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Tag Archives: Design binding

The Lord of the Rings

14 Saturday Jan 2023

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου, -Uncategorized

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Design binding, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, J.R.R. Tolkien, leather binding, Lord of the Rings, Lotr, Middle Earth, Tolkien

Ρresenting Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
This is my last and biggest collaboration with Mia Heath (the book minder) from the summer of 2022.
An epic bookbinding project for one of the most wonderful stories ever written.

Getting Lost in Middle Earth

I read Lord of the Rings back in early high school, right after the Hobbit. I’ve described the latter’s impact on me in the corresponding post, so I’ll just quickly say that LOTR’s beauty, scale and depth completely absorbed me.

I was exceptionally lucky because by the time I finished the books the films started coming out. Nothing like them had come before and -I dare say- ever since. Those who haven’t had the chance to watch them in cinema for the first time have no idea what kind of experience they’ve missed.

Miss K. originally commissioned me to bind the trilogy as a unique gift to her husband on whom Tolkien’s works have also had a significant impact. The Hobbit was actually commissioned after the trilogy, but since it would be finished first her devious plan was to use it as a diversion so that he would be completely unsuspecting there was more to come…!

Binding the Trilogy

Designing LOTR

Lord of the Rings is an epic saga. It deals with a lot of complex themes regarding war and its impact on those caught in it, the value of life, inner struggle, pain and enduring it, forgiveness, friendship, good vs evil, all in a way that is far more intricate and meaningful than it is usually given credit for. With these in mind I felt the bindings should be respectful, solemn in a way. They should look and be well-made, beautiful, but not in a way that draws the attention on them and away from the story. This led to an aesthetic that is in contrast with the pictorial and whimsical decoration of our binding for the Hobbit, thus reflecting the difference between those two stories.

The design is Mia’s work, who came up with it and also did the drawing I later used in tooling the decorations. The idea behind it was to show important locations found in each book, drawn using only a single, uninterrupted line (with the exception of few decorative details), an allusion to the fellowship’s journey.

Some of the locations were pretty straightforward, while others proved quite challenging, with Hobbiton being the most difficult. The final designs are elegant and imposing, while their minimalism compliments the wonderful texture of the leather.

“In the fires of Mount Doom…” – Decorating the Edges

Although the Hobbit was finished first as a binding its edge painting was actually meant as a practice for the more challenging one intended for LOTR. The idea was that it should fool the eye just enough so as to be perceived as a continuation of the marbled papers -and vice versa- upon a hasty glance.

By the time we got to do the edge paintings for LOTR we had the process down fairly well. I would prepare the book blocks by sanding them to a very smooth finish and then Mia would do the painting.
She did many tests on books I keep around for this purpose and after a while managed to get the result as close to the marbled papers as possible, producing these impressive edges.

It couldn’t have been achieved without the help of Glenn Malkin who has made an excellent video illustrating this technique and also kindly answered some extra questions we had. Make sure to check his channel as he has quite a few instructional videos that I’m sure binders of any level will find interesting.

Maps, Titles and Rings

Maps
The maps in the original edition were printed as the endpapers which prohibits their re-use, so new ones had to be made. As in the Hobbit’s case, I had them printed on an expensive cotton paper that can be found only in one place in Athens, which happens to be very far away from the bindery. But it was worth the trouble as I wanted the maps to feel as real as possible, to have texture and be exciting to look at.

Round Titles – Again!
If you’ve been following my work then you’ll know by now my fondness for round titles, which I consider one of my trademarks. As such it was a no brainer to do round titles for LOTR, One Ring and all…

This however, as is the case with many other elements, posed a challenge. I’ll get a bit technical but bear with me as you might appreciate how even the smallest detail of a binding may often require problem solving.

The difference in length between the titles (with the 1st and 3rd book having rather long ones in contrast to the 2nd) created an issue concerning the lay out. The circle of the titles should be the same for all 3 books and at the same time it should look right on the thinnest spine, that of the second volume. After quite a bit of experimentation, which involved laying the longer title over many different sized circles, I found the optimum radius.

This then led to another issue: type size. I either had to use very small letters, so that the titles of the 1st and 3rd volume would fit within the circle but would also make the title for the 2nd volume appear tiny and ridiculously sparse, or use a “normal” size, with the second volume’s title looking ok and the other two unable to fit.

To solve this I condensed the 1st and 3rd volume’s title as much as I could, also using dots instead of gaps between words to save even more space. It wasn’t enough though, so I turned to a trick I’ve seen in old bindings, which is to use much smaller type for certain letters, snugged in the gaps left between or under the larger type.

More Rings…
Doing handsewn endbands is always on the table, as they’re classy, neat and look beautiful, but I find myself opting less and less for them in recent years. In this case they would create too much extra visual noise and would hardly be noticed between the colorful edges and marbled papers.

Instead, I made these from a lustrous black leather. The 9 rings are either a reference to the members of the fellowship or represent the rings given to the kings of men, who above all else desire power – as everyone knows…

Mount Doom and the One Ring – A Bookcase to rule them All

The bookcase deserves its own section in this post. It’s arguably the most complex bookbinding structure I’ve ever attempted and one that was a true nightmare to make.

I really wanted to push the envelope and create a unique display for the LOTR bindings. A case that wouldn’t simply be a nice looking protective shell but something that could stand out on its own. Something impressive and unique, that would intrigue the viewer’s eye and invite exploration through its texture and vivid colors.

Several different ideas and structures were discussed for a long time, going back and forth between simpler and more intricate ones. At some point the project was overdue and Christmas (oh, did I mention it was intended as a Christmas gift?) was growing ever nearer so by the end I suggested we settle for a much simpler structure from the options discussed up to that point.

But it bugged me. It didn’t feel bold enough, befitting the scale of LOTR or its importance in my heart. I pitched the idea for a case representing the One Ring being forged at the fires of Mount Doom, without having much to share with Miss K. apart from a vague but full of excitement description. To my delight she was intrigued and trusted me to move forward.

Here’s a comparison to give you just a hint of how complex this was… A regular book slipcase has 5 parts. A clamshell, which is quite more complex as a structure and requires precision down to half a milimeter to all its pieces, is comprised of 9 parts. Well, my case for LOTR has … 38!

Trying to plan, cut, cover and join all of these irregular pieces caused me headaches for days on end – not even joking. By the end I was exhausted but, much like Frodo, I had successfully taken the Ring to Mount Doom…

The marvelous marbled papers representing the lava-filled chasms of Mount Doom are, once more, made by the perfection-seeking Daniela from Papiers Prina.

Photoshoot and editing was done by Maria Siorba. She really managed to captivate and showcase the beauty, texture and intricate details of this project.

Last but not least I would like to make an honorable mention to the Greek Tolkien Society, the Prancing Pony, which were most helpful in providing me with lots of information for the originally planned designs. They didn’t make the final cut but their help and support is much appreciated.

For those interested the LOTR bindings were tooled using my:
– Stylus Set
– Versatile Typeholder
– Dot Set

Mantone, Minerva & Circe

07 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου

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Design binding, Incline Press, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding

Mister C, the patron saint of Greek bookbinders, graced my bindery a while back with a commission involving a beautiful 2-section book from Incline Press titled “Minerva, Mantone and Circes”. He only provided one guideline: to base the design around the title’s initials.

This is one of the bindings done in collaboration with Mia Heath. The creative freedom granted by Mister C. and the peculiarity of the book definitely invited some experimentation, so we stepped out of our bookbinding comfort zones and tried new things.

Work was divided as follows: I would do the forwarding (binding the book/structure) while Mia would do the finishing (design/tooling the decoration).

Forwarding:
The book was simply too thin for any of the standard structures so I came up with this stub binding / clamshell box hybrid. I sewed the sections onto a sheet folded like an accordion and then attached that onto a core similar to the ones often used to create a curved spine in book cases/boxes. I also chose to incorporate the book’s original covers in 2 flaps, also doubling as endpapers, made of a vivid yellow striped paper which complemented the unusual color of the pages.

Finishing:
Mia came up with the design and tooled it. The border motifs were inspired by traditional decorations, which fit well with the book’s content and also with Mister C’s preference for a more classical style. However, the twist lies in the main design, which at first glance might seem to be extra flourishes but instead makes unconventional use of standard decorative tools to create the lower half of a female body.
Can you spot the three initials?

Finally, I felt like the book needed some kind of enclosure to protect but also underline its luxurious feel but couldn’t see it a regular slipcase. The idea of a pouch came up and went for a lustrous golden satin fabric, which makes it feel as if you are undressing the book.

The Hobbit

10 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου

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artistic bookbinding, Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins, Design binding, encuadernacion artesanal, fine binding, Handmade binding, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leatherbound book, Reliure D'Art, The Hobbit, Tolkien

Binding J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit

I present you one of the most beautiful books ever made in my bindery, created in collaboration with Mia Heath (The Book Minder).

Reading the Hobbit

Before talking about how the The Hobbit was bound, I believe it’s important to share with you why this book is very important and deeply personal to me…

When I was 11 years old an uncle and aunt came to visit. Not knowing what to bring as a gift they had visited a bookshop and asked the bookseller to recommend something for a child of said age. “You know… I have just the thing, he’ll love it!” said he – and gave them the Hobbit.
A lifetime later I still feel grateful to that person…

Upon reading the Hobbit something clicked in me. What was a vague fondness for a number of things began to acquire form, to move in a certain direction. It acted as a spark for my imagination and creativity.
I honestly don’t know if I’d be the same person had I not read Tolkien’s books, or if I did so many years later. That’s how great an impact his work had on me.

Designing The Hobbit

I had been waiting for ages for someone to commission a very special leather binding of the Hobbit and Miss K. became that person.
She intended it as a gift for her husband on whom, like me, Tolkien’s works have had a significant impact, but also for her newborn girl. She wanted “to provide him with something special to share between them”. Isn’t that a deeply sweet thought? Truly, I cannot think of a better reason behind a gift…

With that mind, and knowing how this book has shaped me, I wanted to go the extra mile and create something really special, in the hopes that it will become one of her daughter’s most cherished books and, perhaps, a defining one as well.

The binding was to revolve around 3 elements: the round door, the autumn colors and the leaves carried by the wind, which has become a recurring theme -not always with leaves- across some of my bindings.

A lot of it is also structured around vegetation, whether that is the leaves, or the edge coloring with its many shades of green, or the marbled papers in “thistle” pattern. Hobbits, as every decent and well-informed person knows, love things that grow. They are fond of gardening and enjoy long walks in the countryside and Bilbo Baggins, the story’s protagonist, is no exception. Nature however is not without its perilous side and Bilbo will find himself in dark spider-infested forests during his journey too.

Mia, who is also a big Tolkien fan, came up with the beautiful design based on the concepts described earlier, and patiently painted it, a process that involved many days of work from initial sketches to finished decoration.

Binding The Hobbit

Painting and Edge Coloring

Although the decoration could be painted directly on the leather it would eventually wear off through use and friction. I created a tool set with leaves and acorns in different sizes, even made a custom tool just for the dragon’s eye, and then tooled the entire design. This way even the smallest painted detail sits well protected in an impression below the binding’s surface.

The edge coloring proved to be quite a challenge, as it was a new skill for the both of us. We did a great many tests until we managed to get it right: I would prepare the edges by sanding them to a very smooth finish and then Mia would do the painting. For quite a while the results had a number of flaws, such as spots flaking off, colors not showing properly or pages stuck together. After dozens of tests on books I keep around for this purpose we were able to nail it.
The result is an edge with patches in various shades of green that is looking at a forest canopy – the photos really don’t do it justice.

It couldn’t have been achieved without the help of Glenn Malkin who has made an excellent video illustrating this technique and also kindly answered some extra questions we had. Make sure to check his channel as he has some quite a few instructional videos I’m sure binders of any level will find interesting.

Tactility of the Binding

One of the things I try to take into consideration, when the project allows for it, is the tactility of a binding. Bindings are 3d objects we hold in our hands but often a lot of thought goes into how they look instead and not in how they “feel”.

This is a book that will be read and thus handled countless times, as opposed to a decorative piece that will be taken from it’s shelf/case 2-3 times in a lifetime, so I wanted it to feel special and have a tactile quality to it.

With that in mind I chose a leather with rather rough grain from Harmatan, even though they offer it in fine grain as well. Apart from beautiful to the touch it also underlines that this is a tale of old that speaks of wizards and dragons and magic rings. Another such element are the thick boards, smoothly rounded at the edges, which create the impressions of a hefty volume, as you’d expect from one that tells of such tales and is expected to be a heirloom piece, lasting many lifetimes. Last but not least, my overspending for weird papers has proven useful, as proven by the heavily textured paper used for the door that looks remarkably like wood, especially once colored and lacquered.

The Bag End’s Door

The door (painted by Olga Kotsirea) and is in many ways the centerpiece of the binding. Apart from being iconic, it represents Bilbo’s safe and cozy home, in stark contrast with all the unpleasantries he faces during his journey.

To enhance its display I created a recess on the front cover for the door to sit in, creating the illusion of depth.
Another additional detail that hardcore fans might have already observed are the runes, inscribed by Gandalf: instead of the most commonly depicted single rune we chose to go for the ones seen in a drawing by Tolkien himself: B, D and R, which stand for Burglar, Danger and Reward (in the form of a diamond).

The Hobbit’s Maps

A lot of attention has gone into every little detail of this binding, and one such important detail is the maps.
They were printed as the endpapers of the original edition I used for this binding which prohibited their re-use for various reasons and so I had to make new ones. I went in expecting it to be fairly simple to find ultra hi-resolution of Thror’s and Wilderland maps, especially given how easy it was when I was making the Silmarillion some years ago. Alas it was rather difficult and then had to spent a fair amount of time editing them, to make them clearer and sharper and for the colors to pop more, sometimes going over tiny letters one by one. For what’s more they are printed on an expensive cotton paper that can be found only in one place in Athens, which happens to be very far away from the bindery. But it was worth the trouble as I wanted the maps to feel as real as possible, to have texture and be exciting to look at.

The binding comes in a custom handmade slipcase that will keep it well protected. I really like how the exposed spine teases the viewer who is then offered a treat when pulling the binding and revealing the covers. As an additional touch, the slipcase’s spine features a snake-skin patterned leather in autumn red.

The lovely marbled papers used for the binding and the slipcase were custom made for this project by Papiers Prina. I wanted a paper that would resemble thick vegetation with copper/autumn accents to fit in with the rest of the binding, and Daniela was -once more- able to deliver!

Photos of the binding were taken by Maria Siorba, with whom I’ve happily collaborated on numerous occasions.

Bookbinding Tools used in binding The Hobbit

If you’re a bookbinder, novice or professional, you might be interested to know I’ve used my Stylus Set, Dot Set and Versatile Typeholder for the decoration of this binding, all of which you can acquire by sending me a message at koutsipetsidis@gmail.com or by visiting my Etsy shop.
You can also see all of my available tools here.

A Portrait of an Aesthetic Surgeon, as seen through the eyes and hands of a Bookbinder

29 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου

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bespoke bookbinding, bookbinding, Design binding, encuadernacion, encuadernacion artesanal, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Εργαλεία βιβλιοδεσίας, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, memoirs, reliure, Reliure D'Art

Mighty Queen Nefertiti went to see the court sculptor for a new bust.

The sculptor Thutmosis was old and wise and the Queen found him examining a block of black basalt.

“Can you make me immortal?” asked she, to which the sculptor replied, “No, I cannot, my Queen, for only the Gods are immortal”.

“Can you make me perfect?” asked she, to which the sculptor replied, “No, I cannot, my Queen, for these hands belong to an imperfect man and thus cannot create perfection”.

“Of what use are you to me then?” wondered she, to which the sculptor replied, “I can give you beauty, my Queen, and that surpasses both immortality and perfection, for even immortals covet beauty and it defines perfection”.

Seeking Beauty

What is beauty?
Defining its nature is one of the oldest and most persistently pursued endeavors of the human mind. We’ve yet to reach a conclusive definition and most likely never will, which is strange for something that governs our life in all its facets, one way or another.

I was commissioned to bind the memoirs of an aesthetic surgeon and in them he writes poignantly on the matter:

“ Countless mathematicians and philosophers attempt to quantitate true beauty and define perfect proportion. While they have succeeded to some degree, pointing to repetition of forms and ratios in the natural world as proof of their theories, there exists something unquantifiable about beauty. For me, it always comes back to the moment in the museum in Paris when I knew I stood before something beautiful. If beauty could be completely and entirely described, then an understanding of beauty would be something that anyone could obtain through study. We all know that’s not the case.”

What follows is a long journey into the creation of this binding and the worlds/thoughts of the surgeon and bookbinder behind it. If that, dear reader, sounds like something you’d enjoy carry on, and maybe pour a glass or two as we’ll be here for a while…

A Surgeon and a Bookbinder

We discussed a lot with Miss V., the person behind this project, and while I had a few ideas from the get go, which managed to find their ways into the finished bindings, they were mostly concepts without yet a solid canvas to bind them into a cohesive whole.

The commission involved two identical bindings and since one was intended as a gift to the very author of the book I decided to get to know him better. As I read his memoirs, I was surprised to find parallels between our professions, more than I’d expect, ranging from the superficial to the essential. This intrigued me: I felt I was looking at a strange mirror, seeing a distorted reflection of myself…

On a first level, the bookbinder and the surgeon use some similar tools (scalpel and various other cutting instruments) and work with the same basic material, leather, although obviously in different forms. Their work has to not only look good but function properly too: a stiff book joint that doesn’t open, or a stiff face, do not make for a happy client (although it may be argued the latter is more frustrating than the former). They both have to be very precise in their work, fusing over details less than half a mm in size, and must pay great attention to detail. Both fields require a balance between a skilled and steady hand and a good perception of aesthetics. The result is either lifeless or inspired but poorly made, if one of the two is lacking. The ideal surgeon and bookbinder are both an artisan and an artist.

On a deeper level, both seek to produce something beautiful. Some will probably argue that the most important pursuit of bookbinding is to protect and preserve the text, and they’d be 100% right, but I doubt it would have become such a vast and complex craft/art if it was only restrained to its technical purpose.

On this note, I couldn’t help but share this quote where the author draws an analogy between books and his field of work – although he probably didn’t expect it would apply to his memoirs one day:
“ We are all drawn to beautiful book covers: there’s a part of us all that looks to cover art to tell us something about what is inside.”

What intrigued me the most though were the similarities between the author and me. Although there are parallels it’s also true that his profession, work and world in general, differ a great deal from mine. Yet there were certain parts which resonated deeply with me.

A good example is his words on perfectionism:
“ But the great ones (surgeons) are awakened by challenge and driven by a chronic dissatisfaction with anything that could be better. ”
 I highly doubt I’ll ever be considered one of the great ones and I’m not implying that here – it is, after all, a title that’s always bestowed by others upon one’s person, as the author does here. That said, perfectionism has been an incredible driving force but also an occasional plague for me – I’ve talked about it and the effect it has had on me as an artisan in quite a few of my posts.

Here’s another one:
“ Aesthetic surgery is the perfect place for me. There is an intersection of art, science, and medicine that can’t be found in any other field. ”
Upon reading this I said to myself “Yes, exactly!”.

Bookbinding is an incredible amalgam of crafts and arts, unmatched (feel free to argue with me on this one) in the number and variety of craft fields it encompasses. No other craft comes close to it and it is this vastness and depth that I have fell in love with, as it makes every part of me come alive: it is about encasing the human intellect and psyche in a three-dimensional artifact and making sure it is functional, long lasting and beautiful.
Sounds like something a wizard would say describing his art, doesn’t it…?

But the part which resonated with me the most was his recollections of Paris, and more specifically coming face to face with masterpieces of art:

“Paris was an incredible setting for expanding my horizons. I spent my time immersed in a culture that gave rise to some of the most beautiful art in the world and spent hours in the most celebrated museums. I was charged. Anyone who appreciates art knows the moment in a gallery or museum when perception of the sound of the floorboards or the knocking sound of your shoes on concrete gives way to the tidal wave of visual stimulation bestowed by a painting or sculpture. It shakes you. It isn’t just your eyes, but a feeling. You just know, with something beyond your eyes and brain, that what you are looking at is beautiful and meaningful and true. That feeling has the same force as the one that brings people to tears at symphonies and causes riots after Avant guard plays. As a young man in Paris, I experienced that over, and over, and over again. Standing feet away from perfect human forms released from marble, the abstract and yet completely controlled paintings of Seraut, and the luminous pastel forms of Degas, it clicked. The nebulous appreciation for art that had permeated my childhood coalesced and became a central part of who I am.”

The feeling he describes is something very familiar to me and I’ve had the pleasure to experience it in many cases. None of it however prepared me for my trip to Rome…

Rome was sublime. I never imagined such an immense scale of art and beauty -magnificent art that ranges from fragments of the ancient past to enormous masterpieces of the renaissance and beyond- could exist in one place in the world. It was simply too much to absorb and I’m still trying to process it.

Perhaps the most characteristic single instance was in Palazzo Massimo, which I highly recommend spending the time to explore.

Here I must note that I had the huge privilege to be almost entirely alone there during my visit, as it was during “off-season” (as much as it can be in Rome) and while the pandemic was still in almost full effect. This allowed me and my partner to have entire floors, sometimes entire museums, to ourselves, making the experience deeply personal. It was as if all of this art and beauty was created and collected there just for us…

Anyway, back to Palazzo Massimo. While it contains some extraordinary pieces of art, like the breathtaking sculpture of the Wrestler, it was something entirely different that stood out for me. At the 3rd floor of the museum are on display, excellently preserved, the interior walls and paintings of a Roman villa. Among them was a room portraying a garden.
  Viewing it in the serenity of absolute silence and solitude, I was moved. There was something in that artificial garden, it’s hard to put in words, as if this unknown painter was so in control of his skills, so confident and at the same time so humble and close to what he was depicting, making it seem completely effortless and full of life, as if he could do anything with his art. He could bring forth the mysteries of existence but instead created this garden, which felt in some ways more real than the real thing. I was almost in tears.

It also brought to mind what Picasso (supposedly) said after seeing the Altamira cave paintings “We’ve invented nothing”…

Capturing Beauty

It was this trip to Rome that gave me the inspiration I needed for the design, which is somewhat of an irony since I was asked by a couple of people if I believed it could find its way into my work and, having a hard time digesting the excess of excellence I came in touch with, I remember thinking to myself the unlikeliness of such a possibility.

In his memoirs the author writes:
“ Standing feet away from perfect human forms released from marble […]”
and
“In many ways I consider myself a sculptor, and my medium human cartilage, bone, and tissue.”

I knew there was something I could -no, not could, should!- work with there. But I couldn’t come up with something. After returning from Rome, and while I was trying to convince my ideas to work in unison, I kept thinking about the trip. I remembered my visit to the Vatican museums. The first stop was their great collection of Egyptian antiquities, among which were artifacts and statues made of black basalt. Suddenly, something clicked. A concept began to emerge, my up-until-now random ideas gravitating towards it.

An important part of the design I came up with was to surface-gilt the back cover with a foil that would make it look like dark granite or basalt. This was a technique I was familiar with and I also did various tests, which looked great in person. However, when I went on to apply it on the bindings themselves disaster struck: for some reason beyond the result was “clotted” and didn’t look at all like the test boards, although the materials and the process was exactly the same.

Hmm, this felt familiar…
Fortunately, I am not the binder I was 10 years ago. This disaster forced me to rethink the design and the final piece of the puzzle was revealed: I decided to use a material I bought a while back and had been itching to use, a paper with a stone texture.
Why didn’t you think of it in the first place, I hear you ask? I’ve no idea, tunnel vision I guess. The point is abandoning the surface-gilding technique and introducing this paper freed me and eventually led to a much more nuanced design.

One of the reasons I immensely enjoyed working on this project was how well it lended itself to my beloved play on symbolism. As you might have seen in my South Sea Scheme or Hamlet binding, I like to create layers of meaning, some of which point inwards and some outwards, by playing with the three elements interacting with each other: the book’s content, the thoughts it creates and lastly the binding, the physical object, itself.

However in this case the concept of layers took on a much more literal meaning as well, a nod to the topic at hand. Books have layers, just like human bodies. And just as is the case with people those layers take on a metaphorical sense as you peel deeper: Books and People are more than the sum of their parts.

I tried to incorporate the aspect of layers in different ways. First by actually taking off a piece of leather/skin from the face on the front cover, “unveiling” that way what lies beneath. The cover itself is a layer and when you open it you are once more left facing the tissue underneath, but bigger/closer now. The endpapers are followed by a section of two papers that differ in hue and texture, to add tactility but mostly to simulate a transition from one layer to another into the human body. And finally, we reach a paper in the color and texture of bone upon which the thoughts of the author are laid.

The layer concept, as described above, also doubles as a play to the authors quote on being a sculptor with human cartilage, bone, and tissue being his medium.

The cases could be considered as adding a final extra layer over the bindings.

Moving on to the covers themselves, which I named Pre-operation side and Goddess side respectively in my mind.

The Pre-op side features, with some artistic license, surgical markings inspired by Langer lines, which normally depict skin tension.

The detail that stands out the most on this side, in fact one of the core elements of the design in general, is the incredible marbled paper that Daniela from Papiers Prina managed to create, custom made for this project, which was also used for the endpapers.
I had the idea of such a paper in my mind long before the design began taking shape and so a lot of it was created around this paper. I needed something that would bring the image of human muscle, tissue and blood veins in mind, while being artistic and interesting to look at – beautiful but also slightly disturbing. It was, as requests go, very specific and at the same time quite vague.

Daniela’s paper surpassed my wildest expectations. It was extremely difficult to make, as it was triple-marbled and required a great amount of experimentation and precision to achieve the intended result and have all the layers show through each other in the right way. In the end though her skills, meticulousness and artistic perception allowed her, through the strange mix of chaos and order that is marbling, to create the most unique marbled paper I’ve ever owned and used.

I wanted the Goddess side to have a transcending quality to it. To be a beautiful face but also one that isn’t exactly real. Gone are the anatomical lines and the jawline indicating a face contour, the skin and tissue underneath: a black stone with intense texture, abstract lines and gold accents has taken their place. Its shape, the shape of the face now, is not anymore bound by the restraints of human anatomy. The straight colorless hair has turned to golden ornaments. A vibrant electric blue emanates from the eye, capturing the light in every move of the cover.

This is the desired image of ourselves, beauty itself. The disparity between the two faces is huge, yet they exist on opposing sides of the same book and if one would flip the covers open in a 180 degree angle (ideally don’t though!) they could gaze onto each other…

The eye, lips and nose of the Goddess side were traced over an astonishing face, that of Queen Nefertiti, as seen through the famous bust.

The title, running down on the bindings spine between the two covers, underlines how the surgeon is the intermediator between us and our desired image of ourselves.
The letters of the title are each tooled in two colors: gold and a silvery black, inspired by the gold-black stripes on King Tut’s sarcophagus.

For the headbands I went with a red leather core held in place by golden silk threads, the idea being to resemble exposed veins.

It’s a happy coincidence that this is the first binding I’ve put some sort of personal insignia on – something that’s been long overdue. The symbol you see represents a monogram of K and D, my initials.

Make sure to check the bindings in motion at the full video presentations I’ve uploaded at the corresponding Instagram post. While I’m happy with the photos a binding is always a 3-dimensional object and the way it feels and interacts with the light is often lost in still pictures.

The mighty Queen and the wise Sculptor

The story of Nefertiti and Thutmosis (“calligraphy” on papyrus by Marianna Koutsipetsidis) originally came to me as a nice extra touch.  However, in the end it became what really brought everything together: the idea behind the design, the source of its inspiration, the style of the bookcase, the book’s content and my thoughts during the whole binding process.

I’m a storyteller at heart and, to me at least, this short story is the most important part of this project and why it’s possibly my most “artistic” work yet. Binding the book and making a case for it, no matter how special, is simply a transformation process through my skills, it’s still taking X and using it to make Y. The short story represents the transition from transformation to emergence, creating something entirely new, that also grants meaning to my design. It’s the core, the life-giving heart of it all.

I always considered myself a craftsman and not really an artist when it comes to bookbinding – the artistic side of me usually being just a sprinkle on the cake. That’s why this project, for the reason mentioned above, felt like a birth of sorts, as if entering a new realm where strange and exciting things happen.

Who knows, if I manage to stay here long enough I might even find Thutmosis somewhere, patiently revealing a face hidden in stone…

Epilogue

Before signing off I’d like to express my gratitude for G.V., the person who commissioned this project. By giving me freedom, patience, helpful pointers, trust and last but not least a decent budget, she made it stress-free and allowed me to immerse myself in it, to explore, experiment and finally produce something that speaks of the creative in me as much as, I believe, speaks of the book’s content.

Last but not least, for those interested I used my Stylus set, Dot set and Versatile Typeholder to make this binding.

I, Claudius – Return to Ancient Rome

09 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου

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bookbinding, bookbinding tool, Claudius the God, Design binding, gold tooling, I Claudius, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, leatherbound, marbled paper, Robert Graves

After 5 years I get to return to my beloved ancient Rome through these bindings of Robert Graves’ books I, Claudius and Claudius the God.

The idea behind these bindings was to go for something simple and classic. Although in theory this should have been easy I struggled a lot coming up with a decoration. Perhaps the lockdowns (dear future reader: this was the year of the Covid pandemic) finally took their toll on my inspiration!

The decoration on the covers was designed by Marianna Koutsipetsidi, who has aided me time and again with her valuable skills, using historical artwork from that era (frescoes and mosaics) as reference. It depicts an eagle holding a wolf pup, an omen within the story of things to come.

The leather I used for the bindings has a deep grain which is very beautiful but made tracing the design very difficult. I commissioned a stamping plate to assist me in that regard: I carefully damped the covers and pressed it until it left a clear impression. I then proceeded to blind tool the whole design by hand.

I’m particularly happy with the printed marbled paper I used for the clamshell boxes which looks very similar to actual marble, for that extra ancient Rome touch.

The titles were tooled in genuine 24 carat gold leaf and the endbands were handsewn with silk thread.

When it comes to the book spines I drew inspiration from early 16th century bindings, which were most often blind tooled rather than gold tooled and many of them had rather simple decorations on them, most often linear in nature. There’s also a “roughness” to their decoration.
I tried to capture a bit of that aesthetic to allow the bindings to look “dated/old” while being new.

These historical bindings also lack titles in most cases, I suppose because metal type was still in its first decades and not as readily available. For what is more I couldn’t find a way to properly fit the title to the spines of the bindings in a way that would look nice.
So, in the end I decided to tool the titles on the spines of the book cases.

Last but not least, I used my Bookbinding Stylus Set to tool the covers decoration and the pillar on the case spines, as well as my Versatile Typeholder to tool the titles.

A Story of Hope – Or how to do a proper wedding book!

10 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου

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custom binding, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Εργαλεία βιβλιοδεσίας, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, leatherbound, post apocalytpic, sci-fi, wedding book

Stowing the tins in her tent, pitched inside the Olympic stadium, Laila climbs to the roof and watches the sun fall past the horizon. Hundreds of feet below, the city’s constellations of streetlights start blinking into existence.
…
There are no humans left in London, but the city hums with activity, a hollow approximation of organic civilization.

Folks, there’s romance and there’s romance, and then there’s story-set-in-post-apocalyptic-world-for-our-wedding-book kind of romance – which honestly makes making everything else weak and vanilla by comparison.

Mister W. wanted a special binding for a story he wrote and will be displayed at his wedding. I happen to be a sucker for post-apocalypse themed stories and Mister W’s story was a small gem of a novel, so I went a bit beyond the original plan to do this project justice.

(Check my bindery’s Instagram account for a video presentation of this binding!)

My design was based on the excerpt at the beginning of the post. I wanted to capture a glimpse of Laila’s view of the city: alive and yet non-living, beautiful but at the same time cold and distant.

I used a map diagram to blind tool the outline of a central London area. Then I used metallic foils to inhabit it with the hundreds of machines, like driverless cars, drones, billboards, etc lighting up and moving about.

Since machines are optimized for efficiency I imagined they always arrange themselves in certain ways, move or settle in formations, and thus I created a number of “secret” rules I followed regarding the size, placement, number and color of dots. The result is a chaotic order, incomprehensible to us and seemingly random, but perfectly ordinary for the machines.

I also made a custom slipcase featuring an important element of the story.

I’ve had lots of fun making this one. Let it be put on record it’s among my top favorite bindings I’ve made and I’ll be really sad to part with it.

Last but not least, A6 size is amazing for design bindings. Everything feels/ looks neat and interesting! Dear clients, more A6s please.

I used my Bookbinding Stylus Set, Versatile Typeholder and Dot set to decorate this binding.

THE AETHRA CODEX – A FANTASY PUZZLE BINDING

28 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Posts about my bindings - Οι αναρτήσεις για τις βιβλιοδεσίες μου, -Uncategorized

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bookbinding, d&d, Design binding, fantasy, Fantasy journal, fantasy riddle, Handmade binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leatherbound journal, modern codex, puzzle book, role playing game, rpg, tabletop game

The Dwarves of the Dark Mountains never cared much for gold or precious stones, although they had plenty of both. Instead, they had a mind for wandering. Their gaze was always turned towards the horizon, and what lies beyond, and so they roamed the land and sailed the great sea and discovered wonders the likes of which have inspired bards for centuries.

However they were always distrustful and secretive and so to this day no one knows where their eight kingdoms lie.

To be able to travel from one to another they created eight magnificent books, one for each of their kings: the Aethra Codices. Their covers were richly adorned and upon them the Dark Mountain Dwarves inscribed runes that would allow those who possess the correct gemstones to find their way to one of their kingdoms.

This is one of those books, an Aethra Codex. I leave it, and its mysteries, upon your hands…

Proudly presenting the Aethra Codex: a Fantasy Puzzle Binding.

I’m a passionate fan of tabletop role playing games and the basic idea behind this journal was people could use it as an in-game artifact. It could inspire a story and/or be part of it. Players would no longer have to imagine such a volume; it would be real, something taken out of a fantasy world, the mysteries of which they could now discover and hold in their hands.

I’ve wanted to do such a project for a very long time as it combines many of the things I love and enjoy: RPGs, bookbinding, coming up with puzzles and riddles, mechanical challenges and problem solving in crafting, metalworking and, most of all, stories…

I truly hope I’ll be making more like this in the future. This was only proof of concept, the ideas are there…

Click on the above images for a HQ close view of the covers

The Puzzle

The Aethra Codex (“Aethra” meaning bright star, splendor, or clear sky in Latin) has 3 different challenges/puzzles and each has to be solved in order to progress to the next one.

The players have to find a way to translate the runes, which are Futhark with a few minor changes I made to accommodate tooling of the design.

However after the runes are translated to English the resulting text is gibberish. The players have to decrypt it using a Caesar Cipher, a form of substitution encryption based on a specific number.

Once the text is decrypted they are left with two poems. The first one (back cover) says:

You who seek wisdom of old
Follow the light of many a star
To reach the realms and lands afar
Where hidden perils lie untold
.

The second one (spine) says:

White is the coldness of the North
Green the East with forests vast
Blue the West where ships sail forth
Red the rays by the South sun cast
And black the night between them all
.

When those are interpreted through a more symbolic lens the first one reveals where the gemstones are hidden: within the corner pieces.

The second one gives the proper placement of the gemstones on the 8 sockets of the front cover’s star in the same manner. Watch the gif above to see a gemstone revealed and placed on the star!

This set-up is not meant to be binding for the DMs. Instead of being placed in the corner pieces the gemstones may be found at different in-game locations, in which case the poems have mostly literal meaning.

The challenge can also be extended in various ways f.e. the runes can be an ancient or forgotten Dwarven alphabet, in which case the players can’t translate them from the get go. The phrase “Follow the light of many a star” might refer to a constellation or something beyond the codex. A new challenge, conceived by the storyteller, may be revealed when the gemstones are placed on the star. The possibilities are endless.

In conclusion the puzzles/challenges I incorporated in the binding are mostly meant as an inspiration for the DMs. The texts do not mention specific names and are written in an abstract/generic enough manner that encourages creativity and can easily be adapted and utilized in any story!

The crafting

Making the Aethra Codex has been an undertaking of epic proportions. Everything about it had to be conceived, designed and made by myself. I had to do a lot of tests and experiments, create new tools and tackle various structural challenges.

The biggest of those was making the corner pieces which had to be sturdy, small, securely attached to the binding and with the necessary space inside them to hide the gemstones. Ticking all those boxes was far from easy.

Each corner piece is made of 4 different parts and solidly riveted on the binding. They were, as was the star, hand carved out of wax and then bronze cast.

The design was mostly inspired by Astrolabes, those most mystical-looking and yet historical instruments, that sailors used to navigate the seas!

It’s also easy to overlook how beneath all the runes, brass details and gemstones, the Aethra Codex is a high quality binding. It has been given all the attention I devote to any of my fine bindings and has many of their characteristics such as sewn-in boards, handsewn silk headbands,  leather joints and composite boards to name a few.

As a bonus touch I polished the entire surface with a polishing iron to make it look used and worn, resulting in a wonderful sheen that’s not visible in the photos.

Last but but not least, for my fellow bookbinders: I’ve mostly used these tools to make the Codex, which you can see/buy at my tool page:
– Brass Band nippers
– Bookbinding Stylus set
– Dot set

Hope you enjoyed reading about the Aethra Codex!

Animalcula – a collaboration with George Balojohn for the benefit of Humanity

16 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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bookbinding, bookbinding tool, brass finishing tool, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, μαρμαρόκολλα, leather binding, marbled paper

Have you ever heard of Animalcula? I would wager probably not, though many of you owe your existence to them!
The obscure Animalcula and the knowledge surrounding them have remained elusive for more than 250 years, until George Balojohn and yours truly were tasked by Mister C. to prove their existence once and for all by capturing them; Let it never be said that bookbinders don’t contribute to the advancement of science and progress of humanity!

In 1750 a letter was humbly addressed to the Royal Society by Abraham Johnson, in which he claimed:
“It is proved by most incontestable evidence, drawn from Reason and Practice, that a Woman may conceive and be brought to Bed (i.e. become pregnant) without any commerce with Man.”

The reason behind this are Animalcula:
“Small, original, unexpanded minims of existence […] Little Men and Women, exact in all their limbs and linaments, ready to offer themselves little candidates for life whenever they should happen to be imbibed with air or nutriment […]”

According to the scientist these are carried by the West Wind and can impregnate women if they are standing at the right place at the right time. Such a discovery sounded of course preposterous to the decorated scientists at the time, but Dr A. Johnson’s believed so firmly in it that he even suggests of a way to prove the legitimacy of his findings: if the King would prohibit any kind of sexual intimacy between people, if only for a year, people would still  be born. And since no one would dare to disobey the King in such a matter it would be obvious Animalcula exist.

To validate his theory though Dr A. Johnson had to capture some Animalula first. He contrived an invention suitable for the task: a “wonderful cylindrical, catoptrical, rotundo-concavo-convex machine” that functioned by the “nicest Laws of Electricity”, the design of which he intended to publish. Alas, it was not to happen… The prints were never published, the prototype was lost and the knowledge surrounding Animalcula faded into obscurity. Until now that is…

Mister C., an avid book collector and most kind patron of the book arts, managed to locate a copy of that letter. Moved by the unfair treatment of history towards the great scientist and intrigued by curiosity he called two bookbinders and laid upon them an almost impossible task: re-create the contraption and capture enough Animalcula, contributing thusly to the progress of humanity and also clearing Abraham Johnson’s name once and for all.
The bookbinders were George Balojohn and yours truly. I was to make the device and George had the most difficult task, to capture and preserve the Animalcula.

How was I to succeed though without any knowledge of the original design, besides its description and its intended purpose? George was able, after considerable study and research, to provide me with an accurate depiction of the Animalcula. With this as an aid and after months of trial and error, and experiments quite dangerous to my well being – thought knowledge has never been gained without considerable risk, I finally managed to create the necessary device, a fine instrument which, through delicate use and the wonders of electricity, could capture this elusive quantum of life.

The most difficult part was still ahead of us though. George had to capture enough Animalcula and then find a way to preserve them indefinitely for study, so as to prove their existence. To do so he needed a vessel suitable for such a purpose: robust yet functional and ever lasting. Determined he toiled and using the finest materials brought from the other side of the world he created such a vessel out of Dr A. Johnson’s letter – a most fitting tribute to the brilliant forgotten scientist.

A great many months followed as he prepared for the day when the device would be lit up and, guided by his hand, extract Animalcula from the west wind. And that day surely came and one by one the tiny seeds of life were collected. The more he captured the more daunting became each following attempt, since a small mistake could lay waste upon all of his progress. Yet he persevered and through steady and skillful hand the Animalcula where captured and laid upon the binding, forever visible to anyone who would dare raise an eyebrow at the groundbreaking discovery.

And so, through a patron of the arts and the collaboration of two artisans, knowledge previously thought as lost has been reclaimed, brought to light and its validity proven. The only thing remaining is for the Royal Academy to take notice, of which I have absolutely no doubt.

Interview with Kate Holland – Techniton Politeia

21 Thursday May 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in - Interviews

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Artisan Interview, book arts, bookbinding, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετη βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, Kate Holland, leather binding

Summer is almost here and the Covid-19 crisis has pretty much left Greece, hopefully soon the rest of the world as well.

We return after a long pause at Techniton Politeia to talk with Kate Holland.

Before we get to the interview I would like to thank Kate who managed to find time while juggling a number of things amidst the chaos.
She approached the interview openly, with a “playful” attitude and as a chance to explore her own thoughts and introspect, thus making it feel less “formal” and more like I was there at the bindery, having an interesting conversation with a fellow binder. It was a pleasure.

When asked for her artist or artisan statement -I tend to use both terms because people sometimes prefer one over the other- her reply was:
Artist or artisan, that is the question. But what about artistan? I think we can be both.

I’d always loved the visual arts and I studied Mandarin Chinese at university with the vision of becoming a contemporary Chinese art dealer but a stint of unemployment (or fortuitous circumstance) led me to take on the role of manager of a prestigious London antiquarian bookshop. I had grown up near the book town of Hay-on-Wye and had always loved books so this was a wonderful job, handling some of the world’s most important and valuable books. It never ceased to amaze me that all our civilisation, so far, was contained between these covers. I started a morning class in bookbinding at City Lit (an adult education establishment) with Flora Ginn as a way of learning to refurbish and repair the books and I was immediately hooked. From there, an HND in bookbinding at London College of Printing (now Communication) and stints with Jen Lindsey back at City Lit and Mark Cockram at Studio Five before setting up on my own. All while raising three kids.

My work is fairly evenly split between artist bindings, either on commission or for exhibition; the whole book, either my own artist’s books or one-offs and limited editions for clients, supervising typesetting and layout, printing and binding; and teaching, currently at West Dean College, Shepherds or in my own studio. I was elected as a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 2015 and am a regular binder to The Booker Prize. I have books in The Walker Library of the Human Imagination, British and Bodleian Libraries, National Art Library at the V&A, as well as numerous other public and private collections.

In 2018 you had the honor of being chosen to bind one of the six shortlisted books, Mars room by Rachel Kushner, which was then presented to the author. BBC’s The One Show featured your work in a lovely 5 minute video giving us a bit of insight into the creative process behind that binding and bookbinding in general.

I was wondering: what is the Man Booker prize and how does a binder get chosen to bind on of the shortlisted books for the award? Can you tell us a bit about your experience with this binding and maybe share the author’s reaction upon seeing it?

The Booker Prize is the foremost literary prize awarded annually to a work of fiction in the English language. Past winners have included such luminaries as Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Iris Murdoch, J M Coetzee. A longlist of about 20 titles is announced in July and then a shortlist of 6 in September Each of the shortlisted titles is bound as a design binding for presentation to the author at the awards ceremony. Only Fellows of Designer Bookbinders are eligible to apply to bind these and we are chosen on a rotating basis. We do not know which title we will get until the shortlist is announced. On that day a mystery package of unbound sheets arrives. We have between 4-6 weeks to read the book, come up with a design and bind it. These are expected to be full design bindings with all that entails – sewn headbands, leather joints, doublures etc. so it is incredibly intense with lots of late nights but it often throws up some really interesting and exciting responses.

I was really pleased to get “The Mars Room” as my book. It touched on one of my favourite themes – that all humans are born equal, or at least in theory. I am fascinated by how circumstance – where, when and to whom you were born – can affect the path you take and the choices you make. How does a girl, like Romy, from a ‘nice’ middle class background become a sex worker, imprisoned for murder? Throw in an abusive mother, an absent father, early sexual abuse, rape at a formative age, a drug habit to numb all those feelings and a predatory stalker and maybe we begin to understand. In my bindings I seek to explore the yawning divide between the haves and the have-nots. I have covered topics such as illegal immigration, homelessness, drug addiction, rape, asylum seekers. I chose to write on the endpapers of The Mars Room some of the grim statistics about the abuse that sex workers suffer on a daily basis, about the mass incarceration with which the US chooses to manage its population and the number of women who are stalked. 

In the video mentioned previously you also talk about the continuity of our craft and how our tools and equipment have remained practically unchanged through the centuries – along many of the techniques we use, if I may add. You also bring up the bonefolder saying it’s “man’s earliest tool”, which is fascinating if one stops to think about it…

What are your thoughts in regards to this continuity: why is it important and how does it affect your mindset towards your work?

I love the fact that a bookbinder from 500 years ago would recognise the tools, the techniques, the equipment that I use today. Though I would hope my aesthetic and sentiment have evolved. Tools of polished bone, used to scrape hides and make leather, have been found in Neanderthal sites from over 50,000 years ago. That the bone folder I use every day, is one of man’s earliest tools, is an exciting connection to one of the most integral parts of what makes us human – our ability to use tools. And we humans have gone way beyond ”just” using tools and can aspire to stupendous levels of craftsmanship.

I came to bookbinding via antiquarian bookselling handling some of the greatest books ever printed. The codex form has been used to transmit the wonders of civilisation for centuries, whether science, literature, travel, art. It works well. The pages open and you can read the words, the covers protect the pages. Why fix it when it ain’t broken? But this all sounds like I am wedded to the past. Far from it. It is imperative to respect tradition and all that has gone before in order to be able to push the boundaries and move forward. My son is currently studying design engineering and together we are exploring ways of integrating the most cutting-edge technology into one of our oldest technologies, the book. 

Your bindings often feature alum tawed skins and various dyeing techniques – to great effect I must add. Your Paradise Lost and Regain’d bindings come to mind.

What is it that makes this creative option so appealing to you and what would your advice be to fellow binders who would like to try their hand at leather dyeing? Any suggestions when it comes to the materials and techniques used?

I suppose my love affair with leather dyeing came from my need to have a wider palette to work with. I didn’t want to be restricted to just the colours available in ‘off the shelf’ leathers or my bindings to be identified by the number on the colour chart of the tannery catalogue. If you can dye your own leather then you have an infinite range of colours, textures, subtlety and intensity to hand. I tend to use fair or alum tawed calf or goatskin, generally sourced from Hewit’s – the fair gives a more nuanced, warmer colour and the alum tawed a starker, brighter colour being a whiter base. I use either Hewit’s Aniline dyes in powder form or Selladerm dyes available from Leather Conservation Centre. I buy only red, yellow, blue and black and mix accordingly.

I am currently particularly fond of graduated colour schemes such as in “Paradise Lost and Regain’d”. I think most people assume that this is airbrushed but, in fact, the colour is built up in thin washes incredibly gradually over several days to give a much more subtle and sophisticated finish. Always remember to fix the dye as well before covering! I use Dyefix or Tinofix which are the respective fixatives for Hewits and Selladerm.

Silly question but I’m really curious: what’s with the dot fascination?!
Many of your bindings feature dots as a recurring decorative element. Is there something to it?

Early in my career I made two books for the annual Designer Bookbinders’ competition – Elizabeth David’s “Book of Mediterranean Food” and H E Bates’s “Through the Woods”. Both of them wholly featured dots as the design motif. And they won respectively Second Prize Set Book and First Prize Open Choice and Mansfield Medal for Best Book. Around the same time, some well-meaning person had advised me that, in order to become a successful bookbinder, you had to have a recognisable, signature style. I had had no artistic training, only being allowed to study needlework at school not art, and I struggled massively with my self-confidence and my ability to design. Dots seemed quite easy so, I guess, I thought I was onto something.

That was until a well-known dealer commissioned a design binding from me saying, “Just do your dots thing.” I did, but, it was a huge struggle as dots were so wrong for that book. I vowed that I would only produce designs that truly reflected the book’s contents, not just another iteration of a previously successful, but now hackneyed, motif. One of my greatest compliments recently, was that my bindings looked like I had actually read the book!

While reading about your binding on Doors of Perception I thought about Huxley’s use of psychedelics and how many artists have used them as a means of searching for inspiration or expanding their creative expression. Bookbinders, at least to my knowledge, can’t benefit from that: bit hard to use a paring knife while tripping… That said if a design binding is to live up to its name it does require of the binder to be immersed in the book’s story to some extent. I believe your words “When I’m working on the books they become my whole life, I live and breathe them…” represent this in a very poetic manner.

So, how do you experience that immersion? (In what ways do you live and breathe in/through the book you are working on each time?) Are there any steps or guidelines you follow to facilitate it? Is it a purely positive state or does it also come at a cost?

I can testify that I have not yet found a stimulant which helps in the actual process of bookbinding! Hand-eye co-ordination when handling sharp tools or delicate leather requires absolute concentration. I immerse myself utterly into the world of the book I am working on, reading it, taking notes, re-reading if necessary, researching the times in which it was written, artistic fashions, societal upheavals, political tensions, historic events. All these affect the writer and the writing and I aspire to be able to reflect them equally in the binding, but hopefully with a contemporary twist.

I usually have about five or six books on the go at any one time, in different stages of research and development, experimentation and materials gathering, then actual execution. Any more than that and my head would explode. My process, if you can call it that, is to consume as much as I can find intellectually and then let it percolate for a bit – I find walking and swimming incredibly helpful for emptying the mind and working through these creative conundrums. I also use my insomnia as an excellent time for reflection and problem solving. Though my husband might not agree!

Bookbinders gradually diverged from classic decorations that were purely ornamental in nature and started viewing their bindings in a different light: a complex, multilayered, functional object offering limitless potential as a medium for artistic expression. Design bindings came to be known as the modern face of bookbinding.

“[…]Though there is absolutely no inference that this is to disguise a hedonistic lifestyle like Dorian Gray’s but purely a comment on the contemporary pursuit of the preservation of youth and beauty. ” Kate Holland

I consider your binding on Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray, with its stricking covers and unexpected endpapers, a perfect example of what a Design Binding can be: not just a creative representation of the book’s content but also a commentary that expands beyond it and becomes a reflection on society, posing questions that challenge us and our views on the story they came from.

Isn’t that what art is in its essence – making connections between a thought or realization, a creation based on that thought and our world, redefining our perception of all 3? And the amazing thing is that this fermentation, taking place in the mind of someone witnessing a piece of art, can potentially have infinite outcomes.

What were your thoughts while making this binding? How did you end up with this design and endpapers? And how do you view design bindings in general?

I had always held Oscar Wilde’s “Picture of Dorian Gray” in mind as a potential title to bind having seen photographs of a collection of Dior dresses with a fabulous peacock feather design of highly embellished beading. However, it wasn’t until I read an article about the world of extreme plastic surgery that these two, seemingly disparate worlds, collided in my head and, along with a long-held love for the artwork of Aubrey Beardsley, I came up with this design. It just goes to show that you never know where inspiration will strike from and you have to soak up anything and everything around you to get to it.

Bookbinding has traditionally been one of the applied arts, a merely decorative and protective covering to the bookblock, albeit a highly technical and exacting one. It rarely referred to the contents within, save the title. Generally, any tooling would be to a prescribed formula, whether a house style or to reflect the owner’s taste and wealth. With modern design binding came a move towards a more fluid style and a decorative response to the text within. I would argue, though, that there is still room to push bookbinding one step further into the “art” world, by drawing analogies between classic texts and contemporary issues, whether to make a political statement or as a simple emotional or intellectual stimulus. I’m increasingly drawn to the term ‘artist binding’ over ‘design binding’.

My lack of art education means that I’ve always struggled with calling myself an artist. I felt there was something rather egotistical about going to art school and being an artist. I always referred to my space as a workshop not a studio. I always called myself a craftsperson not an artist. But very recently an artist friend of mine described me as an artist bookbinder and I thought I’ll take that. In a way, though, I feel liberated by my lack of art education – I have no rules to follow, I just have to try and achieve what I envisage in my head and see what happens – so more of a happy accident than anything.  Now that I feel relatively (and I use that in the loosest sense) at ease with the technical side of making a book, I am free to explore the intellectual exercise of confining my ideas to the book form. I worked out that there are 13 planes on which to express yourself creatively, not including the box, which gives such wonderful scope, how they work singly and interactively. 

What’s interesting about design binding, though, is that, unlike most other artforms eg painting, sculpture, you’re not starting from a position of zero. You’re always reacting to someone else’s artistic output ie the author, the illustrator, the typesetter, the printer etc. I have recently been questioning binding the work of others and wanting to be in control of the whole book so I am currently looking at printmaking and letterpress printing though I feel I must keep this under control and concentrate on the binding alone. It’s an ongoing internal argument.

An excerpt from a 1918 manual (see image) describes bookbinding as an excellent therapeutic aid for various disorders.

It is a testament to the many and diverse benefits our craft has to offer. I would kindly ask you to share your personal experience on the matter, given that you recently had the privilege of seeing all that in effect.

One of my particular passions is teaching and converting new people to the joys of bookbinding. I have seen the immensely therapeutic benefits of it when working for the charity ‘Bound by Veterans’ which teaches bookbinding to wounded, sick and injured ex-servicemen and women. Also to children with learning difficulties and on the autistic spectrum. There’s something so wonderful when you are “in the flow”, your head and hands working together, you forget all your cares and the sense of achievement and growth in self-esteem is palpable. I’m thinking of one particular girl who had just been diagnosed with Asperger’s and told that she wouldn’t be able to work in the “real world” and that she would require lifelong care. On day 1 she felt unable to attend the bookbinding course, due to her social anxiety but by day 5 she was fully immersed and loving it. She now has a skill which means she can work from home and hopefully make a modest income.

My local medical practice in Frome is at the forefront of the social prescribing movement, where patients with multiple health issues, who are struggling with their mental health and well-being, are being prescribed access to a wide range of resources, whether it’s park runs or talking cafes. The decrease in GP appointments and hospital admissions there has been dramatic. Together with a GP friend of mine, we are looking at getting some qualitative measures of the therapeutic benefits of bookbinding and other crafts, so that we can eventually look at applying for NHS funding to provide these.

As it happens this interview is taking place amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

The outbreak has brought the entire world to a halt, changing or taking away many of the things we took for granted and imposing a new reality. It made us sceptic of the future that awaits us in the aftermath and has put a questionmark on various aspects of our lives.

I’ve been talking with a few fellow binders and here in Athens – we’ve been in lockdown for a while now. Some felt creatively numbed and took a step away from our craft to reevaluate it’s importance in a situations like this, others told me the exact opposite – that it provided a way for them to remain active and creative during self isolation and took the opportunity to explore ideas previously left in the backburner.

How has the Covid-19 outbreak affected your relationship with bookbinding? What was its impact on you firstly as a professional binder and secondly as a creative maker. Please share with us your experience and thoughts so far.

(Click on the photo and zoom-in for a detailed look in HQ!)

Wow, what interesting times we are in right now. I confess I am really enjoying them, though I feel terribly guilty saying that. My eldest children are back from university, my youngest home instead of school and my husband off the daily commute hamster wheel. We are incredibly privileged to live in the countryside and have a garden. We have both been able to keep working so we have some income at least. My heart goes out to those trapped in flats with no outside space or forced to go to work at great risk to themselves and their families.

I have spent much of my time helping to set up and maintain Mask Force, a community of volunteers making fabric facemasks for key workers and the most vulnerable. As I write, we have donated around 2500 facemasks and now have 8 satellite groups around the country. I have also been working with the #Masks4All movement, a group of activists who have been instrumental in changing public and political thinking worldwide about the importance of wearing facemasks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, though the UK government is still proving a hard nut to crack.

I have been bookbinding, though, interestingly and unwittingly, I have chosen to concentrate on the jobs which don’t require too much creative input. I have a huge typesetting and layout project to work through which involves lots of mind-numbing screen time and several commissions for relatively straightforward bindings, for which, I luckily manged to get all the materials gathered before lockdown.

I frankly haven’t had time to explore ideas left on the backburner. I wish I had. There are so many.

” It cannot be overstated how important it is for all of us to work with our hands on some level. It should be made compulsory in schools. “
The above quote from you resonates with me a lot. I remember back when I was at school wondering why everything is geared towards “doctor – lawyer – IT”. Why did noone ever mention I could be a woodworker, a machinist, a jeweller, a bookbinder…?

For 99.9% of your existence as a species we had to work with our hands and,  although it still remains essential to our civilization, it almost seems that somehow handcrafting has faded into obscurity in our lifetime.

What has our negligence towards learning to work with our hands caused? Why do you think it should be a part of our school curiculum? And last but not least, do you have any thoughts on how it could be implemented?

Humans are the only great ape who have evolved not only opposable thumbs but tiny bones within the thumb which allow us to manipulate tools to create really fine and delicate work. The further we move away from making for ourselves, and into the world of consumerism and globalisation, the sadder we are. I teach undergraduates who cannot thread a needle or tie a knot. This is shocking.

Too many children are spending their learning lives in front of screens and not exploring some of the most basic skills and there is far too much emphasis on STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) here in the UK curriculum with the Arts subjects being sidelined. Bookbinding used to be taught in primary school here. It covers so many basic skills – measuring and estimating, calculating and cutting, folding and manipulating, fine motor skills such as threading and sewing. It can be taught as a supplement to any of the academic subjects – English, Modern Languages, History, Geography, Design Technology, Art. Children who struggle to engage with the written word in manufactured books, relish the idea of putting their own words into their own books. I have had the chance to speak about this to the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on ‘Art in Education’ on the importance of bookbinding and making in general. And I am cooking a plan to fund a “Bookbinding Bus” which will go to schools, festivals, city centres, inner city estates, anywhere to spread the joy of bookbinding and hopefully impart some of those basic skills.

The importance of using the creative ‘right’ side of our brain as well as the logical ‘left’ side cannot be overestimated. Creativity is problem solving and invention as well as expression and feeling – where would we be without those? And making with our hands is so much a part of that creativity. Hopefully some of the backlash to the onward march of technology will be an increased resurgence in making by hand and a respect for the handmade. We must appreciate the handmade, the artisan, the crafted for its integral value to mankind and not just as a marketing tool.

—

Be sure to check Kate Holland’s site and also IG account!

Closing I would like to thank you for visiting the blog and reading our talk with Kate Holland. If you enjoyed it consider having a look at the blog section for Techniton Politeia, where you can find more interviews.

Till next time!

 

5 sources of book arts content to read during the quarantine

14 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

book arts, bookarts, bookbinding, bookbinding content, bookbinding how to, bookbinding sources, bookbinding tutorial, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, restoration

The outbreak of Covid-19 has by now forced most of us to stay home. I won’t really try to comment on the situation as it’s a rather complicated, strange and sad topic. I understand one might feel confused and uninspired amidst all this – I certainly do!

That said this forced and unexpected time-off can be for us bookbinders an opportunity to rest and explore new things and that’s why I’m sharing with you this list of online sources I’ve found useful and interesting over the years. The list is short but with a huge amount of content, to keep you creative and entertained during these times of self-isolation!

Hope you’re all well. Stay safe and wish you a good reading!

The Bonefolder
https://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/

The bonefolder was a free online book arts journal that run from 2004 to 2012 spanning 14 issues (excluding extras) in total. Each has 50 or so pages on average (last one is 118!) and is filled to the brim with interesting articles, interviews, reviews and tutorials.

Reading Bonefolder has helped me learn a lot, from bookbinders and bookartists, the work of whom has expanded my view on our craft, to experimenting and trying new techniques guided by detailed articles and tutorials.
A good example are my Cicero bindings, the surface gilding on which was achieved by reading James Reid Cunningham’s how-to in Vol 6 No 1.

Although I focused on Bonefolder in particular do take some time to explore Book Arts Web (curated by Peter D. Verheyen) in general, as there is a wealth of bookbinding content to be found there. To quote from the site:
“…the Book Arts Web which features links to a large selection of book arts related sites on the web, including educational opportunities, professional organizations, tutorials, reference materials, and galleries withimages.“

Skin Deep
https://www.hewit.com/skin_deep/

Skin Deep is a binannual newsletter by J. Hewit & Sons with some 48 issues available online. Apart from product and company news they include study oppotunities, recent work from various binders, interesting articles on the treatment of books, history and research, and tutorials.

Here’s a good example: the medieval girdle book by Renate Mesmer.

The Pressbengel Project
https://pressbengel.blogspot.com/

The Pressbengel Project is a blog exploring German bookbinding traditions curated by Peter D. Verheyen.
Among other things you can find tutorials, bookbinding stories and a fish skin challenge!

Guild of Book Workers Journal
https://guildofbookworkers.org/journal

I’ve only recently managed to start reading these and after a couple I’m definitely eager for more!

To quote:
“The Guild of Book Workers Journal is published annually by the Guild of Book Workers and contains articles that address our members’ interests in the arts and crafts of the book, including traditional bookbinding, paper making and decorating, conservation and restoration, calligraphy, the making of artists’ books, and printing. Published continuously since 1962, the GBWJ welcomes submissions from members and nonmembers. All articles are reviewed and meet either peer review or editorial review standards.“

ibookbinding
https://www.ibookbinding.com/

Curated by Stepan Chizov ibookbinding offers a varied bookarts content: news, interviews, study and job opportunities, links and literature on books and bookbinding. It also includes personal bookbinding projects and a shop for the tools Stepan makes.

I would like to focus on the large collection of (digitized) books (almost all of them on bookbinding) they’ve made available for free since 2017. With 105 books to choose from I bet you’ll find a few to keep you some digital company!

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