{"id":9463,"date":"2015-04-06T01:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-06T05:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=9463"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:47:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T19:47:49","slug":"book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/06\/book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Artist of the Month: Natalie Stopka"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CompleteDye-NatalieStopka\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a continuation from last week’s post, I extended the conversation on natural dyes with book artist, Natalie Stopka<\/a>.\u00a0During her time at the Center for Book Arts<\/a>\u00a0as a\u00a0Van Lier\/Stein Scholar, Natalie also completed a collection of case bindings, where each component beautifully represents the subtleties of natural dyes.<\/p>\n

\"CompleteDye2-NatalieStopka\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The variation between the different materials is subtle and beautiful. I wonder what your inspiration was for this project?
\n<\/strong>Besides my enjoyment of the process of foraging and dyeing with plants, I love the sympathy between natural dyes and fibers, as well as the resonance of using historical methods with historical materials. Prior to the discovery of synthetic dye in 1856, all books were decorated with naturally derived dyes, inks, and pigments. That is a lot of artistic heritage that has been largely supplanted in the past 150 years. I wanted to create some books that were all of a piece referencing that period just prior to the advent of synthetics, using a hollow-back structure with linen book cloth, hand sewn headbands, uncut pages folded down from full sheets, and, of course, natural dyes. I ended up binding a dozen books in different colors, partly as an exercise in honing my binding skills, as well as a continuation of my dye experiments.<\/p>\n

Can you walk through your dying process from the creation of the pigments to the dying of the materials? Where did you learn these techniques?
\n<\/strong>Beginning with the techniques I learned at the Textile Arts Center<\/a>, I extended my natural dye experiments into bookbinding. There was some trial and error at first as I selected and mordanted paper samples. Papermakers generally color the pulp with pigment prior to forming sheets, so there is not a lot of information on how to dye paper, or how the dyes and mordants affect it over time. But paper is just cellulose fiber like many fabrics I had experience dyeing, so I jumped in. I decided to use Zerkall Ingres, which is quite absorbent due to its composition, but also has good wet strength. And when folded down it makes a lovely signature size.<\/p>\n

The first step in dyeing is to source or collect plant material. In this case I used plants I foraged in upstate New York including oak leaves, cherry bark, Queen Anne\u2019s lace, apple bark, and yarrow, the only exception being indigo. I chopped and soaked or simmered the plant material to extract the dye, then strained the dye liquor into a big stainless steel vat containing the mordanted paper and other book materials. After about 12 hours in the vat, everything was ready to carefully remove and dry.<\/p>\n

\"DyeProcess-NatalieStopka\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As with my embroidered botanical illustrations<\/a>, these books demonstrate the different shades of color (sometimes slight) that result when a single dye is applied to various substrates. The linen cover, silk headbanding thread, Zerkall Ingres pages, and linen binding thread were all dyed in the same vat. The endpapers were made from the uppermost sheet of paper in the bath, which became patterned by the evaporation of the dye. My favorite book was dyed with black cherry bark \u2013 I left the dye vat outside overnight, and a light frost left crystal patterns on the endpapers! Initially I expected the papers to take the dye evenly in a uniform shade, but most dyes were absorbed with a good deal of variation, making a richly toned surface.<\/p>\n

\"CompleteDye3-NatalieStopka\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a continuation from last week’s post, I extended the conversation on natural dyes with book artist, Natalie Stopka.\u00a0During her time at the Center for Book Arts\u00a0as a\u00a0Van Lier\/Stein Scholar, Natalie also completed a collection of case bindings, where each component beautifully represents the subtleties of natural dyes. The variation between the different materials is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[677,68,681],"tags":[680,678,1867,1459,1742,27,1757],"class_list":["post-9463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-artist-of-the-month","category-bookbinding","category-feature-artist-book-of-the-week","tag-artist-book","tag-book-art","tag-bookbinding","tag-center-for-book-arts","tag-natalie-stopka","tag-natural-dye","tag-textile-arts-center"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2sD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9472,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":0},"title":"Book Artist of the Month: Natalie Stopka","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"April 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Then & Now: Ten Years of Residencies at the Center for Book Arts is an upcoming exhibition celebrating two of the Center's core programs. Among the 50 exhibiting artists who participated in these programs over the last ten years is Natalie Stopka. Some of her recent suminagashi work, like those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Sumi2-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Sumi2-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Sumi2-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Sumi2-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9511,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/27\/book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":1},"title":"Book Artist of the Month: Natalie Stopka","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"April 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In this final post with Natalie Stopka, we continue the\u00a0discussion\u00a0on her\u00a0techniques that employ\u00a0natural pigments for dying and image making by looking at\u00a0her 2012 artist book Botanica. This binding consists of a series of eco-prints that are brilliant in both color and detail. Can you discuss the process behind eco-printing? Eco\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Botanica5-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Botanica5-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Botanica5-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Botanica5-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9497,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/20\/book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":2},"title":"Book Artist of the Month: Natalie Stopka","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"April 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Up until this post, Natalie Stopka has shared her techniques for natural dyeing, as well as her methods for marbling and suminagashi. In the last two posts for the month, we'll look at two artist book projects starting with her 2011 book Specimens. Can you talk about the concept behind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Specimens4-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Specimens4-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Specimens4-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Specimens4-NatalieStopka.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9435,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/01\/april-book-artist-of-the-month-natalie-stopka\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":3},"title":"April \/\/ Book Artist of the Month: Natalie Stopka","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"April 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Natalie Stopka has conducted\u00a0extensive research and experimentation with natural dyes, which is partly what drew me to interview her on the blog. I've long been interested in incorporating natural dyes into my own work. So it's fair to say that I'm quite inspired by Natalie's work. At the end of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book artist of the month"","block_context":{"text":"book artist of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/book-artist-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ACuoreAperto3-JaniceGordonNatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ACuoreAperto3-JaniceGordonNatalieStopka.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ACuoreAperto3-JaniceGordonNatalieStopka.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ACuoreAperto3-JaniceGordonNatalieStopka.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10296,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/best-of-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":4},"title":"Best of 2015","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow, this has been a busy, busy year and I can't believe that 2015 is coming to end. I want to extend my gratitude to the people who have helped contribute to the blog this year: I also want to thank everyone who reads the blog, subscribes to the blog\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "best of"","block_context":{"text":"best of","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/best-of\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6370,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/05\/book-artist-of-the-month-jody-alexander\/","url_meta":{"origin":9463,"position":5},"title":"Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"August 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"If She Thought It Would Help, Zelda Would Use Her Antediluvian Curse Cache to Attain Her Revenge\u00a0is the title for a 'boxed book' project that Jody Alexander created in 2004. 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