Latest Projects in the Book Studio
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| Bog Man Book |
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| Back of the Bog Man Book |
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The Bog Man Book. An old National Geographic yielded these strangely interesting photos of the remains of people found in bogs across Europe. Forensic science tells us that this man had just eaten a meal when he was killed by blunt instrument trauma at the back of his head. Most of the bodies found in bogs have been found to have died violent deaths. Always fascinated by the cycle of life and death, I made myself this journal using recycled paper and the coptic stitch.
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| Easy Sprout Personal Journal |
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| Blue Personal Journal |
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Easy Sprout Journal - yes the cover is a recycled box. Sometimes a box is just the right size and shape for a book and I can't help myself! Free book cover! Embellished with my mandala and some macrame. My fingers just like to do that knotting thing. With pamphlet style journals you can put the thread ends inside or out.
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| Blue Personal Journal |
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| Blue Personal Journal |
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Blue Personal Journal. This is the type of journal for the "Make and Take" at the DeLand Library on October 19. We'll decorate some watercolor paper to be used for the cover. Then we'll tear some recycled paper pages and bind with linen thread or ribbon, depending on individual preference. This journal was made with Mi-Tientes color paper pages. There is a pocket, which may be easily added. I like pockets because there is always something to make a note of, or something to save to be glued in later.
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| Personal Journals |
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| Personal Journals, examples of what we might make on Oct. 1 at Bamboo Art Center. A magazine cover was coated with gesso and then painted with acrylic paint for the cover of the larger journal. The result has an interesting texture. You can use a lot of junk mail this way, a trick learned from Carla Sonheim at Art & Soul.
Some wonderful decorated paper covers watercolor paper for the cover of the smaller journal. The sewing was done so that the ends allow for some carnelian beads. Both journals are multiple signatures, long stitch. Long stitch is easier if you have a cover that allows good holes to be made.
Both journals use Mi-Tientes color paper, hand torn to size. The paper used should be chosen to suit many uses. You might want to glue things in, add envelopes, use water color pencils to do small sketches. You have to ask yourself whether you will be using any wet types of techniques, gluing, painting. Do you want to sew or staple things to the pages? Better use heavier paper? No art, just writing? Make sure your paper is easy to write on with the pen on pencils you like to use.
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| On The Path |
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| Everything can be recycled, use a box for a cover. This one from an organic cereal called out to be recycled by its very nature. The colors of the box lead me to use a variety of Mi-tientes color papers. Long stitch, 13 signatures.
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| Stuffed Exterior Binding |
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| A new type of binding for me. The thread comes up out of the hole in the signature, around my hand dyed cord and back down the same hole. The ends are kettle stitch. The idea came from a book, but since I have a hard time following some instructions, I winged it, and made plenty of mistakes. Well, it turned out cool enough that I'll do it again. The cover is some paste paper I made using gesso (instead of paste) and paint.
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| Spiraling In |
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| Spiraling In Page Spread |
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The cover for this book evolved from one of the engineering drawings for our house. It was the paper used to save the table from getting painted while I decorated the pages in the book. The spiral is sewn thru the cover. The cord was hand dyed using acrylic paint and textile medium.
The pages are an exploration of symbols. What makes a symbol recognizable? What makes something a symbol? How much of something do you need to reveal to still have meaning. This is an ongoing exploration for me. Here the pages are recycled packing paper. This paper is excellent for painting and sewing. The book is constructed using coptic stitch.
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| Barb's Fat Little Book |
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| Accumulated Kappha |
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| Random Journal Page |
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| Aeronautical map pages |
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My own personal fat little book. Distilling the essence of Barb in these pages. There were so many fires in our part of the state that an evacuation plan was devised. This was different from the hurricane evac plan we had down in South Florida. In this plan you really knew that there wouldn't be much to come home to. With a hurricane you'd always have hope that damage would be limited. But a fire? A fire on land surrounded by trees? Well, you need to get things in order and have it ready to go.
That's when I realized all the different places that I keep current and important information. My favorite sayings. The love poems written to me.
So I created this little fat book to carry with me. My own handmade paper on the cover. A variety of paper in the 13 signatures (my personal lucky number). I used some aeronautical maps that Steve gives me when he has to replace old ones. I love the colors in these, and the waypoint names are lyrical sometimes. Some Mi-tientes pages because I love color. And some plain recycled paper from Annie Fain. I've added envelopes to hold stuff like a bunch of old poems. A picture of my Dad that has faded to a silhouette over the years. But I can still remember that hat and the corduroy jacket. The picture was taken somewhere in Europe in the late 70's.
I imagine carrying this same book when I'm 70, the pages with anecdotes from the life I've lived.
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| Barb's Books Cabinet |
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When we were getting a cabinet for the metal studio, Mike Bass just happened to make me a deal on this cabinet. Who am I to resist temptation like this? These are some of the books I've made.
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| Snake Lace Book - front cover |
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The Snake Lace Book Story.
I started decorating this paper some months ago, and couldn't stop. It's 130 lb. watercolor paper and can take the punishment. I'm thinking a lot about symbols, and what makes something symbolic. Who recognizes it? How much information do you have to give in order to make it recognizable. The symbols I'm interested in all come from the place that I live, and how I live. I'm very interested in what different cultures use as symbols. These all come from my culture: Middle American, Southern version.
The covers (recycled) are covered with the paper that was under the paper I was decorating to protect the table. They are some of the plans for the house that we finished building in 2009. Since we have multitudes of these, I started using them to protect the table. I might like them better than some of the paper I decorated on purpose.
So now I have all the used protecto papers hanging nearby and have started using them.
All the lace and sewing in this book still doesn't seem to make it girly-girl. The act of sewing in it is sensual in a way. Not like sex, but tactilely pleasing. It's different than sewing cloth entirely. As you go along a pattern is revealed. Maybe meaningless, maybe a symbol.
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| Snake Lace Book - circling the evidence |
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Continuing to think about how to make a symbol recognizable. What is hidden and what is revealed?
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| Snake Lace Book - a shadow of herself |
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Another bit of recycling! We had a lovely outing from Anni Fain's bookbinding workshop. We all shopped the local paper store, and downstairs at the secondhand store. Some of us were very successful! I found some old patterns, four for a $1.00 I think. It was a good day.
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| Snake Lace Book - Best Laid Plans |
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The back cover and stitching.
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| Steve's used aeronautical map book |
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Steve has to renew his charts every few months, so he gives the old ones to me. I've started making journals with them. This one uses coptic stitch. I added a bunch of stitching in it. I love sewing in books. There's a wonderful feel about the process. Here i have embroidered along the water feature in the map.
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| Egg Book |
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In this series of altered books I celebrate the lives of a few individuals in order to honor all living things. The eggs here are from lizard eggs that Steve and I were always finding around our Pompano Beach home.
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| Lizard Book |
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Sometimes a life is cut short. In this world, some species reproduce so quickly that many are born at once. The local surroundings may not be able to sustain so many individuals. Some are more lucky than others. Who thinks about the individual lives of ants. Are we any different? Our lives seem so important to us, but to the greater whole, not so much.
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| Lizard Book close up |
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How amazing the tiny feet are.
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| Moth Book |
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An insignificant moth? Or did it's wings flapping affect the weather?
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| Red Book with completed stitching |
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| Red Book journaling |
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Here's the Red Book journal completed. The project pictures follow. This is coptic stitch, learned in September from Annie Fain Liden.
The completed journal invited me to begin immediately. Even using black sharpie the words are sometimes hard to decipher, following one of my favorite themes "What is hidden, what is revealed". This journal sits on a table in a sitting area on the south east (or so) corner of the upstairs porch.
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| The Beginning: Brown recycle paper, previously used as wrapping paper |
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| Stencils and paper |
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We still have some wrapping paper from the move a year ago. It teases me, my fondest wish is not to have to move again. It is so lovely, the brown surface cries out to be painted. I succumb.
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| The painted pages |
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| Covers, Acrylic Sunflowers |
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The brown paper that I used was in a long perforated sheet. A $1 book from the local Books-A-Million contributed its covers. The size of the sheets torn was based on the size of the covers. Tearing the sheets was a minor pleasure in itself, the paper texture was so interesting. It's recycled paper, but there's no telling what percentage. Cranberry and Terra Cotta seemed like lovely fall colors to use, and they look really nice with the brown. The paper absorbed the watered down acrylic colors with ease. The paint was sprayed on, and various things used as stencils. Of course, lots of lace was used! And leaves, referencing the whole fall thing going on.
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| Inside back cover |
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| Punching holes using the book cradle |
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The covers are torn from an old acrylic on paper painting that was pretty ugly. It was worth rescuing the two sunflowers though. And they make really nice covers, yes?
Mike Bass made the wooden book cradle. I love it! Previously I had a cardboard one, but it feel apart some time before the class with Annie Fain. So when she let us use her personal wooden one, we all wanted one! Lucky for me, Mike wasn't too busy to make one for me. Thanks!
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Annie Fain taught us how to do a coptic stitch using two needles per two holes. I'm using a rust colored 4 ply waxed linen thread.
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