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Posts Tagged ‘exhibition’

  1. Wild/LIFE Exhibit at American Bookbinders Museum

    June 4, 2021 by Erin Fletcher

    My binding of At Low Water by Rebecca Chamlee is now on view at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco as part of the Guild of Book Workers Traveling Exhibit Wild/LIFE. The work in on view from June 2 – August 7, 2021.

    The beach provides a microcosm that has the power to capture and reel you in for a closer look. For the design on Rebecca Chamlee’s book, I wanted to play on the transformation that occurs when removing specimens from the beach. There is a certain brilliance and beauty displayed beneath the water, yet once removed these same specimens dry out and become something entirely new.

    The binding is bound in pale pink buffalo skin with back-pared onlays in printed calfskin, navy blue buffalo skin and various handmade papers. Laser-cut paper sequins tacked on with embroidery floss embellish the starfish. Additional details for the anemones and coral are hand embroidered with various colors of cotton floss. The printed onlay is outlined in a couched line of sage green cotton floss and blind tooled to create texture. Metallic pink dots are tooled around the coral.

    If you are in the San Francisco area, I hope you get the chance to see this incredible exhibit of bindings, artist books and broadsides.

  2. 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

  3. Around Town: Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here

    January 20, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here is a 3-part exhibition series showcasing the work of 261 international artists working in the form of artist’s books and broadsides. Each piece is an artistic response to the bombing that took place on March 5, 2007 on al-Mutanabbi Street, the ancient street of booksellers, poets and writers, located in the cultural heart of Baghdad, Iraq.

    This six-month exhibition is located at the CAC Gallery in Cambridge Arts Council City Annex Hall and will also present related material such as film screenings, poetry readings, curated conversations at the opening receptions, book-making workshops and in-depth panel discussion. Part One is currently on display until February 28th, please see the official website for more information about dates. 

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  4. My Hand…Exhibition on Buy Some Damn Art

    October 25, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Check out my show on October 30th over at Buy Some Damn Art.  I rebound 6 titles from the crafty and clever Roald Dahl (my childhood favorite).  All of the books are for sale and would make the perfect addition to your library.

    Stay updated on upcoming exhibitions by signing up to BSDA’s mailing list.  Every week you are introduced to exciting artistic talents, plus at a low cost you can start covering those bare walls or shelves. 

  5. My Hand…Fantasy & Nonsense Exhibition

    September 17, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library is hosting an exhibition from September 7th – November 4th showcasing bindings of the set book Fantasy and Nonsense printed by Tryst Press; my binding will be included in this show. If you happen to be in the area during the second weekend in October, head over to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts to see the Horizon exhibition, where my binding of Flatland will be on display. Both of these exhibitions coincide with the Standards of Excellence Seminar held by the Guild of Book Workers.

  6. My Hand…Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

    August 6, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    This fine binding of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott was completed for the Guild of Book Workers National Traveling show ‘Horizon‘.  The show opened on June 8th at The Great Hall at the Margaret I. King Special Collections Library in the University of Kentucky and will soon be traveling to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City for the grand opening of the Standards Seminar on October 11, 2012.

    I choose Flatland (not only because it’s one of my favorite science fictions novels), but I wanted to challenge myself by creating a 3-dimensional cover for the binding.  Abbott’s novella is an observation on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture set in a fictional 2-dimensional world known as Flatland whose denizens are geometric figures which defines their place in the social ladder (women are depicted as lowly lines).  Readers are guided through the text by a Square who dreams of other dimensions and challenges the authority of the high class Circle.  As you move around the book, a sphere begins to emerge from the cover, illustrating the Square’s discovery of the third dimension.

    The book has been bound in white buffalo skin, while the shapes are tooled onlays of both goat and buffalo with palladium outlines.  A plastic lens was mounted to bass wood to give the right dimension for the sphere and adhered to the front board before covering.  The order of the shapes was taken from the hierarchy listed in the book, while the layout was greatly inspired by Art Deco bindings of the early 1900s.  The edges of the text block are gilt with Palladium leaf over a base of graphite; headbands have been sewn to mimic the color pattern created by the shapes.

    The title was tooled with palladium using a series of line palettes and gouges to create a custom font.

    At the beginning and end of the text block a pop-up of a cube is revealed representing another opportunity to transform a 2-dimensional object into a 3-dimensional one.  The book is housed in an elaborate enclosure, in order to protect the raised area of the cover a spacer was constructed with a circle cutout.  The spacer is lined with leather and white suede on the side facing the book and paper on the other.  A chemise lined with white suede encompassed the spacer and book.  All three components rest inside a leather spine clamshell box.  The title and an image of the Flatlander’s home are tooled on the spine of the box.

  7. My Hand…Fantasy & Nonsense

    July 23, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Fantasy & Nonsense is a compilation of poems from 19th century American poet James Whitcomb Riley elegantly letterpress printed on handmade paper with wood engravings by Robert Buchert.  Riley was known for writing about rural Midwestern life to an audience of young readers.  However, this unique collection portrays a devilishly playful side of Riley’s poetry through whimsical tales of things both eerie and peculiar.  Buchert’s illustrations harmonize beautifully to the mischievous tune of Riley’s words.

    This binding was completed for an exhibition put on by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers.  Each submission will be judged for its level of craft and creativity. Results are still pending.

    My inspiration for this binding came from two lines in the first poem “A Nonsense Rhyme” (sea of pale pink lemonade and cringing grass).  The style of binding is referred to as Millimeter (specifically Rubow) where a millimeter of leather is exposed on the head and tail edge of the book.  I wanted to keep true to the whimsical feel of the poetry, so I used two separate leather colors, blue-gray for the head and mauve for the tail.

    The paste paper cover was created with a mixture of acrylic paint, distilled vinegar and sugar with accents of cucumber paper from Hiromi.

    Check out more photos after the jump.

    read more >

  • 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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