The Long Road Creating The Comfort Journal

 

In the hot and unbearable Summer of 2023, I thought of making a Comfort Journal using already painted papers and fabrics.

 

Instead of binding the book and then working in and on the pages, I left them loose and worked on each page spread at a time. This made for a lot of signatures of varying thicknesses. I had planned on using 6” x 6” canvas boards and using my usual sewn-over-tapes binding method. But as the pieces evolved, I thought of using a leather cover and doing a long stitch through the spine. So I cut a thick piece of leather and fused denim from an old pair of jeans inside. But the result felt too bulky and inflexible.

 

My next idea was to use upholstery leather and to leave it unlined. The color combination with the ---teal?—Irish linen thread looked beautiful but before adding a concho closure, it felt too floppy and unstable. Could I could save it by using a leather belt or strap to hold everything together? No, I didn’t like either the look or the feel.

 

So, back to my favorite binding method because the pages needed to be more rigid. Sewing the signatures together would also tighten and compress the spine. To keep the first and last pages as they were, I needed to add end papers [so I would not glue the first and last signatures to the covers]

 

Sewing up the signatures but before gluing the canvas boards, I realized I had forgotten the “tapes”! Would I have to cut away all the Irish linen thread, remove all 10 signatures, and re-sew the whole book again? Could I weave the canvas “tapes” up through the threads of outer spine? It took some doing--using a paint palette knife, jewelry pliers, and lots of patience--but I was able attach the tapes, finish the sewing, and then glue the covers on.

 

Two days of weighing it down, my book press consisting of two heavy volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary, I was happy to see the results. The book held together well.

 

The long and winding road to complete this book made me declare the book complete. But I may yet add a decorative cover of crochet around it, like a book dust jacket.

Fabric and Paper Journal

A newly bound journal!

Yet, I started it during the beginning of the pandemic and it has sat quietly. The original amount of signatures were very wide and unwieldy so I decided to break it into several journals.

I cut an old book cover into about 5" x 5" for the cover. The pages are a true mix: acrylic painted watercolor papers, tissue paper sandwiches with string inside, felt on cardstock, a nice thick brown piece of felted wool, painted foil, a piece of an old soft t-shirt, a paper cutting, canvas, handmade paper, painted fabrics. I did embroidery on the felt pieces and then glued it to thicker cardstock papers. The handmade paper was from a paper-making class years ago.

Using my favorite sewn-over-tapes binding, I wanted to try something new by adding a denim spine from my old jeans.

Really love how it turned out and how it feels!

Although a lot of the pages are "done" there are still many blank pages inside to play with.

More of the Celestial Journal

 

Celestial Journal

First spread

 

Last October, I made an 8” x 8” art journal to play with a cosmos theme using black Strathmore Mixed Media paper. This is thick paper (184 lbs.) so each signature has only two folios for a total of nine signatures. I began it the same month I made it and worked on the spreads slowly.

Outside of Journal

2nd spread

 

As a child witnessing humankind walking on the moon, I’ve long been fascinated with space travel, science-fiction, and astronomy. That interested has waxed and waned throughout my life but when I started to try photographing the moon with various cameras, my interested waxed again. Last December, my annual holiday card had a celestial theme also, using black cards, white paint, and a small round gel plate.

3rd spread

4th spread

5th spread

This paper is quite different than the usual watercolor paper I am used to. Experimenting with various paints, water soluble crayons, ink, collage, stamps, and stencils, I learned what I can and cannot do within the page spreads.

 

Fabric Journal Cover

 

Over the weekend, I was directly inspired by Mary Beth Shaw’s video about making a fabric covered art journal.

Using a large Strathmore hardcover watercolor journal already started and entitled “The Blues,” I went through my fabric stash. I have three kinds: textured fabric already pressed into paint, old clothing I’ve cut up and upcycled, and remnants from fabric stores. My finished cover has some of all.

Instead of using the adhesive Mary Beth did, I used Liquitex Fabric Medium I’ve had for ages. Some of the non-cotton fiber pieces with paint were a bit difficult to glue down but they did stay.

This is such a fun project and a great way to use up bits and pieces. Once it’s dry, the cover feels great. This technique could lend itself to all kinds of commercial and handmade journals, as well.