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‘my hand’ Category

  1. Interview on Bookbinding Now

    May 1, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    I was recently invited to participate in an interview with Susan Mills for her podcast Bookbinding Now, which is a New York-based community podcast posted every other Wednesday. 

    Before the phone interview, I had the pleasure of speaking with Susan about some of her experiences and found out that our ambitions are quite similar. She was very kind and encouraging and I’m delighted to have contributed to her podcast. 

    You can listen to the interview on the Bookbinding Now website or download it through iTunes. Enjoy!

  2. My Hand // Etsy Shop Launch

    March 18, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    I’m so proud and excited to announce the opening of my shop on Etsy! In my practice I get to work on a lot of interesting projects under the guide of my clients. The items on Etsy sprang into life during the brief moments of freedom between client work, giving way to personal, limitless flashes of expression. I began with a collection of Lokta papers in a broad range of colors, which inspired the hand-dyed thread on the Coptics and paste papers used for the flatback journals and jotters. 

    Check out my previous post on paste papers. My most favorite pattern is the plum scallops over mint!

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    I’m also a fan of the linear Coptic journals (available in earth tones and blue tones). Inspiration for this design came during my first year at North Bennet Street School from a poster that was hung in front of my bench. The minimalistic design is fresh and enhanced by the soft, muted tones of the Hahnemuhle Ingres. 

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    Check out the Herringbone Bindery shop and leave a comment about your favorite product. Thanks in advance!! 

  3. Horizon: Online Catalog

    March 5, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    After waiting patiently for months, the catalog for the Guild of Book Workers Traveling Exhibition: Horizon is now online!! I am so honored to be apart of this show, exhibiting with other binders and book artists whom I respect. Here are a few of my favorites from the show:

    1. I love the dyed goatskin and layered elements which include painted lizard on Coleen Curry’s Tamalpais Walking
    2. I am always amazed by the work of Mark Esser. His craftsmanship is always executed perfectly: William Anthony, Fine Binder
    3. Ever since I visited Karen Hanmer at her home bindery where she graciously allowed me to handle her work, this book has been one of my favorites: Horizons… Capri
    4. Horizon, Where Earth Meets Sky bound by Priscilla Spitler, whom I believe is one of the best at executing pictorial designs out of leather and other materials
    5. 42nd Parallel bound by Wendy Withrow is such an elegantly designed book on a theme we can all relate

    I also had the delight of being exhibited alongside three of my classmates from North Bennet Street School:
    1. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions bound by Erin Fletcher (that’s me)
    2. The Silmarillion bound by Heather Bain
    3. Dance of Death bound by Samuel Feinstein
    4. Hiroshima bound by Rebecca Koch

  4. My Hand: Skype Workshop with Benjamin Elbel

    March 4, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    When I was presented with the challenge of binding a book for a set of photography prints that would need to open flat, I sent my former instructor, Jeff Altepeter, an email to help me brainstorm. After discussing a few options, I received another email from Jeff showcasing the upcoming workshops at BINDING re:DEFINED. All of the workshops looked intriguing, but Benjamin Elbel’s Onion Skin Binding and The Shrigley appeared to be suitable solutions for my current project.

    My only problem was being in Boston and wanting to take a workshop in England. I contacted Benjamin through the help of Lori Sauer (who runs BINDING re:DEFINED and will be featured on my blog through the month of March). Benjamin and I decided to experiment and run the workshop through Skype (a recent topic of interest on the Book Arts Listserv).

    The workshop was based on The Shrigley structure and ran for 2.5 hours over 2 Skype sessions. The initial session was half an hour long. During this time I received instruction on creating the folded frames and cutting the corners. Benjamin had a camera set-up directly over his workspace and it was incredibly easy to see what he was doing. Our connection never lagged and the video image stayed clear, making it easy for me to read any measurements or notes that Benjamin jotted down. 

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    During our second session, Benjamin walked me through the sewing and a simple hardcover case to house the frames. We did a pamphlet stitch to connect the frames in a concertina style. The case was constructed with two pieces of millboard and a thin, flexible spine piece covered in cloth. Ribbon was inserted into the boards to aid in the closure of the book.

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    Once the cloth lining was pasted in, the frames could be fixed to the case. Overall, I think the workshop was successful. It was easy for me to follow Benjamin’s instruction. However I had made a mistake while folding my frames, which I didn’t realize until the near end of the workshop. In hindsight, we discussed the importance of reviewing my work before proceeding to the next step. In order to do this with the built-in camera I was using on my laptop, I would have to hover my work in front of the camera and move it around so Benjamin could assess what I had done. 

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    I think performing workshops through an online interactive video platform such as Skype or Google Hangout could serve as a viable way for bookbinders to connect and spread their teachings further through the community. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out. I know within the Listserv there has been some discussion regarding this topic, but I would love to hear your opinions and whether you’ve been on either end of an interactive video workshop.

  5. My Hand: Sneak Peek on Paste Papers

    February 25, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    This past week I’ve been mixing up paints and making paste papers to adorn journals and jotters for my upcoming shop launch on Etsy. The act of making paste papers is like finger paintings for adults, so needless to say it’s super fun. I love using Hahnemuhle Ingres for my paste papers because it absorbs the pigments and becomes wonderfully malleable during covering.

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    After the initial pass of the base color, I then add the additional design elements. I love using simple tools to create the designs, such as brushes, scrap board and my fingers. For this series of paste papers, I also carved some handmade stamps into linoleum. This was a new technique for me, but I dove right in, choosing simple irregular half-moon shapes. 

    I’ll be launching my shop in mid-March, so stay tuned to see how these paste papers get transformed into journal covers. 

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  6. My Hand…Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    December 3, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    This is the last week to view my work on Buy Some Damn Art!!

    The sixth and final book in my Roald Dahl series is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which may be his most well-loved story inspiring several adaptations such as the 1971 film with Gene Wilder (that we all love), the 2005 Tim Burton version (that we all might not love), various live theatrical performances plus one theme park ride. As I read through this book again, I found myself scribbling note after note from the abundance of imagination and imagery sprouting from the text. I needed to settle on an idea and I knew that I wanted to incorporate Art Deco elements into the design. And so the inspiring words are those that make up the detailed description of Willy Wonka’s appearance: black top hat, tail coat of plum-colored velvet, pants were bottle green, gloves were pearly gray, and a gold topped walking cane.

    Working within the limitations of my chosen color palette I created a stacked design of shapes according to their position on the body. The cane became the center point of the design and the binding and so I chose to use Peter Verheyen’s variation on the German case binding, which is the same structure used for Fantastic Mr. Fox, so that I could cover the spine separately from the boards. The spine is covered in black Hahnemuhle Ingres with Ferro gold as the tip. The headbands are wrapped with paper corresponding to the black Ingres or Ferro gold. The boards were initially covered in smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres before adding the paper onlays one at a time. Carefully measuring to make sure the design would remain square and that both boards would successfully mirror each other. I used various papers for the design because my main goal was to match the distinctive color palette. All of the black elements are Hahnemuhle Ingres; I choose purple Lokta, lime Cave Paper and Echizen ribbon Japanese paper for the other elements. 

    The edges were painted with a mixture of light gray acrylic paint, water, wheat starch paste and airbrush medium. This mixture creates a fluid pigment that can be applied as an even, thin coat, which prevents the paint from flaking. The made endpapers could only be gold as a homage to the golden ticket.

    The book is housed in a clamshell box, the trays are covered with smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined with light gray Ingres. The case is covered in full black Iris bookcloth.

  7. My Hand…The Twits

    November 26, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Only 2 weeks left in my exhibition at Buy Some Damn Art. 

    I found the pranks between the terrible couple in The Twits to be wicked yet entertaining, which is why I read the book so much as a kid. One particularly gruesome trick that inspired the design for this binding was the worm spaghetti that Mrs. Twit served Mr. Twit. This devious couple live in a cement windowless house complete with a rotting garden, caged monkeys and a big dead tree where Mr. Twit captures birds for pie. The couple get what they deserve in the end as the monkeys and birds play their own clever trick on them, turning their home upside down.

    I bound The Twits in the millimeter Rubow style with white buffalo skin lining the head edge and flanelle buffalo skin lining the tail edge. The color of the leather wrapped headbands correspond to leather edge. The paste paper was a simple design of free forming squiggles painted on with a long bristled brush. The initial layer was a mixture of titanium white acrylic, water and wheat starch paste. For the next two layers I added a bit of bone black and cerulean blue acrylic to create a blue gray ending with a match for the flanelle buffalo. The title was stamped with Centaur handle letters in carbon.

    The edges were painted with a light gray acrylic mixture.  The book opens to reveal smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres paste downs with light gray Hahnemuhle fly leaves before reaching the text block. I wanted to keep the book to be as gray and drab as possible, representing the sad existence of the Twits inside their cement home.

    The book is housed in a clamshell box. The trays are covered in smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined in light gray Ingres. The case is covered quarter-style with black Iris bookcloth and smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres.

  8. My Hand…The Enormous Crocodile

    November 19, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Only 3 weeks remain to view or purchase my bindings on Buy Some Damn Art.

    I had never read The Enormous Crocodile when I was a child, therefore, I experienced this devilish tale as a young adult. The Enormous Crocodile lives in the jungle and is a rather sinister character. When meeting other jungle creatures, he boasts about his clever plans to snatch up children in order to eat them. All of the creatures are horrified by this idea and foil his plans along the way. The Elephant has quite enough of this crocodile’s antics and decides to put an end to it. Grabbing the Enormous Crocodile by the tail, the Elephant swings him around with such speed, he is projected far into the atmosphere until he hits the sun and is ‘sizzled up like a sausage’.

    Quite an ending, one that surprised me as a reader. Very few Roald Dahl books contain color, but The Enormous Crocodile is filled with vibrant greens and yellows. When considering the cover design I didn’t want to compete with such a colorful palette plus I couldn’t get the image of a sizzled crocodile out of my mind. This led to the decision of doing a monochromatic binding in black. 

    The book is bound as a millimeter binding with black Pergamena goatskin running along the headcaps and joint. The rest is covered in black Hahnemuhle Ingres. A recess was built into the front board before covering as a well for the crocodile skin. Due to the bumpy texture of the crocodile skin, paring was impossible, but also unnecessary.  Once the skin was glued up and placed in the well, layers of foam were sandwiched between the cover and press boards, this kept the skin flat while drying. The title was stamped in a sans serif typeface with silver foil before gluing down the crocodile skin.

    Continuing with a monochromatic look, the edges were painted black. Using a combination of fluid acrylic, airbrush medium and wheat starch paste I was able to apply a thin yet opaque layer of pigment. When you open the front cover, a rush of brilliant green floods your vision. The endpapers were constructed with emerald green Lokta paper.

    The book is housed in a black clamshell box. The trays are covered and lined with black Hahnemuhle Ingres with Volara foam cushioning the front cover. The case is covered in black Iris bookcloth and kept closed with black satin ribbon.

  9. My Hand…The BFG

    November 12, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Just 4 weeks remain at Buy Some Damn Art.

    As I reread The BFG by Roald Dahl, it quickly became clear that I wanted to illustrate the dreams and nightmares captured by the Big Friendly Giant. The reader joins little Sophie in her journey to Giant Country, where we learn about the nasty giants, snozzcumbers and the BFG’s vocation as a dream catcher. Each dream and nightmare is collected into a jar where they remain until released into children’s rooms at night. Sophie describes dreams as being small oblong pale sea-green jellyfish, soft and shimmering, while nightmares thrash around as scarlet blobs of gas and bubbles of jelly. 

    I made the decision to bind The BFG as a millimeter binding in the Rubow style so the design could run the full length of the book uninterrupted. Using Sophie’s description as a guide for the color palette, I created a paste paper to reflect each illusion. Each area of color is a mixture of gouache, sugar and vinegar applied with a scrap piece of binder’s board. As the paint mixture dries the partially dissolved sugar crystals burst leaving a textural and dimensional effect. 

    Each color continues along the board edge and the edge decoration visually saturating each side in a single color. The tail board edge and headband are covered with scarlet goatskin from Harmatan, while the head board edge and headband are covered with buffalo from Remy Carriat in amadine (light sea-green). Each edge is painted with acrylic paint mixed with airbrush medium, water and wheat starch paste. The head edge is a sea-green blue, foredge is a light grey and the tail edge is scarlet red.

    The endpapers were so fun to make. I’ve worked with vegetable papyrus in the past and felt compelled to use the cucumber since the BFG eats only one thing: snozzcumbers. I acquired the cucumber papyrus from Hiromi Paper which are handmade by an artist in Germany. Using a thin paste wash I broke up the papyrus and collaged the pieces together on top of light gray Hahnemuhle Ingres. 

    The book is housed in a clamshell box, the trays are covered with light gray Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined with smoke Ingres. The case is covered with silver Canapetta and light gray Ingres in a quarter style covering.

  10. My Hand…James and the Giant Peach

    November 5, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Five weeks remain for my exhibition on Buy Some Damn Art. There’s still time to add to your library!

    Initially for this binding of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach I had intended on covering it in a peachy-colored pig suede to represent the Giant Peach itself. However, dressing the book up like a peach felt too dry, too safe. The story of James and the Giant Peach is loaded with magic from the overgrown peach to the singing insects, which only became possible through the power of those little, luminescent crocodile tongues. Using smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres, I created a simple paste paper representing the little green things, scattering them about randomly. The acrylic paint was mixed with wheat starch paste and watered down significantly, this allowed for the graduation of intensity with each corkscrew shape.

    I choose to execute this design as a Rubow Millimeter binding. This is one of my favorite structures to work with, mainly because the covering material (most commonly paste paper) can lay across the entire book uninterrupted. The head and tail edge of the boards are lined with buffalo skin in Anis (chartreuse green), which matched perfectly to the green tone on the paste paper.

    The edges of the book were painted with an fluid acrylic/paste mixture to match the red walnut Cave Paper endpapers. After application and once the pigment was dry, I used sandpaper to scuff up the edges a bit giving it a distressed look. The headbands are hand sewn around a single core (bead on foredge) in alternating dark brown and reddish brown. The title was hand stamped through brown foil. The book is housed in a clamshell box. The trays are covered in smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined with lime Moriki; the case is covered in a brown Canapetta bookcloth.

    James and the Giant Peach is for sale at the price of $400.

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  • My name is Erin Fletcher, owner and bookbinder of Herringbone Bindery in Boston. Flash of the Hand is a space where I share my process and inspirations.
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