Stage one of the ABC Exquisite Book project... we start with a basic A6 sketchbook each then make some interventions before sending onto the next person. I stuck with a theme of circles and rebound the book with a hard cover. Tricky to know when to stop but quite nice not having a final endpoint in mind.
Embroidered book for my mum to mark the grand occasion of her turning 70 today. Flower design from the wonderful ‘Simply stitched with applique’ by Yumiko Higuchi - a bit nerve wracking turning an embroidery into bookcloth for binding but I’m relieved it’s worked without being too lumpy bumpy…
Makers
Really thrilled that my books and cards are now stocked in the excellent Makers gallery on Colston Street in Bristol... the shop is chock-full of beautiful things, so it’s very exciting to see my books nestling amongst them. . .
And?
A small edition of books showcasing the wonderful ampersand in all its glory. The structure is called interlocking loops from ‘The Art of the Fold’ - the whole book can be made from just an A3 sheet. I also had a bit of free space left at the bottom of the sheet when I created the artwork, so I added a few more cheeky ampersands to make badges. Both the book and the badges will be available at Bristol Artists’ Book Event (BABE) at the Arnolfini on 30/31 March. And then in my online shop from early April…
Which way up?
Making slipcases for my edition of folded books of arrows. I find my set of key stock (gauged metal bars) really handy for measuring common widths on a production line of books. But I’ve just discovered a new use... weighing down the glued flap on a slipcase while it dries. A small thing, and I know it’s pretty niche, but this has made a fiddly and time consuming task a whole heap easier!
Stitching and head scratching
In spite of expert teaching by Csilla Biro (and patient assistance from Carmen Garaghon) I managed to tie myself in (literal) knots trying to learn a marionette stab binding at last week’s Artists’ Book Club. Never one to be thwarted by a needle and thread, I went away and had another go. Still a bit wonky and the tension is a little uneven, but at least the stitches are in the right place. Very satisfying to stitch as the pattern starts to take shape. Many thanks to Csilla for teaching this tricksy binding. . . .
Dwelling
Cracking print job from printed.com - really good reproduction of the original colours of my letrafilm collages created back in January. In the process of turning these flat sheets into concertina books to be sold at BABE at the Arnolfini in Bristol on 30/31 March…
Transformed into a tiny book
Making tiny pamphlet books of my recent typewriter patterns for the Bristol Artists’ Book Event (BABE) at the Arnolfini on 30/31 March…
Star book
Another great Artist’s Book Club (ABC) at UWE yesterday. Many thanks to Alyn and Csilla for teaching the rather festive star book structure – deceptively simple once all the folding is complete. Looking forward to making a few more of these to get the hang of it properly. . .
Sneak peek
Rarely this tidy…
… usually this cluttered
I’ve been interviewed by Bryony Morgan for the Made in Bristol blog ahead of the Gift Fair at the Colston Hall this weekend. See here for more photos and my pontifications on the delights of making books. Full disclosure: my studio is rarely as tidy as shown in the top photo, but nice to capture a moment in time when I actually had some clear space to work! Didn’t last long.
This way up
Starting work on a new book… inspired by the amazing Franklin fold in ‘The Art of the Fold’ (by Hedi Kyle and Ulla Warchol). It’s a 16-page small book folded from one sheet. I’ve wanted to make something based around arrows on packaging for longer than I care to admit (it’s decades, not just years!) and this is finally it. The aim is that the book can be read in either directions - This Way Up or This Way Down depending on which way round you’re looking at it. I’ve had some flat sheets printed up onto Kraft paper to make some prototypes, and it’s shaping up well. Some minor tweaks needed, and there’s a secret fold-out section in the centre section that I’ve only just found, so room for a few more cheeky arrows. This is one of a number of new books I’m hoping to have ready for BABE (Bristol Artist’s Book Event) next Spring… date for your diary - 30/31 March 2019 at the Arnolfini in Bristol.
Way out in production-linesville
Running out of space in my studio right now…
Getting inky… rollering paper for wrappers for my ‘Fiery Words’ matchbox books.
An oldie but goodie - more ‘Pot Plants’ taking shape
A new batch of my double concertina book ‘Forest’ - now reproduced at the same size as the original, and printed onto gesso paper (more texture and less shiny than the original print run)
With the Made in Bristol Christmas Fair coming up on 8 December, I’m in full-on production line mode, making new batches of many of my books. It’s a little chaotic at the moment, but I love that tipping point when it moves from lots of component parts to neat piles of finished books.
Home in Athens
Really pleased to see my ‘Home’ pocket concertina book as part of Interruptions - an exhibition of prints and artists' books curated by Sarah Bodman and Elena Zeppou, at the invitation of the Greek Printmakers Association (E.E.X.) for Athens Print Fest “18” 4th edition – nóstos / nostalgia. It’s at the Felios Foundation in Athens, Greece, and runs from 3 -27 October 2018. If a trip to Greece is not on the cards, you can always browse a pdf exhibition catalogue here.
At long last...
It’s been a tricky project to work on… lots of unforeseen technical hitches, but my edition of 15 small Frankenstein books is finally complete. Digitally printed versions of my embroidered illustrations, with hand-detailed frames and an accompanying extract from the original text with each one. The books have vintage endpapers and cloth-covered hard covers with laser foiled belly bands. Some are already spoken for, but there are now five available in my online shop. Just £20 each, so snap one up while you can if embroidered dead people are your thing...
Dougie
Today marks the centenary of the death of my great great uncle, killed in action in the First World War. John Douglas Robertson, known as Dougie, was born in Reedsmouth in Northumberland in 1898, and was just 19 years old when he died on a battlefield in northern France. The middle name Douglas has subsequently been carried by my granny (born just two weeks after he died), my father and my nephew. I visited his grave in 2007, and was touched by an inscription I read in the cemetery: ‘To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die’ (from a poem called Hallowed Ground by Thomas Campbell). I have been gathering material for a small book to commemorate his life... I’m starting work on it today, and I hope to complete it by Armistice Day. Gone but most definitely not forgotten.
The most bookish of days
Many thanks to everyone who came along to the Make Space at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery yesterday. Cathey Webb and I had a busy and brilliant time teaching, exhibiting, selling and enthusiastically chatting about books all day. A real pleasure! Thanks also to @bristolmuseums for organising the Make Space programme alongside the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize exhibition - it’s been an inspiring showcase of local creative talent... it’s running until 2 Sept, so catch it while you can...
Make Space
A box of book samples all ready to take along to the Make Space at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery tomorrow (23 August). If you’re in Bristol, come along and join @catheywebb and I for lots of bookish inspiration. We'll be teaching how to make five different single-sheet books, and you can also see (and buy) books we've made. Should be fun... The Make Space programme is running alongside the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize exhibition until 2 September, and is open daily 10.40 - 4.30. Find out more at www.bristolmuseums.org.uk
Frankenstein on tour
My book 'Memento mori' has been exhibited in Liverpool Central Library for the past few months (many thanks for the photos above from organiser Simon Ryder, taken by Robin Clewley). The exhibition finished this week, but will be moving to the Kirkby Gallery from 17 September - 26 January 2019. After that my book will be heading back to Bristol as the exhibition will be transferring to Bower Ashton Library at UWE. In the meantime, I'm working on a small edition of digitally printed concertina versions - the first of which is in another Frankenstein-themed exhibition in the US, at Asheville Bookworks in North Carolina which opened this week. As always, my books are more well-travelled than I am!
In the round
Having finally tidied my studio a little, I came across a pile of offcuts from my Frankenstein book earlier in the year. The original book they were cut from was The Journal of the Society of Architects from the 1930s... lots of incidental crops of different buildings. I decided to make a small one-off concertina book of these building crops with collaged text from other offcut pages. Inspired by the collage books of Daniel Lehan and the found poetry workshop by Jeremy Dixon I attended earlier this year... think this will fit the brief for ABC’s ‘Found’ book exhibition at UWE this winter.
My favourite things (maps and books)
Have just spent my ideal couple of days on a book making workshop at UWE run by the inimitable Guy Begbie. Snappily titled ‘Book Cartography: Using the Map as an Artistic Strategy Within Book Structures’ it was cutting, glueing and stitching to make books with old maps. Really enjoyable, and I’ve come away with lots of new ideas. Lovely group of fellow book makers too – very inspiring to see what everyone produced.