Paper and Threads

I just finished two Japanese Stab Books - one with a soft cover and the other with a hinged hard cover.  Each month since January I researched a book structure and made one or two books to increase my skills. 

January: 2 Coptic books

February: 2 Long stitch leather books

March:  Flag book with samples of paste papers I made that month

April: 2 Accordion books

May: A portfolio 

June: 2 Japanese stab books - with Classic 4 hole stitching pattern

I make case bound watercolor books for my daily sketches/paintings and discovered that I love making books.  This is a fun project for the year partly because I love the reading, research, and problem solving.  Now I need to decide on additional structures to make in July-December. 

Soft Cover Stab Book: Size - 8"wide x 5.5" high    16 Pages     Canson Mi Tientes cover and text paper pages.  Black waxed linen thread.  A Gelli print was added to the cover.  My research notes and methods are in this notebook and I made it to practice the stitching pattern.

Hinged Hard Cover Stab Book:  Size 8.5" wide X 7" high   24 Pages  Tex Libris book cover, Strathmore 400 Drawing paper, Paste paper was used for the inset on the cover and the end papers, Waxed black linen thread.  I will use this book for figure drawing practice when my current sketchbook is completed.

 The Paste Paper End Papers

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This year I am exploring a new book structure each month.  So far I've made coptic, long stitch, flag, and accordion books.  My May bookbinding structure was s portfolio.  I had some loose drawings/paintings that I wanted to put in a portfolio for safe keeping, so I chose to make it 8 X 10.5 " to fit these papers.  I used the basic instructions from Alisa Golden's book Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings Structures Forms.

The cover and end papers were made from paste papers originally made in a workshop at Center for Book Arts here in New York City.  The spine was made from Tex Libris book cloth.   

Posted by Shirley at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I am exploring a different classic bookbinding structure each month in 2013.  My coptic, long stitch, and flag books can be seen here.

This month I made two accordion books using paste papers for the covers.  They measure approximately 5.5 X 7.5" and have two different kinds of paper for the concertina.  The first one I made has an 80 lb paper and the second one has 140 lb watercolor paper.

These Are the Front Covers:

I typed out notes about accordion books and the methods that I used - and collaged them in Book 1.  Here you can see 6 pages of notes. 

And here are several pages that I included regarding my methods. 

This month I am going to make portfolios.  Although I usually draw and paint in handmade watercolor sketchbooks, I do have some loose paintings and would love portfolios in sizes that will be perfect for them.

Posted by Shirley at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I chose the Long Stitch or "limp binding" for my February bookbinding adventure.  As I walked to Dick Blick last month, I passed a leather store (for shoemakers) and bought some leather scraps.  It is a sturdy leather - perfect for this structure. 

For my first book, which is always lots of trial and error, I chose the smallest scrap.  The leather was easy to cut with my Olfa X-acto knife and to punch holes with my standard awl.  I searched all of my books, finding the best instructions in Cover to Cover by Shereen LaPlantz and watched YouTube videos to learn more. 

The book is 5 3/4 by 4 1/4 inches - with 16 folios of card stock in 4 signatures.  I used LaPlantz's 6 hole pattern for my stitching, but look forward to using other patterns on future books.

This book will be used for all of my research notes.  In addition, I'm adding stitching patterns to the pages by sewing them with a regular needle and thread. 

 I envision 12 prototype books full of my research notes by the end of the year. 

Next month I'm planning to make a flag book!

Posted by Shirley at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I LOVE books - all books - and always have.  It is probably the reason that I gravitated to sketchbook/visual journal art when I was getting close to retirement. 

I decided to recycle orphan books when I couldn't find watercolor sketchbooks that I loved.  After several years I broke down and took a weekend class to learn how to make a traditional cased-in book - cover and all.  In the last 5 years I expanded my bookbinding adventures, sometimes from information online, other times from projects with my friends Pat and Gwen.  But I still hadn't explored some of the oldest and most common bookbinding methods.

This year I plan to do a little research on specific bookbinding methods and to practice making books exploring some of the variations.  I have reference books here in my personal library and there are many websites and videos available - making this a good DIY project.  

The book project for January was coptic stitch bookbinding and so far I made two books using two different variations of the method. 

Book 1:  I made the cover using bookcloth I made from fabric I painted, and filled it with my favorite watercolor paper.  The bug was painted in a class by Judy Coates Perez using Tsukineko ink thickened with aloe vera.  The back cover was made with fabric I made testing a new batch of procion MX stock solutions.

Book 2: I also made a smaller book, using decorative paper for the book covers, and card stock for the pages.  I am using this book to collect all of the information about coptic stitching that I want to remember and to document the methods that I used. 

Plan for February:  Long Stitch with leather wrap covers. 

A tutorial for recycling orphan books, and all of my prior projects can be seen in the Bookbinding Category in the right column on my blog.

Posted by Shirley at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)