Product Description

The term ‘book arts’ is used to describe handcrafted books of all types. When we think of books, the standard case binding is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Those are the books that you find in libraries and book stores everywhere. They have a charm and richness all their own. This book is a must for everyone who loves the creativity of paper. Learn how to make books from scratch with this "how-to" guide and idea book. The binding process is broken down into simple terms with an abundance of clear illustrations and diagrams. All the most popular bindings are featured... piano hinge and accordion, stab binding, concertina and more! Ingenious closures, beads, papers, and personal treasures highlight every project. The book arts world is waiting for your creativity, so let it fly!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87023 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 51 pages

About the Author
Mary Kaye Seckler's introduction to books arts came a number of years ago in a series of classes taught by Gayle Burkins and Pam Sussman that she took on a whim. Her passion for books and the creative arts made her an instant connection as she toiled her way through one new stitch after another. Pam and Gayle revealed a whole new artistic world to Mary that fall week-end in a way that was clear, logical and at the same time great fun. Over the years, Mary has learned many of the basic structures you will see in this book from them, and she is grateful for their creativity, patience and humor. Mary urges you to take a class with them if the opportunity arises. You won't regret it!

Customer Reviews

A plethora of ideas
Ever since I turned from journal connoisseur to journal maker, I've been trying to find those rare books that teach me how to make interesting styles of books without the technical jargon and confusing stereo instructions written in some language requiring babel fish to decode.

I prefer reading instructional art books that contain numeric step-by-step instructions and lots of pictures. After reading a few books in the stores on the subject and finding that most of them seemed to be written in that stuffy, old, college text book style with vary little pictures to reference, I was glad to find this little gem.

Book Arts follows a project structure, meaning that it doesn't spend too much time on the history or rhetoric of bookbinding. Seckler drops you right into the process by quickly going over a few common terms (in list format, similar to my first introduction article) and giving you a general overview of common tools used in the process. After these 3 brief pages of introduction, she starts right on on the first project. There are a total of 12 different book projects, utilizing a few different types of binding techniques, ranging from easy (the first project is a no sew) to hard (two needle Coptic stitch binding). By name, these books are:

* Memories of Paris (no sew)
* Atlas' Secret Pages
* Tag Flag Book
* Chinese Star Book
* Asian Serenity Book
* Sewing Over Tapes
* Long Tail Sally
* Raven's Foot Binding
* Geisha's Hideaway
* Serengeti Piano Hinge
* Two-needle Coptic Stitch Book
* French Tunnel Vision Book

So what makes this book so much better than many others? Well, for starters, it meets my top 2 criteria for instructional art books. The book is printed on glossy, full color paper and includes more than ample pictures and samples of hand made art books using the instructions within. Each project gives a complete materials list as well as easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions (some numeric and others not) that help you create the featured book from scratch. She also includes any corresponding templates for many of the binding projects. Seckler wrote the book in plain, friendly English and she offers many friendly suggestions while you attempt the projects. Depending on what my mood is, I can create a simple project and be done within a few hours or spent a lot more time on a more complex project.

My favorite projects in Book Arts include the Asian Serenity and the Piano Hinge Books. I also enjoy the no sew book as it's one of the nicer hard-bound book projects that doesn't require sewing with needles and a steady hand. On a side note, a great thing to do and use for the piano hinge books are chopsticks. They make perfect binding sticks! I'll frequently go to Chinese restaurants and horde everyone's chopsticks so that I can use them as the sticks that get bound into the piano hinge books.

Another big benefit to this book is its reasonable price. At $16.95 USD, it gives you a broad and artistic look at how to make several different styles of books with minimum knowledge and tools. Doug and I were talking the other day about how some books out there are written in such a way that they expect you to have nothing but the best tools and the most expensive leathers or materials to put into your books, not to mention the time and dedication needed to make such a tome. With Book Arts, you can start creating your own books with tools and materials that fit within your own budget.

I will admit that this book is geared to the art crowd, so many of the projects may look and feel a bit more artistic or "different" than your average everyday journal. But don't let that turn you away from looking at the book for what it is, an instructional device that gives you a quick overview of all the different types of books you can make and how personalized creating these books has become. The projects are standard enough that you can select the materials that you want to use to make each of your books personalized; you can either tone it down or spice it up, however you desire.

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Wasted money
This book is not the one that will teach you how to bind a book. It is more like a photo album of "artistic" book designs, but they are too artistic to be really used as a binding for a book you'd actually like to read.
The designs presented can be used to create decorative book objects, that's if you manage to get how to do it, as the instructions are very scarce.

I also have Hand Bookbinding: A Manual of Instruction (Paperback) by Aldren A. Watson, and this one I can recommend, it's very instructive.

A Beautiful Bind
Of the several titles on this subject I've recently acquired, this one might be my favorite. It's a little warmer in tone than some I could cite, it covers a wide range of books and binding techniques, it's very well-illustrated, and it's approachable and yet never condescending. If I had to recommend single source, it would probably be this one, because it is broad and the potential for everyday applicability seems highest here.