Improving Previous Ideas

In my last post I showed the new way I have been binding books as well as some acetate books I have been making. Since then I have made about 10 acetate books which are drawn, and three bound books. However I've found a way of improving the books I make.

 

In the pictures with this post there I have shown the acetate books and some pictures of the new way I have been binding books. Instead of using hessian (which as I said before was too thick) I have been using felt, a softer, thinner fabric. I have also slightly changed the way I cut the fabric before gluing it to the boards so the folds around the corners aren't so apparent. I feel that these minor changes have made a world of difference!

 

After rebinding the first fold out printed book (shown in the previous post) I made another which folds differently and got a photo book printed and bound that. The photo book contains stills taken from an animation I made of handling books in a library. It's almost like a flick book except its presented as the normal book layout so the movement of the photos is slower and represents the journey the viewer takes as they travel through the pages of the book. The body of this book is attached to its cover with an elastic band (the best way I have at the moment of attaching the book to its cover without restricting the movement of the pages).

 

The acetate books have evolved to be photos printed onto acetates then folded into little books and pages (rather than the images being drawn). They look much smarter and have a more resolved feel, linking into the photo book in their use of photography, yet also referencing paper folding. However I still feel the drawn versions (shown in the previous post) look more fragile... At this point I will probably carry on making both!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

 

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Transparent Books and Learning to Make Covers

I've been trying to improve how I make the covers on my books so they look more resolved and professional. This is turning out to be quite tricky as book binding is a very complicated and precise craft. The first image here is my attempt at making a cover with the body of the book loose so it can be played with and handled without the hardback cover getting in the way. I used Hessian which is too thick really as on the inside the paper I have stuck onto the book to hide where I have glued down the hessian is quite bumpy and not very tidy. I will keep trying!

The other two pictures are some transparent books I have literally just tried out this evening because I fancied doing some drawing and had some transparent paper hanging around. I made a drawing on the paper then folded it in different ways after. I like the way the viewer doesn't have to handle the work to know the contents. I think this is something I will continue. 

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Book and Degree Show Update

After my last two posts I thought I would continue the seasonal/ degree show theme. The first image I have posted is a set of valentines day cards I have made as some of the students on my course are selling valentines day cards to raise some money for our show (thanks guys!) and this is my contribution. If you're studying at Leeds Uni then do look out for these stalls because there will be some lovely cards and bits to buy and give to your loved ones (aww).

The other three photos are images of my work in progress. I'm mainly working on books that use concertina folding as a layout but then have extra pages unfolding from the main body.... kind of like a puzzle book. I'm experimenting with different ways of folding paper to make intricate little books that can be played with when handling. I have also been sending books off to be professionally printed and bound. They mainly contain images taken from animations of my hands playing with paper puzzles. I'm still using the mono-printing and animating technique that I developed last semester to create whole images that I can cut into to make a book. 

Happy Valentines Day (way in advance!) 

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Degree Show

I'm currently a student at the University of Leeds and it's my third year so our Degree Show is coming up. I'd love for people to come if they can! Here's a little preview of some of the artists (fellow students) making work for it http://www.youtube.com/user/SeeMoreOpera

It's in June 2011 (between the 2nd and the 27th to my knowledge) and it's in the Clothworkers South building in the main Leeds University Campus. More information about where the Uni and it's campus is can be found at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/20014/about/157/how_to_find_us

My work is so-so but the other guys on my course are really amazing artists who I think will go really far! Some of their work will be for sale so if your looking for new and interesting art come along. 

You can follow this event on Twitter just type ArtDesignSHOW into the search box. I'm also following it and theres a link to my Twitter on this page.

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything on here for a while but I promise I will update you soon (when I actually have some decent/ finished work to show!!)

Thanks Everyone! xxx

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