Westchester Book binding Class
Today we started with a 3 hole Pamphlet Stitch Book. All our books will be 5 1/2"x 8 1/2". We learned how to fold and cut accurately using a special workboard created by Dick Pio. Starting with paper that is 8.5 x 11" folded in half.
We used paper that is card stock and folded it in half, watching to see if the direction of the grain is running in the same direction as the spine fold. For this "model" book that we're making it is not critical that it's "with" the grain, but when you buy paper, you'll need to cut it so the spine will go in the direction with the grain. This will be the cover of your book.
Cut the "text-block" paper slightly smaller so it will have 1/8"th all the way around. This means you need to cut 1/4" from both the top and side of the 8.5x11" paper. You can make 3 sheets for the text and one for the fly leaf or fly sheet. Cut this the same size as the text paper. Look at the Material List for papers appropriate for these papers.
We made a template from mat board that measured 4"x 8.5" with a score down the middle, long way, and needle holes at 3/4" from the top and bottom and the 3rd hole in the center at 4.25". To score the board so it will bend, use a very sharp new blade in your cutting knife, and cut partially through the mat board on the center line.
Place the cover and the text papers into a book cradle and straighten them all then punch the holes in all the papers at once using your needle or use a sharp stylus or awl.
Now sew the pages with sewing thread, linen or embroidery thread (these benefit from a little bit of wax on the thread). Start by measuring 2 1/2 times the length of the spine for the thread. Thread the needle and use just one strand. Go down through the center hole, up through one end hole, skip over the center and down through the other end hole, come up through the center and place the thread in the middle of your 2 ends. Take out the needle, pull the ends tight (in the direction that they go and not in the direction from which they came)and tie a square knot. (Right over left, left over right.) Then leave at least 1/4" and cut any excess off. I know this sounds complicated without watching a demonstration but maybe there is a demo on UTube. Otherwise, you have to come to class to watch me do it.
Next week we will make an accordion book with inclusions of pamphlet stitch signatures in some of the folds. Be sure to bring the equipment on the materials list as well as decorative paper for the hard cover. Heavier paper such as Canson MiTientes is good for the accordion part of the book. Text wove is also good. I'll bring some text wove, Elmer's glue all, brushes. Be sure to bring cutting knife, cutting boards, ruler, bone folder, and if you have some newspaper to use for paste guards. You'll need thread and some paper for the pamphlet inclusions. I'll see you next week!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Westchester Bookbinding Class
We are beginning a new semester at Emerson Westchester Campus.
Calligraphy and Bookbinding Class
This is a special calligraphy session where we will feature
bookbinding as our project. Master
bookbinding teacher Dick Pio will join DeAnn Singh in teaching a never
before offered class making various book structures at Emerson Learning Center.
Calligraphy has always been a part of the book arts and it’s necessary to have
some understanding of this process.
We will start with simple structures focusing on color and
texture coordination then progress to more interesting and complex projects.
There will be several books completed. We will finish with a slip-case that
will house all the books together. You will practice measuring, cutting,
folding paper accurately and all the skills needed for bookbinding. Those who
wish to include calligraphy and text in their books will have assistance as
well.
Emerson Center 8810 Emerson Ave. Westchester CA 90045
Tuesdays 10am-1pm (3 hours)
To register or
questions email DeAnn Singh
8 weeks classes for 2 teachers only $130
Begins April 24-June 12, 2012
Please email me and let me know if you are interested in
joining this class. Dick won’t be able to join the class till the second week
of May, because of prior commitments. Look under materials list at the top of this page. The
main thing for the first class is papers in colors that will carry through the
whole semester. All the books will be housed in a slip case so you want them to
look nice together.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
April 16, 2012 - Pointed Pen Fraktur Class #2 at Sinai Temple
DeAnn worked individually with students. She demonstrated an alternate serif that she prefers instead of the angled look at the ascender.
Warm-up: practice the basic strokes twice. Then practice the lowercase letters.
DeAnn’s preferred serif: write a line at the ascender; then press and pull down on the right end.
Spacing for pointed pen Fraktur should be picket fence spacing. This means the whitespaces of the strokes should be the same so that your letters have picket fence spacing, very even and regular. Whitespace is the space inside and between the letters. In picket fence spacing, the volume inside the letter and in-between the letters should match (think of the space as water).
Homework: Practice the spacing words. Then practice text. Next week: capitals.
Warm-up: practice the basic strokes twice. Then practice the lowercase letters.
DeAnn’s preferred serif: write a line at the ascender; then press and pull down on the right end.
Spacing for pointed pen Fraktur should be picket fence spacing. This means the whitespaces of the strokes should be the same so that your letters have picket fence spacing, very even and regular. Whitespace is the space inside and between the letters. In picket fence spacing, the volume inside the letter and in-between the letters should match (think of the space as water).
Homework: Practice the spacing words. Then practice text. Next week: capitals.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
April 9, 2012 - Pointed Pen Fraktur Class #1 at Sinai Temple
DeAnn distributed handouts for the semester. She had us do dexterity exercises, then demonstrated the Pointed Pen Fraktur strokes and also went over the lowercase letters.
Organizing your supplies: Find a container to carry your supplies. Study your handout and put it in a folder or binder that will help you find the appropriate page quickly. A lot of information is in the handouts, so even if you miss something DeAnn says in class, reading the handout later will be very helpful.
Preparing your supplies for ease of transportation: pour ink from their containers into the dropper bottles. The dropper bottles are leak-proof so bring those to class; it’s OK to leave the original containers of ink at home. From the dropper bottles, fill one of the ink wells (or “dinky dip”) to at least the ridge-line. You want to be able to dip your pen and cover the nib’s reservoir area (“eye of the needle”) completely.
Learn Your Nibs: Unlike calligraphy written with a chisel-point nib, Copperplate nibs create thicks & thins by pressing & releasing. The more pressure you apply when pressing on a down stroke, the wider the stroke. So unlike chisel-point nibs that come in different set widths (e.g. 5mm, 1mm), Copperplate nibs come in a wide variety of sharpness and flexibility. This is another important area to explore & learn. By the end of this semester, you will have filled out your nib chart with notes on each of the nibs, paying particular attention to each nib’s sharpness and flexibility.
Preparing the Pen: Put the nib into the oblique pen holder so that the “eye of the needle” (the opening in the nib) points directly upward. The fit may feel tight, but push the nib in at least halfway for a secure hold. Hold the oblique holder as you would normally hold your pen, with the angled nib to the left side. If you have a brand new nib, you’ll need to prepare it by rubbing gum Arabic all around so that the ink will adhere to the nib and not just bead-up and slide off. New nibs usually have a waxy coating and you may have to rub with gum Arabic several times until the ink will stay in the reservoir. NOTE: Vermillion ink will rust your nib, so wash it off with water after you’re done practicing.
Pointed Pen Fraktur has a 90-degree “slant” line, i.e. no slant. It’s written vertically up & down. So you have the option of using a regular pen holder with the pointed pen nib. Try it both ways and see which way is more comfortable for you.
Preparing the paper: Make a crease in the cover of the cotton comp paper pad about an inch down from the top. Fold this back so that you’ll have a flat writing surface without the cover bunching up to the left. Place the guideline sheet underneath the first sheet.
Guideline sheet: The lines are ¼-inch apart; this space refers to the x-height, the space between the waist and the base. These lines are indicated hilighting. The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. The vertical slant lines are there as guides for the angle of writing, not for spacing.
TIP: DeAnn suggests highlighting the waist to base space so that it’s easier to distinguish as the line to write on underneath the cotton comp sheet. Skip the first space, hi-light, then skip 3 lines, then hi-light, etc.
Prepare your work space: The key to being able to write correctly is to set up your work space correctly and sit in the right position in relation to your paper. You need to position yourself so that your elbow (of your writing hand) rests completely on the tabletop, which means you’ll probably have to sit at an angle to the table edge so you’re not twisting your torso.
Use your left arm to take the weight off your body by placing your left hand above the area where you’re writing. Try to learn NOT to have a heavy writing hand, but practice having a light touch. Putting the pressure on your left hand helps with this. REMEMBER to breathe! If you’re having trouble writing the strokes, exhale.
Dexterity exercises: to loosen up your hand and get used to the pointed pen nib. Don’t move just your wrist – practice moving your arm to make the circles.
Preparatory exercises (using 2 lines on the guideline sheet): Write straight lines with pen in the direction of the “slant” lines. To create the square top & bottom edges, set – press – pull – stop – release. If the nib is sticking into the paper, adjust the angle of how you’re holding the nib. Lowering the angle may help.
Then write strokes with full pressure to no pressure. Next write strokes from no pressure to full pressure. Work on making them look similar in size. Write strokes with less pressure in the middle – but not a hairline. Then write this stroke but at the base, create a diagonal by pulling straight down on the right side as you release pressure.
Then write a stroke with even pressure but curving slightly in the middle, along with the diagonal ending. It should be an even stroke.
Next write a stroke starting with no pressure at the top that curves into a hook; increase pressure to full by the time you reach the base.
Then a smaller version of the hooked curve but after the diagonal ending, make a serif on the upstroke. Then try a curved short stroke.
Writing the basic strokes: Refer to the Handout with an “H” in the corner, that says “basic strokes – Pointed Pen Blackletter” along the left side. You apply pressure on the down stroke (thick), no pressure on the up stroke (thin). This is how you create thicks & thins. ]
NOTE: Strokes #3, #4, and #9 have a diagonal serif at the top of the stroke, but DeAnn doesn’t really like it, so ignore it for now and start the stroke “normally” with set-press-pull.
Notes on individual strokes:
1. #7 – is only slightly diagonal, then the serif.
2. #8 – more slanted than #7 and serif goes up to the waist.
3. #9 – has a slight s-curve in it; if you can put in this subtle curve, try it.
Lowercase letters: See handout with “I” in the corner and “the lowercase – pointed pen blackletter” along the left side.
HOMEWORK: Practice all the strokes. Try the different nibs. Study the exemplar carefully – it is more important to be accurate than to write a stroke many times. Memorize the basic stroke numbers – DeAnn will test you next week. Then practice the lowercase letters. Try practicing them in families (for example, i-l-t, or a-d-g-q).
Organizing your supplies: Find a container to carry your supplies. Study your handout and put it in a folder or binder that will help you find the appropriate page quickly. A lot of information is in the handouts, so even if you miss something DeAnn says in class, reading the handout later will be very helpful.
Preparing your supplies for ease of transportation: pour ink from their containers into the dropper bottles. The dropper bottles are leak-proof so bring those to class; it’s OK to leave the original containers of ink at home. From the dropper bottles, fill one of the ink wells (or “dinky dip”) to at least the ridge-line. You want to be able to dip your pen and cover the nib’s reservoir area (“eye of the needle”) completely.
Learn Your Nibs: Unlike calligraphy written with a chisel-point nib, Copperplate nibs create thicks & thins by pressing & releasing. The more pressure you apply when pressing on a down stroke, the wider the stroke. So unlike chisel-point nibs that come in different set widths (e.g. 5mm, 1mm), Copperplate nibs come in a wide variety of sharpness and flexibility. This is another important area to explore & learn. By the end of this semester, you will have filled out your nib chart with notes on each of the nibs, paying particular attention to each nib’s sharpness and flexibility.
Preparing the Pen: Put the nib into the oblique pen holder so that the “eye of the needle” (the opening in the nib) points directly upward. The fit may feel tight, but push the nib in at least halfway for a secure hold. Hold the oblique holder as you would normally hold your pen, with the angled nib to the left side. If you have a brand new nib, you’ll need to prepare it by rubbing gum Arabic all around so that the ink will adhere to the nib and not just bead-up and slide off. New nibs usually have a waxy coating and you may have to rub with gum Arabic several times until the ink will stay in the reservoir. NOTE: Vermillion ink will rust your nib, so wash it off with water after you’re done practicing.
Pointed Pen Fraktur has a 90-degree “slant” line, i.e. no slant. It’s written vertically up & down. So you have the option of using a regular pen holder with the pointed pen nib. Try it both ways and see which way is more comfortable for you.
Preparing the paper: Make a crease in the cover of the cotton comp paper pad about an inch down from the top. Fold this back so that you’ll have a flat writing surface without the cover bunching up to the left. Place the guideline sheet underneath the first sheet.
Guideline sheet: The lines are ¼-inch apart; this space refers to the x-height, the space between the waist and the base. These lines are indicated hilighting. The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. The vertical slant lines are there as guides for the angle of writing, not for spacing.
TIP: DeAnn suggests highlighting the waist to base space so that it’s easier to distinguish as the line to write on underneath the cotton comp sheet. Skip the first space, hi-light, then skip 3 lines, then hi-light, etc.
Prepare your work space: The key to being able to write correctly is to set up your work space correctly and sit in the right position in relation to your paper. You need to position yourself so that your elbow (of your writing hand) rests completely on the tabletop, which means you’ll probably have to sit at an angle to the table edge so you’re not twisting your torso.
Use your left arm to take the weight off your body by placing your left hand above the area where you’re writing. Try to learn NOT to have a heavy writing hand, but practice having a light touch. Putting the pressure on your left hand helps with this. REMEMBER to breathe! If you’re having trouble writing the strokes, exhale.
Dexterity exercises: to loosen up your hand and get used to the pointed pen nib. Don’t move just your wrist – practice moving your arm to make the circles.
Preparatory exercises (using 2 lines on the guideline sheet): Write straight lines with pen in the direction of the “slant” lines. To create the square top & bottom edges, set – press – pull – stop – release. If the nib is sticking into the paper, adjust the angle of how you’re holding the nib. Lowering the angle may help.
Then write strokes with full pressure to no pressure. Next write strokes from no pressure to full pressure. Work on making them look similar in size. Write strokes with less pressure in the middle – but not a hairline. Then write this stroke but at the base, create a diagonal by pulling straight down on the right side as you release pressure.
Then write a stroke with even pressure but curving slightly in the middle, along with the diagonal ending. It should be an even stroke.
Next write a stroke starting with no pressure at the top that curves into a hook; increase pressure to full by the time you reach the base.
Then a smaller version of the hooked curve but after the diagonal ending, make a serif on the upstroke. Then try a curved short stroke.
Writing the basic strokes: Refer to the Handout with an “H” in the corner, that says “basic strokes – Pointed Pen Blackletter” along the left side. You apply pressure on the down stroke (thick), no pressure on the up stroke (thin). This is how you create thicks & thins. ]
NOTE: Strokes #3, #4, and #9 have a diagonal serif at the top of the stroke, but DeAnn doesn’t really like it, so ignore it for now and start the stroke “normally” with set-press-pull.
Notes on individual strokes:
1. #7 – is only slightly diagonal, then the serif.
2. #8 – more slanted than #7 and serif goes up to the waist.
3. #9 – has a slight s-curve in it; if you can put in this subtle curve, try it.
Lowercase letters: See handout with “I” in the corner and “the lowercase – pointed pen blackletter” along the left side.
HOMEWORK: Practice all the strokes. Try the different nibs. Study the exemplar carefully – it is more important to be accurate than to write a stroke many times. Memorize the basic stroke numbers – DeAnn will test you next week. Then practice the lowercase letters. Try practicing them in families (for example, i-l-t, or a-d-g-q).
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