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November, 2013

  1. Swell Things No. 10

    November 30, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    1. My husband is an animator for the Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston. At a recent event called Cosmic Loops, the planetarium became the stage for musician Ian Case. As a treat from the regular space imagery, the animators got to play around with ethereal visuals to compliment the live music. 
    2. Korean artist Do Ho Suh just created his most impressive large-scale installation to date entitled Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home. The installation centers around the artist’s previous residences on a 1:1 scale. Each home is built within the next out of blue silk evoking a blueprint. His childhood home, a traditional Korean structure is suspended inside his first residency in the United States, a modern apartment in Rhode Island. 
    3. Behold the amazing woven optical illusions and other works of Samantha Bittman!
    4. Auto-aerobics is a wonderfully convincing 3d-illustrated series from artist Chris Labrooy. By experimenting with stretching, space and interaction, Chris is creating some fascinating and perplexing imagery.
    5. Just lovely, lovely fiber art from the talented Emily Eibel. Don’t glaze over the illustrations, they are equally spectacular! 

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    6. After 5,000 hours of work over 3 years, Polish concert pianist Slawomir Zubrzycki has created his own version of the viola organista. The initial inspiration came from Leonardo Da Vinci’s 15th century notebooks containing page after page of various inventions. The instrument is quite striking in appearance and plays magnificently. You can check out the debut performance here. 
    7. Julee Yoo is quite a talented illustrator combining iconography from Victorian, Korean and Japanese culture with bright bold color palettes. 
    8. Mark Twain’s little-known book Advice to Little Girls was written in 1865 with wonderful illustrations by Vladimir Radunsky. In this short story he encourages little girls to think independently as opposed to following rules and social cues. 
    9. Have fun with the quirky work of illustrator/ceramicist extra-ordinaire Amy Louise Worrall. 
    10. Richard Balzer has been collecting vintage moveable imagery for the past 40 years. And during the past 5 years, he’s been curating a virtual gallery of his collection; turning 19th century vovelles into 21st century GIFs.

     

  2. Moving Images: Tissue Animals

    November 29, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

    Enjoy this sweet video of animated origami animals constructed from tissue paper. The creators behind this ad campaign for the Japanese paper manufacturer Nepia were able to seamlessly transform from one creature to the next. 

  3. Tutorial: Top Secret Belgian Binding

    November 19, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    The Secret Belgian binding is just one of many structures on my long list models to make. With the aid of a tutorial posted on the BookArtsWeb tutorial and references page, I was on my way to checking this structure off my list. Unfortunately the link seems to be broken now. However, within this post you’ll find my instructions, which are very comprehensive and any skill level can complete this simple structure in a matter of hours. So let’s get started*:

    *This tutorial is for a modified version I’m calling the Top Secret Belgian. This version of the structure is sewn differently and extra steps are taken to hide the interior thread. If you are looking for more instructional content, I have a growing list of tutorials and I also teach live workshops in-person and online. Check out my list of Upcoming Workshops.

    MATERIALS: 
    – binder’s board for 2 covers and 1 spine piece
    – decorative paper
    – paper to line covers and spine piece (aka paste downs)
    – colored thread
    – text block (3-5 signatures, about 3-4 folios each)
    – PVA
    – wax

    TOOLS: 
    – needle
    – bone folder
    – glue brush
    – scalpel (preferably with curved blade)
    – x-acto
    – scissors
    – pencil
    – triangle
    – awl
    – dividers (optional)

    STEP ONE: 
    For this tutorial I bound a copy of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. My inspiration for the covers came at the moment in the story when the main character begins to tear away the maddening yellow wallpaper in a desperate attempt to relieve her agony and pain. Whatever you choose as your text block, whether it be a short story, poetry or blank pages, prepare those now and fold to their final size.

    From the text block, measure the height of the signature and add about 5-7mm. Measure the width of the folded signature and add about 3-4mm. This will determine the dimension of the covers with added squares.

    The height of the spine piece will be the same as the covers. The width is determined by the thickness of your text block. Pinch the text block about 20mm from the spine, measure the flared out signatures. Add 2mm to this measure to find the width of the spine piece.

    MY MEASUREMENTS:
    text block height: 201mm
    text block width: 121mm
    text block thickness: 10mm

    cover height: 208mm
    cover width: 125mm

    spine piece height: 208mm
    spine piece width: 12mm

    Cut down the decorative paper to include excess for turn-ins (about 20mm, less for the spine piece). Cut down the paper for the paste downs, allowing a 3mm margin on all sides. Glue up the decorative paper and cover both boards and spine piece.

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    Trim out the inside of the covers, so the turn-ins are even and straight. This can be done quickly with a set of dividers. Simple measure out the desired distance, lightly score a line along all four sides. Trim off excess along scored guideline with an x-acto or scalpel. Tear away the excess by pulling toward the edge of the cover.

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    Glue down the paste down onto the spine piece and set aside under weight to dry.

    STEP TWO:
    Prepare a jig for punching holes into the covers. The holes should be evenly spaced along the height of the covers allowing for a fair amount of sewing stations. Using an awl punch the holes 16mm from the spine edge. The needle on the awl should have a continuous gauge and not be graduated. This way all of the holes are the same size.

    secretbelgian4-erinfletcher read more >

  4. Coming Soon: Karen Hanmer

    November 12, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    Beginning in December, interviews will be back starting with the wonderfully talented Karen Hanmer. Come back on the first of December for the interview. Throughout the month, I’ll be featuring Karen’s work and asking her a brief question about each piece. 

    I received a lot of intriguing suggestions for future interviews from past interviewees. So stay tuned each month for more thoughtful and in-depth interviews with bookbinders, book artists and more. 

  5. New Items in the Herringbone Bindery Etsy Shop

    November 6, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    For the past few months, I’ve had a Nag Hammadi model sitting on my bench, provoking me. I finally found the time to sit down, examine and recreate the model (which belonged to my lovely friend Anna). This particular binding is based off one of the mid-fourth century bindings, which were unearthed from an urn near the town of Nag Hammadi in 1945; the structure was quite simple to construct. 

    For my Etsy shop I’ve created a simpler version by leaving out the cartonnage and papyrus, while incorporating bright buffalo and goat skin. These blank journals are filled with kraft paper and are quite suitable for the traveler and homebody alike. The image below displays all the pieces that come together to make the binding.

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    The journals are bound in soft and supple leather. In addition to the wrap-around tie, there are ties at the head and tail to keep your pages safe and secure. Journals are available in a five different color choices, from sea foam green with red accents to…

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    mauve with maroon accents. See them all at the Herringbone Bindery shop!

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  • My name is Erin Fletcher, owner and bookbinder of Herringbone Bindery in Boston. Flash of the Hand is a space where I share my process and inspirations.
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