Books on My Mind

It was bound to happen. I have always love books. I work in a library.

And now I have been bitten by the bookbinding bug. Re-reading Gwen Diehn’s The Decorated Journal recently, with Dorothy Simpson Krause’s Book + Art always at hand, referencing Alisa Golden’s creative series, I am now leafing through Jeannie Stein’s Re-Bound.

Waiting for some ordered supplies--Irish linen thread, sewing needles, an awl, two book kits from two different vendors, 5 different kinds of paper--I’ve been thinking and sketching and researching what kind of books to make. Any and all ideas for book structure, book themes, book combinations, and book closures get jotted down. I even made a signature-punching cradle out of some chip board.

So, it’s possible I have book fever, don’t you think?!

Do I blame it on incessant heat and drought this summer? Sure is a good excuse to stay inside on weekends, drool over wonderful blogs featuring bookbinding, and join Yahoo groups that discuss book arts. Am I taking a break from painting? Or perhaps waiting to splash into tomes where I decide the paper choice? And dreaming how much fun it will be to play, paint, sketch, write, or collage in those books?

Waiting for supplies and time to devote to bookbinding, I have altered a photography book of Ireland using only two methods: cutting and collage. With several sharp tools and a glue stick, I have changed the shape of pages, introduced new elements, as well as collaged over them entirely. Materials are culled from Celtic and Irish art books, calendars, and magazines. A lot can be learned about book structure by removing pages and adding thicker elements.