Shorts Book

Here's another first book for those who are learning bookbinding.  Once again, even though I've made these in the past, I'm so glad to have the refresher course because there's so much I'd forgotten.  I had to ask for clarification that my page-turning was in the correct order, but it turns out that I got it right.

This is another book constructed from a single sheet of paper.  I used 98# Canson mixed-media paper, a heavier weight for this book than the last because there were fewer folds, and I didn't want the watercolor and ink to bleed through the pages.  It worked. I prepared the paper by spraying a light solution of gouache over a few of stencils on both sides.  I ground some ink and used the wet side of a sheet of sumi-é paper to make a few brush sketches.  When I realized that I had done nine cats, I got the idea for Nine Lives.

The cats were randomly sketched all over the paper, so I tore them out and added some gouache to the edges.  Pages three and four open up and down.  There are four folds and two sides, so eight pages in all.  I decided to use these up and down pages to add the ninth cat.

The chop I used says "long life".  It's a traditional chop carved from soap stone and I inked it with the traditional toxic red chop ink that takes forever to dry.  I zapped it with a hairdryer to speed things up, but I think it will take the full few weeks before it sets, regardless.  In the meantime, I blotted it a bit, then separated the pages with waxed paper.

This book is part of a project that some members of Artists Of The Round Table are working on.  We plan to make 100 books using Alisa Golden's bookMaking Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms as our guide.  

If you'd like to see all posts of the books I'm making for this project, scroll up to the top of this page, click on "Archives", then click on "Making Handmade Books Workshop" from the category menu.  

Comments

[Marjolijn]

Love your short book but even more the sketches of the cats as I'm a catlover :)
Absolutely fabolous!

[Monica Smith]

love this book and also the cats. how was the book made?

[joanne thieme huffman]

Love this book with its cat pages.