Featured Tangible Journal #1

Library Style Journal:
Approx. 200 pages, powder blue Buckram cover with original etching, circa 2004-5?

This fall has flown by. October is almost over, my gosh. Speaking of flying, I am so excited to feature one of the books I made ever so long ago (pictured above).
I made this book 3 or 4 years ago, covered in a bright blue buckram cloth with one of my etchings from Ann Arbor for my lovely step-sister.
I have to admit that seeing this etching from so long ago is rather embarrassing, and I can see so many flaws with my binding technique, but I am excited to see that the book has held up despite the worn edges. Buckram is often used for "library bindings" because of its durability. Around the time that this book was put together I was really into buckram...I loved the bold colors and the texture, plus I was still working in the conservation lab at a rare book library, so everything I made revolved around my obsession with the library aesthetic.

Thank you so much Cheri for sending these photos...and for the lovely note. It makes me want to dig out the good ole buckram for some new journals!

I hope to feature another tangible journal from the past sometime next month---please send images if you have any to share: hannaclark@gmail.com

Rainy Days and Mondays

I have been running around lately like a crazy person, but I finally found a quick moment to explore the etsy world and post a new creation. Last spring I made a bunch of handmade paper...Here is one of the resulting notebooks...complete with polka-dot fabric and leather along the spine.

unwind

The time has come to head back to reality....leaving rural Pennsylvania tomorrow for Detroit and then Spokane. I am finishing my last few drawings tonight while I finish watching Blade Runner...(in the mood for 80's sci-fi...who knows why?) and I have put a sneak preview on flickr.

A fawn lives under the porch here...I think that he was raised by the goats nearby? Anyway, incredibly tame which is likely not a good thing for surviving the winter, but I will try to avoid worrying about that for now.

Last night I went for one of my last runs on these country roads and I kept noticing how loud it actually was. Everyone claims to head to the woods for peace and quiet, but I could barely think over the crickets and wind in the trees and the river. I will miss these sounds.

Back to the bookbinding studio though. I will try to have some new journals up within the next few weeks...just in time for the fall.

hello inspiration...

I found this video on etsy...Please check out Margaux Kent's etsy shop: the black spot books

Inspiring.

Speaking of Sketchbooks

I was browsing some webpages that I had bookmarked ages ago and came across Book By Its Cover...a website by a Brooklyn designer...I have been particularly obsessed with the Sketchbook Series. I thought this was fitting to go with my recent conversation about loving to see filled books! Here are some glorious images from the Ben Finer Sketchbook Series...

Sketchbook Interiors...and Glorious Rainstorms

The messy drawing studio...
text pgs: Ingres lightweight

covered with grass green book cloth and amate bark paper for the spine as well as screen-printed bits and pieces for fun

photos from a really old sack of lentils....
Anais Nin quotes and an old etching proof.
It is so peculiar how most of the best things could never be planned for. Today - iced coffee on the porch during a rainstorm...perfect.

It has been raining on and off for then entire week here (in rural PA), but it is the lovely sort of rain-warm and breezy and everything smells so wonderful when the drops stop falling. Plus, this has been a very productive week for drawing, so no complaints here!

In other news, I have been wanting to do a feature on this blog for a while about some of the books/journals/sketchbooks that I have made in the past...how are they holding up? Are they filled? How have they been used and by whom? I am afterall most interested in making functional items. I love gorgeous old bindings and really intricate detail work, but in the long-run I am always more satisfied when I give someone a journal that they will actually use, even if it happens to be a simple leather notebook.

That being said, I decided to begin the feature with a book that I have carried around for the past year. I created it as a sketchbook...filling it with an earthy toned lightweight Ingres paper, which I have always loved to draw on....though I must admit it has been used as more of a storage location for my racing thoughts and inspirations (photos, exhibit cards, quotes, etc.) that I want to remember.

Take a look, and let me know what you think...and please send any images and/or notes about the tangible press journals that you have been filling my way to be featured!

Oop Bop Sh' Bam

July is half over!?! Spending so much time on the road from place to place...I have lost track of the days....though now I have settled in Eastern Pennsylvania for an artist residency until August 9th. I am spending this time working on a series of drawings based on photos of the region. Today I spent the morning going back and forth between the studio and reading in a big chair in the sun....perfect day! I am so excited/spoiled that I get a whole month of this!

I have only been exploring the area for a few days, but I think the drawings are coming along nicely...I will try to have some images of those up soon. For now, check out my flickr for images of the super old church I am living in and various images of the area. 

The one downfall of the summer/travel adventures is that I will be away from my bookbinding supplies (the station) for way too long! In the meantime, I found this article in the New York Times archives about a wonderful craftsman in the Washington Heights area who is keeping the craft of book repair lively! Reminds me of my good old days in the Clements Library Conservation Lab at the University of Michigan....how the process of repairing old bindings teaches and inspires you to bind your own books....Read the article here...

Heidelberg Project and Tangible Press Anniversary!

I have been away from the studio for a couple weeks now, so the blog updates have been lacking as well.....I just drove from Idaho to Detroit to visit my family before I head off to Pennsylvania (tomorrow) to work on a series of drawings...much more on all of this later. For now, though I want to promote my JULY SALE in the tangible press etsy shop! I have now been happily sharing my handmade journals through etsy for 2 whole years, so for this month I would like to offer FREE SHIPPING for orders within the USA. Happy Birthday Tangible Press! 

Click on the etsy shop images at the right to view the sale items or click here.

The pictures above are from an artist (Tyree Guyton) project in downtown Detroit known as the Heidelberg project. Read more about it here!  A truly bright spot to visit in the city...I recommend it to all! 

rainy + cold = perfect day for making books!

the photo collection. I just love these images. I am not sure how/if they will be incorporated into the journals, but I like to have them around while I work and they are so great with my fabric scraps...


I am all about decorative stitching lately...(rose colored decorative end-bands below). not entirely functional (though I will argue that they strengthen the book structure overall) and incredibly time consuming...but lovely!

I will be heading off this coming weekend (road trip to Michigan to visit Dad and run around Detroit/Ann Arbor) until mid-July when I will begin a month long artist residency in rural Pennsylvania. That being said, I am going to try to spend every waking moment this week in my bookbinding studio (aka corner of my bedroom) because it is oh so hard to make books while driving cars and the residency will be all about drawing. 

Oh, and a side note: I finished the summer newsletter...all printed and ready for the post office bright and early Monday morning. Watch your mailboxes. And for anyone interested in receiving the seasonal newsletter, just send me a quick e-mail with your postal address. ( I love snail mail.)

hannaclark@gmail.com

Ooh La La

Moses the cat posing with the new books...Be sure to check the tangible etsy shop!
Here are some process photos..stitching and covering wooden boards with fabric. Please forgive the poor lighting! (A lot of this occurs rather late in the evening and I have just not mastered color settings.)

my fabric collection...There is a little town nearby called Palouse. They have a wonderful antique store that I spend far too many hours exploring as well as a quilt fabric store in town that has a huge bucket of fabric scraps...I believe it is $3 to fill a brown paper bag (lunch size). I so often find the greatest little pieces of fabric and I love the challenge of finding the perfect project for a small piece.

Old Ways

For the past few months I have been studying traditional bookbinding methods with Jim Croft, a former instructor at Penland, and local Idaho resident. With Jim, the focus is not just on the making of the book, but also on the making of the tools and all materials from scratch. He harvests his own flax to make paper and thread and makes all of his tools from found bones and scrap metal. I recently made a paring knife for leather from scratch with him (which could explain the interest in making leather books lately). He guided me in shaping the metal using a hand grinder and sand paper to fit my hand perfectly and it has been so wonderful to work with new tools that fit the contour of my palm. 

In the summer Jim leads various intensive bookbinding workshops at his place in Santa, Idaho. This year the first workshop begins on June 10th. Click here for a link to his website or contact me for further info. If you are even remotely near northern Idaho or willing to travel this summer I really suggest you wander up to Santa and join the workshops! The website goes into much more detail about the skills offered through the workshop, but who gets a chance to harvest flax for paper, split logs for wooden boards often..? I will unfortunately be missing the big July workshop, but hope to stop by during the wooden board and clasp intensive (June 10th-20th, 2009). Yes, that's right...you get to make your own metal clasps for book closures from scratch! Oh, and he will be in Portland, OR for a short workshop later on this month...(Jim is pictured here with Rachael, another MFA student here)

thursday

This morning I woke up to the smell of the lilacs outside my window. So nice. 

Lot's of new journals ready for the etsy shop...be sure to check them out and let me know what you think!

Bright was the Day

It has been quite a while since I posted anything...I have been hiding away working on new book styles and finishing up a crazy semester. This week I made it to the cedar groves to roam about and the weather has been gorgeous...Happy Memorial Day!

stripes

clap and dance

just some pictures for today...