A.G. (Arthur George) Street was an English writer and broadcaster. 1892 - 1966

He farmed in Wiltshire and wrote mostly light fiction based on the Wiltshire farming community or autobiographical. His most famous book was Farmer’s Glory which described his time in Canada and his return to Wiltshire.

This copy which I have bound is a 1st edition illustrated by Gwendolen Raverat (1885-1957) nee Darwin. She was the granddaughter of Charles Darwin. She co-founded The Society of Wood Engravers. In 1952 she published Period Piece which is still in print. (Faber & Faber).

The Showcase is on from Saturday 14th June - Tuesday 15th July, 2008.

Beauty and Art in Contemporary Bookbinding
Wed. May 14th 2008: Private View - Invitation only (6-9pm)

Show runs from Thursday May 15th to Saturday 24th 2008
Open Monday to Saturday, 11:00 - 18:00

f l o w
1-5 Needham Road
London
W11 2RP

T: 020 7243 0782
info@flowgallery.co.uk
www.flowgallery.co.uk

Exhibting DB Fellows & Licentiates, and invited bookbinders:
Kathy Abbott / Glenn Bartley / Jo Bird / James Brockman / Stuart Brockman
Andrew Brown / Michael Burke / Lester Capon / Jeff Clements / Mark Cockram
Stephen Conway / Nesta Davies / Paul Delrue / Sue Doggett / Judith Ellis
Clive Farmer / Annette Friedrich / Sayaka Fukuda / Eri Funazaki
Tatjana Gretschmann / Jenni Grey / Simon Haigh / Paul Henry / Chris Hicks
Kate Holland / Derek Hood / Angela James / Sarah Jarrett-Kerr / Mel Jefferson
Peter Jones / Simeon Glyn Jones / George Kirkpatrick / Jeanette Koch
Midori Kunikata-Cockram / Kaori Maki / Yuko Matsuno / Bernard Middleton
Mary Norwood / Pamela Richmond / Dominic Riley / Lori Sauer / David Sellars
Philip Smith / Ann Thornton / Ann Tout / Rachel Ward-Sale / Margaret Wilmer

“Bookbinders work in close harmony with the text, creating structures and designs that both complement and extend the meaning or ‘feel’ of a book. Each binder will have his or her own style and each text will evoke different responses; from detailed painted images to abstract forms and patterns, the range of styles is as diverse as the individuals who create them.

Often working with publications from small private presses, binders respond not only to the ideas within the text but also to the quality of the paper, the printing and the illustrations. Materials and techniques range from traditional leathers and vellums with gold tooling and inlays, to more contemporary work incorporating Perspex and metal, airbrushed images and photographic transfer.

Prices range from £50 - £3500 but commissioning a binder to work on a particular text is also increasingly popular. Commissions can come from many sources; individuals wanting a bespoke binding of a particular text for a special gift, or public institutions, libraries and museums building up their own contemporary collections.”

www.flowgallery.co.uk

For the Exhibition of Carpe Diem I chose to bind a prospective journal - a blank book to capture events as they unfold. I liked the idea of the juxtaposition of seizing and recording the now against the fact that we are all travellers in time. Today’s now is tomorrow’s yesterday. The physical form of the journal reflects the future into which the traveller must journey. The blank pages remind us that the future has yet to be seized and recorded. When one fans the leaves of the paper or turns a page it is a movement analogous to the passage of time. The cream pages with nothing on them invite the traveller to write prose or poetry or simply record moments which have been gripped, days which have been seized. A journal can symbolize the layers of life and the effects of time.

I am thrilled to be part of the Carpe Diem Exhibition which opens at the Devon Guild in Bovey Tracey on 8th March 2008.  Only a few Devon Guild Members have been selected to share their sources of inspiration and processes of making.  Seize the Day and go along to it if you are in the area!

Somerset Arts Week comes up again this year in September.  So this is one of many photos I took for the brochure.  These are some examples of necklaces I make up from beads that I have collected from all over the world.  In my bookbinding, I have made a specialisation of translating my passion for colour - and  combinations of colour - into my work; the same is true of my necklaces.  The beads which I collect are often trade beads or recycled glass and are rich in colour.  The key to my designs is the combination of rich colours.  If any one is interested its the same as on the bakelite posting.

Last Autumn I had a wonderful trip to Paris with my sister, cousin and Aunt.  In fact it was to celebrate her 87th birthday that we went!  She loved all the shopping and fun of Paris and kept up with our galloping pace like a spring chicken.  Just everynow and then she would say “How about a hot chocolate” and then all the chatter and catching up would begin again.  Anyway, while I was there I landed the most beautiful bakelite bangle which I have worn ever since.  Bakelite is wonderful to wear.  It has that same feel as amber.  Soft to feel and such colours woven into the bangle.  Since then I have been making up a collection of vintage bangles to sell.  I now have a good stock and if anyone is interested give me a ring, send me an email or contact me via my website.

I quote from Faith Shannon about bookbinding….”How many other art forms can combine the intellectual (and not so intellectual) variety, the visual and graphic possibilities, the tactile responses through materials, the sculptural forms, the sense of fun and serious application in one neat package?” Faith is a book-binder who works in Scotland and is a fellow of Designer BookBinders. I had the great pleasure of hearing her speak on her series of bindings called Stone.

I was in Godfrey and Watt’s Gallery in Harrogate last year and was utterly delighted with their catalogues. They are a palm size format bulging with information and beautiful photos of ceramics, jewellery, paintings and other crafts. Very kindly I was allowed to take a few and I built this cross structure binding to hold them together. The cover I made up of past paper off cuts heavily laminated onto paper to make up really quite a strong board. It makes quite a book!!!!

This is a first edition copy of Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee. Illustrations by the late John Ward. John Jameson had the brilliant idea of as many bookbinders as possible in the West Country binding a copy and then having them exhibited in various venues in Gloucestershire. This is my interpretation of Cider With Rosie. Yellow goatskin laminated with old rose suede. Long stitch sewing up the back with green linen thread. My decorated tab holds the foredge flap in place.

On the back of the Contemporary Craft Fair in June, I was commissioned by a Church to bind a book to commemorate the burial of ashes. The church wanted the book bound in leather but had a limited budget. It was therefore very pleasing to accommodate them with this long-stitch style of binding to fit their budget. I bound the book in blue goatskin, laminated with suede in a complementary shade of autumnal yellow. The spine was finished in burnt orange.