JUNE TACKET BINDING WORKSHOP

On June 10, Michele Kamprath led the NORBAG workshop on tacket binding. Michele took Margo Klass’s class on tacket binding at the Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival in Oregon. “Tacketing is a form of exposed binding, in which each folio (we call them a signature) is sewn directly onto the spine, rather than combined into a single text block, with visible stitching.” (Centerforbookarts.org).

Our tacket bound book had two signatures with wrappers for the signatures and a cover with a lining. Michele spoke not only about the structure but also about the creative possibilities within this structure. Signature wrappers, pockets, colors, folded ends and windows are some of the possibilities. Because we were learning a tacket binding, we had solid colored covers with contrasting stitching.

Michele brought several examples of tacket bound books that were made by our members at the Newport Paper and Book Arts Festival. She also brought a sample card for waxed linen.

We first folded our covers, wrappers and signatures (folios). While the signatures and signature wraps were simply folded in half, the cover and lining needed to have a 1/2” spine. Michele showed us how to make sure that the spine is centered by using a method found in Volume 4, page 43 of our compendium. (If you don’t have any of the compendiums, contact Dolores Guffey and she will let you know how you can obtain them. Her contact info is on the second page of the newsletter.)

Michele showed us a way to center a spine on the cover by using a tip in our compendium.

After putting holes in the signatures, wrappers and cover, we sewed the signatures to the cover. In the tacket binding version we used, we had two separate tackets attaching each signature using either waxed linen thread or perle cotton. We had the option of using the same or different color for each of the tackets.

We all use different types of tools. For example, in the three above pictures, two people use artist awls and one uses a carpentry awl. We use everything from phone books to sewing cradles while punching holes.

In this picture, the patterned paper is the wrapper for the signature and is being sewn onto the grey cover.

Each signature was attached to the spine using two sewing stations with two holes each. The well-waxed thread was put through both holes two times and then the remaining thread encircled the long stitch. In this picture, you can see the bottom tackets of both signatures, one yellow and the other is blue.

The signature had two sets of two holes and this shows that a single signature used different colors in each sewing station. After the first signature was completed we sewed the next signature to the spine.

 The results were quite varied. And you can tell from the photos that we had a good time.

Valerie left long tails on the four tackets and will be adding beads.

Lara and Sarah (mother and daughter) laughed throughout.

Beth is holding up her two wrapped signatures that will be put into her orchid cover.

Edge decorated her cover with some old maps from our local library.

 We also have something new that we are doing at our monthly meeting.  It's a "show and tell" table. It's for things that members are working on. Donna G. brought in several books: one bound with an eight needle Coptic stitch, one with a buttonhole stitch and and another had exposed tape with a french link stitch. 

Eight needle Coptic stitch

Exposed tape with French stitch made during a play date with Edge

Buttonhole stitch

The exchange book photos will be on Flickr near the end of the month.

FAVORITE BOOKS at the Humboldt County Library

The current exhibit in the kiosk at the Humboldt County Library features some of the favorite books by NORBAG members. The books were made either by the member or received in a book exchange and made by another member. This exhibit will likely be up into the month of July. 

Many thanks to the members who loaned their books and to Lynne Gurnee for arranging the display.

TACKET BINDING with Michele Kamprath

At April's Newport Paper and Book Arts Festival in Newport, Oregon, several NORBAG members took a Tacket Binding class from our member from Alaska, Margo Klass. Michele will teach a version of one of those bindings at the June workshop.

Michele's elegant example

Materials to bring:

• Cover paper: cardstock or Mi-Teintes 5 5/8" x 12" grain short
• Cover liner paper: light cardstock or text weight paper 5 1/2" x 8 5/8" grain short
• 2 signature wraps: light cardstock or text weight paper 5 1/2" x 8 5/8" grain short
• 12 pieces of text weight paper for the signatures: 6 pieces of text weight paper 8 1/2" x 11" cut in half to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". When folded, signature size is 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

(Paper note: if you need to buy paper and want to keep it to a minimum, you can buy two 12" sheets to use for both cover, signature wraps, and cover liner paper. Solid color paper on the spine of your book will show your stitching better than paper with a pattern. Contrasting colors for the cover and liner papers will make the book more interesting but one color will also work.)

Tools to bring:

• 2 large paper clips
• Waxed linen thread 4 ply in two colors or Perle cotton thread #5 in two colors
• Bees wax to wax un-waxed thread
• Needle: tapestry needles #20 or #22 or #2 crewel needles blunted with sandpaper
• Small needle nosed pliers if you have them may be useful
• Cutting mat
• Piercing tool
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Ruler
• Phone book or piercing cradle
• Glue stick
• Cover embellishments

To be provided:

• Instructions
• jig for signatures and cover
• Examples and discussion on tacket bindings

When:   Saturday, June 10 at 12 noon
Where:  Eureka Methodist Church at Del Norte & F Streets
RSVP:   Yes by June 5 to Michele. Contact information is in the newsletter
Cost:     50 cents
Bring:    See above list

Be sure to scroll down to see photos from the May shaving cream marbling workshop.

Shaving Cream Marbling Workshop by Lara Cox

In May, Lara Cox gave a workshop using shaving cream to marble paper. While this is not the traditional marbling we find in books, it is a fun surface design technique. And a bit messy.

Lara Cox demonstrates how to create surface design with shaving cream.

Shaving cream marbling is fairly simple.

Put a layer of shaving cream in a low sided container that is slightly larger than your largest piece of paper. We used baking dishes, plastic container tops, and baking sheets with sides.  Smooth the top.

Put drops of color onto the shaving cream. This could be food color, acrylic inks or diluted acrylic craft paints.

Dots of color are added. 
In this picture, we had already taken one print and just added more color.

 

Use a chopstick or similar instrument and move the colors around on the surface of the shaving cream. The colors stay on the top of the shaving cream and you can form interesting patterns.

These photos show samples of how people moved the colors around.
 If you can see the shaving cream, the print will not have any color in that area.

Instead of a lot of back and forth movement of the color,
 many of our members made star or flower shapes.

Lay a piece of paper onto the surface of the shaving cream making sure not to have any bubbles under the paper.

Remove the paper from the shaving cream and use a straight edge (credit card, squeegee) to remove the cream from the paper. Done!

The paper looks a mess with shaving cream,
 but a couple swipes across the paper with a credit card and the design appears.

This is a TA-DA! moment.

If you notice, the room is not our usual room. We were in a conference room that had carpets on the floor. We swathed the room in white plastic. It was fun!

NEWPORT PAPER AND BOOK ART FESTIVAL - 2017

Fifteen members of NORBAG attended this year's festival, two of whom were also instructors. It is a wonderful experience just being with fellow book artists who understand what "book art" really is. Have you ever tried to explain what you do as a book artist? No one really understands – wish we could all just carry samples of our creations to share with the world.

Nye Beach on a sunny day...we only had one of those this year.

Here are just a few of the observations of this year's adventure and some miscellaneous photographs.

Margaret B (all the way from York, England):  Another weekend of crazy fun! Norbaggers do know how to have a good time and learn new things at the same time. Once again our condo was the hub for our nightly show and tell. Michele K shared sink art secrets and it was a place to catch up at the end of our busy days to exchange techniques, or just to watch the sun go down.  Nye beach at Newport is a delightful place and for the fifth year I was lucky enough to take a class in the room overlooking the beach on the one sunny day of our stay. Surf rolling in, families enjoying the beach, the lighthouse on the distant point and the seagulls overhead. The organization of the festival was first class as ever. Almost 100 attendees took 18 classes from 16 tutors over three days. And I was lucky enough to be one of them.

Examples from Marilyn Stablein's Explosion Class

 Pat C: I met a lot of nice people and the classes were fun and I've always learned a lot! Newport Paper and Book Arts Festival has something for everyone and is well worth the effort to attend.

One of Marilyn's books from the Instructor's Show

                                      

Edge G: Newport has been an inspiring, encouraging and fun experience for me. I've attended the last two years and plan to continue. Even though the instructors are well known and top notch I don't feel out of place as the instructors make everyone feel welcome and the classes are geared to a range of experience levels so everyone comes away satisfied. The setting in the Nye Beach area is beautiful and comfortably small, but not lacking in good restaurants and places to stay.  I feel very fortunate to be able to attend!

Examples of Tacket Binding from Margo Klass

Dolores G: Of the 14 participants in Margo Klass' two-day "Tacket Binding" class, seven of us were Norbaggers! Margo, who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, is also a member of NORBAG. We always feel fortunate to be in her class as we come away with such scrumptious books. Michele K will be teaching one of the four variations we learned from Margo at our June workshop.

Dolores's beautiful book from the Instructor's Show

Bonnie J: Now that I'm an out-of-town member of NORBAG I really appreciate the opportunity to meet up with local members in Newport. It's almost like old times being able to attend workshops together again.  Several of us had rooms at the Condos so it was very convenient to get together in the evening to share techniques, get advice for finishing projects, and show off what we made in our workshops. Although it was a bit more wet and windy than we would have liked, some dedicated walkers still took a morning hike on the beach.

Mary Maisch's Word Bird from the Instructor's Show

Michele K: Newport was a great time as usual and made livelier this year by the addition of our member from York, England, Margaret. I always think of Newport as time for an art blast with my friends/art tribe. Kind of a prolonged slumber party with almost non-stop fun. At one point after all day workshops, Margaret remarked during our evening sink art session in the condo that the management would be quite shocked if they walked in right now. Fortunately we keep a clean scene with plastic covers and newspapers to keep the mess to a minimum. Fun times with creative outcomes.

Michele K's book made in Margo's Tacket Binding class

Cindy S: I took two days of workshops with Heather Fortner in Toledo at her studio. First day was "Beautiful Botanicals" and second day "Eco Dyeing." I enjoyed both classes and came away with such beautiful papers from the eco dyeing class that I will want to do more of this on my own. Loved the spontaneity of it.

Another Tacket Binding book

Carol S: This was my fourth year to attend this festival and it was such a fun and creative experience! I left feeling like a super saturated sponge. The event was well organized and the instructors had so much to share. Put NPBAF on your 2018 “to do list."

Baskets by Kathy Karbo in the Instructor's Show

Many thanks to Dolores for soliciting comments and writing this article. The dates for next year's NPBAF are April 20, 21, and 22.