A Workshop!

Posted on October 23, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 16/365

Just a friendly reminder: my Coptic Binding Workshop is this sunday at Arts Market! It’ll be loads of fun, with light refreshment, merriment and a great way to learn a new skill (or brush up on old an old skill). Also, it’s just in time to start on making holiday gifts, if that’s your sort of thing.

Find out more here.

If you can’t make this one, don’t fret, there are a few more dates on the Workshops tab of my site, and there are a few more in the works for november and december. I’ll announce them shortly.

Wordless Wednesday 22.10.14

Posted on October 22, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 15/365

Hand Dyed Paper: Part 2

Posted on October 21, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 14/365

Last week I wrote about testing indigo-dying techniques, where I used watercolour paints and washi paper. Today, I’m going to talk about my experience using real indigo dye on both washi paper and handmade flax/abaca and hemp/abaca papers (from the folks over at Paperhouse Studio here in Toronto)
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If you’ve ever tried your hand at the popular Shibori technique, which is used for dying fabric with indigo, you’ll be familiar with the science side of this process. Once indigo dye (which comes from a plant leaf) is mixed and heating up in a vat, the trick is not to stir it or otherwise let oxygen into the vat. When the paper is dipped into the dye, it comes out green at first (as seen in the above photo), and then changes to that awesome indigo blue once the dye has oxidized (as seen in the photo below).

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That’s the main idea anyways, I won’t pretend to know it all! But there is something exciting about combining science and art. I cannot put my finger on it, but it made the process quite enjoyable and ultimately gave me a real appreciation for the finished product.

To see what I did with some of these papers, take a look at this journal. And stay tuned as I’m still working on projects with the bulk of the papers I dyed.

The Mini Cigar Book

Posted on October 20, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 13/365

Meet the mini cigar book! It’s a small book, just the right size for email addresses (this is the size I use at arts and crafts fairs to collect names), favourite quotes, tweets, horizon sketches, you get the idea.

It’s also a pretty great way to use up the ends of cigar boxes after I make the larger cousins of this book, found here. I find that often some of my favourite projects happen spontaneously and unexpectedly, after a main project is finished. I’ll be looking at the off-cuts and rejected bits of the larger project and realize the potential of the leftovers.

The Studio on a Sunday

Posted on October 19, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 12/365

A glimpse of the tidiest corner of the studio mid-prep for the busy holiday season that is, gasp, just around the corner!!

I’ve already sewn these text blocks, next I’ll make the covers and then case them in. There’s a nice surprise of page materials and the covers are full bookcloth (made by me!), I’m pretty excited for these journals!

Coptic Binding

Posted on October 18, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 11/365

Next weekend is the Coptic Bookbinding Class I’ll be teaching at the Arts Market on College! This is a great hands-on class that teaches how to make a really nice hard cover journal. Participants will leave with a finished journal, made from scratch!

I personally love the coptic binding for its immediacy as a non-adhesive binding (we will be pasting covers though, but the binding itself is non-adhesive). Once the basic stitch is learned there are many variation possibilities, making this a very versatile binding technique.

It’s a great way to get started on personalized holiday gifts, too.

It runs on Sunday, October 26 11:30am – 2:30pm. Go here to learn more and see how to register, or check out my workshops page for other upcoming dates.

A Book of Plenty

Posted on October 17, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 10/365

No, this isn’t really all of my journals. It’s just the most organized-looking photo of some of my favourites and currently in-use journals. What I want to talk about today are some of the uses of my journals, maybe they’ll inspire you too!

Some of these are books that I’ve handbound, and others are books I’ve collected over the years, from other hand binders. There are several from Italy (Florence, Venice and Rome), and many from other binders here in Toronto and across Canada. I feel I should come clean and admit that I don’t use all of them. A few are in the queue to replace books with only a few blank pages left.

While I have journals for: ideas, to-do lists, sketches, favourite quotes, dreams, ramblings and other categorized observations, I usually have one daily journal. This is the one that goes everywhere with me, fits in my purse, is rugged and tough yet beautiful enough that I sometimes use it as ‘advertising my craft’ when out on the town. It’s also the test-run of my new indigo journals and is pictured above.

It’s pretty liberating to have this book as a catch-all for everything, no stress about perfect penmanship, clean sketches or having the best ideas. I use it for everything: to-do lists, measurements of projects, contact information, ideas, sketches. It’s a lovely snippet of this time in my life. Looking back on my other, older, daily books, it’s interesting to see what my focus was at the time, what my inpirations and dreams were all about.

If you have a book that you really love and want to use but just aren’t sure, this is where I suggest to start; a book of plenty. I’d love to hear how it goes!

Wordless Wednesday 15.10.14

Posted on October 15, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 8/365

Plein Air

Posted on October 14, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 7/365

I am a bookbinder, I hand bind blank books.

I also use books; as journals, sketchbooks, idea books, for to do lists, for a bucket list . . you get the idea – I use a lot of books. But this is my world, it’s what surrounds me and it’s my everyday. Many times I’ve heard people say that they never use their journals and wish this wasn’t so. The books I make are meant to be used and well-loved; write in them, sketch in them, spill tea on them and yes, even rip out the pages if you really want to! It’s your journal!!

But before I get totally carried away with my artsy-fartsy book arts ideas, I’m going to back up to the beginning, to the start of a creative journey. I’ve decided to write a few posts about actually using the journals I make and how to get started.

So, today’s tip is: plein air. Yup, that’s it: plein air. It roughly translates to: ‘in the open air’, from the 19th century style of painting outdoors and one of the main components to French Impressionism. I also think of plein air as having a strong sense of open air, or open space.

In the context of this post and sketching or journalling, I think of it as starting with a clean slate, in a space that is open. For me, that might mean actually going outside, to the local park to sketch, going on a hike, or to a corner coffee shop to people watch and do a bit of writing. I think it comes down to the idea of clearing my mind and letting inspiration come from the moment, my surroundings. I find that physically removing myself from my studio/office and all the ‘to dos’ gives my creativity breathing room. I realize that this isn’t always possible; clearing off a desk or table top can have the same effect! Give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes!

I’ll be posting more ideas for using Sprouts Press handbound books as the weeks go on, stay tuned!

ps. The photo above is from an amazing cottage trip near Algonquin Park in Ontario. This is not my local park (I wish!), but I spent a lot of time on that bench sketching. When I cannot get out to sketch or journal, I go on memories like this one.

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on October 13, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 6/365

photo-7

This Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, that is) I’ve got an awful lot to be thankful for. I’ll be thinking of everyone who has supported me on my journey – Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving!