Book Arts Biography – Page 3 – Handcrafted Books by Michele Olsen

Tim Ely Workshop: The Sketchbook

I make it a point to attend Focus on Book Arts (FOBA) in Forest Grove, Oregon. It is offered every other summer and I wouldn’t miss it because of the quality of the instruction and instructors, the idyllic setting, the 24-hour bookish ambience, and the chance to spent time with many book arts friends. I’ve always loved Tim Ely‘s books because of his artwork—pen & ink, bright colors, scientific imagery, and unusual topics. Tim’s workshop took five glorious days and i finished two books that I love and learned a lot in the process. Tim is a wonderful, inspirational teacher who really wants to bring out the best in each of his students. I felt that my artistic process was nurtured and supported in every possible way. You might enjoy some of the books I’ve read at his recommendation:
The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination by Jacob Bronowski
No More Secondhand Art by Peter London
101 Things to Learn in Art School by Kit White
FreePlay by Stephen Nachmanovitch

The following photos are some of the highlights of those five days.

Tim Ely is cooking wheat paste glue. We used it to create bookcloth and to glue endpapers. It also works on leather and wood!

Bookcloth from my hand-dyed fabric.

Tim designed this sewing frame.

Squaring up—ready to glue.

One of my favorite Tim Ely books. He has fabric custom printed with his images.

Tim’s substitute for a plough. Cutting the edges all the same length.

He uses a French paring knife by Jeff Peachey.

Tim is particular about his pens and nibs. In many cases he manufactures his own handles.

Tim instructing with a stack of his wonderful books.

Don’t you love his artwork? He uses his handmade books as journals for creative thinking. He makes plans for books knowing that the final book may not look like any of his drawings.

Beth and I with our four books.

A closeup of Beth’s book—love the color.

This is such a wonderful cover using paste and handmade tools.

Some of the handmade tools—simple but clever.

More luscious colors and books.

Tim enjoyed talking to all of the participants—he is truly interested in student work.

August 28, 2013/2 Comments/by Michele

My Books, Sewn Spine

Last Journal finished

The last book in the OLLI course Leather Journals is finally finished. It’s mine (instructor) and I know it’s the last one to be completed. I used the leather cover to demonstrate the longstitch sewing of the spine and hadn’t intended to actually complete a journal. I cut the leather from a blue suede jacket (shoes would have been too small) and the beautiful buttonholes were too interesting to ignore. I don’t know what I will use this one for; I usually use a journal for some kind of theme. The journal hasn’t told me what it wants to be yet.

August 14, 2013/3 Comments/by Michele

Folded, My Books

Book Art Object International Exchange

I joined an international exchange in January 2012 because a friend suggested that I do so….you see…one of the topics was “Equations”. I was placed in Group #4 with about 8 other artists, each with a different title. The idea was to make enough editions for everyone else in the group, plus one for Sarah Bodman whose book of short stories An Exercise for Kurt Johannessen
provided 100 titles for our editions. I know this sounds like old news but I still haven’t received several books so “the file i still open”. AND I’m still playing catch-up with my blog.

It took months for the ideas to come together and several more to experiment with my ideas and find an appropriate structure; with the serendipitous gift of some wonderful pieces of wood samples, i was on my way.

I wanted, somehow, to illustrate the interdependence of mathematics and nature. Since these books were going to be mailed to several countries, I wanted to feature the redwood forests where I live. Picking through my gelatin prints of local plants, I scanned several, thinking I would play with these and then go hiking and find other material to print. I started with not-so-nice colored prints and used Photoshop to alter the colors. Remarkably, the newer colors were so beautiful that I decided there was no need to make more gelatin prints. Lesson learned: don’t give up on things I’ve made. They can be altered! Cut them up, crop them, alter the colors, paint over them.

The pages for the Blizzard Book structure were made from a single sheet of paper made from a collage. The collage was created from torn pages of a vintage mathematics textbook, then scanned, and finally Photoshop was used to adjust the colors and add semi-transparent texture.

A redwood tree printed (heat transfer) on bands of handmade paper served as the closure for the book. The books were very small (2.5 in x 4 in) and easy to mail.

The books I have received so far are beautiful, skillfully constructed, and very creative. One of my favorite exchanges. One of the photos shows a gelatin print of redwood needles and the other shows the entire set as they were ready to be mailed (you can also see the Bubinga wooden covers).

June 16, 2013/1 Comment/by Michele

Mentors, My Books, Sewn Spine

Daniel Essig Workshop

My two children live in San Diego and I’m always looking for an excuse to go down to visit. I have loved Daniel Essig’s books for years and the idea that I could actually see and handle his books was reason enough to book a flight. Even better, he was offering a three day workshop to make a sewn book with wooden covers. I’ve done little sewing so I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge. It was. However, I loved working with wood and all of the tools: drill press, power tools, hand drills, and my personal favorite, the industrial lathe tool we used to create metal posts. I enjoyed sewing the caterpillar but the stitches along the edges drove me batty (and I’m sure Daniel too). But. Now I know I can actually sew these stitches and maybe even begin to understand Keith Smith’s instructions on the same.

The covers were created using wood covered with handmade crumpled flax paper made by Bookmakers Inc.. Covers were painted with layers of milk paint, sanded to reveal the layers, and then waxed with shoe polish to add luster.

One of my favorite students in the class was the high school woodshop teacher who volunteered his beautiful and well equipped classroom for our workshop. He had no bookmaking experience and created a wonderful book with patience and good humor.

June 5, 2013/by Michele

Studio

Back to my Blog

My daughter is a web designer extraordinaire. She designed this WordPress website to provide a public space for my book arts. The site has a blog option. Early on I posted a few things and after I messed up some of my daughter’s wonderful work I didn’t get back to the blog. Well, Hello iPad WordPress App!!! It’s such a treat because the application is simplified (OK. Knowing some HTML helps) and that makes it so easy to restart my brief blogging career.

I’ve made books for about 15 years and this particular field of art has taken me places I wouldn’t have imagined when I graduated from college with a mathematics degree. I taught for 25 years and as soon as I retired I took my first drawing class. I continue to take classes that have anything to do with the art of making books: woodworking, surface design, structures, papermaking, metal work, journaling. I find that making or reading books permeates so much of my life that writing about them is like writing a diary of my life.

I will start with my wonderful studio, formerly my office. This art making space has been years in the making. My husband built cabinets and large shelves for paper, my brother-in-law was the electrician who rewired for better lighting, and I bought the fabulous worktop/desk from a friend who was moving. I am starting to use more wood in my books and the drill press, compound miter saw, and miniature lumber yard are all in the garage. I discovered that I prefer standing up to work and all tools are readily accessible. The studio is lacking a door but I may draw a line on the floor at the entrance—like Les Nesbitt of WKRP Cincinnati. The studio is one of my favorite places to be.

April 6, 2013/by Michele