Fish Accordion!

This Fish Accordion, which I've posted on Etsy is a subtle brown on brown block print of fish swimming from the front cover to the back. Wrapped in a delicious pink and brown ribbon, its a perfect little size for sketches and journal-ling.

Wall Painting!

We've been painting a wall today! My cousin and his lovely wife are expecting a baby next month and we're painting these walls with a huge tree with pink blossoms, a lion, a giraffe, an ostrich, lots and lots of fish, an octopus, a whale and a mermaid!

Cutom-Made Book

This is a book that I made for Pratik Chaudhari. A friend of his was leaving India and this was his present to her. It was a very tight time frame, and alot of effort had to be put into the book before its actual construction. Alot of thinking went into it, with regard to content, placement of content, the use of the book, and everything it would contain.
Here is the final result.

The Process

Pre-cutting the cover for pasting. Didn't want to make any mistakes with this one! The picture has already been mounted at this point, and sits behind a cut-out of the letter E.(Pratik's idea!)

The cover after pasting

Detail of the mount.

Constructing the docket. Alot of trial-and-error. But it worked out fine in the end!

Making the envelopes. This took the longest. I had to make them a few times before I got them to score and fold at right angles.

The pen holder.

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The Book


The front face of the book. A photograph mounted beneath the letter E. The paper used is Neem Impression - A beautiful handmade sheet from Tara DA. The paper for the spine is a thick mill-made forest green. The signatures have been sewn using Maroon and Green waxed linen that has been tipped off with coordinating glass beads.



A detail of the spine.



The book open to its front few 'pages'. Printed flags cover the first few folds of the spine.



The next three folds contain three signatures. Two in Olive Green, and one in a textured creme handmade paper, again from Tara DA. The Green signatures both begin with a collection of printed images. The purpose of these two signatures is journal-ling. The creme signatures are filled with writing for the eventual owner of the book by her friends.



The signatures and envelopes.



Every page of the green signatures is hand block-printed with dull gold fish. (The recipient of the book is a Pisces.)



The last two folds of the book, contain the envelopes. One of them has a small picture pasted on it. They are meant to keep any memorabilia or precious things that need safe-keeping.



The docket - containing two letters that were written at the time of making the book, and the pen.

A bookmark was made especially for the book. It has been made using the same paper I used for the cover. The waxed linen has been tipped off using the same beads used for the signatures.

The back of the book contains a mounted picture of Pratik himself.


The front and back of the book, after last minute additions and final touches. (Photo by Pratik)



The entire book, open. (Photo by Pratik)

Bamboo impression

Found this beautiful paper at Tara DA! Had to make lots and lots of these books.
I was also lucky enough to find the right kind of Green handmade paper. It looks like the inside of a plant!

The book, closed. Two beads to open the 'doors' of the book.

The book open.

The book from behind.

January Workshop!

Finally the workshop planned for this month at CMYK is happening!

Creative book-binding! - Introductory workshop

You will leave with the knowledge of paper grain, precision cutting, stitching, pressing and pasting; 2 simple book forms, and a tool-kit.
Open to all levels.

Timings : 1 pm to 5 pm | Date: 30th January, Sunday

Cost : Rs. 1000 + materials
Materials : Rs. 250 (for handmade papers) | Rs. 150 (Mill made papers)

Venue: CMYK Bookstore, 15-16 Mehar Chand Market, Lodhi Road Contact: 9999005343 or 99-99-806-707 or 011-24641881


Two bindings will be taught.
-An accordion binding, (which covers folding and pasting basics) and;
-A two-signature 3-hole binding with cover and optional closure (which covers stitching, folding, scoring, and closures).
Participants are encouraged to bring anything they want to use as embellishments - beads, lace, blocks, buttons etc.

Box

I also tried my hand at making a box after almost two years! It isnt perfect, but its a start. I also think that the bottom of the box needs another lid just like it and the lid needs a bottom just like it.
I've used paper for the lid, thats been made with silk fibers and then block printed. It feels amazingly soft and delicate. Turned out to be very hard to work with! For the base, mill made paper. Size when closed : 4" square approx.

Accordions!

I've been working on pocket-sized accordions for the past two days.
Here are a few.. The others are drying. They're a great size at 3.8" by 5.6". They fit right into your back pocket, or your bag. They're great for collage work, quick sketches and also a miniature photo album!

The three books. Two of them are screen printed handmade paper. The third is mill made paper, block printed with a beautiful block of a tree.

Two open accordions.

The leaf print accordion has beautiful dark green handmade paper inside. It reminds me of the inside of a plant.

The dark purple accordion with the dull gold tree block print.

Stall in Bangalore

My books were on display at an event in Bangalore. A friend of mine took some pictures. Here they are!

Upcycled wedding card

Everytime wedding cards come in the mail, I see potential. Its hard to find cards that have minimal printing and good quality paper. This wedding card, had a little printing on its envelope, and a whole sheet of screen printed paper on the inside as the lining - What better use than to turn it into a mini-book!

The book when closed

A close-up of the screen print

The lining use as end paper

The standing book, bound with yellow waxed linen, and handmade paper with marigold petals. This book is fairly small being a 3.5" square

Flag Book

This delightful form is made by pasting strips of paper in equal intervals to form the Flags. It is dynamic in its form, and is always a fun surprise depending on the way it is opened or handled. Different people have thought of different uses for this book. Stories, textile swatches, flip book, character sketches, colour palettes and more.
This book comes in a Dark Brown with a Dark Green Accordion spine. 21 Flags total. Size when closed : 4" by 6.5" approx.



When closed



As viewed from above

Opened and held together

Detail of the spine

When open

Small Accordion

Another Accordion, though much smaller in size. It can fit easily into your bag or back pocket. Made with a fiery combination of red and orange marbled handmade paper, with a hemp closure, tipped off with dark green glass beads.


The Accordion when closed

Detail of the closure

The book when open

A small detail on the back end-page, made with the same marbled paper

A block print in dull gold at the back of the book really adds to its appeal