August 2007 – Page 2 – Green Chair Press Blog

Getting Organized

Rolled up tool case Jamye Jamison, a paper conservator here in the Bay Area, has a roll-up soft-sided case for her tools (bone folder, scissors, x-acto knife, brush, pencil, ruler…) that I covet. I use a zippered pouch for my own tools, but I have to dig around in it to find anything (and sometimes get poked). Jamye got her roll-up as a graduation present and it was made specifically for her, with bright fabric on the outside. She thought a roll-up case for knitting needles might work, so I looked on Etsy and found this case from Sarah Kincheloe. The inside is made of soft cotton and the outside is canvas. It has batting inside to protect my tools and a flap at the top to keep them from moving around when the case is rolled up. And the fabric is bright and cheery and makes me happy every time I unroll it.

Nifty tool: Japanese Screw Punch

I teach letterpress printing at the San Francisco Center for the Book. In my class this past week, we printed these holiday gift tags, complete with a hole in the upper corner for a ribbon or string.

To punch the holes, we used a lovely simple tool called a Japanese Screw Punch (it’s also called a Book Drill or Paper Drill). It cuts through multiple pieces of paper, and even thick stuff like mat board or davey board. Holes of different sizes can be made by swapping out the bits. The advantage over a hole punch is that you can position it anywhere on the paper, not just the edge, and there’s no guessing — you can see exactly where your hole will be placed.
Japanese Screw Punch
They are available online from Bonnie’s Best (with 7 bits for $70) or Wilde Ideas (1 bit, $40, with 6 bits, $81) or Vulcan Arts (punch + 9 bits, $75).

Creating Artists’ Books

I call the books I design and make “artist’s books”. According to Wikipedia, “Artists’ books (also called bookworks) are works of art realized in the form of a book. They are usually published in small editions, though sometimes they are one-of-a-kind objects. Artists’ books have employed a wide range of forms, including scrolls, fold-outs or loose items contained in a box.”
I guess that’s an ok definition, but a few pictures would help. While there are lots of pictures on the web and lots of books available, I particularly like Sarah Bodman’s book Creating Artists’ Books. She doesn’t try to define “artists’ book” and instead presents copious examples in this “guide for visual artists who are interested in creating work in the artist’s book format.” Bodman, based in England, has a European slant. And that slant is precisely what makes the book interesting to me. In addition to the many examples and photographs, the appendices provide a resource guide to the book arts in Europe—book shops, galleries, fairs, events, organizations and journals. Bodman touches on all aspects of the book arts, even providing a section on ways to display books effectively. And at $15 it’s a steal. [It’s available from Amazon.]
Bodman works at the Center for Fine Print Research at UWE Bristol. They have a bi-monthly newsletter, produce a bi-annual yearbook, and have a PDF publication called Artists’ Books Creative Production and Marketing. But the project I like best is Bookmarks, which distributes bookmarks made by artists to encourage interest in the book arts.