June 6, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
I’ve been a fan of Lilli Carré’s style of illustration ever since I purchased her 2008 graphic novel The Lagoon. However, in this post I would like to feature these lovely detailed pieces from Lilli’s Debris Paintings series. A mix of abstract shapes, lines, and dots, these paintings remind me of the work of bookbinder Edgar Mansfield.
June 6, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
In the series One Third, Photographer Klaus Pichler arranged rotting food in elaborate still lifes as a reflection on a UN study claiming that one third of the world’s food goes to waste. Although there is mold and fuzz and maggots, these images are oddly beautiful.
June 5, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
DAY TWENTY-SIX
At 2:40 in the afternoon I was shopping along the harbor in Newport, while Jeanne just finished lightening her hair and now deciding btw Lie Locks purple or New Rose red or a combination thereof.
June 5, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
My husband and I recently took up watercolor as a hobby. Jason has been creating these imaginative and celestial pieces by layering pigment on his ink drawings. I, on the other hand, am still trying to figure out how to paint with watercolors. However, Andrea Shear is quite talented with watercolor. She has a real eye for layering color creating depth in shadows and highlights.
June 4, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
At 12:35 in the afternoon I was exploring the cliffs at Fort Wetherill Park, while Jeanne was eating lunch.
June 3, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
DAY TWENTY-FOUR
At 12:35 in the afternoon Jason is attempting to drive on a snowy course in Norway, while Jeanne was vegging-out on a rainy day watching season 1 of Being Human, British version.
June 2, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
DAY TWENTY-THREE
At 8:00 o’clock in the morning I was putting on my chucks, while Jeanne was making breakfast.
June 2, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
Photo by Brandon Constant.
Paperrad was an artist collective based in Boston and comprised of Jacob Ciocci, Jessica Ciocci, and Ben Jones (all fantastic friends of Sonya Sheats). Their multimedia projects use “lo-fi” visual aesthetics, bold fluorescent colors, and images from popular culture.
In 2006, Jacob visited Sonya in France. Paperrad’s first book, BJ and Da Dogs, had just been published and he brought her a couple copies. Sonya had just finished her first apprenticeship with Edgard Claes and was about to return to Belgium to continue her studies. Jacob and Sonya thought it would be a good idea to bind Paperrad’s book, so he designed the cover while in France, and Sonya brought it with her to Belgium.
This edition had been previously bound after publication, so Sonya dismantled the text block. To hide some wear left on the outer folds of the signatures, Sonya glued strips of fluorescent papers onto the folds. The structure for the binding is referred to as “À Creneaux” with an open spine in polycarbonate assembled in sections and PVC. The signatures were sewn with monofilament and exposed along the spine.
A comment from Sonya:
It will forever be a running joke between Edgard and me because he was quite shocked and unsettled by the colors in the Paperrad design. I hung up prints, templates, and color samples around my workspace, and Edgard joked that he had a hard time looking in my direction during that time. It took me about 22 hours to make 7 templates for the color blocks and to airbrush the design [with automotive paint].
The interior of the boards were also airbrushed, one in lime and the other in a soft blue.
Bound in 2005 for Paperrad, BJ and Da Dogs is this full embossed leather binding with colored foil tooling for the title. Below is another edition bound as an open joint binding with buffalo skin.
June 1, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
DAY TWENTY-TWO
At 10:00 o’clock in the evening I was eating some corn while I wait for the laundry to finish so I can pack for our trip, while Jeanne just installed the window AC for the summer, Boo says “Finally! Good job.”
June 1, 2013 by Erin Fletcher
Photo by Denis Larocque.
La Couleur du Vent is a collection of poems by Gilles Vigneault, illustrated and designed by Nastassja Imiolek under the artistic direction of Cécile Côté. Sonya Sheats bound this copy for an international design binding exhibition organized by ARA-Canada and the École Estienne in Paris. The exhibition is currently on display in Paris until it travels to Quebec and then to Montreal. The exhibition is also viewable online at ARA-Canada: La Couleur du Vent.
Sonya bound this edition as an open joint sewn with tapes made out of vellum and box calf, spine is tanned calf skin with onlaid bands of muted green and taupe water-snake skin and one band of red calf skin, boards in MDF and walnut burl veneer, and onlays in lace wood and calf skin. The subtle accent on red comes straight from the illustrations in the book.
While finishing my second year at North Bennet Street School, Sonya was invited to teach my class the simplified binding structure, a technique she learned from Sün Evrard. Initially, I had the pleasure of meeting Sonya during an open studio event in Cambridge. I was able to tour her space and handle many of her bindings. I am very intrigue and captivated by Sonya’s clean design and level of skill. I would like to thank Sonya for taking the time to share her experiences and skills with me through this interview
Read the interview after the jump and come back each Sunday in the month of June to read more about Sonya’s work.
