New Bonefolder

The latest copy of the Bonefolder (a most excellent online journal for bookbinders and book artists) is out, and (yay!) one of my books is in it. It's a book (pictured above) that I talked about in an earlier post -- I submitted it to the Bonefolder's annual Bind-O-Rama, and it was accepted. A nice bit of news in the dark days of winter.

This issue of the Bonefolder has an interesting article on book arts in Cuba. Cuba has a really vibrant printmaking and book making scene. I visited a studio in Havana a few years ago, and bought a couple of artist books. The diverse cultures in Cuba make for a rich mix of influences in the book arts scene.

Eco-Friendly Journal and Some Other Stuff

Here we are in the depths of January, and I think I'm trying to deny it by making books with trees and birds and other things that make me think (prematurely, I'm afraid) of spring.

This is a journal I just added to my Etsy store that has eco-friendly paper. This paper is made from a mix of coffee fiber and recycled papers, and it has a kind of marbled or antiqued look. I added a leather bookmark with a tree of life charm:






This one has a little ceramic bird pendant on the cover:

I've also been making some new quote books. This has a quote on the first page by George Bernard Shaw -- a little inspiration for the new year:

"You see things, and you say 'Why?'"

I see things that never were,

and I say 'Why not?'"

New Hippie/New Age/Nature Journals

The ol' brain has been working overtime lately, and I've come up with some new leather journal designs. These are all kind of hippie, nature, and spirit - themed journals.
I've added leather bookmarks to some of them, and also, in this one, used eco-friendly banana fiber paper for the pages:

I've been planning to use some eco-friendly writing papers, but it took me some time to find papers that I liked. The banana paper has a nice, natural color, and little brown flecks:

I'm also doing some journals with ceramic pendants on the covers. This one has a wee owl design:

Away You Go...

Recently finished a big (24 notebook) order for a business. They will be giving them out as gifts to visiting speakers and other guests. I boxed up my little children and sent them off to their new home, but now, sadly, there's no time to sit around drinking eggnog and eat rum-soaked cookies, as the holiday shopping season is here, and I am busy making many more books for my Etsy store. Not that I'm complaining--it's good to be busy!

I vaguely remember reading a story when I was a child about elves who came at night to make shoes for a cobbler and his wife. When the cobbler woke up in the morning, lovely shoes would be finished and waiting. Where are those elves when you need them? :)

New Quote Journals

Has is really been two months since I posted here? Where did the time go? Well, I haven't been lounging around (ok, well some lounging, but not too much, anyway :) . Among other things, I made some new quote journals.

This one has a George Bernard Shaw quote:

"You see things; and you say 'Why?'
But I dream things that never were;
and I say 'Why not?'

And this Writer's Inspiration Journal, with a quote by Ernest Hemingway:

"My aim is to put down on paper
what I see and what I feel
in the best and simplest way."

The Thread that Binds, Part II

I finally finished binding my copy of The Thread that Binds. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had thought about doing a wooden cover, as a tribute to master bookbinder Jim Croft (who is interviewed in the book) but as often happens, went charging off in another direction altogether.

I created a medieval-style leather binding that emphasizes thread and stitching, which seemed to fit the content of the book:



This copy of The Thread that Binds will have a home in my ever-growing collection of books on bookbinding.

Small Universe

This is my latest coptic stitch book with wooden covers (you can see some others here). I'm working on a series of books that are interpretations of random designs that I find in nature. The cover of this book is based on a pattern of naturally occurring lines in a piece of mica. The name of this book is "Small Universe".

This was the first time I'd worked with milk paint -- lots of layers of colour, then working my way down through them to reveal the design.