June Workshop

These little books range from the ridiculous to the sublime. A burrito book is a small book put together without the aid of sewing, glues or fasteners. The sheets of the ‘book’ interlock by rolling a page (like a burrito) and putting it through an opening in another page. 

Tools to bring:

• Cutting mat 
• Xacto knife 
• Scissors 
• Metal Ruler 
• Bone folder 
• Materials to decorate your books: rubber stamps, photos, collage, etc. 

 What will be supplied: 

• Paper for 3 small books 

When looking on the internet, YouTube shows teachers putting pieces of paper together for young students to use as notebooks. As usual, we up the ante a bit. 

We will start with the simplest of the formats using text weight paper to make a glue and fastener free note book. This will demonstrate why it is called a “burrito book” and the basics of the technique. The second book will be made of card stock and can have an unlimited number of pages. It also has an interesting spine. The third book will contain two “signatures” and be a little more sophisticated in appearance. 

Many of you will finish fairly early. Please bring materials to decorate your book (e.g., rubber stamps, photos, collage, colored pencils or media of your choice). The book of card stock will be high contrast with brightly colored pages. The third book will have a choice of covers with white "signatures." 

We'll be meeting in our usual room on the HSU campus on Saturday, June 8. Please note that this workshop requires an RSVP so that Bobbie, our instructor, can prepare enough materials. Bobbie's contact info is in the newsletter. Please let her know as soon as possible if you plan to join us. There will be a $1.25 materials fee.

A big thank you to Vivienne B., who sent samples and instructions for the Burrito Book. 

Paste Painting Fun

Everyone combed and rolled and stamped and sloshed paint to their hearts' content at our May paste painting workshop, and many gorgeous papers were made. Unfortunately, the thought didn't occur to take pictures until it was time to start packing up and papers were being removed! Only a tiny fraction of what was made got recorded. There were some really beautiful paste papers.

Ellen posted more about the workshop, with more photos of papers, on her personal blog. As well as pictures, that post also has links to suppliers for the decorative rollers we used.

We haven't been able to identify the makers of several of the paste papers. If you see yours and would like to be credited, please let us know.

Paste Painting Workshop in May

Please note: we are meeting in a different location and at a different time!  

• We'll be having a general meeting, which will include the book exchange, at 11:30am, Saturday May 11. The workshop will start at 12 noon.  
• We are meeting in the Social Hall at Arcata United Methodist Church on 11th Street, Arcata. 

This month we are having a special paste painting workshop with Ellen Golla. Unlike many of our workshops, this one required preregistration. To all of you who've signed up, thank you! If you aren't enrolled and would still like to come, please get in touch with us. If there's been a cancellation, we might be able to accommodate you.

Participants will each get a starter kit, to keep, that will include a plexiglass worktop and supplies for making stamping, patterning and rolling tools (and whatever else you can think of). You'll also get to try out an assortment of tools that will be available for use during the workshop. Papers, both plain and colored, plus a few sheets of non-paper Wet Media Dura-Lar and Tyvek will also be provided.

You don't need to provide anything. However, if you have tools or papers you want to use, feel free to bring 'em! 

Also, there are some things that, while not required, will be helpful to have on hand. These are optional, but recommended:

• Scissors (especially recommended--please bring if possible)
• Craft knife and cutting mat
• One or two paintbrushes. Brushes will be provided, but you might want to have one or two of your own for blending colors on your paper. High-quality synthetic house painting brushes from the hardware store are ideal. Sash brushes with angled bristles are particularly nice, but regular-shaped brushes are fine. Low-quality brushes are not recommended, as they shed and will ruin your design. Foam brushes are ok, but real ones generally give better results. 

Additionally, you might want to keep an eye out for extra tools to paint with. These can include:

• Toothbrushes
• Old credit cards
• Rubber and foam stamps
• Silicon spatulas (that you won't use for food)
• Anything else made of silicon (rubber dog and horse curry combs with interesting patterns, for example)
• Whisks and other cooking implements with interesting shapes (again, not ones you'll actually cook with)
• Wood graining combs and rockers
• Decorative painting combs
• Painting knives
• Plastic toys (textured car wheels, old legos…)
• Sponges
• Anything with an interesting shape or edge that can withstand paint and is washable

If you don't come up with anything, don't worry--an assortment of these will be available to borrow at the workshop. As you can see, paste painting is a perfect pastime for the hoarding fetishists among us. It's time to empty those junk drawers.

Also, please keep in mind that paste painting is messy. Wear comfortable old clothes and/or bring an apron.

April Workshop: Triple Chain

Triple Chain Stitch Binding with Connie Rose

Connie’s elegant
Triple Chain Stitch Binding

At the April workshop we will learn the Triple Chain Binding, a link stitch sewing that creates a chain effect on the spine. Single chains can be used to bind in any number of signatures, whereas the Triple Chain is used to bind three or multiples of three signatures. We will create a three-signature journal that is 8-3/4" tall by 5-3/4" wide. The focus of the workshop is on the stitch itself.
Please RSVP by April 8 by phone or email (see newsletter for contact info). Connie will respond to all emails. If you don’t hear from her within a day, she didn’t get your email—please resend.

Materials to bring:
• 3 SIGNATURES: please cut and fold signatures prior to the workshop. Folio size should be 8-1/2" x 11" folded in half widthwise. Number of folios (folded pages) per signature will vary depending on what kind and thickness of paper you use; you’ll need 6 to 8 sheets or folios PER signature. Paper options: 60 or 80# drawing paper, lightweight (90#) watercolor paper, recycled heavyweight book or magazine pages, recycled journal paper, scrapbook paper, lightweight cardstock, etc. Each folded signature should be around 1/8-inch thick at the spine edge. Cut, fold and weight overnight.
• COVER: 8-3/4" x 11-3/4" grain short (paper length will wrap around book). Cover options: watercolor paper, medium or heavy cardstock, anything that will fold easily but is heavy enough to be a cover.
Note: If you would like to line your cover, do so before the workshop. Cut a piece of decorative paper 8-5/8" x 11-5/8" and glue to the inside of the cover. You could also finish the edges of the cover with washi or other decorative tape, or cut and glued strips of paper – use your imagination.

Tools and Supplies to bring:
• Thread: options include waxed linen, hemp (available at Michaels, JoAnn, Scrapper’s Edge), size 5 perle cotton or crochet cotton, 6-strand embroidery thread
• Beeswax
• Awl or Japanese screw punch
• Book binding needle
• Piercing cradle (or old phone book or thick catalog)
• Bone folder
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Cutting mat

What will be provided:
• Hole punching template
• Extra piercing cradles
• Stitching diagram


When?
Saturday, April 13, 12 noon
 
Where? NEW LOCATION FOR THIS MEETING
Harry Griffith Hall, Room 204, HSU, corner of B and Harpst
(from L.K. Wood Blvd or B St, turn on Harpst St and then south on Rossow St. There is a large parking lot on your left. There is an elevator in the build-ing for easy access to the second floor)

What to bring?
See list above

RSVP
Yes, by April 8
Cost? 50 cents

Humboldt Library Kiosk: Books by Michele Kamprath

The Humboldt County Library kiosk is currently featuring Michele Kamprath's beautifully crafted handmade books. Michele is a regular contributor to our book exchanges, and her interests in book arts are wide-ranging. If you are in the area, be sure to have a look at this delightful sampling of Michele's work.

Coptic Workshop Addendum

From Dolores:

If you are planning on binding all (or more than one) of your compendiums into one book by taking apart previous compendiums, you can hide the previous sewing holes in the following manner:

Cut a piece of paper (decorative, plain, or colored) 11" x 1" grain long. You will need one strip for each signature of each compendium (16 strips total, if binding all 4 compendiums). Gently fold each strip in half (do not bone it flat). Run a glue stick along the spine edge of a signature; place the folded strip around the signature and press onto the signature. You are only tacking the strip; the glue will hold it in place when you re-pierce your signatures. Do not glue the entire strip to the signature, just the spine edge.

It won't matter where your previous holes were punched, as you will make a new jig to pierce all of the signatures and the wrapped strip will be the only visible spine to show off your Coptic stitching. As you can see from my book, all 4 volumes are bound as one. I used alternate colors for each volume (cream for volumes 1 & 3 and grey for volumes 2 & 4).

(See below for full workshop description)

Single Needle Coptic Binding

NORBAG Compendium, Volume 4
Taught by Dolores Guffey

Come join us to bind your personal copy the current compendium, the compilation of our newsletter Project Pages from January 2009 through January 2013 (it has been four years since the last one). It is folded into four signatures and consists of 36 book arts and related structures with complete instructions, as well as helpful hints. A very special thank you goes to Peggy Marrs, who designed each project page and wrote the fantastic and understandable illustrated instructions.

This workshop will teach the single needle Coptic binding, and gives you the opportunity to be as creative as you wish with the covers and the placement of the stitches. You also have the option of bringing your earlier compendiums and bind all four together . One of the advantages of Coptic binding is that it is easily disassembled if you so desire to take apart your earlier volumes. If you do wish to bind all your compendiums together, please make a new set of boards to accommodate the thicker book (your original boards will be a tad too small).

For those of you who wish to learn the single needle Coptic binding, but do not wish to bind a compendium, you may bring your own paper and covers and follow along. (Note: if this is your choice, then decide what size book you wish to bind. The covers should be ¼" longer than the length of the signatures and ¼" wider than the width of the folded signatures.)

All four compendiums will be available, both at this and future meetings. If you wish to have one (or more) mailed to you, please fill out the order form included in the newsletter. Mail the form and a check as instructed on the order sheet. The cost for each compendium is $5.00 plus postage.

Materials Needed for the Covers
NOTE: Covers need to be made before the meeting. They should be made at least a day ahead and allowed to dry under weights to avoid warping.
1. Two covers, each 11 ¼" x 8 ¾" grain long (Davy board, mat board, or illustration board)
2. Two pieces of decorative paper 13" x 10 ½" grain long
3. Two pieces of end paper 10 ½" x 8 ¼" grain long (same as cover paper or complimentary).
Glue the end papers to the backside of each cover. Please make sure the grain of your paper matches the grain of your cover boards, with the grain being parallel to the spine. This will assure that the covers do not warp after binding.

Materials Needed for the Workshop
1. Your completed covers (decorative papers on both sides of each cover)
2. Curved or bent needle (extra needles will be available)
3. Colored thread to match or complement your covered boards (six strand embroidery floss; pearl cotton floss, size 5; or waxed linen thread)
4. Beeswax
5. Piercing tool if using mat or illustration board; hand drill if using Davy board
6. Protective source on which to pierce or drill (old magazine or phone book)
7. Piercing cradle that can accommodate an 11" signature; if you don't have one, bring a phone book which, when opened, can substitute for a cradle.
8. Piece of cardstock 11" x 2" for a sewing jig
9. Pencil, ruler, scissors, bone folder

Note: The following extra materials will be available if you don't have a particular item:
• needles & beeswax
• colored thread (embroidery floss & pearl cotton)
• a few extra piercing cradles
• piercing tool & hand drill

When? Saturday, March 9, 12 noon
Where? Our usual location: BSS 166 at HSU
Cost? $5.00 to purchase a compendium. No workshop fee.