The Spirit Books by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is offering a pre publication signed limited edition bookmark if you order her new book about the making & history of  “The Spirit Books” before August 15th!
I’ve put my order in here and you can see a preview of the book here
Last year I made a Spirit Book of Susan’s Spirit Books portfolio CD with her permission you can see my book here

Australian Bookbinders Exhibition opening Wednesday night!

My Spirit Book of The Spirit Books of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is on the invitation!

The Spirit Book of the Spirit Books is finished!

The Spirit Book of the Spirit Books of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is finished!
the front cover with grape vine tendrils growing out of the edge
front cover endpaper and frontispiece
title page
This  Spirit Book of the Spirit Books was printed and bound with the permission & blessing of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord here
& here’s the links to the last 3 months of  making this book
Week 11, Week 10,  Week 9, Week 8,  Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
(NB to see the details just click on the photos for a bigger view)
Thank you Susan for your generosity and support on this journey.

nest for a chain of hearts

nest for a chain of hearts by Mo 2013
knotted waxed linen thread, turquoise, bone bead, lorikeet feather
this one is for my best friend Julie’s 60th birthday celebration next weekend!
the front cover for the Spirit Book of the Spirit Books is nearly finished, it’s a wild thing!

Spirit of the Process

Here’s my bench early this morning working on the last page of the Spirit Book of the Spirit Books of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord. The myrrh and Mali clay beads from The Bead Chest arrived yesterday (they are quick, reliable and the beads are beautiful) . Susan uses myrrh beads on the edges of quite a few of her books so I tried getting a similar effect with sandalwood and sandblasted glass beads but the myrrh beads are wonderfully organic with the most exotic scent, working with them is a transporting experience and they have finished the foredge off perfectly!
now that all the content is finished I will integrate the covers with this wonderful edge that has grown through the process & what a process it has been! I have learned so much about Susan’s books, her use of natural colours & the spirit of the materials. This one is a keeper, it has become a reference book to the process. I made The Bones Book back in 2004 which exposed the inner workings of a traditional binding which I have also kept & refer back to regulalrly.
So here’s the last 6 pages of my spirit book of The Spirit Books going widdershins
Spirit Book no 56 (the last one for this book but Susan is making more!)
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, kozo paper with leaf and bark inclusions, raw cotton, vintage Silkworm thread, myrrh and Mali clay beads, emu feather, grape vine tendril,  Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 55
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, found hessian that was no longer holding up a street tree, bookbinders mull, grey linen thread,, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 54
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, vintage Silkworm thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
(NB this is my favourite page, it is so simple, almost elegant and the crow foot has become a personal symbol )
Spirit Book no 52
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, kozo paper with leaf and bark inclusions, bookbinders mull, vintage Silkworm thread, 23K gold leaf , Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 51
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, skeletonized Hydrangea petals , vintage Silkworm thread 23K gold leaf,  Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 50
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull,  Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
This is the 11th week of making the spirit book of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 10,  Week 9, Week 8,  Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
(NB to see the details just click on the photos for a bigger view)

Spirit Book of the Spirit Books – Week 10

Spirit Book no 40
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, grass, vintage Silkworm thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 41
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, white linen thread, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 43
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, found hessian that was no longer holding up a street tree, skeletonized Hydrangea leaf, vintage Silkworm thread, Eucalyptus seed pods, glass beads, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 44
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, pin pricked edge with assorted size needles, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 46
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, vintage Silkworm thread, Bangalow Palm inflorescence, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 48
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 49
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, vintage Silkworm thread, white glass beads, sepia ink, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
The 10th week of making the spirit book of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 9, Week 8,  Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
(NB just click on the pics to see more details)

Spirit Book of the Spirit Books – Week 9

It’s Week 9 of making a spirit book of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of Spirit Books
Spirit Book no 31
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, vintage Silkworm thread, dried Cecil Brunner rose stems, buds & petals, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 33
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, grey linen thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 35
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, white linen thread, vintage Silkworm thread, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 37
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, vintage Silkworm thread, Bangalow Palm inflorescence stems, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 39
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, white linen thread, vintage Silkworm thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
this is an ongoing journey through Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of her Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 8,  Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
(NB just click on the pics to see more details)

Foredge at just over halfway

The foredge is developing in this spirit book journey into Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s Spirit Books portfolio
each page is a response to Susan’s photographs, materials and text mixed in with a deepening understanding of my materials and process
Spirit Book no 25
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, white & grey linen threads, vintage Silkworm thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, sepia ink, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 26
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper,  Japanese Abaca paper, vintage Silkworm thread, vintage white glass beads
Spirit Book no 27
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull,  nettle string, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 28
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, grey kozo paper with leaf & bark inclusions, grey linen thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, Graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 29
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull, white linen thread, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
Spirit Book no 30
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, glass, bone, wood and ceramic beads, raw cotton string, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, graphite pencil
this is an ongoing journey through Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of her Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
(NB just click on the pics to see more details)

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

the ongoingness of the spirit book pages

Here’s this week’s response to Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s Spirit Book no 19
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, raw cotton string, found white feather, vintage white glass beads, Golden Titanium white fluid acrylic, pin holes made with a no 15 needle
no 20
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, bookbinders mull,  Japanese Abaca paper, linen thread, raw cotton string, vintage white glass beads, reverse side of pinholes
no 21
digital print on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, hydrangea flower petals, Japanese Abaca paper, vintage Silkworm thread
this is an ongoing  journey through Susan Kapscinski Gaylord’s portfolio of her Spirit Books
here’s the links to Week 5, Week 4,  Week 3, Week 2 & Week 1
& here’s a link to very Exciting News on Susan’s Blog!

(NB if you click on the images you can see the details a lot more clearly!)