New book on the block.

My next binding will be for the truly magnificent...  PETER BLAKE ALPHABETS.
Limited edition of 600, signed by Peter Blake and Mel Gooding.

To say that I am a fan of Peter Blake would be a true understatement.

I am going to enjoy every moment.

The final result.

Man Booker, We need New Names. Final stages.

Binding details.

A double board Bradel Binding with a double hollow. All leather hand dyed with the back board covered in a delaminated pizza box. Sewn silk end bands with full edge decoration. Hand printed end papers with a coat hanger and lino cut.

Design concept.

The novel  concentrates on the life of Darling, a young girl living in a shanty town, Darling and her friends create new worlds from the detritus around them. Witnessing the often violent struggle of survival in Zimbabwe, families destroyed by AIDS and corruption in all levels of society, she lives with the dream of escaping to another place. When her dream is realised, culminating in her arrival and life in North America, Darling realises that the dream is not all she had hoped for.

A African mask to the spine of the book is a stylised representation of a screaming mask that Darling and her friends find in the ransacked home of a white African. The front board with its draught board like squares, tears and arrow indicate the struggle of everyday living in Darling's life. The Pop Art inspired back board with its' pizza box is intended to show the conspicuous consumption and waste in her new life.

Man Booker, We Need New Names. Spine is finished.

After the work on the text block I began to work on the binding. I have chosen to use the Bradel format as it offers great variations and is very flexible in what one can do with it. The spine will be a Double Hollow construction with the boards being a laminate of two.

With the edging leather applied and dyed the double hollow is fashioned. Having read the book some 4 times I kept coming back to the description of a mask in a trashed house, "In the sitting room, we stand before the large mask on the wall and stare at the black face, the eyes gouged out. It is a long thin face.....the mouth is open like it is letting out a howl"

Leather paring for the front board.

Hand colouring the front board, first stage.

Mann Booker, We Need New Names.

The text block has been rounded and backed and the first lining of Fraynot has been applied to the spine. The sewing multi coloured sewing to the spine is the secondary sewing that reinforces the attachment of the Fraynot to the text block. 

This done, the edge decoration and end banding followed.

Bookbinding workshop in Manila.

Back to Manila in October.

Bookbinding Workshop with Mark Cockram

Mark Cockram is an internationally exhibited contemporary bookbinder, book artist and installation artist based in London. He has ongoing long-term projects which include methods of working with design bindings, print techniques and ways in which the book can be viewed within the context of the exhibition and the public/private collection. All workshops participants will be taught to make two books using a variety of traditional techniques. Date: October 27, 2013 (Sunday) Time: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Place: The Forum, 4/L Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street Fee: P4,000 with the complete kit The bookbinding workshop is intended for beginners and introduces the fundamentals in the art and craft of hand book binding. Mark will demonstrate each step, explaining technical points and tips along the way. The participants will be making 2 books from individually prepared kits. Each kit will consist of everything needed to make a Single Section, hard bound book (approximately 12.5 cm x 10 cm) and a non adhesive Zigzag Book (approximately 12 cm x 7 cm) All the hand tools including Bone Folder (specialist paper folding tool), linen thread, quality papers and adhesives are included. Extra decorative papers and an instruction sheet will be included allowing the student to go on to produce more books. The decorative papers have been produced especially for the workshop by Mark Cockram ensuring that every participant will have their own unique books to take home. Inquiries and registration: events@fullybookedonline.com. Limited slots only! 

www.fullybookedonline.com/blog/events 

Man Booker, late sheets.

The sheets (text block folded but not cut or sewn) did not arrive until Friday afternoon, about 3 days late. During the time I Read the reading copy twice and started on the end papers. First some lino cuts.

Then the first pulls, which I thought were ok, getting the effect I wanted first time is a bit of a rare thing for me.

Next came a wire coat hanger, changing from a hanger to a noose.

Final prints for the end papers.

At last I could sew up the text block. The grain direction is all wrong, the paper is the same quality as in a paper back and the margins so narrow that there is no balance...  However, we press on.

Man Booker 2013

My Man Booker binding for this year is;

Lysistrata, finished.

Having taken something like 200 hours Lysistrata is finished. I enjoyed working on this so much. 

Front doubler and end paper.

The box.

Emirates LitFest

www.emirateslitfest.com/mainprogramme

Lysistrata, the folio, and the beginning of the label making.

Studio5 on Face Book.

Studio5 on Face Book.

Lysistrata, back doubler 95% finished.

So near to completion, but now is the time to stop and look. Keep looking. Next is an enclosure for the advertisement. Then the box, I am thinking that a box may be the simple answer... and this is not a simple book.

Lysistrata. Front Doubler 95% finished.

Now to the back doubler.

Lysistrata, outside 95% complete.

NO NO Lysistrata.

NO. Lysistrata.

Lysistrata, front board.. the work continues.

Lysistrata, the front board.

Early days....

Lysistrata, back board finished for the time being.

I really like to work free hand, the joy of using mixed media allows for so much freedom of expression. Though the traditional aspects of the book are important..... and when used well are a joy to behold... I do find them somewhat limiting at times and to be frank boring. 

As ore is added more is hidden, I know it is there. Perhaps to be exposed later.

A touch more manipulation, more depth, more colour, more movement.

Detail, small things matter. Now for the front board, the protest, the strength of reason and to resist.

Lysistrata, Collage begins.

Ancient Greece divided by war.

Invasion.

The protagonists.

Time and date.

Wasting of blood.

Lessons never learnt.

The idea is to build up multiple layers, tearing off as I go. Rather like Affiches lacerees  (torn posters) I suppose one could say Papier dechire  (a collage of torn papers) This takes longer than one may imagine, not only is it in collecting the images, torn paper etc but also in the composition. A balancing act of not letting it look thrown together whilst creating a narrative without over working it.

Kintsugi Binding and stand finished.

Lysistrata, base dying complete.

I am liking this the book.

The base dying is complete.

Though we think of the obvious, there are the underlying tensions of the Peloponnesian war. The base dying reflects the chaos and destruction of war. 

The women sacrifice wine to the gods and old men try to burn them out of the Acropolis and the women swear to stop having sex with their men folk until peace breaks out.

There are mock fights lots of singing and frustrated men all over the place.

The next phase of the binding work is to start on the inlays, text (a big NO) and graphics (images of a nature), this will be in collage.