Artists' Books

Paula J asked me to photograph some of the treasures I bought at BABE (Bristol Artists' Books Event) 2015. I gave it a go this morning but there wasn't enough in my stash pile to make it look exciting and 3-dimensional. So instead I have snapped a book with a felt cover that I made myself on a coptic binding course in 2010. The paper is handmade (by someone else) and I later made the book into a scrapbook, documenting the card making and decorative techniques that I was teaching myself in 2011, while most creatively unemployed. I've included a cross section of the deckle (rough) edges, because I'm a paper fetishist.

At the foot of the notebook is a small accordion-fold handmade book that I bought at BABE yesterday. It has a Blue colour theme; there were others, but I liked the Blue Connemara pony drawing best. It has an embroidered paper cover and a ribbon closure. I'm thinking of making some more of these myself, with different themes and absolutely no pony drawings. Bookmaking and binding is very tricky because it requires very precise measurements, and I have almost nothing in the way of tools, but it's something I'd like to get back into. There are some simple sewn bindings that a child could make, so I may start with those.

I also bought a hand painted card with a wagtail on it, and a digitally printed anothology of poems, called Homesickness and Exile, on exquisite cream paper. I could, of course, have bought much, much more, but there were all those teas, coffees, drinks, lunch and ferry rides to factor in! I was on the point of buying another beautifully produced book of poetry, entitled Emerging from Anaesthesia, by Richard Harland, when I realised that I had £10 less than I thought! How did that get spent? I may treat myself next time I get paid.

And now, another friend is coming around for tea and more of my handmade cakes. Tomorrow, reality begins. I vow to enjoy the rest of the day to the uttermost utmost.