Save the Arts: Jeremy Deller Poster

Save the Arts: Jeremy Deller Poster

A bit of a warning

Very cute Kittens and working on 4 needle Coptic stitch books do not mix very well. Just imagine curious Kitten and 4 strings with shiny things bobbing about.... FAIL...

oh yeah... they are always cute when they are asleep!

1/2 sewn book after much untangling!

New Glue Review

 

Okay so it's not really a New Glue Review per say... That would indicate that there is an Old Glue Review. I just liked how the title sounded so I went with it.
    As with many things I have a bit of a fetish for glue and adhesives. I am always willing to try something new. As with friends/lovers (just kidding P!), no adhesive can fulfill every need. There are a few however that I favor.

  YES Stikflat glue is evidently a rice flour based glue. This makes it mostly archival. I use Yes glue far more than any other. I has a wonderful tackiness, it's repositionable, and best of all water soluble. Okay so most adhesives are water soluble... Yes is different. Every one of us has had our sloppy day. No matter what you do you seem to get glue on everything. Well with YES, you really don't have to worry. It will wash out of a dry glue brush, wipe off your cutting mat, and scrape off your brayer. I am super anal about ANY glue showing on my work. If you get a bit of yes on your expensive (or cheap) paper it just takes a bit of spit on your thumb and you can do the old Mom thing and wipe the Yes away. It will not mark or stain your paper.  Yes glue can do no wrong in my book.
  My second favorite is Spray Adhesive. I recommend re-positionable Elmer's Craft Bond. Spray adhesive is basically two glues in one. If you spray the glue on both surfaces, let it dry and then stick together. You will NEVER be able to pull the two surfaces apart. Think rubber cement or construction adhesive. Once stuck, it's there forever. If you lightly spray just one side and let it dry you can reposition. Thing a stickier post-it note.  In my former life I was a merchandiser. This job required that I was never without my spray mount. I needed a holster. Two warnings...1) Spray adhesive is pretty smelly so unless you like working whilst being stoned. Spray is an area that is well ventilated. 2) Spray adhesive is is not very archival.
  My third favorite is Glossy Accents. This is not technically a glue. It was designed as a clear epoxy like coat for paper and various objects. It functions very well for it's intended purpose, but it is an amazing epoxy like glue also. Regular epoxy is a pain in the ass. Glossy accent will hold small parts together very well. It will not fill gaps or hold large embellishments but small things like eyelets or rivets... it is awesome.
  There are a whole bunch of other types of adhesives that I use but these three are the one's I reach for the most. Some day I will bore you with  my review the others.
   Thanks for reading!
     ~ER!C

Metallic Waxed Linen Thread

     
     Okay So I have a bit of a bookbinding thread fetish. I have tried many different brands and colors. I do believe it was Patsy Stone who said "You can never have too many Gloves, Hats, & Shoes". Well in my world one can never have too enough  Paper, tools, & thread!
    Most of the time I use18/3 un-waxed Irish Linen thread and custom dye it to match my project. Up until now metallic thread has only been a dream. I have found a rather brilliant product called Gilder's Paste. This lovely stuff is like waxy metallic shoe polish. It is amazing for "gilding" waxed thread. Just pull the thread through the paste and wham bam Metallic thread! You do have to let it dry for 60 or so minutes, unless you want everything you own metallic. I haven't tried it yet, but the Gilders paste would probably work well to gild text blocks. Currently I am working on a book with Cordovan Leather and a red/gold metallic thread. I will post some pics when it's done.

    ~ Eric

Secret no more - The Secret Belgian Binding

So I have seen many examples of the Secret Belgian binding online. After much searching I found some very readable instructions here. Thank you to whomever did this tutorial...good job!
  From what little info I could find, the Secret Belgian binding was re-discovered in 1986. It is composed of 2 covers and a spine that are woven together. The signatures are sewing to the inner weave.

 Here is an example of what is "should" look like.. Boy do I LOVE Dennis Yuen's work

Book Artist: Cailun/ Dennis Yuen

  Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel please follow the this link for the tutorial. After reading it as carefully as I could and following the directions as well as any male can, I do however have some observations.


  1) Do not use tape to hold your covers together while stitching... Tape and paper are never  friends. I  tried to use painters tape (which I do use a lot of in my studio). Even after sticking it to my shirt a few times to take down the adhesive a bit, it still pulled up and tore my paper.... FAIL....
  2) The instructions to not call for an odd number of sewing stations... keep your number odd. Believe me you will be happier
  3) Unlike some bindings, tension is key. Your signatures and cover need to be tight!

 I took some pics of my process. Please be kind, it was my first time.

First 3 stations sewn. Please forgive the horrible photograph (Warning: they don't get any better)

Inside cover completely sewn.  I'm a bit embarrassed of the cheap paper and the nylon thread I used

Please try this binding out. It really is quiet beautiful. I can see a lot of variations using beads or decorative threads that would be next to impossible of most bindings.

   ~Eric

Bibliogami

 I found these online .. cool as hell. The artist is Denise Kiggan. Her work can be found here

This Is Where We Live

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Welcome to our city - to our world - of books. This is where we live.

A film for 4th Estate Publishers' 25th Anniversary. Produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films.

The film was produced in stop-motion over 3 weeks in Autumn 2008. Each scene was shot on a home-made dolly by an insane bunch of animators; you can see time-lapse films of each sequence being prepared and shot in our other films.




London Set Build Timelapse from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

  The word really should be made from Paper, books, scissors, and a glue gun.
     ~Eric