Category: Art

Bookarts, Photography

Tacket Binding

Shelly

I did my first tacket binding today. I was inspired to give it a try by Dennis at Cai Lun. He gives a simple, straightforward explanation of how to do the basic stitch and cord packing. It was more time consuming than the Coptic binding I usually do, because I couldn’t just slap together bare board covers. The cord packing takes more time than a simple chain stitch, too, but it’s not at all difficult.

This is a super sturdy binding. It’s stiffer than a Coptic bound book, because there is almost no wiggle room. It opens flat, though, which is an absolute must for me. I really like the end product.

Since this was my first go at this type of binding, I made a few mistakes. Next time, I’ll mark the stitch lines on the outside of the spine with masking tape, to keep them even. I marked the inside, and tried my best to keep the stitches straight, but they’re a little ragged. I’ll also start further in from the cover. My outer two signatures are sewn too close to the edge, so the book wants to fan open. That will change, I think, as it settles and the denim spine relaxes a bit.

I think it would also be best sewn with thread, not twine. Hemp is super strong, and I love it, but I think the unevenness of it makes it a poor choice for packed cords.

100_4471

100_4479

100_4474
Denim Book
tacket bound with hemp cords, denim cover, and star map end papers
8 x 5 3/4 inches
7 signatures of two sheets (28 pages) of 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper

Art

Notebookism

Shelly

Have y’all checked out Notebookism.com or the Notebookism group on Flickr? If you haven’t, you should. Both are daily stops for me. And today, I’m the featured artist on the Notebookism blog. Aieee! Thank you, Armand!

So go have a look, and if you have any interest at all in notebooks, journaling, sketchbooks, bookbinding, etc., please make it one of your regular blog-stops. I promise you that it will be time well spent.

Art, Collage, Journals, Paintings

Asian Pear

Shelly

Asian Pear
Asian Pear (detail)

I like the way today’s pear turned out, which is good, because yesterday’s was a bit of a disaster. I reworked it a bit and rescanned it, but I’m still not happy. Sometimes sketches just don’t work out, and that’s okay.

Today’s drawing (painting?) was done by first applying a thin layer of acrylic matte medium to the paper with a credit card. Then, I used Neocolors II watersoluble crayons, working in layers, wetting them with a Q-tip, blending with my fingers, then blotting with a paper towel. I’m usually a slow worker, but this sketch went very quickly.

The recipe is one I’ve actually had, though I’ve not made it. It is delicious.

Art, Collage, Drawings, Journals

Blue d’Anjou

Shelly

D'Anjou Pear
d’Anjou Pear (detail)

This one didn’t scan very well. I may try to get a photo of it tomorrow, to see if that works better. I didn’t do a very good job of spacing the stamps, but that’s how it goes sometimes. If were smart, I’d’ve done the checkerboard first, then centered the text stamps in the spaces. Alas, I am not smart.

About half the pears are finished drying, and the other half is about half dry. I picked up ten new pears at the grocery store: d’Anjou, Bosc, Bartlett, Red, and Asian. I also bought cranberry muffins, but we won’t talk about them. Ahem.

I timed my store run perfectly, because as I was driving down 3rd street, I got to watch the most spectacular sunset. The grocery store was kind of crowded, so there were lots of people milling around in the parking lot, and not a single person even noticed the beautiful sky. Look up, people!!!

[Edit: I reworked this one a little rescanned it. My scanner just does not want to cooperate with blues, so it’s still a crappy image. Better, but still crappy.]

Art, Journals, Paintings, Photography

Bosc Pear

Shelly

Bosc Pear
Bosc Pear (detail)

I started this one by covering the whole page with acrylic matte medium. Then I used brown and yellow ochre watersoluble crayons, blending them with a wet paper towel, then blotting with a piece of dry paper towel..

The photo is the back from a Polaroid I’d separated, then covered with the plastic half from another Polaroid that I’d wiped clean of everything but the brownish border. I like the way the ghostly pears peak out through the still slightly cloudy plastic.

Art, Collage, Journals, Paintings

Red Pear

Shelly

Red Pear
Red Pear (detail)

I used a very similar technique as I did on yesterday’s pear. The main difference was that I buffed some of the layers of glaze, instead of just blotting them. I also wet some of the layers a bit and lifted them off, when the color got too opaque. It’s kind of tricky, timing-wise, when working with acrylic, but not impossible if you’re careful and you don’t let the paint try completely.

Reds and yellows are hard for me to work with, because I always feel like I’m mixing ketchup and mustard. Strangely enough, the thought of ketchup, mustard, and pears just isn’t as appealing as one might think.

Art, Collage, Journals, Paintings

Bartlett Pear

Shelly

Bartlett Pear
Bartlett Pear (detail)

I like the way this one turned out. I’ve never really worked like this before. What I did was start with a layer of acrylic matte medium, then worked a little bit of acrylic paint into it, then blotted it with a baby wipe. I let that dry, then started again with another layer of medium, etc. As the layers built up, they started to look sort of watercolor-y.

The process was interesting, in that it went quickly, but I was able to work methodically. I enjoyed the control I had in applying the paint, but also the almost complete lack of control in how the excess was removed.

Art, Collage, Drawings, Journals

d’Anjou Pear

Shelly

D'Anjou Pear
d’Anjou Pear (detail)

I used Faber-Castell Pitt pen (brush tip greys) to block out the values, then used Portfolio watersoluble crayons to add thin layers of color. I buffed away any excess crayon with a paper towel. This sort of sketch goes very quickly, if you do a good job of getting the initial lights and darks in the right places.

The lazy R was an accident. My alphabet stamps are square, so it’s easy to get them misaligned if you aren’t careful. I added the lazy 7 to match it, because I totally meant to do that.

The checkerboard pattern is another quick eraser stamp, and the recipe came from a fussy, fancy-schmancy cookbook that I will never get around to using.

Art, Collage, Drawings, Journals

Bosc Pear

Shelly

Bosc Pear
Bosc Pear (detail)

I like the way this one turned out, including the little stamp. It’s a little different from what I’m used to doing with watersoluble crayons, in that I used very little water (just the fading of the edges at the top). What I did was layer and blend the crayon with my fingers (I used Portfolios, which are ridiculously smushy), then wipe away as much as possible with a paper towel. That left pretty much just the stained paper.

The stamp was an afterthought, made with an eraser and an Xacto knife. I will never, ever be a printmaker, because I find the inverted backwardness of it frustrating, so eraser stamps are about as much as I can manage.