No stitch or glue

It was great to have such a well-attended June meeting, with plenty of great work to share,  if not all  it on our ‘boxed’ theme which is, of course, an optional jumping off point for anyone who feels inspired. 

We discussed the opportunity that bigger meetings give us to possibly book a larger room at the Quaker Meeting House, and Marilyn agreed to research how much this would cost.

Julie led the meeting in making a book with a removable spine. Despite the fact that no glueing or sewing was involved, this seems to be a robust structure which we all enjoyed making.

Our July meeting will be on the theme of  'altered books'. These are not the folded books which are so popular now but a different structure altogether.

  

Rolling Cube Book

This session needed concentration and accurate measuring, and to everyone’s credit a rolling cube book was made by the end of the session. The making is in inches, including eighths, but it is possible to translate this to centimetres with a bit of practice. 

Marilyn will write up the instructions and post them on What’s App in due course. This is a book format that lends itself to hidden and revealed themes, and is very satisfying to make.

There was not too much time for a sharing session this month, but we all especially enjoyed Mary’s book on women’s suffrage, cleverly titled SuffRage. So true. 

The theme for the next two months is ‘boxed’, and members were given a box to act as a starting point. We look forward to the results.

The Kirkby Gallery exhibition has June’s work in it and is running from May 6th to August 15th.  Worth a look if you can get there. June is also participating in Wirral Open Studios running from the 14th -15th June.

Inky stuff

Frances led us in a very relaxing workshop on using inks to make loose landscapes for incorporating into books or simply as stand alone pieces. 

 

 

Frances used liquid watercolour ink , others used fountain pen inks (not Indian ink), and watercolours, plus additional acrylic inks.  Starting off we created large pebbles to get the feel for our media.

 

 

Different effects were  created using a variety inks and colours, alongside resists and differing grades of paper, although hot pressed smooth watercolour paper is recommended.

 

We showed and discussed works in progress, including some on our current theme of Flow/flowing and others reacting to other stimuli.

At our next meeting we will be attempting a Rolling Cube Book.

 

Items used  :         Wall Rock Lining Paper from Amazon

                              Ecoline Dark Grey Watercolour Ink from Amazon

  Walters WKL All Purpose Wax Crayons for Marking All Surfaces (Pack of 3,         White) from Amazon

 

Triangle Book

 

Julie led our March meeting in making not one but two triangle books! There was frustration that some of the cut edges of the triangles didn’t quite line up, and that was not down to Julie but to many factors including the seemingly non standard measurements or cut size of A4 paper.   It’s probably best to actually measure the paper rather than trusting to a paper supplier. 

 

That said we all managed to make the book, with some of us even attempting two slightly different forms.

During discussion of our various books either made or in the making, supportive suggestions and ideas were forthcoming for several members, which is one of the great strengths of the group.           

 

Link for architectural forms :   https://no-bu-ru.com/

Having agreed an annual subscription earlier in the year, we paid our subs this month, which will give us a cushion for events and room rent when needed. 

 

New members will continue to enjoy a free meeting before committing to further sessions.

Pop Up paper structures

 

Our February meeting was almost fully attended, bad weather and illnesses having eventually receded and it was lovely to see everyone again. 

 Jac led us on a series of one sheet structures with a heart theme ( well, it is February), some of which proved quite challenging.  We all managed to make all of the variants, but with irritation at the cutting of straight lines which never quite seemed straight after folding. We did learn that two sided paper works best for structures where there is a hidden element, the contrast making the mechanism ‘pop’.

Members showed their current or recent work, and June was congratulated on having her submission for the Knowsley Exhibition accepted; we all admired her book and hope to go individually or jointly to see the exhibition in due course.

 

Mary showed us the results of her year long course at Hotbed Press, a letterpress and lino print book, and Frances let us see a New York work in progress, very finely detailed and due to be a pop up construction. 

We were reminded that the current theme for a book is ‘light’.


Our new monthly fee is £6 as the room fees have increased, and we have agreed to pay an annual subscription of £10, which is due in March. New members are always welcome and can attend their first meeting free of charge.