Small Start - Book-making

I have offered to make a visitor's book for The Bach Community Tapestry Project. I decided I'd do a "test" book first so I wouldn't be disappointed in any thing that goes wrong - which seems to be all the time.

 First of all I applied a coat of gesso to an large sheet of paper. I used a credit card to do this
a once it dried I mixed up blue/green acrylic paints and once again used the credit card to apply it.

I pressed bubble wrap over the surface to create some texture.

I repeated the gesso/paint process with another sheet of paper.

again using the credit card in a criss-cross fashion which I found fun and freeing.

To make the cover I cut the card to fit my handmade paper when folded in half.

I used masking tape to join the pieces of card leaving a small gap of a couple of millimetres so they can fold to open and close.

It's important to leave sufficient space between the card pieces to create a hinge - otherwise you can't open and close the book!

I applied a thin coat of glue to the card and centred it onto my painted sheet of paper.

Then I glued and folded  in the four corners and finally the four sides making sure to smooth out any creases as I went. I left the covered book cover overnight under a stack of books.

The next day I attempted to fold the cover at the hinged spine..and sadly, the paper tore. 

So I came up with an idea, cover the spine (and torn paper) with some of my handmade paper.

I then repeated the above process for the The Bach Tapestry Visitors Book that I'm making so people who work on the tapestry can leave their details with a comment should they choose to.

This book will be a little different in that it'll have interscrew posts to hold the pages in place.

 More cover experimentation with gesso, acrylic paint and paper.

Green - my favourite colour!

 After slapping on the gesso I mixed some blue and red 

paint to make purple and applied that using a credit card. 

Then  I dabbed the wet paint with a rag.

  I just love the texture it created! 

I also experimented with applying acrylics to my handmade paper. I plan on making more books  - Art Journaling books, to be precise and use the painted papers for the journal cover. I would like to (in the future) experiment with print making or photo transfers on handmade paper but that's for another post!

I marked the holes for the signature stitching at 1 inch apart


Then I lined up and marked the stack of signatures and using a needle stitched the pages using the coptic stitch method.

It took me ages to do the coptic stitch. I seem to have so much problem understanding and comprehending instructions. My concentration is really bad at times so much so I get panicky!

I finally stitched to signatures together though but really looking forward to my block week book-binding course at TLC campus on the 18th to 22nd September where I'm hoping I'll get better understanding of the techniques and have the opportunity to focus on different ways in making books.

I'm not sure if this is correct but will adhere the front and back pages to the covers.

Once the glue had dried on the outer cover I glued a couple of A4 sheet of paper to the insides. 

 
Unfortunately the painted paper cracked upon bending so I had to improvise with duct tape to cover the cracks at the edge where the hinge bent back to open. I'm glad I didn't go any further with this as it it not The Bach "colours" (all logos are uniformly orange and purple) and I need to make the book to match. I hadn't thought of that when I painted the painted for my cover.

Needless to say, I had to make another.

Booking-making, Book-binding - 15 hours 

Art Journalling

I started back at the Art Journalling Workshop

Jane Cunningham runs at The Quarry Art Centre

on Monday's a few weeks ago but have found it's 

a bit much doing both that and the Printmaking 

workshop on Tuesday, especially if I've worked

 over the weekend at The Bach as well.

 The Prompt for the page above was MYSTERY

and Jane got us all ripping a page or two out of 

an old book (something I was taught NOT to do!)

and we discussed what the term Mystery (Life)

 meant for each one of us. For me it's like a mist

or a veil that makes seeing sometimes hard and 

a bit scary, but sometimes amazing, like an 

autumn morning when the mist is thick and 

though you know the roads there you can't see

 it and you've got to trust that it is.....

The pages I tore out of the book were about 

The Reformation and The Voyage of Discovery

which I thought was interesting given the nature

of life's journey and the events in mine of late.

The previous week's Prompt was Tree of Life

and very much tied in with Mystery for me

as nature and creation is a mysterious thing.

As always, I had a grand visual idea in my head 

but was disappointed by what came out of my

hands. I ended up resorting to using a credit

card to apply the background and my hands 

for the tree. My 'framing" of the page reminds

me of an avenue of trees and the way they 

embrace and encompass...Returning to work

on some text, I'm liking this page more for

what it represents, hence the words BELIEVE

and TRUST. I'm not sure if it's finished yet

but happy to wait upon more if that's to come. 

Art Journing: 10 hours

More credit-card painting - with quotes, and Concertina book-making

I'm really happy with this.... 

love the colour, stamping and quote

   Meaning of the Color Green

Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye and is second only to blue as a favorite color. Green is the pervasive color in the natural world that is an ideal backdrop in interior design because we are so used to seeing it everywhere.

The natural greens, from forest to lime, are seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a natural balance of cool and warm (blue and yellow) undertones. Green is considered the color of peace and ecology.
How the color green affects us physically and mentally

* Soothing

* Relaxing mentally as well as physically

* Helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety

* Offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony

*******************************

...here's a glimpse of the page I'm working on

Before Christmas 2012, one of my
home-schooling sewing students and I
had a go at doing paper-marbling...
It was so much fun and quite addictive!

 

 

We half-filled a roasting pan with water
and mixed pea-sized splotches of paint in a cup
with 4 tsp of turps and mixed with a toothpick.
The paint/turps was then drizzled over the
water and swirled around with a chopstick
A sheet of paper was then gently placed on
the water's surface and with baited excitement.
 we carefully lifted it to reveal wiggly, marbly
swirls. We repeated this over and again
with different coloured paint and blending
them together to create some awesome patterns.

This afternoon, we used some of our sheets of
marbled-paper and made a Concertina Book.
One sheet was cut in half to cover two pieces
of card (4" X 5.5") While the covers dried
I cut two sheets of our paper length-wise.
These were glued together to make two
long lengths for our concertina pages and
 then the fun part...stitching along the edge
of the paper. We found the need to "fix"
the paper as the paint was coming off as
we worked with it. Melanie thought it was
so funny using hairspray to do this
but liked that it made the paper smell nice
*smiles*

inside

 We used a different sheet of marbled paper
for the other side of the concertina page.

The Front

...and back
Here's Melanie's with her booklet

 

 

Didn't she do well!
What a privilege it is to encourage
and inspire creativity in others!

TIME: 3.5 hours making the booklet 
and marbled-paper (in Nov 2012?)
1 hour - hand-writing quote
1 hour uploading photos to blog

Total = 5.5 hours (4/5 Feb 2013)

More credit card painting/Art Journalling... "Warm Ups"

 I finished this page off this morning.

I fancied a little doodling around the edge.

I used to doodle a lot when I was in my early

teens...my desire is to recapture that ability

The words are to inspire me to 

KEEP GOING and not give up!

..a close up of the stamping and background

I like how the wording is diffused and subtle

but still there. Kind of like the thoughts in my head!

I like the yellows and reds for this and did an online 

 search about colour meanings and their psychology
Here's what I found....

Meaning of the Colour Yellow

 

Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colours and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts.

How the colour yellow affects us mentally and physically
* Mentally stimulating
* Stimulates the nervous system
* Activates memory
* Encourages communication

Meaning of the Colour Orange

 

Orange, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue. There is usually strong positive or negative association to orange and true orange generally elicits a stronger "love it" or "hate it" response than other colours. Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy. Interestingly, some of the tones of orange such as terracotta, peach or rust have very broad appeal.
 
How the colour orange affects us mentally and physically
* Stimulates activity
* Stimulates appetite
* Encourages socialization

 

Meaning of the Colour Red

 

Red has more personal associations than any other colour. Recognized as a stimulant red is inherently exciting and the amount of red is directly related to the level of energy perceived. Red draws attention and a keen use of red as an accent can immediately focus attention on a particular element.

How the colour red affects us mentally and physically
* Increases enthusiasm
* Stimulates energy
* Encourages action and confidence
* A sense of protection from fears and anxiety

*******

Isn't that interesting?!?!
I find I am hugely affected by colour and find it
really intriguing how different colours how they "speak to me"

Well...
I had a bit of a "mental block" in the afternoon.
Thought I needed to do something
more creative, something...
better ...
 whatever that is !!
So after a few "hiccups" I decided, if it ain't broken don't fix it
and continued making art journal backgrounds..

 Gesso'd paper, ready for paint

 loving the swirls and blending of tones

 Loving these two with the criss-cross effect
 
 I've blotted the green paint
with a rag to give texture.

I'm working on this one presently
and will finish it in the morning.

Time today: 6 hours (2nd Feb, 2013)