Here I am with my recently handmade star books.Created in an open format, you can see how nicely these books fold into a star pattern, hence their name.
I am a calligrapher. I have years of training on writing many of the old alphabets out by hand. Since all older books were made by hand, before the printing press, it seemed a natural step for me to get into making books by hand also.Now it a separate art form known as book arts.
I chose maps as the covers for the front book. There are actually 3 pages in each fold. This gives it strength, and adds to the design element.Yet it folds up and becomes an ordinary looking book.
The book behind is called a star tunnel book. Like the other, it starts out as a basic concertina book. That term refers to the specific manner of folding one page so as to create many. Once again there are three pages, but on the inside layer, I have added pictures that fold out. Kind of a pop out style.I took small prints of tarot cards for my designs. Then comes the blue middle layer. I had to make a window for the tarot pictures to pop out of each fold, or page. The final, white page has an even bigger cut out, which creates a type of shadow effect.
All this looks easy, but I assure you, it is not. An exercise for the mind, as well as the hands. But what fun in the finished creations!
Despite a snowstorm, the class in pocket bookbinding went on as scheduled this past Saturday. Here is a picture of Sid and myself, working on one of the projects. I am the one on the left wearing my well worn studio apron, and layered for the winter weather!
This class was different from what I am used to teaching. It was an informal group of fellow bookbinders, all with some knowledge of this art form. As I often do when writing, I went to my dictionary to read their definitions of teaching. " To import knowledge by lessons; to give instruction in; communicate the knowledge of."
I think I like the last one the best.To communicate what I have figured out through study, practice, trial and error. There was often some of the latter experience. I wanted my presentation to be easy to follow, so everyone left with a finished project. One of my goals was to help them avoid making all the mistakes that took up my time and energy.
What I found was that everyone invents their own, original deviations. During my preparation, and there was a lot of it, my mistakes could upset me, discourage me, and take a lot of time to resolve. As the instructor, I was expected to have the answers, since this is something new to the others. So I put on my teacher apron; dug deep into my past experiences; and helped work through the dilemmas that came up for others. I must say, I was impressed at my cool under fire. Maybe that was part of my lesson, to know I could do it.
I guess it came down to figuring out how to translate whatever happened,the good and the not so great, into a new and better art form. Not to forget another lesson. It was fun!
Well, here is a picture of the pocket calendar book I will be teaching tomorrow. As I run around trying to get everything done in a timely manner,it realize I am looking at the pages of this month, this year, this lifetime, as they unfold.
In most parts of the world, it is the Gregorian calendar now in general use. It was first prescribed in 1592 by Pope Gregory XIII to correct the old Julian system to the astrological year. Of course we always have that little old leap year to make up for that extra day. Not in this year of 2013,however. Just 28 days in February.
I spend my time making things by hand. It is what I love to do. It can be frustrating as the glue sticks to me rather than the cloth; when I make a major error and have to start over. Yet it is the path I have chosen willingly.
This bookbinding skill is tied to my calligraphy. All books and writing were done by hand originally. Here, there is an actual formed pocket,into which you slide the removable calendar.It is made of the same book cloth that binds both sides of this little book together. Since a year will be over in 365 days, it is possible to slide in another calendar when this one is finished. Seems to me a metaphor of how life seems to slide from one year into the next.Do we make the most of those precious pages of time?
As I take the time to cut, measure, and glue,I hope I remember to be grateful for each of these tiny moments of knowledge and even growth as an artist I am experiencing. These are the pages of my life.
