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  1. Bonus // Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 25, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    LaLune1-MoniqueLallier

    As much as I would like to feature every single binding from Monique Lallier’s portfolio, the month as finally come to an end. But I thought I’d sneak in one last binding to leave you in awe.

    La Lune was recently bound by Monique using dark blue smooth goatskin from Steven Siegel with matching edge to edge doublures. The endpapers perfectly match the design and title of the book. The ‘moon’ paper came from Andrea Peterson of Hook Pottery Paper.

    Throughout the month we’ve looked at your hidden panel bindings which offer a distinct element to your work and unique movement to the structure. We’ve also looked at bindings that include depth and texture through the use of laser cutting or lacunose. With the binding for La Lune you really bring together movement and texture in such a brilliant and unique way. What can you tell us about the concept for the binding and how the rotation of the moon was constructed?
    La Lune was a commission from an artist friend. I wanted to have texture for the full moon so I choose egg shells of different tones of blue to white. The crescent are of white shells, the new moon is of black vellum that has some gray tone in it. I had the circles laser cut. I cut a channel in each circle for the metal rod and put it in place before covering. From the inside of the boards I cut another channel, longer at the top than the bottom one so I could push the rod up until I could adjust it in the bottom channel. The rod has to stay free to allow the rotation.

    LaLune2-MoniqueLallier LaLune3-MoniqueLallier LaLune4-MoniqueLallierLaLune5-MoniqueLallier LaLune6-MoniqueLallier

  2. Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 25, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    LaPetitePouled'Eau-MoniqueLallier

    La Petite Poule d’Eau by Gabrielle Roy was bound by Monique Lallier in the French technique in full leather with onlays of lacunose. This technique transforms leather into a uniquely distinct design, offering texture and depth. The process calls for patience and muscle. Lacunose is created through a series of layers of thin leather pieces which are covered in a PVA wash and sanded smooth between each layer. The result is a build-up of various leathers in a seamlessly smooth finish, which can than be used as a decorative onlay.

    Another design element visible throughout your work is the lacunose onlay. The lacunose technique can be quite time consuming as you begin to add more and more layers. What is your process for the lacunose and how long does the process take?
    This is the story of a village in Manitoba, Canada, called La Petite Poule d’Eau. I wanted to convey a sense of structure and colorful personalities. I had seen Paul Delrue demonstrating “Lacunose” at the Standards and I thought it would be nice on my binding. Little did I know how long it would take me to achieve the result I wanted, but I am patient and determine so I kept sanding…It took several days, as you have to wait for the leather to dry between sanding sessions. Now I have several boards covered with “Lacunose” or (cuir peaufiné) sanded leather as they call it in France, because it’s a nice way to use your bits and pieces of leather. I have done some with one or two colors of different shades…you can play with it and do it in between steps in bookbinding…it’s fun!

    box-MoniqueLallier MoniqueLallier

  3. Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 18, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    ThePhoenix-MoniqueLallier

    In Flight ran from 2003 – 2005 as the triennial traveling exhibit organized by the Guild of Book Workers. For the exhibit, Monique Lallier bound The Phoenix. The most obviously astonishing design element executed by Monique on this binding is the use of two separate leathers with a seamless connection down the center of the spine. Bound in yellow and black goatskin over laced-in boards, the dual color scheme continues in the hand sewn headbands and the stylized phoenix design creating with contrasting onlay leather lines.

    The line quality of the phoenix is reminiscent of lines from a fashion sketch. Do you think your background in fashion plays any part in your overall design choices?
    I love this binding. I think it illustrates the story perfectly. Everything that we do in life, every experience stays with us and you are influenced because it is deep in you and when you are searching and “struggling” with a design you go within you, like in a well to retrieve what you need, whether you realize it or not.

    As I entered my undergraduate studies, I was determined to go into Fashion Design. However, I was pulled in another direction, but I find that I’m still drawn to the latest couture designs. Do you seek out fashion as an artistic inspiration?
    I don’t look too much at fashion anymore, I look more at design and craft magazines, or visit galleries and museums everywhere I go. Although I noticed that laser cutting is big in fashion now.

  4. North Bennet Street School // Student & Alumni Exhibit 2014

    May 13, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    Every year the North Bennet Street School hosts an exhibit to celebrate the work of current students and alumni across several of its departments, which include Bookbinding, Violin Making, Jewelry, Cabinet and Furniture Making, and Preservation Carpentry. The exhibit opened on May 10th and runs through the end of the month. The opening reception will take place on the evening of Tuesday, May 13th for the Annual Evening of Craft when supporters of the school and exhibitors come together to discuss and explore the handcrafted items.

    As an exhibitor this year, I had the opportunity to help set up the show, which allowed me to document and chat with each of the graduating students about their fine bindings. The photographs in this post were taken during the set-up, so please excuse the occasional body in the background or roll of blue tape.

    Dirck de Bray: A Short Instruction in the Binding of Books was chosen as this year’s set book for the graduating bookbinding class. The earliest known Dutch bookbinding manual is a tiny illustrated manuscript from 1658, in which, Dirck de Bray described the making of a full leather binding and a parchment laced-case binding as the most common techniques of the 17th century. The manuscript is illustrated with 16 instructive drawings in pen and watercolor. This 17th century bookbinding manual originally appeared for the public in a 1977 edition, which has been re-edited in the 2012 edition that the students bound. This second edition includes each original page from the 1658 manuscript along with an in-depth look at the life of Dirck de Bray and the time period he lived in, as well as, the way books would normally look, the master’s test for bookbinders and other early manuals.

    The 2012 edition was printed in an unusual oblong format to include the historical Dutch paired with a contemporary Dutch and English translation next to the original page from the 17th century manuscript. I asked each of the graduating students to share with me their concept for their design.

    DirckDeBray5-AlcamyHenriksen

    Alcamy Henriksen
    As I mentioned above, the set book was written in both Dutch and English. Alcamy ran with this theme by including a phrase from the text: “This is where you must really pay attention” is blind tooled on the back cover, while “Let hier goed op” is the Dutch translation blind tooled on the front cover. These two phrases are enclosed within a box created through the use of orange onlays.

    Dirck de Bray was a talented artist across several mediums, but principally known for his paintings and worked on the murals of “Orange Hall” (Oranjezaal) in Huis ten Bosch, a royal palace in The Hague. The orange cube spanning across the covers represents the space of the artist’s creavity and its challenging limitations.

    DirckDeBray4-AlcamyHenriksenDirckDeBray2-AlcamyHenriksen

    Alcamy’s binding is bound in gray Harmatan goatskin with matching leather doublures. She used handmade papers from Hook Pottery Paper as the made flyleaf. The head edge is decorated with graphite with a single line of orange running the length of the edge. Alcamy’s design is really striking and made great use of long horizontal shape of the binding.

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    DirckDeBray1-ChristineAmeduri

    Christine Ameduri
    Inspired by 17th century Dutch tile designs, Christine reinterprets the design as a broken frame of simple corner ornaments. The intersecting gilt lines at each corner are paired with two small smoke-tooled droplets. The center tile is a black onlay tooled with de Bray’s name and framed within gilt lines. Bound in yellow Harmatan goatskin with matching leather hinges. Inset on the inside of the boards is a panel of handmade marbled paper made by Christine herself.

    DirckDeBray2-ChristineAmeduri

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    DirckDeBray1-GabrielleCooksey

    Gabrielle Cooksey
    In the classic drawing style that I’ve seen emerge on Gabrielle’s work during her two years at NBSS, she has created an elegant and simple design binding. The motif on the front cover is reflected on the back cover and was created from a series of line palettes and gouges through gold foil. The motif was inspired by Gothic door frames. The edge decoration mimics the shape of the design on the covers.

    Bound in dark blue Pergamena goatskin with matching leather hinges. A panel of black leather fills the inside of the boards. The made flyleaf is a handmade marbled paper.

    DirckDeBray2-GabrielleCooksey

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    DirckDeBray1-LeslieTo

    Leslie To
    The diaper-style design and onlays of various blue leathers are extracted from the illustrations in the manuscript. de Bray mentions that in art you must look past the surfaces of your surroundings to find the details. Leslie captures the background details of the archways, windows and blue tile flooring through both gilt and blind tooling. The head edge is decorated with green pigment, which is also pulled from the manuscript illustrations. 

    DirckDeBray3-LeslieTo DirckDeBray2-LeslieTo

    Bound in black goatskin with navy blue doublures. Leslie hand marbled the paper used on the made flyleaf. Pulling from the architectural elements within the illustrations, Leslie has created a complimentary structural design on her binding.

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    DirckDeBray1-ElizabethCurran

    Elizabeth Curran
    Elizabeth also found inspiration in the original manuscript illustrations, but put her focus on the illustrations of stacked books to create a design of an abstracted library. The stacked books on her binding are created through a series of gilt line palettes and gouges, with a few being surface gilt. Separating the stacked books are a series of vertical stripes of colored onlays, some being tooled onlays. A nice detail that Elizabeth included, was wrapping the colored onlays onto the board edges.

    The design is quite striking and each cover can stand alone or be displayed fully open as the image above displays.

    DirckDeBray3-ElizabethCurran DirckDeBray2-ElizabethCurran

    Bound in grey Harmatan goatskin with biscuit-colored goatskin doublures paired with a handmade marbled made flyleaf. The headbands are hand sewn around a flat rectangular core made from laminated goatskin and vellum.

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    DirckDeBray1-MariannaBrotherton

    Marianna Brotherton
    Marianna took her inspiration from designs on mid-17th century bindings, a period that is contemporary to the original manuscript. The frame is created with a black onlay and tooled using an ascona tool over gold foil. The center inlay panel of vellum is framed with a black onlay mimicking the style of the outer border. Marianna wanted to incorporate vellum in her design as a homage to the original vellum binding of the manuscript. The title, along with de Bray’s name, has been hand-tooled with gold foil onto the vellum.

    Bound in green Pergamena goatskin and vellum with black goatskin doublures paired next to a stunning Claire Maziarcyk paste paper made flyleaf.

    DirckDeBray3-MariannaBrotherton DirckDeBray2-MariannaBrotherton

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    DirckDeBray1-JeffAltepeter

    And last, but certainly not least is the binding created by NBSS instructor and alum, Jeff Altepeter. Bound in crimson goatskin with matching doublures. The boards are blind tooled in a lozenge pattern using a single hand-carved finishing tool which mimics the classic ‘cusped edge stamp’. de Bray’s name is hand tooled on a leather label pasted on the spine. Marbled ‘Dutch curl’ endpapers in the typical 18th century palette are used for the made flyleaf.

    DirckDeBray2-JeffAltepeter

  5. Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 11, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    LostAndFound-MoniqueLallier

    This beautiful fine binding has a secret. It’s a secret (technique) that only Monique Lallier and a few of her students know about. The front cover has a panel that swings open along the fore-edge to reveal an elaborate, hidden design. This technique is unique to Monique’s portfolio.

    Lost and Found is a work about illustrator Rachel Rackett and was recently bound by Monique for InsideOUT, an international exhibition organized by the Designer Bookbinders that celebrates the craftsmanship of contemporary binders and private press printers. I can not wait until this exhibit arrives at the Houghton Library in September, you can bet on a future post about the show.

    LostAndFound2-MoniqueLallier

    Another signature design element seen throughout your portfolio is the front panel, which opens to reveal a hidden design. What is the history of this design technique, where did you learn about it?
    In 1985 I designed L’Ecorce et le Vent with a front panel opening on a “forest” of layers of trees, the first layer being goat skin and the two other layers being Japanese paper. This was my first attempt and it was a great success at the 1986 exhibition L’Association des Relieurs du Quebec. This book is now in the collection of the Morgan Library in New York. I really don’t know where I had this idea of the hidden design. In my first attempt it was to show a forest and I wanted the three dimensional aspect of looking at a forest, so it had to be free and moving, not static like an onlay.

    LEcorceEtLeVent-MoniqueLallier

    For The Knell of Cock Robin I wanted to express the feeling of a bird (on the agate) flying into the forest.

    TheKnellOfCockRobin-MoniqueLallier

    For Lost and Found, the story is about Rachel Rackett, an illustrator of books. When she died they found a box filled with drawings that had never been used, so they produced the book to show her work and many illustrations were about the blitz of London during the war, so I thought that the hidden design of destruction was perfect for the story.

    I don’t know anybody else, other than my students, that used this technique in the same way. I have seen front panels that cover the entire surface of the front or back covers, it creates a very different design.

    – – – – – – – – – – –

    Just one more panel binding to end the post. The following binding was completed in 2012, for the ARA-Canada exhibit Les escaliers de Québec. The portfolio binding is covered in black morocco goat with highlights of red morocco. The text block is an accordion attached to the lower board only and has a graphite colored head edge. The hidden décor panel opens to a colorful scene created by Masahiro Chatami with a photograph of Québec City tipped behind the staircases. The marbled paper endleaves are by Claude Delpierre.

    LesEscaliersdeQuebec-MoniqueLallier

  6. Book Artist of the Month: Roni Gross

    May 5, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    ZitounaPress-RoniGross

    I See You Everywhere – 2003

    Roni Gross has successfully continued her project Zitouna over the course of 25 years. Twice a year, she creates a limited edition book or broadside which expands on the cultural ideas which emanate from Valentines Day and Halloween. The projects have explored a wide variety of themes from folklore and superstition to wordplay and mythology. 

    As a project that began in 1989, what was your initial inspiration for this ongoing work?
    The Zitouna pieces started as limited edition book-like objects made in honor of Valentines Day and Halloween each year. I chose those holidays because they are secular and thus inclusive. It began by an investigation of the origins of the traditions cross culturally, and then deepened over time to consider the seasons in which they occur – times of death and rebirth. 

    How do you find inspiration as you continue year by year?
    I have found this a very fruitful project that has led me to investigate alchemy, concepts about skeletal understanding throughout the ages, mythology and superstitions, to name a few topics. The deadline is a motivator and I have not yet felt that I am reaching the end of the possible topics for exploration.

    ZitounaPress4-RoniGross

    If Luvin’ You Is Wrong – 2008

    ZitounaPress5-RoniGross

    Alchemy – 2008

    ZitounaPress2-RoniGross

    A Very Valentine – 2010

    ZitounaPress3-RoniGross

    Lover’s Knot – 2009

  7. Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 4, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    LaColouerduVent-MoniqueLallier

    La Couleur du Vent was bound in 2013 by Monique Lallier for the ARA-Canada exhibition that I may have mentioned just once or twice (even thrice) in the past. I brought up the window element in Monique’s work during the interview on the first of the month with her binding The Drawings of Caravaggio. When I saw Monique’s binding of Interpreter of Maladies at an exhibition in Chicago, I was awed and intrigued by its construction. With this binding Monique began experimenting with laser cutting technology to create detailed and intricate work. 

    IntrepreterOfMaladies1-MoniqueLallierI want to further the discussion from last week on the progression of the window element in your designs. Except this time I would like to focus on technique. The covers of La Colouer du Vent and Interpreter of Maladies were laser cut to achieve the intricacies of the design. Do you approach the structure differently on a fine binding when including laser cut elements?
    When I choose to use laser cutting I have to do a “case” binding as I have to finish the inside doublures before the laser cutting and the cover has to be flat on the table of the laser cutter. I still consider it a fine binding. 

    Did you have to alter anything about the process from your first attempt to the most recent one?
    I think I figured it out right on the first time and it worked well, so I repeated the same technique.

    – – – – – – – – – – –

    In addition, during the interview, I included a sneak peek of one of Monique’s recent bindings of Les Sonnets by Shakespeare. The complexity of the design is literally jaw-dropping. Two layers of board have been cut and sandwiched between the covering leather and leather doublures, which have also been laser cut.

    LesSonnets-MoniqueLallier LesSonnets2-MoniqueLallier LesSonnets3-MoniqueLallier

  8. May // Bookbinder of the Month: Monique Lallier

    May 1, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    DrawingsOfCaravaggio-MoniqueLallier

    This stunning binding was created by Monique Lallier almost ten years ago. Yet the design appears so fresh and relevant to the experimentations happening with contemporary design bindings. When you land on Monique’s website, this is the binding you are greeted with and it will, no doubt, cause you to click through every single page of the gallery. The Drawings of Caravaggio by Ally Jones was bound in full scarlet leather in the French technique. The boards have been cut to reveal the red suede fly leaves through a collection of wires that have been embedded into the thickness of the board. Straddled around the top edge of the cut-out is an onlay of snakeskin. 

    The book is housed in a box covered in black silk with matching red and snakeskin onlays.

    If I remember correctly you told me that this is one of the first bindings you completed and that it is still your favorite. I love this binding as well for many reasons: the use of bright colors, contrasting textures from the goatskin, suede flyleaves and snakeskin onlay and the inclusion of a window cut-out of the cover. This window element is peppered throughout your portfolio. What does this element bring to your designs and why do you keep coming back to it?
    This binding was done in 2005. I had done the “window element” before to give space for an agate in 1985, so I suppose it evolved to an opening that was not totally filled-in like The Fables of Aesop where I have wires imbedded in the thickness of the front board and you see, through the opening to the lion stamped on the leather fly leave, or this Caravaggio, also with wires imbedded in the thickness of the boards. It was done in an advanced class for AAB (American Academy of Bookbinding) and I wanted to show the students how to line the thickness of the boards with black leather in this case.

    I suppose I keep coming back to it because I like the effect of “seeing through”, like in Les Sonnets (shown below) where the boards, the covering leather and the leather doublures are all cut out. In this case, it was to illustrate how Les Sonnets have an impression on you. (More images on this binding later!)

    LesSonnets4-MoniqueLallier

    Monique’s work is awe-inspiring. Not only do I find her bindings to be so, but also her involvement in the bookbinding community.  Our community and the craft of bookbinding thrives when talented and dedicated people like Monique become teachers. Between my first and second year at North Bennet Street School, I jumped at the opportunity to take a week-long private workshop with Monique at her home in North Carolina, where I absorbed everything she had to offer (no doubt an infinitesimal amount to the vast knowledge she holds).

    I’m really honored that Monique agreed to be interviewed for my blog, which she has complimented me about several times. So without furthering gushing, please enjoy the interview after the jump. Stay updated with posts by signing up for an email subscription. Since Monique has an ample collection of work, each week I’ll be showcasing multiple bindings including a few newly bound and unseen works!

    read more >

  9. Bonus // Bookbinder of the Month: Lang Ingalls

    March 31, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    KingOfTheAlps-LangIngalls

    Just one more bonus binding from Lang Ingalls to end out the month. King of the Alps by Reginald Farrer with illustrations by Abigail Rorer was bound by Lang in 2013. The Lone Oak Press edition is signed by the illustrator.

    Bound in the French technique in full white alum-tawed goat. The geometric design on the covers is an interpretation of one of the illustrations. Lang continues to use the incision technique in which a thin line of leather is removed and painted with acrylics in grey and blue tones. The same palette continues on the inside with blue leather edge-to-edge doublures and grey suede flyleaves. The title, author, illustrator and date of edition are on decorative onlays on the spine.

  10. Bookbinder of the Month: Lang Ingalls

    March 30, 2014 by Erin Fletcher

    Ici-LangIngalls

    On exhibit from June 20th to September 14th of this year is Lang Ingalls‘ binding of Ici by Roger Munier. The exhibit is sponsored by ARA France in partnership with the city of NÎmes and its renowned Carré d’Art Library for the XIth FIRA International Forum & Exhibition.

    This edition is copy 13 of 47 and is signed by the author. Bound in the reliure à cru structure in black sanded calf with sewn red thread elements. The binding is complete with squared suede headbands, suede doublures and suede flyleaves. The title, author and date are hand tooled on both covers.

    This binding stands out in your portfolio due to the absence of color in the design, however the treatment of the leather is exceptional. It reminds me of how a photocopied image begins to degrade and become fuzzy with each subsequent copy. Was this effect created through a dyeing or printing process?
    This binding was made in Paris with Ana Ruiz-Larrea last fall. The structure is called reliure a cru, a soft-cover leather binding. The text is about how all things go round, all things in life. I decided on a circular element and taped #18 thread to the back of black calf. I sanded and — viola! — the calf was distressed and the circle came through. There is a hint of red in the text, the initial letter at the start of the copy, and I borrowed from that when I made small sewings of red thread through parts of the circle. The French teach that 2/3 of your design is on the recto and 1/3 is on the verso, thus the placings of these tiny thread elements, while considering the title, author and year.

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