Star Books Class!

I wanted to share the exciting news that I'll be teaching a quick holiday class at M.E.C.C.A. in Eugene next Thursday (17th) from 6:30-8:30pm!
I'll be teaching how to make 2 styles of Star Books and we will make templates so you'll be well equipped to go home and make an army to decorate your house in or give as gifts.


The class is $12 with all materials included. If you're intrested in registering for the workshop give M.E.C.C.A. a call at (541) 302-1810 and they can take care of you. You can also leave a comment here I can email you the registration form.

My Life in Film

Photography has been taking all of my free time. I got the first assignment done and now I'm buried in work for our second assignment. The bulk of the assignment is a series of self portraits that show who we are and what's important to us.

I started with my first few photo's in my studio. Being a binder is a large part of who I am and I hadn't had a chance to take any photo's of my birthday present to myself. My lovely finishing press!
The second photo is the beginnings of a book. My jar of tools, a weight, my 3 most used tools on the book block, some thread, 2 curved needles, a block of bee's wax, and my favorite center finding ruler- all on my cutting board.

Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to bind the book in the second photo. I'll be teaching Tuesday at our monthly bookarts meeting. I'll be teaching a small double needle coptic like Rhonda at My Handbound Books posted about last week, which is funny because we planned the meeting two months ago. I've been using her photo's to try to explain to some of our newer members what we are going to be doing. I'm excited about the meeting as it will allow me some time to bind. I've got my first "midterm" Friday as well as the self portrait assignment due so maybe next weekend I'll have some time to spend in the studio without my camera and with my tools in my hand....

Lost in Thought

This week has been very busy and I've been doing lots of thinking. School has started and my brain is in full speed ahead in all the wrong places.

The thing I can't seem to stop thinking is about how my classes went. I think they went well, and my students had fun- but I feel like I failed as a teacher. I spent a good amount of time talking about paper grain and why it's so important. Then for the second workshop a woman showed up with a journal she made with computer paper folded in half and I cringed and explained again in great detail that paper grain is really important. Somehow I feel like them seeing that it's actually possible to make a journal with bad paper grain and it all went down hill from there. I'm not really sure why I can't seem forget it and move on but it's really bothering me.

In other news I finally finished the last of my bicycle books. This one is a concertina made with a thick print making paper. After a long debate I decided to part with it and you can find it in my Etsy shop.
I think I've also decided to keep the apple page as I really like the set up and now that school has started I don't really want to put the effort into purchasing a domain name and finding a hosting service. Yes- O-Chem is that hard already.

Success!

My first class was a smashing success! We had more people than we had spots for so I think it's safe to say that I will be running the intro class again. I have the two night leather class coming up on the 23rd and 30th and I think there are just a few spots left!
After I get my school schedule I plan on running an advanced ribbon hinge class which will have the intro class as a pre-requisite. Either way I am extremely excited.

In other exciting news my birthday is this weekend! I still don't have any solid plans, just excited! I already have my first present- and I opened it- because I knew what it was... My mom has this thing of making us pick out our presents now... I got volume 5 in the Keith Smith series Quick Leather Bindings. That leaves me needing volume 4 only, which I am actually quite interested in as I will be taking photography this term and will need a way to bind all those single sheets.

As some of you may have devised from the comments a few posts ago I have been having problems with my carpal tunnel and sadly it's kept me from doing any work in my studio or much of anything at all. The good news is that it's getting better and hopefully I'll be back to work with in the next week or so!

Jitters

I know I said it was time to slow down in my last post... and I did as far as blogging and binding were concerned but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!
Last week was spent getting my husbands classroom ready for school. We built and installed new whiteboards and built him a new podium and worked on decorating his room a bit too. He was a roving teacher last year so the classroom is very exciting.

I've also been busy gearing up to start teaching! Eek! I start Tuesday and last week there were a sad 2 people signed up for my first class and no one signed up for my second. Last night was the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Eugene and where I will be teaching was right in the middle. We decided very last minute (Thursday afternoon) that to drum up some enrollment I should come down and show.
We might have been a bit too successful and are looking at having to schedule a second introduction class!

Fall has had quick entry in to town this year, the mornings are crisp and we have had a few mornings where the fog was settling gently on the hill around us. The leaves are just starting to turn color and it's a wonderful time of year. It's a hard time of year to be inside working as you know the last of the sunny days are limited and that the rain is not far off.

I have been doing just a little bit of work in the shop. I got a great new recycled leather journal listed and have been struggling with how to create a book strap with a cross strap. The long strap I have plently of ideas for, its the cross strap that's throwing me for a loop. Anyone have any experience making them?

First Round of Classes!

The MECCA newsletter went out over the weekend with the details of my first two classes in it! I couldn't be more excited!
They spelled my name wrong- most people do- so if you got the MECCA newsletter that's why it looks different...

Intro to Bookbinding with Kiley Gwynn. Tues Sept 9 from 6-9pm. Class cost is $20. Member cost: $15.

In this class you'll make 4 different books, from the pamphlet stitch and an accordion or concertina book with variations on those structures. This class teaches the very basics, folding techniques and simple sewing, and prepares students for an intermediate class.

Leather Journal with Kiley Gwynn. Tues Sept 23 and Tues Sept 30 from 6-9pm.

Class cost is $40. Member cost: $35.

This class will teach a version of the long stitch binding. Long Stitch Bindings are beautiful and practical bindings that can be made with no specialized equipment and only a few hand tools. Constructed without adhesives, the sewing thread connects the sections directly to the spine of the covering material. Traditionally these bindings included a fore-edge flap and a tie to keep them closed. Workshop participants will fold and punch sections, measure and cut recycled leather for the cover and a tie, and learn the binding. If time allows participants will be allowed to embellish their journals.