Focus on Book Arts

I attended the wonderful Focus on Book Arts conference held near Portland, Oregon in 2005. It's held during odd-numbered years - this year June 20th to 25th.

I made four books in four days! Jana Pullman taught the Nag Hammadi book - click here:

https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/11/nag-hammadi-bookbinding.html

And the 16th Century Limp Paper Binding book - click here:

https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/07/16th-century-binding.html

Doris Arndt taught The Artistic Exploration Journal - I absolutely loved this and made several more of these too.

We cut into the cover board - dragon fly on mine - before gluing the Black Pearl paper (crumpled after we rubbed on colors). We also worked on a few journal pages.

Doris Arndt also taught The Woven Metal Book. Had to be very careful working with metal pieces. Drafting tape was used on the back to hold the metal pieces together.

We folded pockets to hold pretty book marks we made. The Woven Metal Book was a challenge - this is the only one I ever made! Plus, we wrapped the ribbon around skewers we colored with ink.

Jana Pullman is teaching at FOBA this June. Click here: 

http://focusonbookarts.org/Leather-Drop-Spine-Box-with-Rounded-Spine

I also sewed the style of the Exploration Journal when I entered & was a finalist for the Southern Methodist University book competition in 2006 for. Click here:

http://www.smu.edu/Bridwell/SpecialCollectionsandArchives/Exhibitions/DeGolyerPastExhibitions/2006/Taylor

My husband, Kevin Taylor, collaborated with me for the SMU competition. He had taken a two day Marbling class taught at FOBA by Galen Berry & he made this lovely marbled paper I used for end sheets.

At the Focus on Book Arts we did so much each day. It was truly a memorably experience & I recommend going if you have the time, money and desire to learn. Have you taken any interesting classes?

©Anne Rita Taylor 2017

Nag Hammadi Bookbinding

Leather books were found in the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945 with Coptic writing from the 4th Century, one containing the Gospel of St. Thomas; housed in the Coptic Museum in Cairo.

From The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding by J.A. Szirmai

In a Nag Hammadi Bookbinding workshop I learned how to make the book from Jana Pullman at the Focus on Book Arts in Oregon. We created a replica using tooling techniques on the leather cover. Jana referenced this book: The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding by J.A. Szirmai.

I cut the outline from a piece of leather, and wet it to emboss the design with a butterfly leather stamp from Tandy Leather. 

I used my Japanese Book Drill for the turquoise mat board to show through the design.

In the class we glued several papyrus sheets to make the cover boards. At home mat board worked - covered with bookcloth - adhered to the back of the leather.

The outer side glued first, then the top and bottom tabs. I was going to cover them with end sheet fabric - decided to leave it open. 

 

Next I used my new sewing cradle bought from Missy Bosch last week. I love it! 



Missy sells them on Etsy here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/267511021/bookbinding-sewing-cradle-collapsible?ref=shop_home_active_1

Lastly, I hole punched and sewed the tie plus sewed the text block to the spine with tacket binding making the text block refillable. I am pleased with how it came out too! 

Making the Nag Hammadi did not take me as long as I thought it would. The most time-consuming part was embossing the wet leather. I made additional books with red leather and blue leather covers - for sale on my Etsy site: www.ARTbooks.Etsy.com

Please let me know if you tried any type of historic bookbinding. Makes me feel connected to the 4th century!

16th Century Binding

©Anne Rita Taylor 2016

Focus on Book Arts is a conference held near Portland, Oregon offering several days of workshops on bookbinding, calligraphy, paper making, media backgrounds and more. 

Held in odd-numbered years, I attended a few years ago and learned how to make this 16th Century Limp Paper Binding. 

Taught by Jana Pullman, who is an award winning fine book artist. Here is her website, Western Slope Bindery. She has a fabulous blog with several DIY: About the Binding.

I left the insides open so I would remember all that we did in one day!

The Limp Binding was commonly used for prayer books and text books in the 16th century.  We sewed blank books in the workshop. Endpapers can be glued over the front and back sewed thongs. 

This type of binding has been called “simple” but with all the leather pieces going through the covers I find it more on the intermediate side of bookbinding.

We sewed the text block on double tawed goat leather thongs. This type of sewing begins by going out of the sewing station between the pair of thongs.

When I made one at home I made a packed straight sewing on a single cow leather cord.

I learned how to sew a headband onto leather tongs similar to the sewing supports. I had glued ready-made headbands to the top of books before and this procedure was a revelation!

In the workshop we used handmade paper for the covers; at home I used a thick paper from India I found at Paper Source.

I was happy to learn the Limp Binding and am amazed I learned so much in one day!