Writing Wednesday: Almost There

I'm still not writing much, alas. In fact, I have a short freelance article I wanted to have handed in at least a week ago that I haven't finished yet. I can't express how much that bugs me.

But no sooner was the craft fair over with that I had to launch myself into a big bookbinding job. It's more catalogues for textiles artist Sandra Brownlee (I'd link to my previous post about the work, but I'm on the mobile Blogger app for iOS which, for some inexplicable reason, lacks the ability to insert links), and is going to keep me busy for at least another week or two, especially with juggling my About YA Books work (and that damned freelance article I *will* finish soon).

The above image is just a fraction of what I have to do. I'll be binding and putting covers on 76 regular edition books, and once I have the rest of the materials I'll also be doing 12 deluxe versions with all sorts of extra inserts (if I remember, I'll add links to the two earlier blog posts about these books when I'm back at my desk; in the meantime, if you search "Sandra Brownlee" in the little search box at the top left they'll come up in the first few results).

So far, I have managed to sew 15. I'll need to speed up if I'm going to get this done in good time. So now I'm off to make supper, and then back at it. Oh, and this means my Stamp Saturday posts are probably going to continue to be nonexistent until this job is done.

Fairy Book: Brown and Grey

Here's the last of the batch of fairy books I made recently. I had originally been working on the green one I posted yesterday to keep for myself, but this one turned out so well, I think I'll keep it instead.

There was one more, but the leather I chose was quite thick, and too soft to easily pare down as much as I needed for these tiny books (I could have done it, but it would have taken way longer than it was worth). So I've set that last book aside and I'll finish it when I get to work on another project that involves paring leather.

Fairy Books: Darker Blue and Green

A couple more fairy books. If you're interested in one, let me know. I'm going to offer them at a big discount from now until the craft fair next weekend.

I think regular price will be somewhere around $50 (Can/USD), which is still a pretty good deal considering how much work goes into them (I'll have a post up in a few days showing the whole process). But from now until Friday, November 29, 2013, they'll be $25 plus shipping.

Or, if you make miniature books, maybe we can do a trade.

Fairy Books: Blue and Green

Two more miniature books from the recent batch. The reason I keep calling them fairy books is because I was asked to make miniature books that looked like they came from Fairyland. Because, of course, not all fairies are tiny.

When I was doing the covers on the two from yesterday, I cut flowers out from the same paper I used for the endsheets. I realized this would work with the book above, too. For the next one, though, a motif from the cover worked better for the spine, and then I let the patterned cover stand on its own.

When I made this one, I picked the endpapers first based mostly on the size of the pattern rather than on the colour. It proved difficult to find leather and cover paper to go with it. I like how the leather and the endpapers go together, and how the cover paper and the leather goes, but I'm not sure all three are the best match. If I had to change one, I'd change the endpapers, because I really like how the cover looks. I don't hate the endpapers, I just wish I'd chosen differently.

Fairy Books: Pink and Lilac

A while back, I had a request to make some tiny books that looked like they came from fairyland. In a few days, I'll post the in-progress shots I took and explain how they were made, but for now, here are pictures of the first two, made for my cousin's girls.

I'm not the biggest fan of pink, but I'm really pleased with how this turned out, and I'm glad I decided to cut flowers from the same paper I used for the endpapers to put on the cover and spine.

I had focus issues with the shots I took of the lilac book, and even with photoshop I couldn't quite get the colour right -- it's still too blue -- but the book itself turned out really well. I wasn't sure about the white leather, but I love how it ended up (originally I was going to use purple leather and a different cover paper, but I couldn't get the leather).

Pay-What-You-Want Handbound Blank Books

For info on this sale and how it works, please see this post.

This batch of goodies is all the blank books and journals I have on hand. They range from simple pamphlet-style booklets, to full-on leather-and-marbled-paper hardcovers. Many of them I will never make again, except as a special order, or on a whim.

I also have a small stash of demo pieces and seconds I'll be including here and there, secretly, in people's orders, as long as I can do so without bumping up the shipping cost.

Rainbow Raygun Monochrome

These are little hardcover notebooks I made as a challenge to see if I could make a whole rainbow of books where each one used only one colour. They are pamphlet-bound inside, and the pages also match the covers (so the red book has red pages, the blue book has blue pages, etc). I only made one of each, and will never make more. They were originally priced at $20 and measure about 3.5 by 3.5 inches, and about 1/2 inch thick.

Dragonfly Pamphlets

These pamphlet books were printed from hand-set type and a linocut on handmade paper. The small one is 4x6 inches and has cream paper inside (11 available), the squarish one is 7 by 8 inches and has cream paper (1 available), and the larger one is 6 by 9.5 inches -- three have yellow stitching and yellow paper, two have green stitching and green paper, and 3 have brownish stitching and yellowy-brown paper. Original retail was $6 for the small one and $12 for the larger ones.

Miscellaneous Pamphlets

These little booklets were also printed from linocuts (except the blank one and the pointy finger which is a vintage printer's ornament with gold embossing powder) on handmade paper. The one with the silk ribbon has kraft paper inside and is 3.25 by 4.5 inches (only 1 of these available). The fish at the top is 4.5 by 5.5 inches, and has pale green paper (1 available), the dragonfly is also 4.5 by 5.5 inches and has orange paper (3 available), the fish on the right is 4 x 6 inches and has cream paper (6 available), and the pointy finger book has pale kraft paper and is 4.5 by 4.5 inches (1 available). Original retail was $6.

More Blank Books

The two two books are accordion-fold with red paper, Japanese paper-covered hard covers and a satin ribbon tie. They measure 2.5 by 6.5 inches, and originally sold for $10. The two shown are the only ones left. The red book on the left is a cross-structure notebook with cardstock cover and blue interior paper. The image was printed from a vintage printer's ornament with gold embossing powder. I can't remember the price I had on it.

The two red books on the right are cross-structure with cardstock covers, printed with hand-set metal type. the paper in the TOP SECRET one is cream and green, and in the mine one it's pale green, yellow, and orange. They measure about 4x5 inches and original retail was $20.

The ochre book in the middle is an English craft binding, hand-sewn in sections. The cover laces into the book block (not visible when you look at it, but it makes the book very strong), and it has cream paper inside with deep blue leather and marbled paper on the cover. I make very few of these and generally sell them for way less than I should. Original retail was $60.

Steambooks

My tribute to the steampunk genre. These are cross-structure books with parchment-patterned bond paper pages. The covers are recycled garment leathers and suedes, lined with Japanese paper. The fronts have laminated-on real wood veneer, and each one closes with either a vintage key (deliberate rusted and sprayed with matte sealer) or a clock hand. Retail was originally $65.

Fan Books

Made on a whim during a particularly hot summer, these blank books have cardstock pages and are post-bound with a single post so the can open normally, or fan out in a circular manner. The label on the gold/burgundy one is not adhered, so you can put whatever you want there.

One more upcoming post, or maybe two, and I'll be done! Next: book jewellery and printing plate jewellery.

Pay-What-You-Want Artist's Books and Books With Content

For info on this how and how it works, please see this post.

I debated whether or not to even include artist's books in the sale, but I need to raise funds quickly, so I'm putting just about everything on sale. So now's your chance to get some things cheap I would normally not put on sale (and may never put on sale again).

Aeryn Daring Lives Up to Her Name

hand-bound book with hand-pulled lithograph pages and cover paper
there are three different versions of the cover (taken from three different sections of the same image), but the insides are all the same
made in an edition of 9, signed, numbered, and dated on the colophon page
4 left (numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9)
original retail was $120

Leaf Book

hand-bound book, accordion-fold, printed with 3-colour lino and rubber-stamped text

made in an edition of 9, signed, and numbered, on the colophon page, date inside the front cover
4 left (numbers 3, 6, 8, and 9 -- 9 has a slipped rubber-stamp impression inside the front cover)
original retail was $40

Halifax Through the Stereoscope

6 stereoscopic images in an illustrated folder, hand-pulled lithographs printed from 4 aluminum photoplates colour-separated from colour photo negatives shot by me on a vintage Sputnik medium-format camera
edition of 10, signed, numbered, and dated on the back of the folder
includes a fold-out stereoviewer
4 left (1, 3, 6, and 9 -- 1 is a bit worn from handling and is missing the stereo viewer)
original retail was $75

Waterlily

hand-bound origami book made by attaching origami lilies as sections of the book
letterpress-printed traditional Japanese haiku about water, printed on Japanese two-tone paper from hand-set metal type
edition of 9, signed, numbered, and dated on the colophon page
6 left (numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9)
original retail was $50

Fey Mini-Comic

hand-bound pamphlet-style mini-comic book with letterpress-printed cover and laser-printed pages
edition of 25, numbered and signed on the back (the green one in the photo)
3 left (numbers 7, 19, and 24)
original retail $2

Fey Full-Size Comic

not really an artist's book, but I thought I'd throw it in here anyway
digitally-printed comic with full-colour covers and greyscale interior
available online, but I have 3 copies on hand I'd be happy to sign and doodle on
retails for $3

The Coming of the Fairies

also not an artist's book, but what the hell
this is my first novel, for middle-grade readers, and it's about fairies
I have 4 copies on hand I can sign and doodle on
retails for $9.99, also available on Amazon, and as an e-book ($2.99) from the usual outlets

Vixen by Nic Silver

one more not-artist's book
this one is my urban fantasy for grown ups (warning: contains sex and violence), written under one of my pen names
I have 4 copies on hand I can sign and doodle on
retails for (I think) $12.99, also available on Amazon, and as an e-book from all the usual outlets (currently free or 99 cents for a limited time)

Comic next: blank journals, including some one-of-a-kind

OK, Yet Another Cover Post

No blurb written yet, but I'm working my way towards finishing the edits on Dark Stranger, so I made a cover for it. I wanted it to match Milk Sister, since it's the sequel (even though Milk Sister was originally written as a stand-alone novel, one character wouldn't get out of my head and kept insisting I ought to tell his story, too). Here's the cover for Milk Sister:

If you click to see if bigger, you can see the lovely leather... The background image is an actual book that I bound a few years ago (it's a K-118 binding, for you bookbinders out there), and that's pretty close to the actual colour of the leather. The fairies are excerpted from an intaglio print, also from a few years ago.

I knew I wanted Dark Stranger to be blue. No real reason, it just seemed right. SoI used Photoshop to make the same book image blue, re-did the typography to more-or-less match, and then had to find an image to use. Like I said, I wanted the covers to go together, so it made sense to excerpt another old intaglio of mine.

There aren't really any moths in the story, but books are kind of important (in a roundabout sort of way), so I guess it works. It's more about the feel, anyway (and the fairies in Milk Sister aren't the tiny winged kind, either, so ... yeah).

Dark Stranger should be up for pre-order in the next few weeks.

Looking Back, Peering Ahead

One of last year's beginning-of-the-year goals was to blog more regularly. I did okay with that, up until mid-year, when everything fell apart. In fact, that's about when my fiction-writing goals evaporated, too. I'm not even sure why. Possibly I was just trying to do too much at once, as usual, and got overwhelmed.

But even though I didn't really meet many of my 2012 goals, I can't really call the year a failure, either. Here are some of the things I accomplished in 2012:

• I wrote three novels, a short story, and a novella. I was aiming for four novels and ten or twelve short pieces, so I didn't meet the goal. But still, three novels! Two of them still need editing and transcribing, but the bulk is done.
• I printed some new letterpress and linocut pieces, finished up a few bookbinding projects, and came up with a new notebook product (at the last minute for the holiday craft fair!) that I'm really pleased with. Again, I didn't meet my goal of finishing up all in-progress projects before starting new ones, but I did get a few things off my worktable.
• I spent more time walking in the woods. Though I didn't get in as much exercise-oriented walking as I wanted to, I renewed my love of simply wandering and seeing what there is to see. As a consequence, I felt renewed and refreshed creatively, even though my writing production crashed halfway through the year.
• I changed jobs. Sort of. Though I really loved my job writing about videogames for About.com, I've been wanting to get back into something more writing or fiction or book oriented for a few years. I've applied for a few other About sites, and even made it to the evaluation stage once (the process of getting hired at About is fairly long and involves writing a lot of samples, but it's worth it). Finally, this fall, I made the switch to writing about books, and I'm now the "Guide" to Young Adult Books. I'm still editing the videogames super-newsletter, though, so I get to keep up on that stuff, too.

Those are the biggest accomplishments, I think. So on to my goals for 2013.

• I'm going to attempt, again, to blog more regularly. I've just installed Blogger for iOS on my iPad, which I hope will help with that, since I've been doing more and more work on my tablet since I got it. My two pen-name author blogs will probably only get infrequent updates still, but this blog, and my bone blog should start seeing some more posts.
• Again, I'm going to aim to finish more in-progress projects. I have plans to do a lot more linocut prints this year -- there's the Vanishing Bestiary to work on, and a triptych of fossil-inspired prints, and I just had a request to make my winter raven card design into a larger art print. I have some bookbinding things to finish up, too. First off, though, is to get those dragon pop-ups done and sent off to my IndieGoGo backers.
• I'm going to focus on getting my fiction writing and publishing activities back on track. This means transcribing and editing Familiar (book 3 in the Others series by alter-ego Nic Silver), and adding needed scenes and editing Dark Stranger (sequel to Milk Sister). Also, I'm going to get the full Aeryn Daring and the Scientific Detective novel formatted and available as an ebook and POD paperback (by alter ego Calliope Strange). As far as writing, I'll be finishing Reindeer Girl, and tackling the next Nic Silver novel. After that, I'm not sure, but I have a list of ideas to choose from.

Of course, I can't start a new year without a few brand new projects. This year, I have two big ones in mind.

• First, a non-fiction project. I won't say too much yet, because I'm still mulling it over, and it's the sort of thing I have a specific publisher in mind for, and if they don't want it, I probably won't make it a priority. It'll tie together my folklore background and my current writing-about-YA-books in a scholarly sort of book. This month, I'll be working on a proposal and sample chapter.
• Second, an artistic and natural history project. This is one I've been thinking about for a while, but always put off because it seemed most logical to begin it at the beginning of the year. So starting a little later today, I'm going to use a great big notebook I made for an unrelated art project and start keeping a natural history journal. So as not to be overwhelmed, I'm not going to try to force myself to write every day, though it would be cool if I managed it. I'll just write down observations and make little sketches of the world outside my door as the year goes by.

And now I think I've probably blathered on enough for one day.

The Vanishing Bestiary 1: Dodo

Friday afternoon I started on the test illustration I mentioned last post that I wanted to do, to see if I could get enough detail in linocut for the illustrations for The Vanishing Bestiary. By the time I went to bed, I had a good start on the drawing, and by Saturday afternoon I had something I was happy with (if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen this first image already):

Next, I needed to transfer it to the linoleum, which I did with good old-fashioned carbon paper (I believe it's still possible to buy it at Staples, but I have an ancient box that somebody gave me many, many years ago). I actually began by scanning the drawing, flipping it in Photoshop (since I wanted the final image to be facing left, like the original drawing), and printing it full-size on my laser printer. Then I used the printout and the carbon paper for the transfer. Finally, I went over it again on the linoleum with a hard pencil. The lines from the carbon paper are pretty stable, but I wanted to make sure I had all the details and smoothed all the lines, as it's very easy to get confused when cutting lino.

Above is the traced-over scan, the carbon paper (look closely and you can see where the transfer process left the image of the dodo in the carbon), and the lino. At this point, I had only gone over the head with pencil; the rest is still just the carbon transfer.

Cutting this image was easier than usual in a way. I didn't have to think too hard about what to cut and what to leave, because skeletons are white, so I could just sort of draw the skeleton with my cuts, if that makes any sense. Of course, I did have to remember to leave lines between elements, and there was a lot of small detail, so it was not at all easy in other ways. The final task was to cut out the silhouette of the animal, since I don't want any lino residue printing around it. I may or may not cut a second plate to make some sort of background in another colour, but for now it'll just be simple.

For the first proof, I used some water-based block printing ink I had kicking around, and immediately regretted it. I remember now why I hate the stuff. It was pretty much drying as I rolled it on, and it refused to go on at all evenly. And to top it all off, it pulled some of the newsprint off the proof (you can see it stuck to the tail in the image above). So then I used some rather aged rubber-based ink, and had problems with that as well, for reasons I haven't determined--possibly it was just too close to being dry, with too much oil leached out. Finally I pulled out a tin of truly ancient, but still very good, proofing ink I inherited when I was helping clean out the Dawson Printshop. It may be older than I am, but it still spreads like warm buttercream icing. The proofs I made weren't perfect (for one, I didn't clean up the rubber-based ink thoroughly enough, and for two, flat areas are hard to print well on my little tabletop proof press).

All in all, I'm very pleased. I hope to get some time before teaching on Wednesday to print a small edition (as prints, not for the final book, which I'll do once I have all the images cut and figure out what size to make the pages). I'll pop them in my Etsy shop for sale, too. Oh, and I think I'm going to make myself a t-shirt with this one.

Small Progress

I spent most of the day on freelance writing assignments, but I did get a little bit done on the next Porthole Specimen book. Yesterday I sewed the text block, then realized I'd forgotten to do the endpapers first.

Depending on the style of endpapers one is doing, they don't necessarily have to be done before sewing--for example, it's very common to just attach them by pasting a narrow strip along the spine edge and adhering them to the first and last pages in the text block. But I like to do what's called "made endpapers" when I go to the effort of sewing on cords, as I am with this book.

Made endpapers are pasted to the first and last sections over the entire leaf. In other words, one side of the endpaper will eventually be pasted to the board, as with most endpaper styles, and the other side is pasted back-to back with the end leaf of the text block, so you end up with a free endpaper ("free" as in not attached to the board) that's decorative paper on one side and text block paper on the other. If that makes any sense. I'll try to remember to photograph the endpaper so you can see what I mean, once it's dry.

Anyway, you generally attach made endpapers (ie. you make them) before sewing, or even piercing for sewing. But I forgot. It is possible to do it after sewing, it's just much more likely that one or the other of the papers will cockle and ruin the whole thing. But I've managed it before, so I gave it a shot. They're drying under pressure now, with tins wrapped in waxed paper between them to (hopefully) keep everything flat and to keep things from sticking to things they shouldn't stick to.

And that's about as far as I'm come with that. Once the endpapers are dry, I'll cut the cover boards, and lace them on, then deal with leather. I'm going to have to sharpen my knives before I attempt to pare, and paring is definitely going to be necessary as any lumps show up that much more on a tiny book.

Assorted Stuff

I haven't blogged much because I'm sick, and it's an effort just to get though the "must do" tasks each day, but I did want to say, "I'm not dead."

Things in progress but without much to show yet:

• Chapter 4 of Aeryn Daring and the Scientific Detective is coming along. I'm working on that today and hope to get at least half done.
• I've started another "porthole specimen" book, this time in a brass-coloured tin lined in red velvet. I discovered that the big erasers I used to used for making stamps are no longer made (or are at least really hard to find), so I may have to buy a block of the stuff they actually make for printmaking, as regular-size erasers are just a little too small for what I want.
• I'm getting antsy to be working on prints again. Lots of ideas and no energy or time due to this cold. Sooooon.
• More copper skull jewellery is coming soon. I have four ready to cut, but have had to set them aside to get actual paying work done (now, if they'd start selling like hotcakes, I'd have a good reason to work on them instead).
• There are probably about six other things I've forgotten.

I also found out I'll be teaching 3 multi-week classes and one weekend workshop for Extended Studies at NSCAD this fall. Full courses are: Introduction to Letterpress, Youth Letterpress, and Pop-Up Books. Weekend workshop is Pop-Up Cards. Go here for more info.

And finally, I put the Nautilus Specimen book up for sale on Etsy. I almost put the price much higher, as I'd be quite happy to keep it. But then I have bills to pay, and I can always make another one for myself later.

Specimen 1: Nautilus Mini Print

For anyone who's curious, here's a scan of one of the finished prints.

You can see how the texture of the paper affects the coverage of the ink. On a letterpress print printed from a more solid element (like lino or polymer or metal), one could use enough pressure to eliminate the affects of texture, but because this was made from a glorified rubber stamp, it's just not possible to get that much pressure--the rubber just compresses. That's why one usually rubber stamps onto smooth paper. But here the effect is intentional--I wanted to make it look a little aged. Or something.

Anyway, these will be up in my Etsy shop in a little bit.

In other news, I started another porthole mini-journal yesterday. I have the tin finished--brass colour with a whole bunch of little silver "rivets" around the top. The bottom is covered in textured black paper to go with the black leather I'm planning to cover the book with. Inside it has a black satin ribbon to help with removing the book, and it's lined in very plush red velvet.

The book will be the same construction as the first one, but in full leather. On  the cover will be a shell cross-section in silver on red. That might have to wait until tomorrow as I don't have any large enough erasers to cut something in the size I want. I'm thinking about a sea urchin cross-section, even though there's not much in the middle of an urchin. Lots of bumps and spines on the outside, though.

Nautilus Specimen Mini Porthole Steampunk Notebook

How's that for a long title? I was trying to think of what I would call this if I were to list it in my Etsy shop (which I might do).

I worked on this on Sunday (it's Idea Two from this post), and finished it up last night. It's a tiny round blank book, hand-bound in deep blue goatskin and decorative paper, with a silver-on-blue embossed nautilus shell on the cover (I hand-cut a rubberstamp that I used to print the design--I meant to include a photo of it in this post, but forgot, so it'll have to wait till a future post). The endpapers (which I alo neglected to photograph) are a mottled blue with gold marbling.

The binding is medieval sewn-on-cords (hence the raised bands on the spine), so it's super-strong. It includes a recycled tea tin, lined with midnight blue velvet and embellished with faux rivets to make it look like a porthole.

The bottom is lined with brassy metallic paper and decorated with another nautilus embossed in silver on dark blue paper.

The book nestles snugly inside the tin.

And closed, it's like viewing a specimen through a porthole.

I think, if I do this again, I will make the book a solid colour and mount the "specimen" closer to the middle. The division into two colours detracts from the nautilus in a way I didn't intend. And that's why I might not list it in my Etsy shop just yet. I might make a new book for it first. Or I might just keep it for myself--at least until I have the supplies for another tin (I have an empty tin, in brass colour, but the only "rivets" I have are also brass, and I want a contrast).

It *is* terribly cute.

Also, I think I need some more large size white plastic erasers to make more shell cross-section stamps.

Plotting to Commit Artists' Bookery

I'm having one of those jittery days when I can't quite sit still at the computer for too long, which means I have do do something. Make something. So that book cover I'm working on in Photoshop and Illustrator will have to wait a bit.

I've decided to tackle a couple of my Ideas from earlier in the year, which I hadn't started on because I don't have all the bits I need. I've adapted them so I do have all the bits, and I'm going to start on prototypes as soon as I finish this blog entry. When I started writing this post, I had planned to combine the two Ideas into one, but in the process, I've decided to do them as two separate things again. (So I've just re-written a bunch of this post).

Idea One: If you've been reading this blog long, you may remember some posts I did a year ago with photographs of some of the moths that are attracted to my porch light (here's one here, if you want to refresh your memory). Well, we have lots of moths again this year--including a few I didn't see last year--and that has me all excited again. So I'm going to make an edition (possibly an open one, so I can make them as I feel like it, instead of all at once) of little albums. Sort of like mini photo albums. Then I'll print out the moths--maybe as close to life-size as I can manage, or maybe just at a size I like--cut each one out carefully by hand, and mount it like a specimen in the album.

I've done a little bit with moths and specimens before, so this fits with my previous work. (Such as this moth intaglio print here, the discards of which I've been cutting up and mounting in hand-built Riker mounts to look like real specimens, sort of--pics of that soon, once I have some more made (and there's another project to work on . . .).)

Idea Two: I drink a lot of tea, and one of the places I buy really good tea packages it in round tins with a plastic window on top. I thought they looked a bit like portholes, and so I came up with the idea of "specimen journals." They'll be little round leather and fancy paper books that fit inside the tea tin. It'll have a sea-related "specimen" mounted on the front cover (maybe something cut from copper, maybe a hand-drawing, maybe real shell fragments, or maybe something else). The tin will have faux rivets added around the lid to make it look more like a porthole, and it'll be lined in paper to match the book, or maybe velvet. I only have a couple of these tins, but I keep drinking tea, so soon I'll have more.

I also had ideas of expanding this into books cased in hand-built wooden boxes with round windows, with other sorts of specimens on the covers. I even bought a few clock glasses to use as windows, but of course, I don't have the materials to built the boxes, so those will have to wait.

So that's what I'll be up to today. We'll see how far I get.

Still Alive

Oops. I seem to have forgotten to post much lately. Anyway, the news in short, with writing, letterpress, book arts and everything all mixed up:

• Aeryn Daring and the Scientific Detective will be serialized in Doctor Fantastique's Show of Wonders, beginning with the June issue, due out June 20th. I believe they may have a print edition in the works as well as the online magazine. AD will continue to be available chapter-by-chapter on Kindle, thanks to Doc F's very writer-friendly non-exclusive rights contract.
• I just finished binding more exhibition catalogues for the lovely Sandra Brownlee, a local textiles artist. That's one of the things that has kept me busy.
• Last week I did a super-basic lunch hour bookbinding workshop for Extended Studies at NSCAD, for a huge turnout of around 25 people. It went well, I think.
• I will be teaching more Extended Studies classes at NSCAD in the fall. So far, the tentative lineup is Intro Letterpress (adults), Intro Letterpress (teens), Pop-Up Books (adults) and a weekend Pop-Up Holiday Card workshop (adults).
• I'm still listed to teach the credit Intro Letterpress for NSCAD in the fall, but it is in serious danger of being cancelled as of this coming Friday. If you or anyone you know wants to take it, please sign up right away.
• Paperback layouts for The Coming of the Fairies and the print version of Aeryn Daring chapter 1 proceed slowly, but are coming along. Ebook formatting for The Secret Common-Wealth is coming along quickly, but the book still needs a cover.
• I need some summer income. If you know of any writing/proofing/editing jobs, illustration jobs, or other work you think I might be able to do, please let me know. I work hard and I work fast.

Something I'm Working On

Just a little sneak-peek of something in progress. If you go to the Wayzgoose tomorrow, you might get to see something more finished. If I get it more finished by then . . .

Letterpress & Bookbinding Update

Hey, look, a post that's not about writing! First, here's the finished poster I wrote about last time (this one's not quite registered right, which is why I still have it):

So lately I've been teaching an Intro to Letterpress class, focused primarily on metal type, for Extended Studies at NSCAD. We just finish week 4 of 7 (Thursday evenings) and I think it's going great. Everyone seems to be getting the hang of things, and we're at the point I like best--when everyone is working away on their own and I can drift around the shop and help here and there and advise as I'm needed, but I don't have to speechify in front of them and I'm not running around like a madwoman trying to be everywhere at once.

One project I'm having them do is setting a page--it can be anything they like, long or short, big type or small--that will go in a class book. We'll print lots of copies so that they each get 2 or 3 to take home (and I get a few, too), and everyone will have a nice souvenir of the class. With luck and time management, they'll each have a small project or two of their own as well (in fact, a couple of them already do).

Of course, I have forgotten my camera every single class. And I forgot my camera earlier this week when I did a four-hour bookbinding workshop for a foundation print and paint class. I showed them how to make a simple accordion book with a hard cover, that they can use for the small prints they're doing in class. And because it's so simple, it's also very customizable, so hopefully they'll be able to make them to their own specifications for other projects down the road. At the very least, I inspired several of them to run out and sign up for a whole credit class in book arts. Maybe one or two of them even signed up for my letterpress class.

For things coming up, I'll be helping an artist-in-residence (joint project between NSCAD's Dawson Printshop and the Eyelevel Gallery) to print some posters next week. It could be very hectic as time is short now. I also have a job printing diplomas, but time is also getting short on that and there are apparently some hang-ups on the design end of things (which I have no part in--I'm just the printer), so it could still fall through. They'll have till the end of next week to finalize everything or else there won't be time to process plates, print, dry and deliver to the other side of the country. I'm still hopeful that it will go ahead, but if not, that's how it goes.

And finally, more classes. Extended Studies at NSCAD has asked me to teach the Intro to Letterpress again in May/June (info here), since we had such a good turnout this time. And I'll be teaching the Intro to Letterpress credit class in the fall (info here) so Joe can do two Intro Book Arts classes in hopes of filling up an Intermediate Book Arts in the spring. It'll be my first credit class, but I hope the first of many. I'm very excited and hope I get enough registered for it to go ahead.

And that's it for me in letterpress and books this week. Next post should be on natural history things around my neighbourhood.

Books and Letterpress: Writing, Poster, Class

Writing Notebook
I recently used up all the pages in my writing notebook and found myself in need of another one (if anyone's curious, I usually have three or four separate notebooks on the go for different things, plus at least one sketchbook for drawing--currently I have a fiction notebook, a less-used non-fiction notebook, a bookbinding notebook, and a notebook for one of my side blog projects).

As a bookbinder, I of course wanted to make one. Usually I have several on hand, but none of my current stock was a good size or structure. I like simple, utilitarian hardcovers within a general size range for my writing notebooks. Finally, after digging around, I found one that would do in a bunch of sewn-but-not-covered unfinished projects. It's a little smaller and a fair bit thinner than I would have liked, but with no pages left and a story half-done and insisting on being written longhand (not something I do that much anymore, as my gimpy right hand/wrist can't take it), I couldn't be too picky. I ended up starting to write in it before it was done, anyway.

I have a small stash of those lovely craftsman-esque brass moths that I haven't done anything with (partly because I don't like selling things that aren't all my own work), so even though it would get away from the entirely utilitarian, I added one to the front. The cloth is a polyester (I think) bookcloth that looks like silk, with just a touch of coppery bronze in the black. For endpapers, I used a burgundy with a gold pattern that reminded me of William Morris's work.

Poster
My latest print job was a poster for an Art Gallery of Nova Scotia event. It's two colours in hand-set wood and metal type, and meant to look like an old boxing poster. Here's the fist colour on, about to be run through for the second colour:

And here's the type inked up in red for colour number two:

And finally, the Dawson Printshop's Vandercook Universal I proof press with the red type and the paper about to go through its second run:

I don't have any images of the final product, but I did keep a copy for my portfolio. It's still in the shop, but when I bring it home I'll try to remember to post it here. This was a fun job, despite some frustrating and time-consuming difficulties with the first press run, and the client was very happy with the results.


Introduction to Letterpress
And finally for this past week, I taught the first of seven evening classes for NSCAD Extended Studies in Intro to Letterpress (metal type). It's another great group and I don't think I bored any of them too awfully much with my babbling. Next week they'll be setting their own type and from there on it's setting and printing all the way, with as little talking as I can get away with. I didn't think to take any pictures, but maybe I'll manage it this week.

Ichthyosaur
Oh, there was one other thing. Several of my art prints (some litho, some intaglio) have been in a show in Brooklyn called Retrofuturology. The show ended recently, but I got an email from one of the organizers, saying their group wanted to buy the little Steam Ichthyosaur. This means I have only one left for sale (plus two that will be bound in an artist's book). The other three pieces should be on their way homeward soon.