COMING IN FROM THE COLD - Binding Exhibitions in 2013, 2014, and 2017

Since leaving the city in 2014, I have made a concerted effort to complete and send bindings to exhibitions for display and just for me.

Afterall, I never became a bookbinder because I enjoyed making case-bindings and boxes.



Opposite at the top is a binding of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which won First prize in the Argentinian International binding competition in 2014 (EARA 2014).

Before leaving New York in 2013 I was very pleased to be invited to send a binding for the Designer Bookbinders anglo-american exhibit, which toured the UK and the USA.

The next 2 shots feature this binding, "Lens of Crystal", dyed goatskin , with monoprinted endpapers.

This year I was very gratified that my binding will be featured in the up-coming designer bookbinders international competition.


The theme of the exhibit is "myths and heroes",
so having sourced a beautifully printed copy of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" printed by Shanty Bay Press, binding was completed in september of last year.

The last 2 shots on the right show details of the front and inside, aswell as dyed skin, tooled onlays, and monoprinted doublures.


I will post more about it after opening night at the Bodleian library in Oxford, UK, July 17th this summer - fingers crossed!

Ive got a few more things in the pipeline, so will endeavour to document and post the progress of those.

Lens of Crystal

The first of many proper bookbindings, I hope, for 2014,

Ombre dyed Goat












Monoprinted ends with onlays

Frontispiece

Designer Bookbinders of America

are you american ??
do you like design binding ??
I am starting a group that in the short term will work towards gathering the work from the most skilled design bookbinders working in america, obtaining a venue and having a show.There is wide and growing support for design bookbinding in America, and many feel that talented book artists do not have enough venues to display and hopefully sell their work.
This in turn leads to a vacuum, a vacuum in which talent is not encouraged or fostered, to the same level as in many other communities.
The long term goal i will not too ostentatiously postulate would be to fill this vacuum with talented binders, regular mentorring and teaching programs, regular exhibits
right now i will settle for coralling a group of agreeable binders together for a show in a great venue, somewhere on the east coast.
I hope that the many of you out there who have voiced concern on these issues and more can get behind this effort and lend us your much needed skills , ideas , and advice.

You can show this support by visiting our new FB page and simply liking us...



http://www.facebook.com/pages/Designer-Bookbinders-of-America/210386405666288

I hope all of us in the bookbinding community can get behind this effort, as it serves us all
g

Craftsmanship on Govenor's Island

It was a great event, the show will remain open to the public on the weekends through June.
I've included a link to the site , and the pictures came courtesy of Mindy Belhoff at Intima Press


http://artofcraftsmanship.com/artisan_dovey.php

Wrenching Times - finished

My first design binding since 2004, and my first one that is match ready!

Binding in black goatskin, unsupported french link with secondary sewing.
Inays of dyed goat, printed with half-tone images taken from the library of congress depicting iconic images from the american civil war.
Tooled lines in black across the exterior and interior of the book in the form of crucifixes.
Hand dyed and printed ends and doublures, again depicting intimate portraits of the the true, sometimes overlooked and personal cost of conflict.

The book is part of a larger exhibition on Governor's Island , in conjunction with LVMH and sponsored by the New York Times, and will be open to the public during the month of June.


Details to follow......

Wrenching Times ...flattening vellum

...so I'm not sure if it'll work, so the back up is to use a dyed fair goat...but the plan is to flatten old vellum sheets, print on them with a third plate which will be a famous image from the aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg.
The vellum is bathed in a solution mixed with alcohol to kill off all mold and nastiness.It then can be rinsed, dried, then dyed to suitable colour.
On the vellum skins, usually the side with the writing on is what would be called the "hair side" and the side most suitable for colouring.
I happened to have a hollow frame handy, and nailed the skin tight over the frame.I'm betting that it may take a week to dry.
I did also make a smaller, more finished frame, which consisted of a system of bull dog clips tied to nails.
This worked well and would be a good method for important smaller documents where more care would be needed, but in this i didnt need to be too precious.
Forwarding continues.....

Wrenching Times (design binding part 1)

....my first real design binding in a while, and some real meat to sink my teeth into.





 "Wrenching Times"- a selection of Walt Whitman's civil war poetry from "drum taps".
Printed by Gwas Gregynog Press, in 1991 - 20 years ago !! - and masterfully illustrated with wood engravings by Gaylord Shanilec.









5 years of a steady diet of ken burns, david mcullough , et al...I'm ready to give it a go.





First, the ends, constructed in a variation on no.13 of Arthur Johnson's Thames and hudson manual.

The idea was to capture something of the essence of the book, and thereby set the design off on the right footing, giving the binding a heart around which the rest of the body is built.





I came across a photo archive in the library of congress available for viewing and reuse by the general public, and then found some very famous images from the civil war taken by pioneering photographers Thomas Roche, and Matthew Brady.(definately a usefull tool for the future- thanks dimmy)






The images selected, have been then printed on zerkal, from half-tone polymer plates, that have been cut-up prior to printing.
Then Monoprinted with wood veneer strips, and finally coloured with acrylics.
The idea with colouring was to obscure the edges and surrounding areas, and create a kind of pocket of light around the main image.  My thanks are extended to my new buddy, Mindy Beloff at Intima Press who helped me get the plates made, and for letting me use the studio to print. Mindy is a very knowledgeable letterpress printer and book artist, and she runs pretty cool classes out of her studio at Union Square. I have included her link in our friends of Paper Dragon Books on the right side.
Tone is set, the forwarding can continue.............