After preparing the exhibition, I allowed myself a couple of days off. Now I am busy with applications again. But as a treat to myself I made some time for a lino cut yesterday evening. Mhm, already the smell gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I wish I could make more time for block printing!
Now is time for the July book list. Rather short because I had few time for book shopping. I didn’t have time for reading for a long while now and that alone doesn’t keep me from buying them.
- Pocket Paper Engineer III by Carol Barton. I did not buy this in July, actually. I think it was in June but I forgot to put it on the list. Maybe it even arrived already in May? And to my shame I must admit I still have not looked into it. I bought I and II together last year, worked through the first (and loved the concept as well as the execution of the book), and have leafed through II. I found the first one REALLY good. It didn’t teach me a single new construction because those presented there are easily enough adapted from simple pop-ups that you can look at. (And that is actually, what I did before.) But it taught me a new way of thinking about pop-ups and that was like an eye opener. Volume two didn’t add new things to that first revelation and so was less valuable to me but that is a very subjective way of looking at it. Now I am looking forward to having a go at volume III which sure sounds promising.
- Simplified Bookbinding. How to bind and repair books at home using simple, modern techniques, by Henry Gross. I expected something different. In the Penland Book of Handmade Books Eileen Wallace explains something she calls simplified binding. At least that was what I remembered. What I liked about her binding was that the spine was put on the book block separately from the covers. This is not what this book is about. I have to inspect it more closely to appreciate its contents. At first glance it looks like yet another book about the craft of bookbinding. A good one, I am pretty sure. Therefore I also think will might come in handy at one point or another. Sorry that I cannot say more about it right now.
- J’aime mon coiffeur, Guylaine Couture. I am one for book structures, and I love how this book is constructed. The story (about finding the perfect hair dresser who then turns out to be a drag queen) is funny, and the illustrations that go with it simple, effective and smart. I would always buy it again. It is written in French, so I would have liked to write this review in French. Unfortunately, French is a “read-only” language for me. Check it out here.