I have been making books on and off for decades, and it has always been a process that feeds my soul in a very significant way. When I’m sewing signatures together I feel that I am doing something that I have done for lifetimes – it is so right a thing for me to be doing. A few weeks ago I made a book after quite a long stretch of not doing so and I couldn’t imagine why I hadn’t been making them all along. I plan on not letting that happen again.
The books I have made tend to be born from a specific need – a sketchbook, a watercolor swatch book, a place to make small collages – and those special creative places that the books themselves provide serve to enhance the creative experience that I engage in between their covers. The act of making a book by hand to fill with other creative endeavors makes for a very special marriage – the outside of the book gently and particularly holding all the thoughts and images and ideas contained within. Thinking about this made me realize that I make few books because I make them for my own distinct creative purposes, and that this approach serves to limit the amount of joy I can experience from the process of book binding.
What if I made books for other artists to fill the pages of with their own creative works? This thought made all kinds of sense out of my feelings about making books. I could make more books, and I could make books that are a collaboration between my creative process and other artists, writers, and dreamers – my favorite kind of people. It is an idea that I cannot resist, so I will see where it leads me.
Below is a gallery of images of books I have made, some more recently than others. Perhaps books like this look like just the friend you have been needing to trust your secrets to. If you see something among these that inspires you, that makes you want to stay up into the wee hours of the night filling the pages with your drawings, paintings, and writing, then lets talk.
I’m looking forward to continuing this discussion – contact me HERE, and sign up for the newsletter HERE so we can stay in touch.
