Shape Poems

In April, National Poetry Month, we made shape poems to inspire the structure of books about the welcome arrival of spring.  The idea was to draw a shape that evoked spring, a bird, a bud, for instance, and then to write descriptions and feelings within the shape.  To get the idea of shape poems, we made one together about an iris leaf:

smooth promise

succulent

supple sword

aspiring upward

erect

translucent edges

bulging buds 

In the past, we've talked about the place of words in our books and noted how some of us resist using them while for others of us words dictate the form of our structures.  Interestingly, this month, approaches reversed for some. 

Here, with a few binding details still in the works for Susan and Lorraine, are the April books.  Click on any image for a closer look.

Susan Bissonnette 

Pam Wright

Miriam Frischer

Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi

Cait Johnson

Wind Questions

Much of March proved uncommonly summer-like this year, but sticking with weather tradition, we made books about March wind.  We asked, what form would a book about wind take?  Would it describe feelings stirred up by the wind? Would it physically generate wind, or at least a breeze?  Would it invite the wind to manipulate it?
We each found ways to invoke and invite the energies of wind into our work.  In addition, Susan brought the now complete book that she began in January.  Her wind book elaborates on the innovative cover style she created for the January book.  Both she and Karin promise to bring the complete books started this time when we meet again.
To start a slide show of the books, click on any image.

Susan Bissonnette's complete book from January.

Susan Bissonnette's wind book in progress

Debbie Stone

Jo Renbeck

Karin Lempke

More tiny books about wind to be added to Karin's book

Behind the Scenes and Under Cover

In February, little things are happening in the ground, under the ice, in the air  We all know winter loves to take its curtain calls, but behind the scenes, the stage is being set for spring.

We made tiny books, 3"x3," about tiny changes, choosing between accordion, flutter and pamphlet style with papers we painted.  We made covers with sturdy book board that we cut (a hard business!)  But the good surprise in this taxing effort came when we posed the books for photos.  The heavy boards attached to the delicate paper sometimes caused the pages to spring up in unexpected ways.

Deanna Tohey

Deanna Tohey

Debbie Stone

Josette Lee

Karin Lempke

Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi

Miriam Frischer

Pam Wright

Painted Paper Books

We took inspiration from Painted Paper, Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards, Alisa Golden's rich and generous book detailing many exciting approaches to creating decorative papers along with directions for book projects that can be made from these papers. 

This was a decidedly delicious session.  Our theme this month was the winter moon, but many of us ended up just joyfully following the paint wherever it led. 

We all used acrylic inks, and chose between Meridian Drawing paper and Yasutomo Sumi-E painting paper, the first opaque, the second transluscent.

Once the papers were painted and dried, we cut them into individual pages.

Each page was folded.  The folded pages were stacked on top of each other.  The fore edges of adjoining pages were glued together.  More detailed instructions can be found in Alisa Golden's book in the Album Accordion Book section.

Cait Johnson

Lee Courtney

Miriam Frischer

Jo Renbeck

Debbie Stone

Susan Bissonnett

Karen Summerlin

Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi

And here's one more that I made to illustrate Alisa Golden's instruction for making a cover for the Album Accordion Book. The cover works well with papers like the Meridian Drawing paper that do not allow the paint to bleed through.  However, with the Yasutomo Sumi-E painting paper, both sides of the paper show the paint and a cover may not be desired.

Tube City

Instigation for making tubes into books sprang from work by Michael Basinski on exhibit at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland Oregon.  (This is a wonderful gallery to visit on line.)

Pam Wright dubbed this session TUBE CITY which turned out to be apt since the cylinder promoted architectural thinking.  Many of us found this approach freeing and exhilarating.

Karen Summerlin

Karen's book as arm torque

Josette Lee's dream inspired book

Pam Wright's tube within a tube

Pam Wright

Debbie Stone - Secrets, Dispose of Properly

Jo Renbeck - sliding center tube reveals additional text

Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi

Double click on any image for a slide show of the entire collection.

Evening

The theme was evening, though themes are never binding.  Our structural form was a simple four panel accordion.  Some of us played with ways to extend content across the panels instead of considering them as separate pages.  But mostly we all just submitted in delight to the beauty of the new papers on hand from Nepal that suggested the fading colors at dusk and the brilliance of late autumn sunsets.

Cait Johnson

Miriam Frishler

Susan Bissonnette

Angela Balletto

Debbie Stone

Jo Renbeck

Suki Dugan-Maltby

Debbie Stone

Carol Maltby