Chapter 2: Experimenting with free standing books

Activity 6.2.1 Searching for freestanding book designs

Loads of fascinating artists’ books! Here are only a few ...

	Alex Sutherland left: Fantasmagoria below: Fecundfields
I love the way he uses boxes to house the books.
	An artists’ book by Kirsten Horel.
	I like the way text and images continue from page to page. The construction suggests different ways a thought might take.
	Detail of Kirsten Horel’s book
	Carol Mankind: A construction with cut papers with interesting folds.
	Zigzags in unusual shapes by Louise Boyd.
	Yunhi Mook and Molly Coy: From loneliness to solitude I like the two books in one and the combination of text and imagery.
	A book by Stef Mitchell, again folded in a way that suggests different paths of imagery and thought.
	Sue Brown This seems hardly to be a book at all. She incorporates a lot of separate items.

I was also fascinated by the work of Dresden-based artist Marí Emily Bohley (http://www.mari-emily-bohley.de/index.php)

The immense variety of artists’ books I found on the web is amazing, but the more I saw the more I felt stunned and even a bit discouraged. To overcome this feeling of inadequacy I tried to isolate the features I find attractive.
1. I was mostly drawn to books in black and white or in a limited range of colours (which goes well with my chosen theme). 
2. I like zigzags and signatures.
3. I like the form of a traditional book.
4. I feel I would like to use a simple basic construction, with the option of putting in interesting details as they come up.

These thoughts were in my mind when I made the samples.

 

6.2.2 Sample Display Books

I used decorated papers, mostly taken from magazines and copies from children’s books.

1. Simple concertina book	14x11 cm
A simple zig zag book to get started. The cover folds around the book.	I cut the top edges in waves and other shapes.
2. Simple zig zag with signatures	7x10 cm
A small notebook-like zig zag, very compact. The book cover which is also the spine is a magazine cover printed with acrylics and a gelli plate. The small red edge on the right is left from the original design on the cover.	The signatures with their book-like appearance suggest text to me. What words would I like in my book? I should continue the collection I began when thinking about my theme.
3. Concertina with more signatures	10,5x10,5 cm
	For this sample I folded the concertina first and added the covers separately.
	Some of the signature pages are also folded like a small concertina.
4. Book cover with several concertinas	8,5x11 cm
I gutted an old notebook and glued in a folded piece of card as a spine.	I glued three concertinas in the folds and also sewed in a signature.
The concertinas folded out. (It looks like a mutated frog.) The folds of the first concertina I made were too deep and I had to fold them again.	The folded spine would allow for a few more signatures and / or concertinas.
5. A flag book	9,5 x 18 cm
	I made the flag book just to learn the principle. Although I had read the instructions I did not understand how it would work. Fortunately the instructions are so clear that I could follow them without understanding what I did. It turned out to be quite simple. I like how the book spreads out to become an image – but one can also turn the pages like in a traditional book.
6. A zig zag with signatures on both sides	10,5 x 12,5 cm
	The book cover is made from a thick piece of card, this gives a lot of stability, even when the zig zag is folded out. I think my finished book will be constructed more or less like this sample. I feel that even with this simple form there are a lot of possibilities for variation and decoration.
	Considering that the zig zag will be seen from both sides there is a lot of space to be filled. Quite intimidating!
	All my samples
Preparation for the finished book:	17x24 cm
	This was a bound magazine from a library, made from very thick and tough bookbinders’ carton. For a start I cut out the pages.
Could I put in one element on each side? Could I incorporate a flag book element?	I am sure planning has just begun …

Chapter 1: Choosing my theme

Activity 6.1.1 Choose your theme
Looking around – Thoughts and notes on possible themes

I made notes in my sketchbook on themes which came to my mind. One idea was the way to my work, which passes through a beautiful part of Bonn with old houses, gardens and trees. Another idea was our small train station – a variety of plants along the platform, an old building, station mechanics, interesting rubbish.	Writing about my ideas made me realize that I wanted to work with something from my everyday surroundings, something which is normally unnoticed. My way to work offers a lot of possibilities, but drawing and gathering material would take up a lot of time. The train station is better in srping, when the flowers are out.
So my choice is: my neighbours’ garden shed behind the house I live in.  I noted what came to my mind about the garden shed, colours, materials, visual ideas, papers to use and so on.	E9 is written on the door of the shed. I wonder why!

Welcome to the garden shed!
Two drawings I did some years ago:

P 5: Drawn with oil pastels and ink on Kraft paper, A4 At this time there was still an elderberry growing behind the shed. It has been felled meanwhile.	P 6: Pencil drawing in a sketchbook on cartridge paper, size approx. A 5 An tap in the form of a rooster. My neighbour bought this in Italy as a gift for her husband. She has a wonderful eye for quirky things like this. The garden hose is attached to it.
The next step: a photo session. It is lovely to  be able just to step out of the back door and start.
Colours are greys and browns, ochre, russet, off-white – a range of muted earth colours with occasional splashes of vivid primary colours.	I look forward to drawing this old bathtub in the shadow.
I remember our bath stove when I was a child. It was fired every Saturday for hot water for the whole family of seven.	P 21: Interesting fastenings
P 27: The birds in the garden are mostly blue tits, coal tits, redstarts and blackbirds.
	I wonder who has made this round element in the mesh of the rabbit cage, and why. Perhaps my neighbour knows, I have to ask.
	P 38, 39, 42: Blackberries, ivy, wild garlic, nettles and roses grow around the shed and into it.
P 44: An old slate tile, typical for our area.

Revising the photos I see that there is a lot to find out about this garden shed and its story. Apart from the visual features I really have to interview my neighbour about the things stacked there. Very exciting!