The Society of Bookbinders Book Arts Day - Sketchbooks.

I have been sorting and selecting work to take to the Society of Bookbinders Book Arts day which is on Saturday 6th April. The event includes guest speaker David Jury as well as a variety of book artists  displaying their work.

I will be taking a number of works produced over the past several years, as well as showing some sketchbooks. I wonder if this is the right description for them as I often use them to record background information to the particular 'theme' I may be working with. They are more like journals combining drawings, quotes, articles, referances, and all manner of information!

I prefer to use handmade sketchbooks or books bought from fellow book artists. The selection above were made by Lola Swain. I couldn't resist her beautiful hand marbled papers.  I have to say  it is a joy having such beautiful books to work in. A peak inside the blue one on the left reveals drawings which formed part of the research that led to the 'The Great Gathering" 

The red book in the middle is nearly complete. It records information relating to what I consider might form an "an ark for our time". The work was initially inspired from an old drawing of my son's and my interest in the global seed banks ( Svarlbard and Wakehurst).  The sketchbook incorporates an ancient flood story, and thoughts about how this continues resonate in the present age (ie rising sea levels and climate change). Having read several articles about declining crop diversity, I decided to use seeds as my focal point.