New Publications: Bibliomuse 1 & 2

I've been making books through Blurb Publishing for a number of years now. It is a great way to capture my art installations and my art series' on the printed page. My Blurb books are almost like little art exhibits that you can hold in your hands.

I just created two more Blurb books to get my last two series' on paper:

Bibliomuse 1 is a sub-series of KEEP: Modern Library. I created all of the pieces from 2016-2017 and they are entirely machine stitched. Obsessively machine stitched! You can read more about them here. Their creation culminated in an exhibit in Seager Gray Gallery in the Fall of 2017 (see images from that exhibit here). Seager Gray Gallery made a beautiful catalog and if you were lucky enough to get one then it will suffice. But, their distribution is limited so I decided to create a Blurb book in order to make the first Bibliomuse series more accessible.

Bibliomuse 2 is a series that I have just completed and that I've worked on in the last year, 2017-2018. In this sub-series of KEEP: Modern Library I return to hand stitching while continuing to look to discarded library books as inspiration. The new development in this series is that I'm dyeing/painting the linen with natural dyes such as woad, persimmon and walnut as well as india ink. This results is some more daring color juxtapositions with the cloth that I remove from the discarded library books. I had fun playing with color combinations in this series in addition to manipulating the size of imagery gleaned from the discarded library books. You can read more about Bibliomuse 2 in my last two posts here and here.

The Scandal of Silence, No. 1 - Bibliomuse 2 series

You can visit my Blurb page to see these two new publications as well as other books. 

In both my Bibliomuse 1 and Bibliomuse 2 Blurb books I include images of the discarded library books that act as my muses as well as all of the art pieces in each series, along with close ups so that you can see all that stitching! Both books also include statements about the sub-series'.

Theory of Collective Behavior, No. 1 - Bibliomuse 2 series

If you have ordered books through Blurb before you know that they are not inexpensive - this is the price to pay for on demand printing - they will print as many or as little as your want and if you only want one then the cost is higher than might be expected for a book of that size.

BUT, they have a product now that they call "magazine" quality and I love it! I was skeptical so I created a draft and ordered one and on receipt I was so very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the printing. The paper is thinner which results in a more casual feeling publication. Both the paper and cover are matte - which I really like. AND - my photographer was impressed and pleased with the printing - he has an eagle eye for color and often criticizes art books for poor color quality. The reason I'm explaining this is because the "magazine" quality has allowed me to keep the price down on these two new publications and I just wanted to be clear that they are a little different from my previous Blurb books. 
 

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 1 - Bibliomuse series

 

I'm taking off for a trip to Tokyo in a few days and will have some copies of Bibliomuse 2 with me there at an event at Blue and White -  you can find me and the books there on January 12th. 

Everyone else can order copies at anytime from Blurb! 

I hope you enjoy them.

The Boro Aesthetic: Blurb Book

Ever since I started teaching my Boro Sampler Book and Boro Bags workshops people from afar who can't attend have been asking me for information on these classes so that they can play along, too.

Finally, I have done something about that! I've written a book called: The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka and Zokin. I used Blurb, a self-publishing platform, to help me create and distribute the book. Follow this link to my Blurb book page.

[Update: The Boro Aesthetic is now available on Amazon, too.]

Heavily patched Japanese textile from my personal collection

 I tried to make the book as much like my workshops as possible with images of my personal collection of Japanese boro textiles, images of class samples, scans of handouts, tool and supply lists, a glossary, and writing the reflects what I talk about in class.

Included in the book are directions on how to get started with projects that are inspired by Japanese boro textiles. This includes the Boro Sampler Book, Boro Bags, and a newer class that I call Zakka, Zokin and Chiku-Chiku.

Boro Sampler Book - instructions in book

In the Boro Sampler Book section I take readers through the various kinds of mending techniques seen in boro textiles. At the end of that section I have included directions on how to bind your sampler pages using the Japanese Side Sewn structure (I teach fancier versions of this binding on Creativebug).

Boro Bag - instructions in book

Next, is the Boro Bags section where I encourage readers to continue practicing the mending techniques on a larger piece of fabric and then make it into a Japanese style bag. Included are instructions on how to make the Tsunobukuro and the Azuma Bukuro.

Zokin inspired coasters - instruction in the book

In the Zakka, Zokin and Chiku-Chiku section I include instructions on how to make hand stitched cloth coasters (and how to adapt to a placemat or table runner) using the techniques learned in the sampler book section.

Throughout are beautifully photographed (thank you r.r.jones) Japanese boro textiles from my personal collection, a couple of images of my artwork, and class samples that I have made.

Boro Sampler Book page

 

I have ordered copies of the book and am very pleased with the reproduction of images, as is the photographer (and Mr. Jones is very particular about that). The book is artist and photographer approved!

Because many of you are from areas outside of the U.S., and I know shipping costs can be prohibitive, I have made an e-book version available (it shows up as "related editions" under the "add to cart" button). It is much more affordable and there are no tax or shipping charges. The e-book option may also be attractive for U.S. readers, too. 

Boro Sampler Book page

Students that have taken my in-person classes are also ordering the book to have it on hand for continued inspiration and instruction. I plan to have copies available at my future workshops, too.

My KEEP: Modern Library exhibit book may also be of interest to some of you since it is a series, exhibit, and body of work that was greatly inspired by Japanese boro textiles. It is also available on Blurb as a physical book and an e-book.

Bias from KEEP: Modern Library series

I hope that some of you find The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka, and Zokin useful, informative and inspirational.

Happy reading, viewing and making!