LAW 55: Yet another book that could be yours

I finished another of my hand made paper books yesterday! I think that i have found a really good solution for satisfying my desire to work with papier mache, making three dimensional objects, yet staying within the size parameters that are the reality of making art in a small space. Those of you who have followed my career as a sculptor know that i am most intrigued by what i can make paper do. So here it is the Dragon Book.

Front view of Dragon Book

   This little sweetheart of a book measures 6 x 4.75 x 2.5". I made the paper, which consist of 100% post consumer recycled product. I constructed the covers of board covered with brown paper papier mache. The front cover is twice as thick as the back to accommodate the inset niche. The covers are treated with an acrylic painted patina, the pigment range is red-brown, green and gold. The covers are then burnished with a beautiful local beeswax. The niche contains a 1970's vintage reproduction brass pin head. The paper has been pressed and finished to take dry media applications. The binding is black ribbon Coptic Stitch. This little pretty could be yours for only $150.

Pretty isn't she?

I worked as a gift buyer for the University of Wisconsin Bookstore for years. One of the companies i did a lot of business with was the 1928 Jewelry Company. They had a lovely line of brass stick pins, that were not surprisingly, from the 1920s. I sold a lot of them during the mid 70's and collected a fair number of them myself. All of the decorative elements eventually came off the stick pins, which was alright as sticks pins were no longer fashionable by that time, i however could not bear to part with them. I knew that i could re-purpose them. So, 40 some years later i finally found their second purpose and have brought to life again in these handmade books. She's a pretty little dragon don't you think?

Bind view

The Coptic Stitch, also known as the Saddle Stitch provides superior binding.This is the traditional stitch used for binding books, with sufficient stitching stations it provides good stability and structure to the book block, while allowing the book to open completely flat. The paper is folded to the desired size them collated into signatures, pierced and bound. The Dragon Book has 10 signatures of 8 pages each for a total of 80 pages. The book has a lot of heft as i was experimenting with paper depth. This particular batch is very 'fat'.

I chose not to trim the deckle edge on this particular batch of paper.













Enjoy! Please take a look at all the other posts about my handmade books and feel free to contact me with any questions, requests, etc.


More later,
Morgainne