All Done But None

[Artyczar]

This is the second major book work I did. It took about a year to do this, pretty much full-time, but I was also making paintings along the way, so I can't really figure the exact time it took. I made twenty of them and each one is completely original, all handwritten and hand illustrated in watercolor and ink. Each one is just slightly different because I had to redo them again and again. After about eight of them, I thought, what the hell am I doing?!

It's 32 pages on Fabriano Artistico paper and includes a 2-color etching, a dry point print, solar plate etching, and letter pressed handmade end papers from Nepal. Hand bound in hard cover linen, it also has black custom stamping and a slipcover.

Now it's part of many major library collections, such as the Nation Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC and UC Irvine. I have two left.

 

[snoball]

These are great too and having the books in places like the Nation Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC and UC Irvine makes you really well accomplished!

 

[Artyczar]

Thanks Sno.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

How did you get it bound and the slip cover made?

 

[Artyczar]

Hi Claude.

I made those with a master book binder who took me through the process, but I paid her to do most of it because it was when I was first learning how to do it. I came away with a lot of messed up pieces while trying to do it myself (bad gluing, boogers, etc.). It looks much easier than it is. (Those books wound up to be all samples and not in the edition). It's mostly knowing where to cut and glue the fabric onto the book boards. The spine sewing is not hard as long as you have the equipment, and I don't, so I needed a lot of help and facilities. I have enough materials to do all softer bindings myself, but hardcover is difficult for me, unless I had a binding studio.

Slip convers are made from the inside out. I'm sure there are YouTube tutorials on this nowadays.

Starched linen is a lot easier to work with than had it been soft linen, so that's why I chose that. I think it still looks classy. I had the hot stamping done by someone else, as well as having the dies made. I know how to letterpress, but not hot stamping. A couple pages in the book I letterpressed.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

I'm impressed by all the work you put into this project aside from all the effort to create the artwork for the book. At one time I considered making a coffee table book of some of my art but I was going to use giclee printing for the content. The cost and effort even with this 'short cut' was more than I was willing to invest. 32x20 = 640 original art items!!! More impressed than words can express.

 

[xie-kitchin]

You answered the main question I had, which is whether you used cloth or paper on the covers. I worked with cloth once, it's tricky. I was also thinking the binding overall looks very professional.

 

[Roni]

This is plain fabulous.

 

[Artyczar]

Thank you everyone. It took me a full year to make these and it was also a cost since I used the very best materials and a professional helper on the binding. I had a great sense of accomplishment when I was finished and now they are all practically sold. It took some years. One of them is in the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington DC. Some others are in university collections.

 

[ntl]

That's quite an accomplishment! Congratulations!

 

[Artyczar]

Thank you nlt.