even a spirit book must bleed

All my hand made books are marked at some point with a drop or three of blood and the Spirit Book has just received it’s due. There has been an online discussion over at Jude Hill’s What-if Diaries about wobbliness and how it can make a cloth or a drawing or whatever dream thing is in process “real”. The piece then holds the mark of a human hand & the idea meshes with the wabi sabi concept of embracing imperfection and all that. I never intentionally make a wobble in my drawn or stitched lines or bleed on a book but these things happen and can sometimes add an element of chance that can make the work more lively. I enjoy making things as well as I can but the concept is worth thinking about especially with this page which has taken a ridiculous amount of time to make. The border ’round the photograph took about 6 hours to hand knot and the edge stitching tore the paper which needed repairs in two places & then I noticed that there were little drops of blood which became clouds !
Spirit Book no 24
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, white and grey linen thread,vintage Silkworm thread, Bangalow palm  inflorescence stems, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, reverse side of pinholes
Spirit Book no 22
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull,  pinholes made with a no 15 needle
a very clean & elegant page that came together so easily… hmmm …  some days are easier than other….
this is an ongoing  journey through Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of her Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1