An Artist Book in Progress: part 1

Bookmaking is absolutely one of my most favorite art activities. I started many years ago making blank books using traditional binding methods and took classes at the Center for Book Arts in NYC. Over time, I have shifted my focus onto making artist books with pages filled with mixed media art. My bindings have become more wonky and non-traditional too. In other words...less precise and more fun.

I have recently started creating a new artist book and wanted to share my process and progress in a series of blog posts. Today, I bring you post #1.

The pages in this book are made from 90lb watercolor paper. Glued to both sides of each piece is a vintage French-English dictionary page. The text from the dictionary is used as a design element and I will be saving some of the images as well. Once dry, the pages were painted with layers of gesso, acrylic paint, and acrylic glazes.


For some of the pages, my next step was to add a variety of die cuts created from my stash of hand painted papers. For this book, I decided to use some of the newest dies from Spellbinders. They are so new that right now they are available for pre-order, with shipping beginning in October. To begin, I chose a group of dies that were highly graphic and modern.

Although I have been blogging about the die cutting process for nearly two years, artist friends still ask me about the process. So simply put, for those of you unfamiliar with die cutting, dies are metal templates with blades that allow you to cut, emboss, and stencil when run through a die cutting machine.

Cascade Dots
Chevron Border
 The leftover pieces from the Chevron Border die
Glass Effects
Contemporary Strip
Each of these die cuts were matched with a book page and adhered.

Stay tuned for post #2...