Book Arts

I love books. Not a surprising statement from a librarian, I suppose.

I really love them in all their forms and permutations; hard covers, paperbacks, comic books, ebooks, audiobooks, picture books, albums, even blank books.

 I am fascinated by cuniform tablets and palm-leaf books.

  I love the smell of linotype slugs.

 (It all started with Egyptiana and making a papyrus scroll. But that was ugly. Don’t ask. Just don’t ask.)

So it’s not surprising that I had to try my hand at making books too.

I'm not the only one hanging out at 686 in the Dewey stacks,  where you may find The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books by Gabrielle Fox. Or check out Making books that fly, fold, wrap, hide, pop up, twist, and turn by Gwen Deihn for projects to make with your children (or anybody's children).
 Check out some Pinterest pages of handmade books from other sufferers.
 And let us not forget the world of altered books; where books are stacked, cut, painted or turned inside-out to say what mere text cannot.
Books can be written, printed, stamped, painted or etched, sewn, cut, folded, glued or strung. They can be big, small, flimsy, rigid, plain or fancy.
You can make a book in a box or a book on a string. You can tan, taw, paste, embellish, marble, embroider or set jewels into your book. You can make it and make it yours. What better way to celebrate and remember Library Lovers Month?
Jan D.