Making books and writing about them has continued to be a passion for me. I’ve applied for a Maker Faire booth to demonstrate bookbinding and quill cutting.
I’ve been engraving wooden blocks to create an alphabet that can be printed. I’ll be posting more pictures of projects in the coming days.
See ya soon!
I have been making a few changes in my work life and have decided to offer manufactured products with my design on my Biblioforge Etsy store. This was always my intention by having a book arts blog and Etsy store with the same name, and now I’ve managed to do it.
The store features my calligraphic designs that are made onto shirts, cups and other wearable items manufactured by a fulfillment house. I am designing and making a number of bookbindings – case bound as well as wooden board, leather bindings. Below is a coffee cup with a watercolor pencil alphabet. I like the loose, sketchy quality of the letters and the washed-edge forms created with water.
Having a fulfillment house make my designs, frees me to offer more things and make even more designs.
My bookbinding has been somewhat on hold, however last year I spent some time making a girdle book for a client. It was a great experience to make something for a client rather than just my own use. 
I will be writing about the girdle book structure soon as I’ll be teaching a class for the Hand Bookbinders of California in February.
Next week I’ll have a new shop space so that I can focus more on binding and calligraphic projects. I’ll be giving you a visual dosage of some of the things I’m doing.
Are you afflicted with kinesthetic connection? Do you still like to write or draw with a pen or brush on paper? Do you get an oxytocin hit from feeling the feedback of the paper through your mark-making tool?
We have help for you. The only cure is to get closer to that connection. Make Your Mark gives you the means of making your own writing, drawing, painting tools. In three hours you’ll learn to make a quill pen, a reed pen and a soda-can folded pen (modified ruling pen). You’ll also get the chance to play with these tools with different paper and media – ink, gouache or watercolor.
Once you know the ancient (anything older than last year is ancient, right?) ways of making your own tools, you’ll have the means to connect even more with your work.
MEDIEVAL POCKETBOOK – Sunday, May 30, 2015 10:00am – 5:00 pm
Before printing ruined everything, books were made entirely by hand. Parchment or paper for writing and illuminating the text, and wooden boards, leather and maybe some metal for the binding. This isn’t to say all technology is bad, but books don’t hold up like they used to. Now you can make one that will last long after you are gone.
Cheery thought, no?
Learning this earlier style of binding will set the beginner on the road of discovery and the advanced binder onto greater technical skill.
Mesquite wood boards, leather and nickel-silver metal patches. Measures 2.5″ x 4″ fits into back pocket easily.
Mesquite boards drilled and channelled ready for attachment
Boards laced onto text block
Boards hung onto textblock with leather sewing supports
This is a fast-paced class where you will work steadily throughout the day to make a complete book measuring about 2.5” x 4” with 96 pages. The textblock will be sewn on linen cord supports and laced into the covers in a traditional medieval type of binding.
Student’s bindings after one day class
Student work from class in Seaside, CA 2014
The craft techniques are simple enough that you will be able to make more books after you take this class. A tools and supplier’s list will be provided so that you can make more books on your own.
It is best if you have some hand skills.
Tools and materials are included in the fee, you don’t have to bring anything unless you have favorite bookbinding tools.
BiblioForge is presenting a workshop at NIMBY, located at 8410 Amelia St., Oakland, CA 94621.
NIMBY has a decade-long history in promoting the arts and crafts of the 21st Century. Its industrial space has common woodshop, machine shop and gallery space as well as offering studio space to fabricators, artists and builders.
MEDIEVAL POCKETBOOK
$125 materials included
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
@ NIMBY 8410 Amelia St., Oakland, CA
Sunday, May 30, 2015
This binding is a combination of late Coptic structure with a limp binding leather-covered sewing support cut through outer cover. The boards are sewn as the first and last signatures, then pasted together to make cartonnage boards. When the leather sewing support thongs are then laced through the boards, the book has bound itself to itself, making an ouroboros structure.
Ouroboros binding
Drawing done in July, 2014
Sewing frame with double cords
Cover leather with thongs
Cover Leather glued together
First stitching
Inside of cover with first stitching
Cover with both stitched attachments
Textblock on sewing frame with leather cover set before frame
Text block on sewing frame with leather cover
Sewing stations cut into spine
Sewing as it progresses on the frame
First and last signatures shown before making cartonnage for cover boards
Textblock sitting on cover leather
Determining placement of text block on cover leather.
Cover with sewing support slots cut
Lined textblock in press, awaiting black leather liner
Cover laid over spine of textblock to insure alignment with sewing supports
Spine leather laid on spine of textblock in press
Black leather liner in place, cover laid over for alignment
Template to insure alignment of black leather liner
Black leather liner/support caps in place and laced through
Sewing endbands
Textblock with sewing supports covered, leather cover ready to attach
Cover leather set in place over spine
Pasted up cover leather
Cover leather drawn over cartonnage boards
The Ouroboros process continues. Thongs pulled through to outside cover, ready for lacing.
Pasting up watercolor paper first and last signatures to make the first layer of the Ouroboros structure.
Thongs now laced through cover leather
Wrapping cover leather over cartonnage boards
Cutting endcaps for spine turn-in
Turning in at covers, leaving endcaps exposed
Trimmed cover leather for endcaps
Endcaps turned in, leather ready to turn in around boards
Thongs passing through cover prior to turn-ins
Spine support cover leather showing inside outter leather cover
Turning in leather over cartonnage boards
Cover leather turned-in
Cover over boards, ready for lacing through boards
Holes punched through boards ready for lacing
Thongs laced through cartonnage boards making the Ouroboros binding active
Cartonnage showing laced thongs prior to pasting up endpapers
Manipulating leather turn-ins and corner cuts
Paste-downs in place
Endpapers with textblock open
Back endpapers
New book splayed open to show covers and spine
MEDIEVAL POCKETBOOK – Sunday, March 1, 2015 10:00am – 5:00 pm
Before printing ruined everything, books were made entirely by hand. Parchment or paper for writing and illuminating the text, and wooden boards, leather and maybe some metal for the binding. This isn’t to say all technology is bad, but books don’t hold up like they used to. Now you can make one that will last long after you are gone.
Cheery thought, no?
Learning this earlier style of binding will set the beginner on the road of discovery and the advanced binder onto greater technical skill.
Mesquite wood boards, leather and nickel-silver metal patches. Measures 2.5″ x 4″ fits into back pocket easily.
Mesquite boards drilled and channelled ready for attachment
Boards laced onto text block
Boards hung onto textblock with leather sewing supports
This is a fast-paced class where you will work steadily throughout the day to make a complete book measuring about 2.5” x 4” with 96 pages. The textblock will be sewn on linen cord supports and laced into the covers in a traditional medieval type of binding.
Student’s bindings after one day class
Student work from class in Seaside, CA 2014
The craft techniques are simple enough that you will be able to make more books after you take this class. A tools and supplier’s list will be provided so that you can make more books on your own.
It is best if you have some hand skills.
Tools and materials are included in the fee, you don’t have to bring anything unless you have favorite bookbinding tools.
BiblioForge is presenting a workshop at NIMBY, located at 8410 Amelia St., Oakland, CA 94621.
NIMBY has a decade-long history in promoting the arts and crafts of the 21st Century. Its industrial space has common woodshop, machine shop and gallery space as well as offering studio space to fabricators, artists and builders.
MEDIEVAL POCKETBOOK
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
@ NIMBY 8410 Amelia St., Oakland, CA
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Letterpress printed 100+ year old type cut
I needed access to a letterpress machine – without buying one. The best deal in town is to take Contemporary Letterpress with Grendl Löfkvist at City College of San Francisco, so I did that.
Post Card type cut from early 1900s
It was supposed to be meant for people wanting to learn how to translate a design into a photopolymer plate, but I kinda didn’t get the message – and printed woodblocks (see last post) and some 100+ year old type cuts that I’ve had for a while.
I wanted to make postcards that evoked the past, but would be affordable (and useable) today. I chose Fabriano Mediovalis as paper for those that like to use a fountain pen to write with.
Vintage type cut used to make contemporary post card.
I put them up on my BiblioForge Etsy store if you’d like a set. They’re $12.00 for five.
This isn’t earth shattering design, just a bit of fun, so have some!
Last year, I managed to teach a few classes but spent most of the year in a migraine fog; seven months without relief. But near the end of last year, I found a bodywork treatment that has relieved the pain. I didn’t get much done – and no blogging in a year!
Now that I feel better, I’ll be posting again. 😉
While I wasn’t able to do much work last year, I did some and I’ll post up my efforts as I go along.
I have an Etsy store called BiblioForge (tricky branding, right?) and have posted a few calligraphic woodblock prints.
The e.e. cummings quote was cut a couple of years ago and this fall I printed it letterpress.
Woodblock printed letterpress
Be Of Love woodblock handprinted
The alphabet was fun – I used a ruling pen to write out the letters, then cut them in wood. Printing on a Vandercook letterpress is a nice experience and oil based ink is completely different than water based ink.
Freely written alphabet cut in wood and printed letterpress
I’m a printer!
These two prints are available at BiblioForge on Etsy. The new year promises to be productive in terms of making and researching books!
I’ll be teaching a class on making Girdle Books at SFCB beginning next Saturday, January 25, 2014. It’s a series of 5 Saturdays where students will fold paper, sew text blocks onto cords, then cut and shape quarter-sawn oak boards and lace them onto the text block. Covering in leather with a long “tail” that is tied into a turk’s head knot allows the reader to carry the book hanging from their belt – or girdle as it was called then. The students will shape the wood, drill it and lace on cords and after covering they will work metal for clasps.
The Hand Book Binders of California have asked me to speak about my work on Tuesday, February 4th at 7:00, if you plan to attend, get there a little early as I think I start near 7:00. I’m speaking at SFCB located at 375 Rhode Island St., San Francisco.
While I will be speaking out about girdle books – I promise to be unfettered in my comments. I may even talk about my own work and bring a few things I’ve made. This being my latest example of a medieval pocketbook. After the big send-up that my friend, Simran Thadani gave me at the Colophon Club last week, I’ve got to step my efforts to entertain! 😉 See you on the 4th!
,
i
I met Mark Donham in 2008, as part of an online motorcycle community called ADVrider.com. Mark lives outside of Portland and is a very accomplished rider and traveler. His wife, Chris suffered from early-onset Alzheimer’s and he quit his job to care for her in her final years. After that, he decided to take a ride around the world. The idea was to experience travel on a motorcycle after the challenge of caring for Chris. Mark documented his trip that is just wrapping up here.
Mark stayed with me on a couple of trips south and north when I lived in Penngrove at the Bank Ranch, and I stayed with him in Portland when I rode up to the Pacific Northwest in 2009. He chose to visit me on his way back to Portland after landing in LA and getting on his bike to ride home.
Mark going all analog on his social obligations
This morning Mark mentioned that he’d like to get some cards to send to friends that hosted him on his trip. Having just spent time in South Africa, he wanted to send thank you cards. I offered to make him a few custom ones, so we worked most of the afternoon on coming up with a few custom cards that he could send his hosts in South Africa, LA and along the way up the coast.
Original artwork for custom cards.
Mark is a very talented guy and has a good aesthetic sense, but isn’t skilled at creating visual art. So I wrote out a few versions of the simple message of Thank You and he reviewed them and then picked three.
On his trip, he would do this fun jump and set up his camera and do a self-portrait of his jumping for joy. Mark took one of those pictures, scaled it down and then used a filter on it to make it read well in black and white. He then scanned my artwork and came up with three different cards.
Thank You – variations on a theme
It was a great way to spend the day because we talked about his trip, his future, art and what’s important about life.
I’m glad I got to contribute to Mark’s trip by adding a calligraphic touch.
Mark, thanks for letting me spill a little ink on your trip!
BiblioForge 