Green Chair Press Blog

Teapot: Matchbox book

Several weeks ago I had coffee with my friend Barb. She’s been taking a bookmaking class at the local community college and was telling me her ideas for books she wanted to work on through the semester. First on her list was a book about tea—she’d been meaning to do something with some research she’d done and thought this was the perfect opportunity. She also had a book to show me, called Matchibako: Japanese Matchbox Art Of The 20s & 30s. It’s full of fun pictures and a lot of background information.
As I drove home, I thought about the tea haiku and pop-up I did for my book about fall, One More Blanket on the Bed. I’ve been meaning to turn that pop-up into a card or something but haven’t gotten around to it. I guess I couldn’t get very excited about editioning a card. But I did get excited about pairing the pop-up with a matchbox.
Here’s the result. It’s been a good project to celebrate the start of fall. The book is 1-3/8″ wide by 2″ tall and the handmade matchbox is 1-1/2″ x 2-1/8″. See more pictures here.

Miniature Matchbox Book, Teapot, Susan Angebranndt, Green Chair Press

Pochoir Progression

One printing technique I find fascinating is pochoir — using stencils to color a picture. The Firestone Library at Princeton blog has a great post showing the progression of applying the stencils and how the print, by Thomas Maitland Cleland, below was made. Here is the finished print, followed by the steps of the progression. See more here.

Book Lovers’ Scented Candles

Old Books — Book Lovers’ Scented Soy Candle — by Frostbeard on Etsy

This is the time of year I get ready for the holiday selling season. My calendar is done, so now I’m making extra flip books, notebooks and coasters. I also start to think about gifts for friends. I ran across this candle the other day—it’s called Old Books and the scent is described as “Timber, White Tea, Dirt, Newsprint, Must, Leather.” They have an entire Book Lovers’ Series including Bookstore (coffee and a hint of leather), Sherlock’s Study (sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood and fresh rain), Oxford Library (oakmoss, amber, sandalwood, with hints of tobacco and leather) and Pemberly Rose (fresh roses with a hint of lilac and hyacinth).

State Fair

Earlier this summer, Melinda Fay ordered my book kit. She’s from Albuquerque, about an hour from my studio, and she wrote me at the beginning of the month that she was entering a book she made from my instructions in the New Mexico State Fair. And I thought state fairs were just for showing off large animals and riding ferris wheels! Turns out Libros, the New Mexico Book Arts Guild, organizes a book exhibition at the fair every year. I am hoping to get there this week—it’s been raining here pretty much non-stop for the last week, not good weather for visiting an outdoor fair! Here’s Melinda’s book, which she calls “Angel’s Marble”

Melinda Fay, Angel’s Marble, closed

Melinda Fay, Angel’s Marble, open

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Books on Books: What’s an Artist’s Book?

The other day I got a copy of 500 Handmade Books Volume 2, a follow on to a previous volume picturing 500 books. My complaint about the first book unfortunately holds true for this one—the pictures are beautiful but don’t really give the reader a sense of what is in them.

However, there was a pleasant difference in Volume 2—Julie Chen’s introduction. She says

“..students ask me to explain exactly what an artist’ book is… I usually make an analogy between a book and a pocket calculator… the pocket calculator—once a thing of wonder—has become so commonplace that it’s a stand feature on every home computer and smartphone. But how many people have the knowledge required to fully utilize it, to take advantage of all its functions?…To a well-informed few…the pocket calculator is a power tool that can solve complex problems. That is where the connection to artists’ books comes in. Most people know, or think they know, what a book is. In its most basic format, it’s a common everyday object…But just like the pocket calculator, a book has hidden powers that are utilized only by those with special knowledge. In the hands of an artist, a book’s full potential is realized. It’s transformed into something more than just a container for information. It becomes an experimental medium for creative expression.”