Workshop Followup – Page 2 – Handcrafted Books by Michele Olsen

Student Work—Crossed Structure Binding

I spent two wonderful afternoons with twelve very creative students. To prepare the pages for the books we spent a bit of time working with acrylic inks on watercolor papers. The intention was to create some kind of background for other artwork that would be added when the book was sewn. Following are just a few of the background papers.

The covers were cut from faux emu upholstery fabric—a great material because it doesn’t fray or tear.

The sections were sewn onto the straps with waxed linen or cotton embroidery thread. Some students had experience with the long stitch but the kettle stitch was new to most. They all did a great job on the sewing. Below are some examples of pages that were embellished after the book was sewn as well as a few photos of book closures.

August 9, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele

Workshop Followup

CSB Painting

We have finished the first day of the Crossed Structure Binding. The covers were cut (faux emu upholstery fabric) and then we relaxed into painting pages. The photos show some of the early efforts and students will be painting six sides for tomorrow’s class. We will be sewing the Basic CSB—the first sewing for many of the students. I’m making a huge model of their book as a demo and will use a large needle and yarn to guide them as they learn the long stitch and kettle stitch. Pictures to follow! You can see that everyone has their own sense of color and design; they will also have options for the covers. I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

July 23, 2014/1 Comment/by Michele

Past Workshops, Sewn Spine, Workshop Followup

Japanese Stab Binding

Twelve students learned the “ins and outs” of a side bound book. Book board was covered to create two hinged covers. Students could choose to make a photo album (with a fold on each page to accommodate the extra dimensions of added photos) or a journal. Everyone used either a Dremel drill or power drill to create the holes for the sewing. There were as many types of sewing thread as people; some chose the basic side stitch and others sewed the hemp stitch. One student used beads on the front. Great results after an afternoon of class!

Tip for students: Because the back and front look the same, put some type of embellishment on the front. I just finished my book and use this as an example. Happy Booking!

May 5, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

Folded, Workshop Followup

Star Book Workshop—Finale!

Fourteen women, glue. paper., needles and thread…..it’s a formula for fun and great book arts. Students made their own bookcloth, cut their beautiful papers, glued them into sections, and sewed the sections into a star book. It was just a pleasure to work with people who were so creative, industrious, and enthusiastic. Enjoy some photos of our efforts and their resuls. Applaud even.

February 6, 2014/3 Comments/by Michele

Workshop Followup

OLLI Fall Class: Transfers

I’m so late in posting this! We’ve been in transit, had car issues, lots of visitors to our little piece of heaven in Nebraska and….YES….rain, thunder, lightning, and some flooding. However, we missed the snow in western Nebraska and the tornadoes in eastern Nebraska. What a start to our visit.

In September OLLI students got together to learn how to make transfers and images for their books. We used hammers, heat, packing tape, and watercolor to produce some very interesting nature prints.

Tables and workstations:

Tools and Materials:

Exploring:

John using heat transfer:

A successful heat transfer:

Everyone finds something they like to work on.

Watercolor transfers—these were favorites!

Thank you Gisela for all of your plants and flowers.

October 7, 2013/1 Comment/by Michele

Sewn Spine, Workshop Followup

Finished Journals

Students in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) classes have finished their books and every single one is wonderful. This is the first sewn structure for almost all of the ten students and they showed extraordinary patience with the needles, 36 inches of waxed linen thread, and tiny little beads that were added to the spine. They all helped each other and laughter was constant. I knew I had an engaged class with I couldn’t get their attention—always a good thing as far as I’m concerned. The covers were goatskin, the endpapers were handmade papers from Nepal, the text papers were Stonehenge printmaking paper. Good Job!

July 16, 2013/by Michele