Day: March 6, 2005

Art, Artist Books, Bookarts

Blue Journal

Shelly

Blue Book
Blue Journal, Front
140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper, Coptic bound with cotton thread
8 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches, 10 signatures of 2 sheets (40 pages)

Blue Book
Spine

Blue Book
Spine detail

This is the (mostly) finished book for the art journal round robin. It’s a color-themed RR and, as you can see, my journal will be focusing on shades of blue. I used more Cartiera Magnani paper (140lb hot press watercolor paper), which should allow everyone to work in pretty much any medium they choose. The soft denim cover will, I hope, hold up well in the mail. The sewn, open spine binding is flexible and ought to allow for some expansion.

Between folding and tearing the paper down to the right size and sewing the bindings on two books today, my fingertips are hamburger and my hands ache. But, I’m finished! I still have a couple of spreads of my own artwork to do before mailing it off, but the hard part is done.

Oh, and I’ve got tons of small pieces of paper left over to make some more silly little books with. I should be able to get a couple of 3 x 3 3/4 inch books and one 2 1/2 x 1 3/4 inch book out of it.

Art, Bookarts

Dial-A-Tale Journal

Shelly

Dial-A-Tale Book: Front Cover
Dial-A-Tale Journal
exposed spine binding
7 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches

Dial-A-Tale Book: Spine
Spine

I’m working on making a book for an art journal round robin. I knew I wanted to do another exposed spine binding, but hadn’t decided on exactly which types of stitches I wanted to use. I hadn’t done a multi-stitch binding and thought I’d give it a try. I did a test run on something a little less ambitious than the journal I’m making, though. For this I cut down a old kids’ board book and used some sketch-weight paper. It’s not the most elegant binding job, but I think I’ve got the basics down well enough to go ahead with the main course.

Art, Drawings

Vessels: 3 by 3

Shelly

3 by 3
Vessels: 3 by 3
Neocolor II on paper

This was a lesson in persistence. Every piece seems to go through an ugly duckling stage, but this one was all ugly duckling. It was difficult to stay motivated and to keep working on it. I ended up putting it down several times over the course of the last week. I’m glad I stuck with it, though. I’m not 100% happy with it, but it’ll do.

The background, which I really like, was colored with prussian blue and violet, which were blended with water and brush. The results were rough and mottled (and garish!) and not at all what I was after. I then went over everything with a layer of sanguine, blending it gently with a baby wipe. That knocked down the brightness and evened out the color. Another layer of sanguine and more baby wipes. Then I put in a few shadows for contrast, using raw umber and more Prussian blue.

This piece, too, is destined for the Vessels book.