My New Best Bird Friend, and Some Thoughts About Books

This bird image has been extremely useful. I photographed it in Miami last year, and it has served me well in many sizes, orientations, and tilted to various angles. Thanks, little fellow!

The piece now on the loom has the bird in eight different sizes, some facing left, some right, and all angled slightly differently. One bird will be in a color different from all the rest. The birds are all discontinuous weft brocade, and the ground is a combination of granite weaves.

The brocade yarns are "kettle-dyed" and I'm enjoying the slightly streaky appearance of the brocade areas, which would be otherwise very flat looking. The "different" bird is starting to appear, feet first.

White bird finished, next bird coming up.

A detail shot of the white bird.

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I wanted to say a few words about handmade books, while the topic is still fresh in my mind.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the three types of books I've been making?

1. The coptic book, the first type I learned to make, is very interesting to sew, and makes a beautiful spine. It's relatively quick. Textiles and other artwork can be glued onto cover boards if adequately prepared. The pages lie flat, which is a good thing if you're using your book as an art journal or for drawing or painting in. On the down side, the spine construction is exposed, and it might not be as durable as other constructions, in the long run. On a bookshelf, the spine doesn't display the title, which might be a disadvantage.

2. The longstitch book with wraparound soft cover, is a good book form for display of textile arts of all kinds: weaving, stitching, collage, felting. The exposed spine stitches are beautiful, and not difficult to do. A disadvantage, in my opinion, is that if you are using the book as a sketchbook, the soft covers do not support the pages as well as a hard cover. The spine doesn't have a convenient place to display a title if the book is on a shelf.

3. The casebound book takes longer to make and can be a little fussy, but the cover is a good place to display textiles and other artwork, if adequately prepared. The spine is sturdy and has space for a title, which is important if you are displaying many books on a bookshelf. The firm cover provides a good support when writing or drawing on the pages. Disadvantages: the pages don't open completely flat, so I don't think it would be the best type of book for watercolor. 

I've been making books for only two years, and have not even come close to mastering techniques, so take these observations advisedly. I welcome your comments about the various book construction methods.