Category: Biblio Files

Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!

1. What is your role at Austin Book Arts Center?

  Instructor of Bookbinding.

 2. What is a special memory of teaching at Austin Book Arts Center?

In general, how connected and focused my students become in the making process. This connection between the human, their hands, and making an object.

3. What distinguishes book arts from other art forms? 

As someone who views myself as a craftswoman, I consider book arts through the lens of traditional bookbinding. Therefore akin to other crafts, such as woodworking, structure often comes first. These technical concerns govern the choice of materials, making the final product all the more rewarding as the result of the craftsperson’s limited and trained decisions working within a fixed range of possibilities.

4. What is your background? 

My background began in the craft of papermaking, working at the Oakdale Papermaking Facility and with Tim Barrett at the University of Iowa Center for the Book (UICB).

5. What drew you to study book arts?

I remember when my former professor showed us students his gampi paper and deerskin book as a demo for the first time. I was amazed by the contrast between the rough texture of these homespun materials and the precise mechanics of the book which allowed these delicately thin sheets of paper to be easily turned from page to page. Additionally, Pamela Spitzmueller was working for the UICB and her research with the Long Link Stitch got me to take a course in non-adhesive bookbinding. Afterward I moved to Austin and met Olivia Primanis and Mary Baughman at the HRC Harry Ransom Center when volunteering. They encouraged me to take classes at the Academy of Bookbinding where I met Don Etherington my instructor. I took classes over the years before finally learning of the North Bennett Street School that Mark Esser began in 1984, a bookbinding program. He was a student of Bill Anthony from the UICB (never met him as he passed away), but was greatly influenced by his craftsmanship which Mark learned and most likely influenced the studies there. I studied under Jeff Altepeter for two years and returned home to Austin. 

6. What are you working on now? 

More than working on my original designs I have recently been focusing on book restoration. At NBSS we spent little time on this aspect of bookbinding, but I enjoy the challenge of being presented with various binding structures and using my skills as a binder and papermaker to restore them. My focus is to restore them in a way they just seem to be books that have been well cared for over the years. Their patina remains intact, but the “dust” of the book seems removed. I like to be invisible and let it be about the book.

Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!

1. How long have you been volunteering at ABAC, and what brought you here?

I discovered ABAC in 2017 after a quick google search for letterpress printing classes in my area. I had just purchased a Golding Pearl and had done quite a bit of research in an attempt to teach myself the trade, but wanted to take a formal class to learn more. It was so refreshing to meet people in the letterpress community and to talk about printing! I learned how to print on a Vandercook – and I completely fell in love!

2. What appeals to you about letterpress?

Probably the precision of it all. The way letterpress printing looks up close, the texture, shadows, it’s just so much more captivating than flat printing. I still can’t help but to run my finger over the text every time I print something new. And the precision required when setting the press up to print is one of my favorite things. In a love/hate way. It can be very challenging which makes the gratification that much sweeter.

3. What is your background?

I have no real background in print or design. I actually never considered myself a very creative person growing up, but I have learned that creativity can be cultivated. The main thing I try to do is keep developing. I’ve taken classes at ABAC, read a million articles and forums online, studied the design work of other artists, and allowed myself some grace when I’ve created some really ugly work in the past. 

4. What inspires you as an artist?

I am inspired by nature, other print work, and most of all, architecture. It might sound strange but sometimes I see a really beautiful building and think, “What would that look like as an invitation?” Some of my favorite color palettes have come from buildings or interior design I’ve seen while traveling. My business card should read “Travels with Pantone.”

5. What are you working on now? 

Right now I’ve got a few small weddings in the works and a line of greeting cards I hope to release in early 2020. I also plan on taking the Bookbinding and Improve Your Penmanship classes at ABAC to keep cultivating creativity!

Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!

1. When and how did you first discover ABAC?

 I first discovered ABAC through the website. I was looking to move somewhere new in the fall of 2016 and the Austin area was one place I was considering. Seeing that there was a book arts center here was one of the factors that decided me on eventually moving here!

2. What classes have you taken at the center?

I’ve taken a mix of classes –  letterpress  intensive, coptic binding, hand-developing polymer plates, and holiday card printing – and there are so many more that I would like to take!

3. What volunteer work do you do at ABAC?

Lately, I’ve been volunteering whenever an extra hand is needed. Recently I’ve helped with the move, with printing the moving announcement postcards, and at the open house in February.

4. Can you think of a certain experience at ABAC that best exemplifies what you like most about the center?

 I had a great time at the open house in February. The mix of people that the informal events like that (and the holiday card printing class in December) bring is really wonderful! Whether it’s people new to ABAC or existing members, it’s great to hear about what people are working on or now that they know about ABAC how people plan to adapt what they’ve learned or take a class to learn more!

5. What do you think is special about book and paper-based art that separates it from other art forms?

I like the broad horizons of book and paper arts, from the practical side of making a blank journal or letterpress printing some invitations all the way to the fantastical side of art books and design bindings! I like that a book can be a bit of art that you carry around with you. Most of all, in a time when a lot of printed things are going digital (which DRM aside, I’m all for), I like the physicality of book and paper arts. Question: why should I own a copy of Frankenstein when I can grab it off of Project Gutenberg or get it from the library? Answer: the design binding class ABAC did last fall for Frankenstein – they were all amazing and really added something special. When, like me, you move a lot and live in small-ish apartments, it makes you particular about what you own and therefore eventually have to move (and books weigh a lot), and any of those Frankenstein bindings would be worth owning.

6. What are you working on now?

 I’m a beginning book artist, so not much yet! I am so, so, slowly working on a binding for a version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story, and eventually I’d like to print some postcards of bats and a version of the game skull & roses.

Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!

1.  What drew you to study the book arts?

 I collect old books.  Often the books I buy are damaged and frail.  In 2014 I met a book conservator at an antiquarian book fair who introduced me to the craft of book conservation.  It astonished me that a 200 year old book, broken into pieces, could be made whole and beautiful again.  Over the next couple years I sent her a dozen books for repair.   With each repair she taught me a bit more about book structure and even suggested that I could do simpler repairs myself.    

In 2017 I happened upon ABAC during the East Austin Studio Tour.  On the wall of the studio, next to the presses and guillotine, was the upcoming class schedule.

2.  What classes have you taken at the center?

I have taken Bookbinding 1 &2, Book Repair 1 & 2, Design binding (Frankenstein), Letterpress Printing, and Box Making.  Every one was fun.  

3.  What have you done with the knowledge gained from the classes?

Outside of class I have repaired about a dozen case bound books from my collection; replaced the spine on a quarter leather 1836 sailing directory of the East India Company; rebound 19^th early 20^th century editions of the collected works of Tennyson, Hugo, and Smollet; and made custom boxes to organize my book repair tools.

4.  How does being a part of ABAC inform or inspire your work?

ABAC was instrumental to me learning bookbinding and book repair.

5.  What do you enjoy the most about book arts?

The parts that appeal to me are the structural aspects of the bindings, the aesthetic decisions, and striving to perfect my technique and craft.  And I enjoy spending time with book artist who are unfailingly generous with their knowledge.  I enjoy reading a beautiful old book that I have myself restored.   And I enjoy the pleasure of imagining that someone will hold and read that very same book 150 years from now.  

6.  What advice would you give someone interested in this area?

Sign up for a class at ABAC right now today!

7.  What are you working on now?

I am binding an 1874 first edition of “Picturesque America, or the Land We Live In”.  This was a very popular work of its time, sold only by subscription in 48 bi-monthly parts, each part containing 3 signatures (24 pages) with one steel engraving, sewn into a paper cover.  I bought a tatty, smelly, but fully complete set of the 48 original parts in their covers. So far I have dry cleaned, mended, and reinforced all the parts, and sewn them on cords into four volumes.  Next step is to attach boards.  The text blocks together weigh 20 pounds!  Oh boy it’s been a lot of work but I have learned a lot.

Here’s another one from the Biblio Files, a periodic profile of a community member, highlighting what makes ABAC an awesome place to work and to learn!

1. What is your role at Austin Book Arts Center? If you teach and volunteer, please write about both. 

I teach book-arts classes for teachers in a happy-hour style. Participants enjoy a glass of wine and snacks along the way, then go home with about eight structures to teach to their students. It’s always a fun and productive time. I also teach a tunnel book class, which is great for artists wanting to make their collages and paintings three-dimensional. I hope to develop a series of classes for artists: linocuts printed on the Vandercook Press, sketchbook design, gallery-type books to house art, and pop-up books, among other ideas. Also I want to help create some Thursday evening date-night events with a “make and take” in a happy hour format. I volunteer weekly as a steward, assisting folks who rent time in the bindery or print shop.

2. Why do you choose to volunteer at ABAC? 

When I retired from teaching art in an elementary school, I created a theme for the rest of my life: everything BOOKS. Reading novels in the middle of the morning, for instance, is perfectly acceptable. I was trained as a book conservator and worked in the field for many years before deciding to become an art teacher. So I was well immersed in book arts. It was only natural to join my friends Mary Baughman and Amanda Stevenson and many others, endeavoring to start up the Austin Book Arts Center. It has been wonderful to see the Center thrive and bloom into what it is now—and so much more that the future holds! I am quite lucky.

3. How long have you been a volunteer?

I have volunteered since the very beginning, in 2015.

4. Are you active in other formal or informal Austin arts organizations?

I am part of a small group of artists who call ourselves the “Austin Five.” We meet monthly for camaraderie and critique, and we put together an annual exhibition of our work. Diverse in our directions but profiting from shared ideas, we help each other through thick and thin. I feel blessed to have them in my life.

5. What other information do you want ABAC fans to know about your life, your philosophy, your dreams and goals, and life events? 

I am thrilled to show an exhibit of some of my books in the Austin Central Library until February 24^th. It is part of a bigger display about fairy tales called Mirror Mirrored. The exhibit is amazing, and I’m happy to be a part of it. The book it was named after and whose author curated the show makes a fabulous and magical journey. I found in him a fellow fairy-tale geek. The book, though produced commercially, is quite an art object in itself.  

I was also featured in the book arts blog of designer, photographer, printer, binder, and publisher Louise Levergneux. That connection inspired me to catch up on my own blog and maybe even create a website of my work!