Category: General

I once had a geology friend who, when we went hiking, would taste (well, actually lick) the rocks to identify them. Apparently you can do something similar with books — judge them by their odor. According to this article in Wired,

Just sniffing an old book can tell chemists a lot about the state of the paper in a vintage volume, including its level of acidity, lignin and rosin, which are all important variables for deciding how to approach preserving the text.

This next quote from the article caused me to stick my nose in a few volumes on my bookshelf — unfortunately the hint of vanilla was definitely missing, more noticeable was old sock.

“The aroma of an old book is familiar to every user of a traditional library. A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness, this unmistakable smell is as much part of the book as its contents. ” —Matija Strlic, et al, in Analytical Chemistry

I notice &s on signs. Recently, online, I’ve been seeing this huge & in NY Times ads announcing their new bi-weekly section of Bay Area news. They also have posters up in Bart with the same campaign. The & seems a tad too big to me…

Abigail Uhteg has documented her summer internship at the Women’s Studio Workshop with a video flipbook of the 3000 photos she took over the course of printing and constructing her edition of 35 artist’s books.

[youtube l9a5hH5idQc]

The Summer 2009 Ampersand, quarterly book arts journal of the PCBA, recently came out. This is my last issue as editor — after 5 years I’m ready to hand it off to someone else! Yvonne Tsang, a letterpress printer here in San Francisco, takes over with the Fall 2009 issue. The Summer issue features a “how-to” article by Ginger Burrell on making two variations of the star book. You can see 2 of Ginger’s star books here and here.
Back issues of the Ampersand are here.

A zoetrope is a device used for displaying animations. Inside a cylinder attach a set of sequenced images, then cut slits in the cylinder. Looking through the slits as the cylinder is spun, the succession of images produce the illusion of motion. Eadweard Muybridge, through a famous set of photos he took of a horse running, answered the question “do all four of a horse’s hooves left the ground at the same time during a gallop.” Those pictures are perfect for a zoetrope or flipbook. There’s a free zoetrope you can cut out and make here using the galloping horse pictures. It spins on a pencil…

This past week my husband & I took a short trip to Santa Fe, NM. We saw outdoor sculpture on what seemed like every corner, and in front of many galleries, including this bronze archway made of books with a child reading at the top. Santa Fe has a very active book arts group; you can see their recent group show here.
One highlight of the week was my visit to Suzanne Vilmain’s studio. She’s lived in and around Santa Fe a long time, but I met her when she lived for a year in Berkeley and attended book arts meetings at SFCB. Since returning to Santa Fe, she’s acquired a letterpress, and I got to see her work plus her large and wonderful collection of wood and metal type. The visit made me itch to get back to my studio to print!