swallowfield

strong arm bindery :: interview + studio tour

if you live in portland, maine, and happen to have any kind of artistic inkling anywhere in your soul, you've probably come to appreciate what i'm about to tell you: diane toepher at ferdinand is kind of like mr. bacon himself  in the six degrees of kevin bacon game, only in the arty/crafty/music world. but portland is small, so i like to think of it more like the two degrees of diane. 

last winter, thanks to diane, i had the absolute pleasure to meet martha kearsley - proprietress of strong arm bindery and all around badass. martha is an old-school book binder, and she does antique book restorations, has a studio to die for (on the second floor...but we'll get to that in a minute), recently opened an etsy shop where she gets to display many of her other cool projects. i was happy to find that she also started a blog, which details some of her many adventures and processes.

i recently got to spend some time with martha in her studio, and she graciously indulged me taking some pictures and patiently answered the many questions i had about her various  tools, some of which are positively huge.  *she got an excellent smile on her face when she explained how a few things had come to land in her studio...something involving a trip to massachusetts with a flatbed truck, at least one sibling, friends, the removal of a window, and a crane. see why i call her a badass?

i asked her some questions that she was nice enough to answer for me so i could share them with you - i hope you enjoy! 

it looks like you've created your dream job. can you tell me how you got started?

It took a while for it to bubble to the surface, but once I figured out I wanted to be a bookbinder I had the good fortune of getting in to the bookbinding program at North Bennet Street School in Boston. Short of finding a full-on apprenticeship --which would be pretty rare these days, much less back in the early 90s-- I don't think I would have found such a comprehensive, all-consuming level of training anywhere else. Another thing that happened early on, during my 2nd year at NBSS, was that I got a part-time position as a technician at Harvard's conservation lab (now the Weissman Preservation Center). That position, which I've maintained pretty much over the last 14 years, except when I was in Chicago, introduced me to the handwork and mind-set of conservation practices. Those two places (and people and things) have defined whatever trajectory I've been on ever since.

share a typical day in the studio.

Today was fairly typical. I started off with some vigorous list-making and then cooked up some wheat paste. I have three different projects that need printed spine labels, so I pared down pieces of calfskin and backed them with Japanese tissue--I left those on a board to dry and they'll be ready to print tomorrow. I finished a screw-post binding--drilled the holes and put in the posts--and a clam-shell box to house it(that's just waiting for a spine label to get printed and then that project's done). I did some blabbing on the phone with a distributor of bookcloth--he was actually asking my opinion about a finish on a cloth I'd used in the past before he went ahead and got the mill to make a bunch more (this is a really small crowd I'm working in). Towards the end of the day I started cutting, folding and pressing paper for blank text blocks. Those will wind up as journals on my Esty site. And I finished the day by cleaning up the joint; washing my brushes, clearing the benches and sweeping the floor.

you do a mix of work for libraries and institutions and some for yourself. does it feel like a good mix? can you tell me about any new projects you've got percolating?

So far it's been a great mix. The library and institutional work has been very challenging--a lot of it requires problem solving and researching materials. It's also been the work that's sustained the business so far, and I pay very close attention to that. The last few years I've been branching into my own stationery work, and I really want to build that up. More often than not, I find the materials I'm compelled to use in my own work are things I've leaned on for conservation and repair work---and these are usually materials produced on a small scale from traditional skills and handwork. A good example is the Cave Paper I use on the Rat Bastard books I make; it's also the same paper I just used to re-case an 18th Century account ledger. The fiber content, the dyes used, and the means of production are all appropriate for the ledger---they also happen to be a dream to work with and print beautifully in my shop with the tools I have.

Right now, big plans for my own work include designing the stationery pieces from the inside-out. We have a couple really great printing machines in the shop (offset and letterpress) and I want to start providing "content" for blank journals--say organizing the pages of a gardening journal, or a weather journal, or just a really kick-ass lined diary. And graph paper--I'll be making my own graph paper in the months to come and it will be mighty.

what are some of your favorite tools in your studio?

My absolute favorite tool has gone AWOL for a couple months---and actually, it was sitting on my bench my first day of school at North Bennet Street. It's a 15cm beautifully machined Starrett ruler--the thing measures like a champ; it's easy to read in both metric and the King's way. And I have to find another one soon. I'm also quite fond of my Vernier calipers, which will translate the width of a book spine any way you want. I love my knives--- there's one for edge paring leather, one for lifting paste downs, and one I made special for fights in the alley. And then there's big love--BIG LOVE--for the board shears.

what's it been like getting started on etsy? are you enjoying being there?

Etsy's been really interesting, and a very welcome tool. It's made the prospect of starting up a line of stationery pieces much more manageable, and it's provided a form of feedback--on a variety of fronts--that's been absolutely invaluable. The work I'm drawn to is, and probably always will be, pretty labor intensive. This seems to be happily accepted and encouraged by the Etsy community, and has diminished my concerns about producing material for a wholesale market. I'm working the Etsy site in an incubator fashion; seeing what gets a big response, what doesn't, what prices work, etc. And I think it's changed how I design my pieces. Rather than planning for one holiday sale or craft fair, and putting all my efforts into a couple things that I think/hope will be found appealing, I'm producing more items on a smaller scale, throwing them up there and seeing what kind of response they get. And it's all in real time---I think it's a very cool machine.

anything else you'd like to say?

Just my heart-felt thanks for your curiosity and your great questions.

thanks so much, martha!

unexpectedly good stuff all around

my painting class was great fun last weekend. i got to do 16 hours of encaustic painting over two days, and i loved it! i have long been drawn to encaustic work, and had tried at one point to figure out the technical stuff on my own so i could give it a whirl, but it was too much for my little brain.  i'm glad i waited - the instructor was terrific , and  i learned proper safety precautions to boot, which is probably a very good thing. it is not very often that i love the smell of art supplies (i don't share the love some friends have for eau d'permanent markers - you know who you are) but the wax used in encaustic painting has a delicious aroma. plus, all of the  steps involved in the process and tools i learned to use made me feel kind of cool - i admit it. i wasn't a girl who was super handy with a paint stripping heat gun before, but now...you should see me. :) i think i might need a holster for it or something.

here are some experiments from the weekend:

being at the art school all weekend reminded me of how much i love school, and the occasional chance to step out of my everyday life from time to time to try something new.  it made me feel kind of totally giddy. and when the class was over i had an excellent  mothers day sushi dinner with my family, who even got dressed up for the occasion. i can't get chase to take off his sweatband to wash it (it's totally gross + crusty, but he loves it,) but the rest of him was unusually clean + dressed in completely random clothes that he thought i would like.  my heart melted into a puddle on the floor, joining the miso soup that was also spilled under there. 

other things:

• my art space(s) are on modish this week. thanks jena! things aren't currently looking so tidy. you're not invited into my basement until i do a little cleaning, okay?

• i've recently noticed that waxed handlebar moustaches are back in fashion. who knew? 

• my friend betsy brought me back some stumptown coffee from her trip to that other portland. my favorite!  and while she was out there, she happened to meet one of my favorite bloggers. i love small world stuff like that!

• i planted some seeds today. what do you think the chances are i can nurture their little souls into something + not kill them? time will tell.

• my good friend nicole's funny + excellent parenting zine, hausfrau*, was adapted into a one-woman show by another very talented friend who performed it for the first time last night at portland stage company as part of their little festival of the unexpected. i got to go, and it was incredible. local people, i highly recommend you go and see it on saturday if you can.  (*and did i tell you she has a hausfrau book coming out next year? i can't wait.)

a happy day

my friend susan from sulu-design wrote a surprise post about my art today and i am blushing all the way from this portland to her portland. thank you, susan! (i have written about her earrings here before, but if you haven't seen them yet, go and look at them right now - they're gorgeous and affordable and you should own several pairs.)

today is a pretty big day for several of my friends:
it's the publication date for amanda soule's creative family! and there are some lovely illustrations in the book by betsy thompson and photographs by jessie fields. congratulations, women! i'm so excited for you all.  amanda is having a book launch party along with an art opening for some embroidered pieces she's been working on at edith and edna this friday night - i will be hiding over in the introverts corner, quietly celebrating while trying not to get in anyone's way, because i predict it might be a little bit crowded. just saying. :)

post-op catch up

oh, hi!  thanks for all of the nice words about the decorations - because you asked, i'll tell you that the auction was a big success. we made a lot of money, i think people had a good time, and it all turned out better than i could have hoped for. i brought my camera but totally forgot to take pictures during the evening (of course) - i got swept away in the event and it was over before i knew it. here's what i will tell you: the decorations were perfect, thanks to the creative genius of ms. meg rooks. they were subtle and lovely and everyone purchased the flowers at the end of the evening to bring home. i am not sure how it came to be that i ended up buying a branch of flowers i'd mostly made myself, but there you have it. everyone had to have a few of them. the addition of beer, wine and food this year seemed quite welcome. (beer and wine especially.  funny how that works.) the bartender basically ran out of libations, so i say it was a success, right? it felt social, happy and relaxed in a nice way.  and after swearing up and down i wouldn't do it again, i found myself driving down the road with meg on monday morning, planning next year's decorations theme. d'oh. i think it's kind of like labor.

+ i have to say the flowers are pretty addictive to make - yesterday i worked on making some fabric versions in a similar style. i'm still teaching myself and i think the technique needs more tweaking, but they're fun to do + positively seem to signal spring, don't you think?

this week i am catching up and doing some overdue work - around the house (hello, laundry, legos and dust)

+ working on a commissioned drawing that's based on another one i made last fall.

and today i went along on a third grade field trip to the art museum to see bright common spikes exhibit by john bisbee,
which completely knocked my socks off. check out the video here if you're interested.  the day got even better when i followed up the museum visit with lunch with a good friend at the green elephant. holy yummy vegetarian, batgirl.  i might have a new local favorite.
 

auction night

tonight is our school auction - we've been busy setting up all day, and now i'm home for a few minutes before the big event with some nervous energy, so i thought i'd do a quick bloggy update.
i know there are many of you reading who don't care a hoot about school auctions, so i'm sorry and please indulge me this entry for those of you who do...i think there are at least a few of  you out there...

the paper flowers are super lovely and totally made the whole thing - it pretty much transformed the hall we rented into something really special.

i took some pictures for you of the classroom projects because i get a lot of emails from people wondering about auction project ideas and i thought you might like to see them. look here for more photos.

more tomorrow, after it's all cleaned up + done!

dedicated to the ones i love: betsy thompson

to wrap up my week of artists i love, i thought i would share a local portland maine friend whose talents really wow me. 

i'd like to introduce you to the super-talented betsy thompson : she's an illustrator, mixed media collage artist, and a homeschooling mom of two sweet little girls. she is also very smart and very, very funny. i am in love with her bold use of color and + her line drawings.  she did all of the illustrations for amanda blake soule's forthcoming book, the creative family, (i've seen them and they're lovely!) and she has plans to illustrate a childrens book.  i'm absolutely smitten with everything she makes.  {{all images courtesy of betsy thompson and used with permission, except the one i secretly snapped of her from behind while she discussed her lovely work at nahcotta's enormous tiny art show last month. thanks betsy!}}

final guest blog appearance with edith + edna

phew! i'm wrapping up my week of guest blogging at modish with a visit to a favorite spot:  portland's edith and edna.

i'll be back later today or tomorrow with  some regularly scheduled programming. thanks for reading along over there this week and for your great comments and feedback. it was fun!

sharing some fiber love with lulubeans' aprill newman

this morning i am pleased to share my modish guest blog post with lulubeans' aprill newman. she's a super-talented local handspun yarn maker + knitter whose crazy talents i have a lot of respect and admiration for, plus she's just an all-around excellent human being.
photo (and handspun pinwheel blanket!) by aprill newman

out in portland with amanda soule

sometimes i like to remember that i am more than someone's mother  or an introverted work-at-home artist, and i get in the mood to take off my glue + ink covered clothes, get a bit gussied up and go out in this cool town i live in for a little grown up time. i figured i wasn't alone in enjoying the occasional adult activity, so today i asked my friend and fellow portland blogger amanda soule where she likes to go when she leaves the house without her three small loves.  you can read all about it over at the modish guest blog.
(photo by amanda soule)

{{later today, i will have even more portland love for you over there. stay tuned!}}

s is for sale

hi local friends,
please come and visit tonight for a little first friday holiday shop at dwell creative, 614a congress street in portland. we'll be there from 5-8, and we're all feeling festive.

 more lovely holiday things will be back tomorrow when i feel a bit less frantic.
cheers!

ps// tomorrow is the last day to take part in my three print special at etsy, if you are interested.  i have loved seeing which three prints different folks have picked out to go together; some i never would have thought of but love as a grouping.