Bookmaking, printing and publishing

Over the summer, I had the good fortune of visiting three book arts, bookmaking and book printing/publishing events in Vancouver for the first time.

The first was the CBBAG Lower Mainland's 2015 Book Arts Fair which was held on June 20 at the Main Branch of the Vancouver Public Gallery. Visitors were able to "see, touch and buy  bookbinding, letterpress, altered books, artist’s journal, calligraphy, paper arts and mixed arts ", with up to up to 18 book artists and book arts suppliers will be displaying and their works.

Photo from the website: https://vanbookarts.wordpress.com

On October 17, I attended the Vancouver Art/Book Fair put on by Project Space and held at the Vancouver Art Gallery Annex. Two rooms with close to 70 exhibitors: book artists, book and zine publishers, etc.

Image from the website: http://2015.vancouverartbookfair.com/#program

On October 31, the Alcuin Society held its annual Wayzgoose event with more than 25 exhibitors, including book artists and publishers, wood engravers, paper marblers (traditional and japanese).

Image from the website: http://alcuinsociety.com/the-wayzgoose-is-coming-2/

I came away with an exquisite sheet of hand-marbled paper. I was drawn to its organic, flesh-coloured shapes and the residual fluid flowlines of the second pass.

Detail of a hand-marbled (double-dipped) sheet of paper by Phyllis Greenwood. 

Books on books

Below are some of the finest books I've read over the years about book making and artists' books.

wood nymph process images

A few images showing design/assembly of components of the wood nymph folio set. 

small easel-stand

flutter book printouts on roll paper and images on thicker paper 

handmade caddisfly larva case bookmark

wood nymph folio book set

wood nymph is about an artist and a wood nymph. It evokes struggle, transformation and rebirth through a deep longing for change, tempered by a strong determination to preserve an existing order. It illustrates a bond between nature and human.

The folio book set comprises handmade components that engage the reader in quietly discovering the spirit of the woodland through sight and touch.

All components are enclosed in a 5" x 5" x 1” paper case with four folding flaps and a sliding belly band.

A four-page colophon, assembled flutter book style (Japanese sempuyo), contains the artist's preface and details on the paper, printing, editioning and copyright.

A second flutter booklet features a freestyle twenty-two-page poem; a handmade caddisfly larva case, constructed of leaf, twig and other materials, serves as a bookmark.

The reader can display and view on a small easel stand a series of nine photographic archival pigment ink prints on paper, assembled in a folder. In addition, a translucent beeswax-infused photographic print on Japanese unryu washi paper waits to capture ambient light.

Sample pages:

Colophon, pp 1-2

Poem, pp 6-7

This is an open edition; each set is signed and numbered by the artist.

The book and photo print as experiential objects

I've just completed a handmade folio edition of wood nymph.

I'm interested in the physicality of books and photographs and in moving them off the wall, shelf and screen into one's hands.

For me, the handcrafted artist book is a 'living' object, offered by the artist-writer to the reader in order to be felt, touched and viewed. It can be an experience whereby one discovers new layers of meaning while engaging physically with the content, the format and the components.

The same applies to a photographic print, often trapped behind a mat and glass, contained within a frame and nailed to a wall—out of reach of the viewer. I have explored various ways of making my photographic prints more tactile and visual, by printing on Japanese washi paper, infusing them with wax, or creating mixed media encaustic images. These translucent pieces capture light and can be viewed suspended, hung away from the wall. They can be touched since they are not confined to frames or trapped behind glass. The pieces can also move with air currents and change as the ambient light does.

The issue, however, especially if one is not really into gallery showings, is what to do with the inventory of prints one produces, other than give them away to friends?

For me, one answer is to create small photographic prints (e.g., 5" x 5"), with or without encaustic. These less expensive images can be part of an artist's book, shared with and touched by friends and colleagues (e.g., ATC style). One can provide a small simple easel to display these miniature pieces.

My recent wood nymph folio case is one example of such a multi sensory experiential piece.

Advanced Encaustics workshop in Victoria

Earlier this week, I attended a 2-day Advanced encaustics workshop in Victoria led by Leah Macdonald. It was a nice follow-up to last year's Introduction to encaustics workshop. We worked with different types of papers (thin Japanese paper to thicker, more textured papers). Of course, I preferred the Japanese paper because of its thinness and translucency once infused with wax.

Wood Nymph, pigment ink & pencil on Fabriano cold press,
infused with yellow beeswax, oil paint, leaves,  9.5 x 13 in, 2014

Untitled, pigment ink on Asuka washi,
infused with yellow beeswax, handmade paper, oil paint, 10 x 14.5 in, 2014

We also did one piece on a wood substrate.

Alien Contact, pigment ink, Kozo washi & Hahnemuhle Rag on wood panel,
infused with beeswax, oil paint, leaf, 10 x 14 x ½ in, 2014

We also explored making a simple waxed book using discarded and test prints, fabrics, thread, etc.

Suminagashi

I recently purchased a very practical and inspiring book on suminagashi (floating/spilled ink), the ancient Japanese art of marbling by dropping Chinese/India ink on the surface of water, then transferring the pattern to paper. Unlike the Western techniques of marbling, the process is very simple and does not require an additive to thicken the water, nor a dispersant to make the ink separate and expand. The 80-page book, containing 64 illustrations (38 in colour), was written by Anne Chambers, with a Foreword by Akira Kurosaki.

Suminagashi: The Japanese Art of Marbling: A Practical Guide
Anne Chambers, New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991

 Many years ago, I first explored suminagashi for use as a cover for a limited edition flutterbook of short freestyle poems entitled iro—colours. I have recently become interested once again, this time in order to create end papers for a limited edition flutterbook I am working on. It will feature a poem and archival inkjet prints about a forest nymph, printed on wax infused Japanese kozo paper.

Front cover of iro—colours by the author, 1987

Handmade book project

Initial explorations on a handmade book 

After much research and material sourcing, I have started on a handmade bookmaking project. It will editioned book (possibly 2-3 copies). The working title is Artist and Hamadryad, an original poem on transformation revolving around a wood nymph who inhabits a birch tree and an artist-muse.

The poem will be layed out, then printed on Japanese unryu washi paper, accompanied with photos. The pages will then be infused with wax, becoming translucent, then the photos will be enhanced with oil stick pigments and embedded natural items such as leaves and metal flakes.

I will also create a series of "loup" masks with various waxed washi papers over a plaster face cast of a friend.