A luscious hand-crafted book can take you places, keepsake your personal stories, and display your special photographs. It touches you in the way it feels, how it closes and opens – the details of its construction revealing
both the artistry and craftsmanship of its creator.
In this cross-discipline workshop, you will make a deeply personal journal, scrapbook, or photo album, each requiring a slightly different construction method. Every student will take home a beautiful and unique hand-bound book with painted covers, bead embroidery inset into the front cover, and painted signature covers. The standard size has 6 signatures, each with 20-pages. But you may have more or less than that if you wish. Bead embroidery may be inset into one of the signature covers rather than in the front cover. It will not be difficult for you to continue making these wonderful books/journals in your own home or studio.
Techniques used include:
– Improvisational Bead Embroidery – learn the four basic bead embroidery stitches and variations, plus edging and fringing techniques. Practice these stitches on a sampler; and then create a small beaded piece to inset
into your book cover.
– Painting Decorative Papers – learn basic techniques for painting, stenciling, stamping, layering and glazing to make your own decorative papers, which you will use for the book and signature covers.
– Book Binding – learn a nifty and permanent process for insetting your bead embroidery into the cover of your book, and a fine, yet quick and professional, book binding method.
– Journal Writing – A few guided writing sessions will give you some models for personal writing, which you may include in the pages of your book.