Sketchbook Choices

 

After working for months in two large mixed media spiral bound sketchbooks, I've become tempted by smaller, sewn journals once again.  The root of the change began with a course I'm taking with German illustrator Felix Scheinberger.  He's an urban sketcher and recommends an inexpensive A5 sketchbook - small enough to carry around and paper that isn't intimidating.  I've also been following closely the local urban sketcher Becky Cao, who uses a larger, bound watercolor journal.  Both prefer the stitched binding so that they can sketch across two pages.

I made one book for my Traveler's Notebook with my favorite mixed media paper, and dug an inexpensive A5 book out of the closet, and sketched them.  The inexpensive book is a bit too inexpensive; the paper isn't acid free and doesn't take wet media well.  But choices abound at the moment!

Pockets Full of Posies

 

I couldn't resist Joanne Sharp's third pandemic class:  Art Sparks 3!:  "Pockets Full of Posies".  This is the the cover of my book; it has 2 signatures with 24 pages to fill!

Summer

 

I have finished the book project from Joanne Sharp's "Art Sparks2" class.  This is the cover.  

The book form is a concertina or accordian book, and here is one side of the book opened completely.

This is the other side of the book.

I'll post some more pictures of each page separately - you can also turn the pages like a regular book.  It is a fun form, not one that I use a lot.  I'm really enjoying this one though!

Art Sparks 2! Color. Collage. Concertina.

I'm taking another on-line class from Joanne Sharpe.  We needed to buy or make a concertina or accordian book from watercolor paper.  I chose to make rather than buy; it is 5" x 7" in a landscape orientation. 

Front Cover

I cut the covers from thick cardboard and covered them with gelli prints.

Back Cover

Tiny Sparks

I have finished filling one of the books that I made in Joanne Sharpe's class "Art Sparks".  It is called "Tiny Sparks" - it measures only 2 1/4" x 3".

Here is one of the inside pages.

Just Plain Fun

This week I added tassles to my books and began to play with lettering and doodling.

Art Sparks!

I've been busy this week with the latest class from Joanne Sharpe, Art Sparks!  It is so much fun and a great bargain at $14.95 US.  You can watch the preview video here.

I've made these 4 tiny books ready to fill up with more sparks.  The inside pages are all painted, ready for lettering and doodling.

Will I be able to resist the next class due out in July?

Quarantinezine

Yes, quarantinezines are a thing, and of course, an Instagram hashtag.  A quarantinezine is a zine (homemade magazine) people are making during quarantine.  My zine is about the Silver Linings I am finding in the Covid cloud.

I made mine for my "card partner", Lois.  The Westcoast Calligraphy Society June program challenged us to make a card from a sheet of calligraphy practice, and assigned us a card partner to send our card to.  You can see my orange warm-up strokes in the two pictures above, and I practiced writing Lois' name before I folded the zine.  After it was folded, I added the silver linings in criss-cross capitals and script.  I included some drawings and couldn't resist the silver foil.

A zine is an 8 page book made from any size of paper, but often made from letter sized paper - simple copy/computer paper. 






























Here is some more information on zines along with some simple instructions on how to fold a zine.  Of course there are YouTube videos available.

Modifying Teesha Moore's Amazing 16 Page Journal

I've made further modications to Teesha Moore's Amazing 16 Page Journal so that it fits into my Traveler's Notebook.  These ones feature:

• a single signature made from three folios
• the whole signature is the same as Teesha Moore's book - i.e. her cover is also a folio in my latest version
• 3 sheets of 14" x 17" paper made the signatures for these 2 books
• the signature is made from my favorite Deserres mixed media paper
• covers made from gelli prints and other acrylic play
• five hole pamphlet stitch

I love the flaps and foldouts but now I have my favorite paper too!  

Spring in the Sixteen Page Journal

The only thing I don't like about the book we made at the calligraphy society meeting is the paper.  I had to gesso the pages to stop wet media from bleeding through the paper.

As long as I was applying gesso, I decided to turn it into a mixed media journal.  You can see I've added some tissue paper sewing pattern for fun.

Indecision

Japanese Double Pamphlet Sketchbooks

This is what happens when I can't make up my mind.  I made the portrait sketchbook first, and then the very next day I decided I wanted to go square for awhile instead, and so I needed to make another.  

I gelli printed the covers of both sketchbooks, using stamps that I was contemplating discarding (more indecision).  I decided to keep both stamps.  

The process not only helped me to decide, but to stop thinking of them as "precious".  I usually avoid using wood mounted stamps with acrylic paint because I can't throw them in water, but I just scrubbed them with a toothbrush under a running tap and they cleaned up just fine.  I figured if I was getting rid of them it didn't matter if they got destroyed.  I had much more fun this way too!

Reverse Piano-Hinge Book

I made this reverse piano-hinge book at the April Westcoast Calligraphy Society Meeting.  The instructor, Heidi Stolp, generously had all of the supplies cut and ready for us to assemble and decorate at the meeting.

This book structure requires no stitching. 

New Sketchbook

7 x 7"

I made this sketchbook from poster board.  It isn't quite as thick as watercolor paper; we'll see if it makes a firm enough surface for sketching.  The cover is folded in towards the centre making it  double thickness, so if it isn't thick enough I can put another piece of cardboard inside the fold.

Inside, Japanese Double Pamphlet

Bound: 15 Beautiful Bookbinding Projects

This new book from Kyle Books contains more than 15 beautiful bookbinding projects; it is filled with beautiful photographs and writing.  Rachel Hazell writes with reverence about her love of paper, ink, books, the process of bookbinding and the world around her in her homes in Edinburgh and the small Hebridean island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland.

After exploring "the pure joy of making books", Hazell covers the tools and materials necessary for bookbinding.  Techniques are taught next:  checking paper grain direction, folding, cutting, tearing, measuring, piercing holes, sewing, and gluing. 

This book contains two unique sections that I especially appreciate.  The first is the technique section entitled "inkery", where Hazell shows how to make unique patterns to decorate your books with.  The second is a diagram section in the back that includes a conversion table for paper sizes and weights.  (Paper sizes and weights are expressed differently in the US, Canada and Europe because of the various measurement systems.)

The 15 projects include something for all skill levels.  If you are a brand new bookbinder, you can make a book by folding a single sheet of paper.  If you are experienced, you can make a hard cover book with the classic kettle stitch.  In between are classics like concertina (accordion) books and a five-hole pamphlet book.  But there are many less common book structures included here too.  This great combination of projects makes the book both a classic reference and an inspiration for any bookbinder.

I tried the concertina book first - folding the perfect accordion is always a challenge, and Hazell's instructions and photographs are very clear.  I'm looking forward to trying some of the books I haven't made before, as well as decorating covers with her inkery ideas. 

I'll be happy to give this book some of my precious shelf space - thanks to Hachette for sending it!  

Voting Day and Planning A New Journal

Journal Covers

7" x 7" Journal Cover

I took advantage of a sunny day recently to spray a large sheet of watercolour paper with watercolour ink.  I used a piece of it to make my current journal, shown above.  I still have some left to use in the future.

I'm always on the lookout for fun ways to decorate paper, and last month's Westcoast Calligraphy Society meeting provided some new inspiration.  Someone shared an idea that she learned at the recent Seattletters Conference.  Eager to try this out, I spent last Saturday "auditioning" colours:

I did these on cardstock with some Artist Loft watercolours (that perform a little more like gouache than watercolour), and some Laurentian metallic watercolours.

 I'll buy some large sheets of Canson Mi Teintes paper to do the final version.

 Each one has four layers.

I took some "in progress" pictures.  First, I wrote Roman Capitals with a 1/2" flat brush, covering the cardstock.  I let this first layer dry, rotated the paper 90 degrees and then wrote in a different colour.  Below, you can see the first two layers of the green sample.  The first layer was a metallic green, the second layer bronze.

The third layer is white:

The final layer was black:

Japanese Double Pamphlet No. 2

The journal that I made a month ago is almost full.  I love the size and the paper, so I made a second Japanese Double Pamphlet, decorated with acrylic ink in warm fall colours.  This one also has a split cover.

With the leftover bits I made a couple of bookmarks too.

Japanese Double Pamphlet

I'm working through my current journal so fast that I've made my next one already.  I decided on a square format this time (7"), with the same Deserres Fabriano mixed media paper.

This is my first Japanese Double Pamphlet, which allows for two signatures.  I got the instructions from Roz Stendahl's free pamphlet binding class.

The Japanese Double Pamphlet can be made with a "split cover", which allowed me to use up some painted paper that wasn't wide enough to go all the way around from front to back.  In the photo below, you can see the covers in the middle of the two signatures.  If you make the cover using a single piece, this part would be a pleat, rather than two pieces.  It is hard to explain and a bit hard to line up all the pieces, which are stitched with a single 5 whole pamphlet stitch. 

I did have two strips left over so I made a couple of bookmarks for The Bookmark Project.

New Journal!

I did it!  This picture shows my new journal on top of a stack of four(!) journals that I finished this month.  I set a goal at the beginning of 2018 to finish all of my "in-progress" journals and to begin a single, chronological journal.  I didn't know how long it would take - I was hoping just a few months.

My new journal is a single signature of twenty-four pages and measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  The paper is a new mixed media paper made by Fabriano from my local art store, Deserres.  It is the perfect weight for me - not too precious for sketching, smooth for pen work and/or stamping, but sized for watercolour.  So far I'm loving it!  My theory is that by keeping the page count low I can finish it and make something completely different when I want a different type or size of paper.

How Small is Too Small?

My latest journal is just 3" square, a perfect size for a small slop of paint or a stamp.  It's is a single signature made from watercolor paper scraps.