Paper selections and decisions

 As I continue along my merry way with preparing this small book; the next step was the cover selection. I had bought this beautiful grey Magnani paper recently (when I was culling all my other papers) because I had planned to use it here. When I discovered a scrap of other paper I had left over from putting together the paper sample book, I wondered if that might work better. The planned grey was cool; and 300gsm. 

The opportunistic grey was warm, and 250gsm. Here they are with the Magnani Map paper between them - warm at the top, and cool at the bottom. I cut mock up covers of both of them and came down on the side of the warm grey, mostly because it just folded and felt better.

And so I cut 50 covers...there will hopefully be two books, each in an edition of 21, with a couple of spares ready in case I muck things up along the way.

There are so many preparations to making a book in an edition like this, and whilst I had done this for the first book, I now needed to do a type count for the second book. Just to make sure once again, that I would have enough type, of the typeface I wanted to use, to print all the words I had to print.

This isn't an issue when you are using the computer. There you have a never ending supply of every letter. When using traditional letterpress techniques however, one really is limited to the number of the letters you have in your tray. So if a quote needs 10 lower case es for example, I need to know I have 10, not nine; otherwise I can't print the full quote.

It is a time-consuming and mind- numbing process, but again if you don't do it, then you get halfway through the printing and have to change direction in a hurry.

I don't mind random moments if that is part of the design of the thing; but when you are going for consistency and accuracy and exact reflections of the words of others, then I really need to know I can make all the words.

So here we are...counting each letter off.

And yet after such a large amount of eye-tiring, inside work, there are flowers...

Papers and ironing and orchids

 The good (great!) news through the week was that I  submitted my presentation for the Bind25 Conference in New Zealand. That felt like such a relief and such milestone.

The fact that it was there, always there, waiting for me to tweak it, add to it, delete elements of it, was the strangest of feelings for the past few weeks. But now it is done. Yay.

So I decided to turn my mind to a wee book I am thinking of making in an edition.  To start with I had to work out what papers did I think would be best; and then discover if I had enough of the paper to do what I wanted...

These are my lightest book papers - from my paper sampler book - and I was looking for the whitest, and the smoothest, and luckily for me they were the same paper. Magnani Map paper, 140gsm.

I then looked through my light papers drawer, with Japanese papers and other feather light papers and came across this great piece. We had a sunshiny day so I popped it outside to apricate - gather the sun's rays - and freshen it up a bit.

Which really drew attention to the creases! I need to cut around 50 small sheets out of this piece, so I knew I was going to need pretty much all of it. Next step - google "can you iron tissue paper?" and with my newly found knowledge that yes you can, if you protect it with other paper (which was common sense really, but I do like to check).

And so I did, portion by portion.

And this is the after shot. It worked really well and I realised that once I have cut the sheet down further, I will be able to iron the individual pages as well before using them in the book.

It is going to be a small book - about A7 when stitched, so kind of nice to hold; but will require lots and lots of cutting of papers.

And I thought it really was worth sharing my beautiful ironing board cover design! By Suzie Hope, handmade in Dubbo. I makes ironing a much nicer event.

Which is the perfect segue to some of Dad's orchids shining in the early morning sun...

Type books re-made

 Re-organising continues apace here and the paper inventory and the type inventory are both now complete.

I have documents in the computer and printed out of where things can be found; and I have re-made the books that acts as samples and guides. Very chuffed.

I hd noted a few papers I was missing samples of, so it was time to find them and cut them and pop them in the books.

And there they are, happily ensconced in the right place in the two copies of the book I made - one for B and one for me. The paper sample books are simply sequenced by paper weight, starting with 100gsm and ending with 300gsm samples.

And so it was time to move onto the type. We already had several type sample books, but given we have reduced our holdings significantly it was time to make sure the books reflected those we had.

I have made the type books in three ways; alphabetically; by size; and by style. I figure that these three approaches allow to find a typeface I want to use depending on what I need up front - does it have to be small? Am I looking for fancy? Am I wondering what size I have Colonna in?

Alphabetically we start with Announce Grotesque. I often think I should investigate what it is in the type world that grotesque refers to? In general terms it's not a word that describes something lovely; yet with type they aren't ugly typefaces so I am left wondering. One day I shall investigate.

And then by size - sometime you want to make a statement so you only want to look for large typeface sizes. Or sometimes you are printing a book and need to select only from your smallest type. So this makes that part easier.

And then I often items thinkI want to use a sans serif font or a fancy one for a statement of sorts and it's easy to go in this way.

Always satisfying to be able to find what you might want, amongst what you might have.

 

And here's a document that I leave on top of the drawers to grab and look at where I will actually find the the in the type cabinets.

And the prepping and brain space organising goes on as well... now we have pink post it notes too!

All of it alongside one of those sunsets you wouldn't believe was real if somebody painted it because of those rays of light...

And late afternoon sun on a port wine magnolia..

Teaching and Presenting

 I am excited to be presenting at a Conference in NZ in September - "Bind25". Hosted by ABCNZ it brings together fine binders and artists book makers and all associated variations in between.  Whilst they have prepared an extensive week-long program I will only be dashing over for a long weekend kind of thing...life.

I am presenting on my work and thinking about how to build narrative in artists' books. The presentation is coming along and taking shape as I ponder and meander and crystallise and clarify.

Before I head off I have also been offered the opportunity to run a workshop on Building Narrative - an opportunity for folk to take their artists' book making deeper; to think their way through story telling via the medium of artists' books and to take the reader on a full and satisfying journey.

Through the week I knuckled down and grabbed hold of a heap of artists' books from my collection to start finessing and updating the course.

I brought them home and spread them out.

And sorted through the opportunity moments in the workshop where participants will sit down together and discuss what different stories different styles of artists' book tell...

And I reached a point where I knew which books would work with which books, and in which groupings and why.

Sometimes I joke that there might be two things written on my gravestone:

1. She had neat handwriting; and 

2. She was organised.

The organised thing is always a bit amusing as I am the only person who ever really experiences my head space. My head is filled with thoughts that need connecting or jotting down; or which create new jumping off points for other ideas and... it can be quite the jumble. My sense has always been that my organisational side is just about trying to make sense of all this bubbling excitement!

And so as I kept having a multitude of thoughts and ideas about where to take the workshop and presentation next; I decided each thought could go on a sticky note and get stuck down. That way I wouldn't lose it, and I could watch them all come together.

It got pretty wild by the end of the morning!

Yet the sense of satisfaction as enormous. Despite how it might look here, I knew where to head next, and what needed doing. So good!

And then just to some lovely colourful, jewel-like details of an artwork we recently purchased from our friend Ken Munsie. These delightful moments make me smile each time I pass by, or glimpse over at it...

Paper, paper, everywhere...

 Life is full and fast at the moment, and I am feeling like I am constantly running to keep up; but never quite getting everything done that I need to get done. Sigh

But flowers help make everything better...

We are moving some things on from the studio space and are having a BIG garage sale on the weekend.  B has been busy moving paper from the studio to the office/studio at home and once here, it has been my job to sort it. 

Yesterday a friend and I spent a couple of hours cutting and tearing paper and this is the lovely pile we made.

And this is the box of paper I just ordered!  We need some of our favourite grey for book covers that we both have planned, and we only have two sheets left. It felt odd to be opening packets of new paper as I was trying to sort out which papers went where, and if in fact I could move some of them on!

There was paper all over the sewing room/studio space.

But some excellent new paper drawers to put it all in!

After two hours of sorting, B came home and found me like this!

There is method of sorts in my madness - there are piles for sale; scraps for sale, papers free to a good home and some good papers to sell in their packs. It really was one of those jobs best done by oneself - I had a vague plan and understanding of what differentiated this paper from that paper and why, and it all worked out OK in the end.

All I have to do now is do some labels for the new drawers - numbers and descriptors of what they hold -then that job is done. Phew.

And here is a lovely photo of eucalyptus leaves in the sunlight on our kitchen bench, which we have purloined to be the backdrop for some promotion of our Studio Garage Sale.

I made a book...

 It's not often I land where I have, which is I have made a book and I don't know what it is. I guess that reflects my time at the cottage a bit - I am less purposeful and more explorative; more open to trying a bit of this or that simply because I don't have a full set up or I have fewer commitments or goals to hit.

So I started painting marks with an acrylic ink onto some lovely kraft card squares I had brought with me. Payne's Grey and White.

Not knowing where I was going, I turned them over and kept going.

And then I cut them down and put them together and they were a BIG book - heavy and hard to handle, so B suggested maybe make two books. So I looked for some paper or card to make extra pages and found some beautiful Vintage Paper Company paper which I could use; as well as a test page where I had laid out all the stitching mark for my peg piece - as well as some test  stitching. 

I embossed some lines I had previously cut for my first book in my exchange The Shape of Things with Annwyn way back in 2022 into some black paper/card I had here, and then stitched them using some thread that a friend had passed along to me after her mother died. All together a compilation of things that I found along the way.

Here they each are standing - quite firm paper means they stand well!

And a selection of openings.

So my question is are they done? There is already so much in them it seems to me that it could be hard to add to them. I have pondered writing in tiny writing around some of the marks, between some of the marks and maybe begin to tell a bit of a story of sorts?

Is there any way the marks could guide me to a narrative or story? Could they support and enhance a storyline?

I have pondered are they just lovely things to look at?

Or are they book-like journals with pages begun and space for new ideas to be jotted down, sketched in? Something to be added to?

It's quite the confusement for me. I am usually far clearer in my intention before I begin; these wee ones evolved and became something, but I remain uncertain as to how best to use and appreciate them. 

Thoughts welcomed and gratefully received!

And in a weird sideline; as I was connecting my phone to transfer these photos across, I opened to this photo. 10 years ago I made these books with Susan Bowers, and I was struck by how similar they are to the shapes, tones and marks of the ones I have completed here. Very graphic in their sensibility. In these wee ones we deliberately left the pages unbound so the story could be told and re-told in whatever way one chose. My new ones are firmly bound.

Interesting.