Class Books

workshop handouts

After being a teaching assistant this past fall, I've taken over as instructor for a few session of Introduction to Bookbinding at the San Francisco Center for the Book. In the workshop students learn about the basics of bookbinding: folding, paper grain, stitching; as well as how to use some tools: bone folders, awls, needles and waxed linen thread. They learn all this while making 5 basic book structures: single sheet book, accordion book, 3-hole pamphlet stitch, combined concertina and 4-hole Japanese stab. The classes have been great so far; in fact, the students I taught this past Tuesday were so enthusiastic we were able to make a sixth structure. 


Here are a few pics I snapped during our break on Tuesday night:

my supplies for the evening: punching jigs, scissors, ruler, linen thread, wax and a glue brush

yellow combined concertina (with some coffee--not made in class)

single sheet books, combined concertina and 3-hole pamphlet stitch

single sheet book, 3-hole pamphlet stitches, combined concertinas and an accordion book with a butterfly cover

Anniversary Bunting

Last week for Valentine's Day, my partner, Charlie, made me a delicious 4 course meal that included herb crusted goat cheese, quinoa mint salad, mushroom schnitzel, and Mississippi mud pie. For the anniversary of our first date, today, I wanted to make something special in return. I'm not really crafty in the kitchen but I'm good at making things so, I decided to make some bunting to hang above our bed. I woke up, popped my The Breakfast Club VHS (yes, VHS) in the VCR and put Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the DVD player as a back up and set to work. 


The finished piece(s) says 'I love you more than this much'. Here's what it took to put together.


Step 1: Making the hearts

Step 2: Drawing the letters

Step 3: Outline the letters

Step 4: Paint the letters

Step 5: Cut flags

Step 6: Glue hearts on flags

Step 7: Stitch pieces together

Step 8: Hang finished bunting

Screenprinted Sea Foam

I've been enamored with the newest technique I've learned: screenprinting, but, not being that great at drawing, I've been disappointed by the images I've been making. Last week, determined to get a result I'd be happy with, I looked to my photographs for inspiration. As you know, I've been photographing the ocean recently, so I decided to isolate the sea foam from some of those photos using Photoshop and then, using Illustrator, turned it into digital negative I could use to expose my screens.


Below are the source photos I used and the resulting prints. Some folks have asked if I want to do layering or add more colors to the prints because they are simple but, to be honest, I'm quite happy with them as they are. Perhaps I am just in the honeymoon period and will change my mind in the future...

Sea foam source photo 1

Sea foam study 1 (photo of screenprint)

sea foam source photo 2

sea foam study 2 (photo of screenprint) --this one is my favorite, I think

sea foam source photo 3

sea foam study 3 (photo of screenprint) (I ran out of grey ink)

Night Ocean

In an attempt to challenge myself, last week I decided that I should start photographing the ocean at night. It forced me to let go of a lot of controls, like sharp focus, and also forced me to slow down (with 5-8 minute exposures) and think more about what I was doing. I'm still deciding exactly how I feel about this work but, I will definitely be going back out to the ocean at night. I think what I enjoyed most was the time I had to just watch and listen to the ocean. I was also able to marvel at the sight of the moon reflecting off of the waves before they broke, something I knew my camera wouldn't be able to capture, so it was truly all mine. Here are the photos from that first night excursion.

This was the first photo I made that night. It's under exposed but I'm still attached to it.

18 Ocean Views

As promised, here are some views of the Pacific Ocean from my trip to Stinson Beach this past Thursday. 


I've been photographing at the beach for 4 years now and, I'm not sure where it's going but, I just can't stay away. This time, for the sake of art, I kicked off my socks and shoes and did a little wading to get some different views.

A Walk in the (Muir) Woods

OK, I admit it, I had technically dedicated today to photographing the new items I need to add to my Etsy store, but, when I woke up to the sun streaming in my bedroom window (which is uncommon any time of year in San Francisco), I just couldn't resist the urge to be outside. 


I dressed quickly, dropped my husband off at work so I could have the car, and headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods. After 3 hours in the woods, and another hour at Stinson Beach (those images will be posted this weekend), my trusty X100 had a full memory card (398 photos!) and I was full of that buzz that only comes after a successful day of art making. Here are some of the photos I made at Muir Woods.