Names Have Not Been Changed

Our first year at UArts included a project that spanned the fall and spring semesters, from Studio and Text in the fall to Bookbinding with Hedi Kyle in the spring. Each of us had to assemble a signature of writings (the layout of which we also designed), print a copy for everyone in the class, and provide our own distinct end sheets for our signature. In the spring we bound the book as part of Hedi's class, each of us choosing our own materials. We entitled the book Names Have Not Been Changed, and it turned out to be a wonderful collection of each of our voices.

the Secret Belgian Binding

This past Saturday I assisted a workshop through the Philadelphia Center for the Book on the Secret Belgian Binding, taught by Lucia Farias. Although I had seen multiple examples of this binding previously, I had never before had the opportunity to learn the structure. It was wonderful to get to assist on the workshop and learn from Lucia.

The workshop took place in our bindery at UArts. 

Lucia demonstrating how to cover the boards.

Demonstrating the stitch which binds the covers to the spine.

Sewing the covers onto the sewn text block.

And here is the book that I produced on Saturday! The cover papers were paste papers made and supplied by Lucia. 

I really like this structure for its practical characteristics and possible commercial purposes, but I'm unsure how often it will fit into my artistic repertoire. Perhaps I will find it more useful after I experiment with more alternative materials. 

I made this at PBI!

While at the Paper and Book Intensive at Ox-bow this past May, I took a workshop on the spring-back account book taught by Larry Yerkes. It was one of the best binding workshops I've ever taken. It was timed perfectly within one week, so that we were all able to complete our books, and even the final touch, the blind tooling. If you ever get to take a class with Larry, jump at the chance! He really knows his stuff. 

Our class was full of really amazing people. PBI is just more wonderful than I could ever express. 

This was the first half-leather binding I've ever done (before all of my leather experience had been full-leather). They each provide their own challenges, but in some ways I might say that half-leather is more difficult; particularly in the case of the corners. I was able to try an English paring knife made by Jeff Peachey for the first time, lent to me by Julie Leonard as I was in such a rush when packing (immediately post-finals) that I had left my Swiss knife at home. Surprisingly I really loved using it! Larry also taught me a new method for rounding and backing the spine, which included leaving much more space at the spine to leave room for the rounding. You can see how exaggerated the round is on this book because of the extra space. 

For the blind tooling I used my bone folder and a steel dot tool made by Shanna Leino (I'll post about her class later on). 

This is an image of the index that Larry taught us to make. Barb Korbel from the Newberry had a hand in perfecting the process. I can't wait to label each of these index pages and use them to organize my thoughts! 

The fantastic thing about this particular structure is that despite the thickness and general largeness of this book, the spring-back spine allows the book to open absolutely flat, every time. I am ridiculously in love with it, and the way it pops open is quite the crowd-pleaser. This book has been calling my name, and wants to be filled with my thoughts. I can't wait to fill it to the brim with my thesis notes. 

after the sun burned her eyes she found her way.

This past semester I had the privilege to take a class with the amazing fiber artist Warren Seelig. This, my final piece, was selected by him to be included in the Summer Showcase, displayed in the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery at UArts.

As the show occurred during the two weeks I was at PBI, my wonderful friend Karen Hardy photographed the piece for me.

Approximately 3' x 2', made entirely of wire and abaca fiber.

from them or you or the stars and their voices, 2012.

approximately 4 3/4" x 5" x 1 1/4". handmade drop-spine box, with origami trays made of handmade kozo paper, hand-embroidered pig suede, crystal pendulum, and printed cards of kozo paper with text that reads: 

with a question there may be an echo 

what is seen may be an answer maybe a reply

glass cuts through air as the answer gives way

space answers yes or no sometimes only maybe

breath to shed light clarity to confusion

sometimes yes no maybe a path to discern the sway

from them or you or the stars and their voices

Bukchon Hanok Village

As you know, my classmates, a few of our faculty, and I recently took an educational trip to Seoul, South Korea. Thank you so much to those of you who helped us get there through your donations and support! I posted the vast majority of my photos from Seoul on Facebook, but there were a couple of special moments that I wanted to devote to blog entries.

One was a lovely afternoon in which a few of us explored the arts and crafts workshops in Bukchon Hanok Village, which was within walking distance of the guest house where we stayed. My friend Sarah Hulsey and I visited a dyeing workshop where they made their own dyes and dyed their own fabrics to then create beautiful scarves and other handmade pieces. I was really coveting some of their hand-dyed leathers, but I didn't want to blow all of my cash in one place!

The woman who was kind enough to show us around knew no English, so sadly most of the information we gathered is contained to these photos. And yes, that is a gigantic container of pure indigo!

Super Summer #4

I am incredibly embarrassed that I have failed to update my lovely blog since February. Please accept my apologies, dear readers! (all 13 of you...?) My semester is winding to a close and that means you can expect another epic string of updates in the coming month, when I finally have time to breathe and document everything I've made since January appropriately.

But, I wanted to share some good news as I cannot believe it is already almost upon me. This year I will be attending the Paper and Book Intensive for the first time! They awarded me a work-study scholarship and words cannot express my gratitude. Despite having lived in Chicago for 9 years, I never made it up to Ox-bow. On May 11th I will be flying from Philadelphia to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and catching a shuttle to the beautiful outdoors and the Ox-bow lagoon.

photo by Hedi Kyle

I will be taking three classes: 

Shanna Leino: Custom Bone and Steel Tools for Book Working
Steve Pittelkow: Paper Marbling: That’s a Moiré!
Larry Yerkes: The Spring­back Account Book

If you recall, Shanna Leino came to UArts this past fall and gave us a wonderful workshop on a leather binding on wooden boards. I am so excited to learn to make tools from her; she makes unbelievable ones! Other points of excitement are that I will get to see Barb Korbel and Giselle Simon from the Newberry Library again, two of the most fabulous ladies in book conservation. 

If the wonder of PBI weren't enough, I have also been awarded a paid book conservation internship at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, under the amazing Tara O'Brien. I will be there for 6 weeks this summer, learning from Tara and working on the Bank of America collection, which includes some of our country's first documents. (!!!)

Oh yeah, and our program is also making a trip to Seoul, Korea for two weeks. Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our fundraising campaign and helped make this happen for us. Sometimes I still forget and can't believe we're going, because it seems so far removed from the realm of possibility. 

The long trend of super summers continues!