Brenda Shackleford's Book Binding Workshop

Brenda Shackleford taught my last ArtFest workshop entitled "Get Your Sheets Together". It's a book binding method based on Keith Smith's "Single Sheet Sewing". In May, I'm planning a trip to New Mexico and decided to bind my travel journal using this technique.

A highlight of this day was spending it with friends and fellow students- Penelope Harris, Marty Wallace, Jann Sage and Karen Shafer.

This technique is great for binding together all different kinds of materials- heavy paper, metal, wood, canvas, pieces of artwork, artist trading cards, you name it. I took the covers of an old dictionary, attached ribbons to the cover and a NM state map on the inside cover.

The pages are from a box of 3M graphic arts film that someone in my art group gave to me years ago. The heavy paper sheets measure 16x20 inches and are like 300# hotpress watercolor paper. I tested it and it takes water media and ink really well. I think this was the the paper between the sheets of the film in the box. It says use before 2/93 on the label. I cut the pages to size and added some folded file folder pockets that I stitched on the spine side with the cover ribbon.
I'm looking forward to binding other books using this sewing method. I like how the pages lay flat which makes them easier to write text, sketch images and paint. Next month, I'll post photos of my completed travel journal.