News
Marbled papers added, end of semester update, 12/7/2011
I added a marbled paper section to the design portion of this site back in October. Unfortunately, the image quality is not very good at the moment. I will work to improve upon it soon.
In other news, my first semester at The University of Alabama is winding down, and I've made a lot of progress in terms of learning new binding structures and better craft principles. I also have decided upon a press name, and will open up a press page as soon as I have time to populate it in an interesting way. In the meantime, my very first linoleum reduction, pictured here, is a little preview of my work. Click to enlarge.
Site revamped & other news, 7/19/11
This version of the site had been brewing for a few months now, and last night the overwhelming, uncontrollable urge to do it all NOW hit me. I have no idea how 5AM came so quickly. I have a class at Penland coming up and will be moving to Alabama immediately after that. It's unlikely I will be filling in this new site's holes for another month or more, but I do plan to get to them eventually.
Due to my upcoming move, I've pulled my stock out of Pomegranate Books. I also do not have time right now for Etsy. The good news is that my range is about to explode, and when I have the time and energy, I will be back with exciting new creations.
Tidal, Succubus, and Red Wave, 4/9/11
My newest books, "Tidal" and "Succubus," flew in and out of stock. "Red Wave" and many other books will soon move to Pomegranate. In other news, I should have time to make more books when May rolls around. I have been utterly swamped by all those things one must do to graduate from a masters program. My site may undergo another redesign once the summer opens up vast tracts of time for me to fiddle with it.
Craft Fair at UNCW on 3/29/11
The third ever UNCW Hip and Homemade Craft Fair will be held on Tuesday March 29th, 2011 from 10am to 4pm. In case of rain, the fair will be held on Thursday March 31st. It's open to all and will take place outside of the UNCW Fisher Student Union. I'll be bringing my entire stock, including a few completely new books that haven't even photographed or been posted on the site yet.
Binocular Vision hits the cover of NYT Book Review, 1/17/11
The book I helped design last spring has not only been chosen for review by the New York Times, but has been featured on the cover. This is the debut collection for UNCW's new imprint, Lookout Books, and we had virtually no advertising budget. Here's a link to the review in the NYT and yet another review by the LA Times. I found the cover picture and contributed to the interior text design. I also helped build the distribution list. Needless to say, this is quite exciting and a big win for a little imprint. In other news, I decided to add pictures to the blog. Hope this spruces it up.
First journal sold on Etsy, site tweaked, 1/12/11
"Samuel" has left the fold via Etsy and landed in loving hands. The link stitch gallery has undergone extensive updating, trimming and tweaking. You can now check my link stitch journal stock currently at Pomegranate online, though it will be updated about as infrequently as before unless everyone goes paper-mad and rushes to Pom to purchase journals. In which case, I approve. My newest leather journal, "Rugged Lady," has sauntered her way onto Etsy. A new Chiyogami journal, "Embroidered Ribbons," also introduces my link stitch collection to Etsy. Wish me traffic!
Samuel and Augusta on Etsy, 12/15/10
Not only have I added two new books, "Samuel" and "Augusta," but I have begun to write biographical descriptions of them on Etsy. Here's a sample: "Zag Attack may once have had straight edges and another name, but that was before his encounter with the Zaginator. The Zaginator turned him into the first ever Zag Attack, and since then, he has proudly displayed his zaggy edges."
Is it descriptive? Perhaps. Is it silly? Yes. Does it make me grin? Definitely. When something makes me grin, maybe another 15% of the population will grin along.
Henry VIII and Mythos on Etsy, 12/11/10
Check them out! I have two more books in the works, tentatively titled Samuel and Anna Komnena. I also may have figured out a solution for drilling through large text blocks, and it involves a plain metal-topped table I had previously only used for plants. I also ordered five pounds of lightweight cowhide that's tanned to look and feel like deer leather, so expect to see some softer journals in the next year or two. Kidding. Sort of.
Zag Attack on Etsy, 12/10/10
I'm delighted to write that I've had time to make a few books beyond what Pomegranate can stock, so I am at last going to attempt to establish a presence on Etsy! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy, it's known as the Ebay of crafts. Here's the link to my store. I've only added one book to start, but I finished "King Henry VIII" the other day. As soon as I take pictures and edit them, I plan to post him there as well. The King has palpable charm and style. I also have another red leather book in the works, tentatively named "Mythos."
Gallery and screw post album update, 12/3/10
Several new books have been added to the leather journal gallery, including "Jonas," "Zag Attack," "Misfit," and "Conquistadore." "Zag Attack" will move to Pomegranate in the near future, but if you want it, contact me and I could sell it to you directly. "Jonas" and "Conquistadore" were both commissioned journals, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to have something similar to them. I have a large supply of the red leather used for "Conquistadore" and would be delighted to bend it to different design expectations. I also have a very lovely "King Henry VIII" journal in the works, but have yet to find the patience to complete it. Sometimes, it's necessary to make kings wait.
Screw post photo albums will happen as soon as I figure out how to drill through a large text block without putting any fingers, other body parts, or furniture at risk. I believe I need to purchase a C-clamp, but I don't have a good worktable to clamp the pages to at this time. So I'm wandering around several possible solutions. If anyone has experience with this sort of thing and can advise me on a safe and inexpensive workaround, I would be quite grateful. I have a dremel and a regular handheld drill, so all I need is a safe way to clamp those pages down and drill precisely through the entire text block (about 1" thick) without putting permanent dents in the paper.
Craft Fair at UNCW on 11/16/10
The UNCW Creative Writing Graduate Student Association is holding a craft fair on campus. I'll be bringing my entire stock. This is an excellent opportunity to get your hands on beautiful, handmade crafts at the lowest possible price. It will take place outside of the UNCW Fisher Student Union.
Gallery update, 6/24/10
"Violet" has moved to Pomegranate, while "Muscadine" and "Dove" have sold. Also, I have been busy ordering supplies to make screw post photo albums and guest registries. It may take a few more weeks (hah, or years) to make the first few, but they are sure to be an exciting addition to what I already offer, so keep your eyes open for them!
Journals for sale online, 6/16/10
I've been busy binding, and those of you reading this website are about to see the fruit of my needle-jabbed fingers. Five new leather journals have been added to the gallery, three of them for sale directly from me via Paypal. Two of the journals, Mustang and Muscadine, will move to Pomegranate tomorrow. Enjoy!
Site tweaked, 6/9/10
This site is a work in progress. I just retooled a number of old pictures and the gallery layout for the link stitch journals, hopefully cleaning up the overall presentation. A lot of information has been removed, some of it painfully obvious information like thread color. I've also moved a lot of info about how I craft the leather journals into the design portion of the page. I also wrote a bit more about how I do what I do when it comes to the leather journals. Hopefully these changes will make the site more user-friendly. I plan to make the detailed information about the cover papers available again, but I think it will fall under the design section when I have the papers photographed and catalogued for commission purposes. Also tweaked my CSS. Hopefully the text is now large enough to be legible without zooming and will no longer be slowly make everyone go blind.
Leather gallery retooled, 6/7/10
My old gallery layout was a little clunky for more than a handful of journals. I hope you like the new design. Also, five new leather journals moved to Pomegranate today. Enjoy!
Troy, Dove, Valentine, and Elizabeth added to gallery, 6/6/10
The leather gallery grows once again! Well, I added Elizabeth a while ago, but I didn't post anything, so here she is. I also have four new link stitch journals I bound in the past two weeks, but the pictures aren't web-ready yet. Soon. In other news, I went shopping for beads after selling a journal or two back in May, and I've been adding bone beads to several books. One of these journals, Valentine, has a layer of Canson Mi-Tientes around the entire textblock. I'm trying to scrounge up a sewing machine that would allow me to edge the leather journals. Covers are prepped for three more books, tentatively named Queen Anne, Viola, and Danielle. I'm considering a slight restructure to the leather gallery, given how large it's getting. It's all very exciting. Check the new books out:"Troy," "Dove," "Valentine," and "Elizabeth."
New journals, 5/8/10
I just added three leather journals to the gallery, "Unleashed" "Greece," and "Sylvester," and a link stitch journal with a new Chiyogami cover paper called "Embroidered Ribbons." Check them out if you have a minute!
Site overhaul and leather journals added, 5/6/10
For a while there, I didn't have much time or energy to put into ABA. That changed about two months ago when pared down my responsibilities to the most beneficial and important of the lot. I freed up the time needed to be able to experiment and play with book arts in a way I haven't in a long time. The results of this creative explosion are documented in my leather gallery and can also be seen in the site overhaul itself. I hope you all enjoy the new face of ABA.
Graphic Design section updated, 10/6/09
A new campaign, "Re-Vision: A Change of Art," has been added to the graphic design section. The painting "Mongrel" featured in this campaign is by Roderick McClain, an active local artist. Now for the shameless plug portion of this post. This show features work by students of the MFA Creative Writing program at UNCW. The reception is 10/23/09 from 6-9PM at Parallelogram, the gallery at Castle and 3rd in Wilmington, NC. MFA students will give brief readings at this reception. I am a contiributing artist and my link stitch journals, along with a few drawings, will be on display. If you're in the area, you should check it out! The show will be at Parallelogram from Oct. 23rd - Nov. 13th, Wednesday-Saturday, 1-6PM.
Hand marbled paper, two new books added to gallery, 8/16/09
This marks the first time I've added a limited edition book to the gallery. They tend to run straight to Pomegranate and advertise themselves out of stock. For those who would like to learn more about marbled paper, check out Laura Berretti's site, Marbled Arts. The paper I use to cover my "Blue Marbled" journal was produced by Brazilian artist Renato Crepaldi.
Site updated and stock moved to Pomegranate Books, 8/6/09
In their own words, Pomegranate Books is "a progressive, independent bookstore in Wilmington, North Carolina, run by avid readers." This is a genuinely lovely store and I urge you, dear reader, to shop there and enjoy all the independent scene has to offer. My full stock has been moved to Pomegranate and is being sold for the very reasonable prices of $40 for limited edition covers and $35 for standard. Ink and enjoy.
For those who are not local to Wilmington, I would be glad to ship books. Contact me to work out the details. Due to time constraints, I will no longer sell my stock online save by commission, but when possible I will update the gallery with images of new books.
Japanese Papers Available
American Book Arts offers limited edition link stitch journals covered with specialty Japanese papers, both Chiyogami, also referred to as Yuzen, and Katazome-shi, also referred to as Wazome, which are exceptionally beautiful and durable papers particularly suited to bookbinding.
You can read up these gorgeous papers and browse them online at the Japanese Paper Place. If you find something you want, place a commission by contacting me with the paper number (located under the sample image, ex. "732C"), desired number of books, and your contact information.