LAW 72: Another new handmade book

Over the last week i finally finished another of the handmade paper books. This one is the largest so far, measuring 6 x 9 x 3", substantially larger than the first two; they measure in the 4 x 5 x 2" range. For this one i used full size sheets of paper for my signatures. The first two utilized half sheets. so as you can imagine this last project ate up a huge chunk of my remaining paper. I actually only have enough half sheets left for one more book. I will have to wait for warmer weather to start making paper again.

Newest book, Emergent

Living in a 'tiny houseboat' very definitely limits what i can do in my studio. Making paper is one of those things that just doesn't happen onboard. It's wet, it's messy, it takes up way too much space; so i will spend part of my studio time during the warm months building up a stock of hand made paper for book making here on board during the long cold gray months of winter. Luckily there is a lot of space 'on the hard' here. Fellow slip mates find the process interesting to watch; although i inevitably get the, 'why make your own paper? it's so cheap to buy!' Well, hey, i say, i really, really like making stuff.

Front detail of Emergent, this was a funky piece of costume jewelry that fell apart

These three books are made completely of recycled materials. The only thing i buy new for them is the binding material. For the first two books of this series i used 1/8" ribbon. I have always like used ribbon as a binding material, but the flat stuff can be a real pain in the you know what to work with, as it twists and mostly refuses to lie flat. Coaxing it into flat submission takes time, and raises the frustration level in an unfortunate fashion. Sigh! For the larger book i felt that the 1/8" ribbon did not look heavy enough to support the binding.  I decided to use 1.5 mm rat tail. Since it is round i would not have the issue of 'twisting' that occurs with the flat ribbon. Alas. Of course the 1.5 mm rat tail was to fat to fit any of the binding needles i was using. This of course necessitated yet another trip to the store to get a larger eyed blunt needle with then had to be forced into the appropriate curve. Good thing that Mungo is a blacksmith.

Binding view of Emergent, see how pretty the rat tail is?

Those of you who are experienced book makers will completely understand the frustration i experienced when i tore two signatures as i was binding them. It is all to easy to apply to much force as you are binding; even when using commercially produced paper. Triple that, or more, when using paper you made yourself. It after all is a limited, precious commodity. Since this paper was composed of recycled, mostly junk mail and packaging, it was very soft to start with. I had saved back enough full sized sheets to make two new signatures. So i prepped them, and bound them into the book, went ahead and attached the back cover. Sigh. They just didn't look right. Not quite the right size. So, i reluctantly unbound the book and took them out. Double sigh! Re-attached the back cover and although the book is not a 'fat' as i planned, i think that it is still a beautiful object.

Looking into the book

So hand made paper, and papier mache covers, with a beautiful antiqued painted patina. All the objects in the cutouts come from jewelry of mine that fell apart at some point in its life. Yes, i do indeed save just about everything, After all, you never know when you will be able to use it.

All hand made, all recycled materials

Oh ya, all of these books and more are available for sale. Just check with me about pricing. I also will consider commissions.

Keep making art, stay warm.

More later,
Morgainne