of wood or bamboo from ancient China. Three of the slats have text written vertically, words I composed after my week with Jenny Hunter Groat at Green Gulch Zen Center: Hear the space, See the silence, Touch the grace. This will be on display and for sale at my Open Studio on Saturday (September 17, 10-4, 311 High St, Newburyport, MA). 

In an unfortunate bit of timing, my computer crashed last week. I have decided to ignore it until after the Open Studio. I have done this post on my iPhone and think may switch to my laptop for the next one.

Open Studio Prep-Mexican Cemetery Book

Getting ready for my Open Studio has led to viewing older work for the first time in a while and reliving memories. I made this book using photographs from the cemetery at Isla Mujeres in Mexico. My daughter, then in fourth grade, was my companion. I remember how hot is was even though we started fairly early in the morning.

I liked a lot of the photos I took but didn't feel that they adequately represented the experience. To try to recreate visual excitement I felt, I made this accordion book with inkjet printed images mounted on heavy black paper and then trimmed around. I also added some very small size 14 seed beads. I liked the result but realized that I didn't like the level of planning I needed to do. Unlike the Spirit Books where every step evolves unplanned and feels fresh and new, I found the final assembly rather tedious. I had thought when I started that I would make a small edition, but one was enough. I never made this sort of book again.

Open Studio Prep-Mexican Cemetery Book

Getting ready for my Open Studio has led to viewing older work for the first time in a while and reliving memories. I made this book using photographs from the cemetery at Isla Mujeres in Mexico. My daughter, then in fourth grade, was my companion. I remember how hot is was even though we started fairly early in the morning.

I liked a lot of the photos I took but didn't feel that they adequately represented the experience. To try to recreate visual excitement I felt, I made this accordion book with inkjet printed images mounted on heavy black paper and then trimmed around. I also added some very small size 14 seed beads. I liked the result but realized that I didn't like the level of planning I needed to do. Unlike the Spirit Books where every step evolves unplanned and feels fresh and new, I found the final assembly rather tedious. I had thought when I started that I would make a small edition, but one was enough. I never made this sort of book again.

Book Arts Tuesday-Alex Appella's List of Books That Teach Bookbinding

I am a big fan of Alex Appella's work with books, as an artist, a binder, and a teacher, in Argentina. Her most recent blog post is titled The Miracle of Book That Teach Bookbinding. Here's how she introduces the books:

aka Where It All Began (For Transient Books)

Bookbinders are curious folk. They are generous with their knowledge, and they are usually quick to share and exchange experiences, successes, and ravenous mishaps. The best illustration of this being the Book Arts List Serv (found at www.philobiblon.com). This online forum of bookbinders, book artists, book lurkers, conservationists and regular humans has been a world wide meeting point for over 20 years. I can't imagine where bookbinding would be (or wouldn't be) today without this resource.

It's no surprise, then, that a lot of bookbinders write books on how to make books. And even less surprisingly, the books bookbinders write about how to make books tend to be really good. There are many out there. Today I pay homage to the mainstays in our studio. The books that have made us the binders we are today.

I am honored that Handmade Books For A Healthy Planet is included in the list. I so appreciate Alex's kind words and that fact that she is sharing the book on another continent. You can read the post here. When I get overwhelmed by the connectivity of the world we live in, I think of sharing like this and I am glad to be a part of it.

A Book to Make for Earth Day

A lot of the book samples I made when I was working with children don't translate into books for adults to make for themselves. I think this one does. The accordion is made from a front or back panel of a brown grocery bag folded in half like a hot dog. There are directions for folding a four page accordion book at makingbooks.com. Because the folded paper gave it thickness, I didn't bother adding a cover. Lately I prefer reading paperbacks (larger format not the smaller mass market size) and am appreciating handmade books without hard covers as well. The book was inspired by the children's book (again not just for children), Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp.

Book Arts Tuesday-Spirit Books at Don't Take Pictures

I am so pleased to share this lovely feature on the Spirit Books in the online magazine, Don't Take Pictures.

"Aesthetically, her artist books have the appearance of found woodland objects. Whether perceived as a product of an ancient people or originating from the woods themselves, Kapuscinski Gaylord’s Spirit Books leave her audience questioning their origins and their meaning."

You can see the page here. While you're there, take a look around. There's lots more to explore.

Book Arts Tuesday-White Gloves

Exhibiting artists' books has challenges. Probably the biggest decision is whether to allow them to be handled or have please do not touch signs in the gallery (alas, what I do for the Spirit Books). If they can be handled, the question is then: should viewers wear white gloves or not? The argument for is that it protects the books from the oils in our hands. Against is that we are more awkward with gloves and put the books at greater risk. The British Library has weighed in and they say "no gloves."You can read their thoughts here.

Book Arts Tuesday-Spirit Books in Madison, CT

I'm getting ready for a solo exhibition at the gallery at Mercy by the Sea in Madison, CT which opens on February 28. I hope to have four new ones to share. One has the book completed, two have the pages stitched and the binding to go, and one is just beginning. All will still need bases to made and names to be given.

If you're in the area, please come by if you can. I'll be there for the reception on February 28 and the show continues until May 10. Here's a flyer. Feel free to share.

Book Arts Tuesday-Books of the Heart

This year's Books of the Heart || Heart of the Books exhibit from Crouch Fine Arts Library at Baylor University is now online. Always a treat to see their offerings for Valentine's Day.

Book Arts Tuesday-Collaborative Book Project with Zoranoske Vidakouchi

I was thrilled to get the collaborative book I did with my Croatian facebook friend Zoranoske Vidakouchi in the mail last week. He approached me about taking part in an ongoing project of his—making collaborative books and exhibiting them in Croatia. He left the choice of content and my part in it up to me. Since we both post pictures of flowers from our gardens on facebook, I suggested we make a book of photos of flowers from our gardens. He made the book, we both contributed photos, and I did the calligraphy and mounted the photos.

The book contains 9 flower photos from each of us. Zoran sent me his by email and I printed them with my Epson printer. He also sent the names of his flowers in both Croatian and English and translated mine into Croatian. I wrote the names in calligraphy and mounted the photos. Flowers from my garden are in English on the top: those from Zoran's are in Croatian at the top.

I treasure the book for its intrinsic value and as a symbol of the joy of creating and its capacity for making connections across the world.

Book Arts Tuesday-Forgotten Libraries of the Sahara

"The Sahara wasn’t always a desert — 7,000 years ago it was a savannah where grasslands and animals thrived. Eventually the weather changed; the rain slowed, then stopped, and the desert took over. 

When Michael Huniewicz was getting ready to visit Mauritania, he found an old book on West Africa, and within the pages he found something that caught his eye: The Forgotten Libraries of the Sahara, part of a town, Chinguetti, that was a 17th-century hub.

“What could be more romantic?” asked Huniewicz. When Michael arrived, he found what felt like a ghost town, though 4,000 people live there, and there are librarians who will still show you the old books housed in the libraries."

You can watch this short video on the yahoo travel website. The books are haunting and beautiful and in need of conservation. Thanks to Brien Beidler for alerting us to this on the Book Arts Listserv.

Book Arts Tuesday-Bird Book with Bird Feathers

Hyperallergic.com has an article by Allison Meier about a book in the collection of the McGill Library called The Feather Book. Created in 1618 by Dionisio Minaggio, the chief gardener in the State of Milan, it contains illustrations of birds made from feathers. You can see more of these fascinating pages here.

Book Arts Tuesday-Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Book

Here's a project for the Day of the Dead, a hot dog booklet shaped like a sugar skull with drawings on each page.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make a hot dog booklet.
Directions are at makingbooks.com.

2. Stand book up and arrange it so that if you look at it from above you see a plus sign. This will help you in step 5.

3. Unfold the book so that you have a full sheet of paper.

4. Cover the paper with glue. I prefer glue stick.

5. Refold the book being careful to re-form it so that you have the plus sign. Press on the pages to help them adhere.

6. With the book folded up and the spine on the left, trim through all the layers to get a skull shape. I just rounded the top and bottom sides and took a little curve out of the middle of the two sides. Keep the bottom flat if you want the book to be able to stand up.

7. Decorate the pages. I drew first with pencil starting with the eyes, nose, and mouth and then filled in with details. I used sharpie markers for the coloring which did show through slightly on the other side but it wasn't so much that I felt it was a problem. I found a lot of inspiration by looking up "day of the dead skulls on google images."

Book Arts Tuesday-Book Play to Celebrate Autumn

I just made the flyer for my upcoming Book Play workshop at the Newburyport Public Library for adults at the Newburyport Public Library. I love autumn. It will be such fun to make books to celebrate the season. These are the stick and elastic books but tied with jute and string instead of using an elastic. I'll bring sticks and leaves for rubbing but am also encouraging participants to gather and bring their own. As is the case with all Book Play workshops, I'll guide everyone throught the construction step-by-step and then there will be time to play with leaf rubbings, collage paper, and quotes. I look forward to sharing some of the books at the end of the month.