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Suggested Reading from Kerrie
Books about Book Arts Handmade Books and Albums by Marie Ryst Making books and journals by Constance Richards The Handmade Book by Angela James The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books by Gabrielle Fox Handmade Books: A Step-By-Step Guide to Crafting Your Own Books by Kathy Blake Bookbinding for Book Artists by Keith Smith Books, Boxes, and Portfolios: Binding, Construction, and Design Step-By-Step by Franz Zeier Pages: Innovative Bookmaking Techniques by Linda F. Kenzle Bookworks: Books, Memory and Photo Albums, Journals, and Diaries Made by Hand by Sue Doggett Cover to Cover, by Shareen LaPlantz. This book is considered THE book on making books by many, and we highly recommend it to the beginning book artist. Full of color photos, drawings, and examples, it's the first slick bookbinding instruction book to be widely available. As far as I can tell, the newer books on bookbinding don't include anything not covered in Cover to Cover. (Excuse the pun!) If you like color photos and diagrams, this is the bookbinding text for you. Shereen has a new book out, too- The Art and Craft of Handmade Books. This second book is a lovely sequel, and is highly recommended. Artist/Author, Contemporary Artist's Books.
A Century of Artist's Books, by Johanna Drucker. This is another well loved book in my studio. Filled with essays about the artist book, and some black and white illustrations and examples, it's a great book for those interested in the theory of making and collecting artist's books.
Making Journals by Hand by Jason Thompson. There really ARE people out there like us! This book gives me goosebumps. Filled with journal art by very inspirational and creative artists, this book is highly recommended by turtles. The author is a a very talented guy, too.
Making Memory Books by Hand :22 Projects to Make, Keep, and Share by Kristina Feliciano. This isn't a book about "memory books" either, but is more about creating artist's books that are inspired by memories or events. I'm shy, or I'd tell you that a couple of my artist's books are shown in this book. ;) While this one is not really a book on journaling, it shows great examples of how life events can inspire our artworks. Books on Journaling Making Journals by Hand by Jason Thompson. There really ARE people out there like us! This book gives me goosebumps. Filled with journal art by very inspirational and creative artists, this book is highly recommended by turtles. The author is a a very talented guy, too. Art of the Scrapbook: A Guide to Handbinding and Decorating Memory Books, Albums, and Art Journals by Diane V. Maurer-Mathison. Don't let the title fool you. This is NOT a book about Scrapbooking (with a capital S.) It's a book about making books- something that we'll never have too many of, right? Making Memory Books by Hand :22 Projects to Make, Keep, and Share by Kristina Feliciano. This isn't a book about "memory books" either, but is more about creating artist's books that are inspired by memories or events. I'm shy, or I'd tell you that a couple of my artist's books are shown in this book. ;) While this one is not really a book on journaling, it shows great examples of how life events can inspire our artworks. Books for Artistic Inspiration
Joseph Cornell/Marcel Duchamp, in Resonance.This is most certainly a droolworthy book. Featuring two of my favorite artists in one big book, this text shows items packratted by the artists, as well as finished works. Not an inexpensive book, but well worth every penny. And, amazon.com does have a hefty discount on the price. Anatomy of a Doll, by Susanna Oroyan. This book has been SO inspiring to me in my own person work. Not a dollmaking pattern book, but more of an inspirational book of tips and structures, with lots of sample photos. I haven't found many books on art dolls that really hit me as worth owning, but this is certainly one for the bookshelf of anyone who has any interest in making art dolls. Susanna Oroyan has a brand new book, too, that I think may be even better than Anatomy of a Doll. Designing the Doll, from Concept to Construction is highly recommended by turtles! Complex Cloth, by Jane Dunnewold. A friend told me, "You have GOT to get this book." She was right, this book is beautiful. Not only does it cover a lot of information on fabric decoration, painting, stamping, and manipulating, but it has given me more ideas to decorate paper than I know what to do with. I've been painting fabric like a maniac, I've been so inspired by this book. Books about Art Stamping Rubber Soul, by Sandra Mizumoto Posey and Sue Nan Douglas. Rubber Soul is a gallery in a book, showcasing the art work of many mail artists. There are lots of color photos, and much of the work shown includes carved stamps. The Great Rubber Stamp Book: Designing, Making, Using by Dee Gruenig. Dee is a great and enthusiastic teacher, and her love of the stamping arts really comes out in this book. Books about Collage The Crafter's Complete Guide to Collage by Amanda Pearce, etc. This is really a wonderful book on collage. I've probably checked out our library's copy a million times, and was always looking for this book in bookstores so I could add it to MY library. I never was able to find it, until I thought to look on Amazon.com. It contains lots of very lovely photographs, collage ideas, and some projects. Collage Art : The Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase by Jennifer L Atkinson. Another absolutely delightful book. This one reminds me that every material can find it's way into collage with great results. Collage Techniques : A Guide for Artists and Illustrators by Gerald F. Brommer. I bought this book for myself when it first was published, and it's still my favorite. It presents a survey of collage, with many examples, rather than specific projects. Highly recommended. Gerald Brommer also wrote Watercolor & Collage Workshop, a book that I really long for. (Hint, hint!) Hey, if you treat yourself, let me know, and maybe it'll encourage me to finally treat MYSELF to this wonderful book! :) The Art and Craft of Collage by Simon Larbalestier. If you only treat yourself to one of these books, make it this one. Er, wait, make it one of the Gerald Brommer books. OH... how can you choose just one of these collage books? The Art and Craft of Collage is a wonderful choice, so if you do add this one to your collection, I doubt you'll have any regrets (except that you don't have enough time in your day to work on all the ideas this book puts in your mind!). Good Reads Poemcrazy : Freeing Your Life With Words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. I've owned this one for a while now, and keep picking it up for inspiration again and again. I was recently reminded of how good it is, when a friend recommended it to me! So, now I'm reading it yet AGAIN. A great book to help you get ideas for what to put INSIDE of your art books. While we're thinking about poems, I'd be a horrible person if I didn't recommend John Fox's books. Finding What You Didn't Lose is excellent, but Poetic Medicine is even better, I think. If these books don't get you writing, well, you probably need to treat yourself to something a little more drastic, like a retreat or a trip to Paris! And, if you have time management issues like I do, let me tell you about the book that has helped me out quite a bit, Time Management for the Creative Person by Lee T. Silber. I do have some issues with managing my time, and have been looking for a system to help me out for quite some time. Most of them seem to require being a list making perfectionist. Sure, I can keep a calendar, but once you tell me to us some kind of geometric equation to rank my tasks in order of importance, my brain turns off and I end up even more disorganized than before. Ug. And, what does all this have to do with making more time to make art, anyway? This book, however, is just what I need. I was hooked on the dedication page, which reads, "To all those creative people who have been ridiculed, reprimanded, and rejected because of their slightly unorthodox right-brain way of doing things. It's payback time." Very very recommended reading. Someplace to be Flying, by Charles de Lint has nothing to do with paper crafts. It does have urban fantasy, crow girls, Raven, myths, all mixed up with music and magic- what more could you ask for? I love this book.  I'm currently working through The Vein of Gold : A Journey to Your Creative Heart by Julia Cameron. If you are not familiar with Julia Cameron, make yourself familiar with her! She also wrote The Artist's Way, which I admit took me two years to work through rather than her suggested 12 weeks, but it was well worth the extended journey for me.
Packaging Prototypes is a recent discovery of mine. This book contains tons of patterns for boxes and containers- something I love to explore and create! Plus, it comes with a CD-ROM, to make creating your own boxes easy. The Associated Press Stylebook isn't exactly summer reading, but I think everyone should have a copy, especially if, hint hint, you're planning on writing for dog eared magazine. If you don't see what you're looking for here, ask at your own local book store or check out Powell's. They have almost every book I've ever been looking for, and are an extremely fun and easy company to order from!
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