Bookbinding

A stack of completed little folded paper books surrounded by work-in-progress of single folded squares of paper.
A stack of completed little folded paper books surrounded by work-in-progress of single folded squares of paper.
A small folded book unfolded (with M25 map covers).
A small folded book unfolded (with M25 map covers).
A small book covered in part of an old M25 junctions.
A small book covered in part of an old M25 junctions.
A small folded book with covers using decorative paper printed with an Enid Marx design in dark blue.
A small folded book with covers using decorative paper printed with an Enid Marx design in dark blue.
A small folded book with covers in a decorative paper with a Peggy Angus design, published by Cambridge Imprint.
A small folded book with covers in a decorative paper with a Peggy Angus design, published by Cambridge Imprint.
The covers of the blue, turquoise and green Chinese thread book.
The covers of the blue, turquoise and green Chinese thread book.
The inside of a Chinese thread book in blue, turquoise and green decorative papers published by Cambridge Imprint - showing the inside of the large pocket under two smaller squares on one side, with the pockets on the other side closed.
The inside of a Chinese thread book in blue, turquoise and green decorative papers published by Cambridge Imprint – showing the inside of the large pocket under two smaller squares on one side, with the pockets on the other side closed.
A Chinese thread book in green, and red and yellow, decorative papers published by Cambridge Imprint.
A Chinese thread book in green, and red and yellow, decorative papers published by Cambridge Imprint.

Thanks to the a-n bursary I was awarded for a self-directed programme of continuing professional development during 2022, I have been learning and exploring how to create different forms of handmade books.

It’s been a lot more absorbing than I’d expected (I can recommend the bookbinding courses by Yvette Ja, an artist based in the North East of England, who provides online videos – so useful to be able to go back and remind oneself of how something is made).

I am currently working on a mixture of artist’s books, small books covered in decorative papers published usually by small to medium-size companies, and on developing my own designs for decorative papers (for covers and end papers) and book cloth.