Japanese Stab Binding

I have been working on various Japanese Stab Bindings with hard covers this past week in the studio. I will be teaching them soon in my classes at Space 301 and wanted to make sure I had my ducks in a row. Here is a couple of group shots for you guys to enjoy. I must say they were very pleasant to sew as I have been working with the Centipede Stitch and learning Twined Binding...it was nice to work with a book that is simple and direct. A true joy!

Flag Book

Happy New Year Everyone! Welcome to 2009!

In preparation for the Bookbinding Survey that I will be teaching starting next week at Space 301 in downtown Mobile, I have been furiously working away in the studio to learn a few new book forms to keep thing fresh for my students. One book I've been laboring over is the flag book form. Here is my second attempt, which turned out fairly well, all things considered. I hope that my students will enjoy this in week 2.

I used a photograph I took in New Orleans last spring of a sculpture which I love at the Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Art. I really thought that the augmentation that the flag book puts an image through would really suit this image. I was very pleased.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours,
and the Very Best in the New Year!

Take Care,
Wayne

Coptic Journals at Ashland Gallery and The Chesser Studio Project

These past few weeks I have been very busy binding Coptic journals for the Holiday Season. Hence the lack of blog posting...sorry about that guys. These books will be for sale at Ashland Gallery as well as The Chesser Studio Project. All of the books have interior pages of a really nice weight white drawing paper and exteriors that feature beautiful Centipede Stitches and Coptic Headbands. I really tried to make these books special with the hope that they would become a beautiful part of someones daily life. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas Season and a Bright and Prosperous New Year. In these difficult and trying times just find beautiful things to enjoy and make you smile!

Binding as a Repetitive Textural Element in Cover Design

Here are photos of the latest book that I have made. It is a four needle Coptic journal with a Coptic Headband stitched onto the head and tail of the book. I have adorned the surface of the front and back cover with repeating graduated centipede stitches, as a texture over the top of the cover surface. The centipede stitches are purely decorative and serve no function in structural stability. The stitches on the inside of the cover run in parallel lines and provide a distinctive rhythm in the interior of the book. I must say this book is truly a delight to hold in your hands...that way a book should be. Enjoy till next time!

Exits: For the Dearly Departed

The Chesser Studio Project proudly presents Exits: For the Dearly Departed as our exhibit for the month of November. In celebration of Day of the Dead and with a kind eye to those we've left behind over the years this show offers a vibrant look into the artists represented. Artists include : Vikki Turner Finch, Wayne McNeil, Dee Carriglino, Bertice McPherson, Seven Scribe Three, Lydia Host, Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough, Cameron Hodges, Sol Davis, Allise, Angela Rand, Julie Day, and Rachel Wright. The Chesser Studio Project will be open Wednesday afternoons from 2pm-5pm and Sunday Afternoons from 1pm-4pm. Come in and enjoy.

El Manuscrito Illuminado de la Muerta

I've been teaching a Bookbinding Survey at Space 301 in downtown Mobile this fall and it has been very exciting. This Sculptural Book is an outgrowth of that class. (I'll post about the class next week after I take some photographs.) I challenged my students, which are a wonderfully talented bunch, to create books outside of class and bring them in to share. I took this as a challenge for myself as well. I plan to make 3 new Bookworks and this is the almost completed first one. It is an Accordion Fold Book with Concertina Pleating. When backlit it will tell a narrative about life and death using birds and dancing skeletons as characters. When unlit the book will be seemingly blank. El Manscrito Illuminado de le Muerta will be on display at the Chesser Studio Project (which I will post about soon) the second friday in November, 6-9pm for LODA Artwalk. The show will be exciting so please come downtown and check it out.

Until next time take care!