Creative writing tips: Creating dynamic settings and atmosphere

April 29, 2013 in Writing | 1 comment

I love stories with great settings, which is why Emily Brontë‘s Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite novels. The setting and atmosphere of Wuthering Heights is so reflective of the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw that Brontë’s story couldn’t work any other way. Setting and atmosphere was the main topic of Carol Bruneau‘s fourth class of her WFNS creative writing workshop.

Creative Writing with Carol Bruneau: Week Four

Carol Bruneau explains that setting becomes a kind of character. I can certainly think of a number of books where this is the case, but to go back to my Wuthering Heights example, Brontë’s setting not only reflects the physical and emotional struggles of the characters, but Heathcliff’s wild home of Wuthering Heights and Linton’s more sophisticated home of Thrushcross Grange — both of which reside on the violent and unpredictable Yorkshire moors — are also practically characters in themselves because Brontë’s descriptions of them as well as the movement of the weather on the moors propel the storyline forward. This leads me to Bruneau’s next point about setting: setting and atmosphere can reflect the sensibilities of a character and influence the logistics of the plot, because if the setting is consistent then it lays a foundation for the action. She also explains that setting also helps to ground the reader and orient the story.

In order to practice setting the scene for the reader, Bruneau gave us the following writing exercise:

Write a piece of backstory for your character (backstory is something that happened before the action of the story begins). Place your character in his or her favourite childhood memory. Write it in first person and use the character’s senses. Be specific. What does s/he see, smell, taste, hear, feel, etc.

When writing your story, Bruneau suggests paying attention to whether or not the setting influences the story or the characters’ behaviour in some way. If so, that probably means you’re on the right track.

Can you think of any stories other than Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights where setting and atmosphere are so crucial to the storyline that it becomes a kind of character?

Speaking of characters, Bruneau talked about creating characters in class two and developing dialogue in class three. In my next blog post I’ll discuss Bruneau’s fifth creative writing class where she gave us advice on developing plot.

Happy writing!

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Creative writing tips: Developing dialogue & narrative voice

April 26, 2013 in Writing | 1 comment

Writing dialogue has always been a mystery to me, and oddly terrifying. I’m introverted and, well, a bit of an awkward person, so conversing with people I don’t know well and making small talk has always been a challenge for me. If I sometimes have trouble holding a conversation with another human being, how am I supposed to make up a realistic conversation between fictional characters? I am grateful that the third class in Carol Bruneau‘s WFNS Creative Writing workshop was about developing dialogue because I certainly needed the practice, but it was my least favourite and most challenging class during her eight week long course.

Creative Writing with Carol Bruneau: Week Three

During week three of the workshop, Carol Bruneau explained that dialogue is the way characters speak to each other or don’t speak to each other and that narrative voice is the narrator’s position or point of view in relation to these characters. Although narrative exposition in a story is important, dialogue without much narrative pushes the story forward and increases the tension between characters. This also relates back to my previous post about creating characters because characters begin to take shape and become more real through what they say and the way they speak.

Like all writing, developing dialogue and narrative voice takes practice and work. Bruneau gave us the following three-stage exercise to show us the differences that playing with dialogue and narrative voice can make:

  1. Create an argument between your main character and a secondary character about something that is bugging the main character. Don’t worry about writing what the characters are doing as they speak, just write bare bones dialogue (he said, she said). Notice how quickly the scene progresses. Notice the level of tension between the characters.
  2. Rewrite the argument, but this time add narration to the scene. For example, describe the characters’ actions and facial expressions, or the setting, etc., in amongst the characters’ speech. Compare the tension of this scene to the first one you wrote. How does narration change the scene or the tone of the argument?
  3. If your scene is written in first person, rewrite it in third person. If your scene is written in third person, rewrite it in first person from the point of view of the main character. What would change if the point of view was from the secondary character? How does each narrative point of view differ?

None of these methods is right or wrong or better than the other, but these exercises show a writer how to play with dialogue and narrative voice in order to manipulate the story to answer some of the following questions: What point do I want to get across? What is the purpose of this dialogue, this scene? Is my story better suited to first person or third person narration? Who does the narrator sympathize with? Who do I want readers to sympathize with? etc.

Bruneau also gave the following advice on how to become better at writing dialogue:

  • Eavesdrop. Collect bits of conversations and quirks of speech and then strip them down to the basics.
  • When writing dialects, a little goes a long way.
  • Practice.

Good dialogue can be difficult to write (and I’m certainly no expert) so that last point is very important. To ensure that my dialogue doesn’t sound stilted I’ve started reading it out loud. It might also help if you have a friend who is willing to read it with you or act it out. When you hear your dialogue out loud the ear picks out the awkward and unnatural parts that the eye doesn’t always see.

My next blog post will discuss Bruneau’s fourth class in which she talked about setting and atmosphere. In the meantime, happy writing!

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Creative writing tips: Creating characters

March 21, 2013 in Writing | 3 comments

I’ve never really thought much about writing characters despite often becoming so immersed in a character’s life when I read that when I finish a book I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. Although I know characterization is important to a story because it’s the characters that readers identify with, I always figured that my characters would just develop along with the storyline. I guess I assumed that characterization would just happen, magically, without much thought. And perhaps, in some rare instances, it does; however, Carol Bruneau‘s WFNS Creative Writing Workshop made me realize that rare is the key word in that last sentence There is no writing fairy that will magically build characters for you as you work on story or plot.

Creative writing with Carol Bruneau: Week Two

I realized during the second class of Bruneau’s workshop, which focused on creating and developing characters, that one of the reasons I’ve stalled with my current writing project is that I barely know anything about my characters: what they like, what they dislike, what they want, what their motivation is, what their hobbies are, what their flaws are, whether or not they have a speech impediment, a limp, dry skin, thinning hair, and so forth. The list of details that can create a character are endless. How can a writer, therefore, create a character and put that character into various scenes or situations that are meant to elicit a reaction from the character without first knowing anything about him or her, without first having intimate knowledge about his or her thoughts, fears, hopes, pet peeves, insecurities, physicality, humiliations, motivations, upbringing, family life, work life, failures, and successes, etc.?

Bruneau’s workshop taught me to think about characters as though they are real people. She even suggested that a good starting point is to create composites: Take characteristics from various people you know or have known in the past and blend them together to create a foundation for your character. Then build upward, inventing, to create a character that fits into your story. Of course, depending on how alive your character — this person you’ve created — becomes to you, your story may change or go in a different direction in order to accommodate your character rather than having your character accommodate your story. Bruneau says, “When my characters become real to me, my story becomes real, and by that I mean it takes on the dimensions and complexity and quirkiness of real life.”

During the class, Bruneau gave us the following writing exercise:

Take a person you remember vaguely from your early childhood and describe him or her. Sketch details you recall, then keep going, inventing where “facts” peter out. Tips: Imagine this person in private, something he or she wants, his or her hobbies, home, family, pet peeve or neurosis, and/or something that this person would not want on his or her resumé. If you imagine this person in a negative way, try to come up with something good, something positive, or endearing about him or her. On the other hand, if this person is good, come up with some kind of flaw (nobody is perfect).

I found this exercise both fun and helpful. Building a character from scratch can be challenging, but creating composites is a good starting point to launch from. When doing this exercise I also found it helpful to imagine that I was a journalist asking my character questions as though I was interviewing her, getting ready to write a biography of her life. And, like a biographer, I’d go back again and again asking the same or similar questions to confirm or enrich details, and asking different questions to get a broader picture of the overall person.

When writing characters, Bruneau stresses that if you don’t like a character you’ve created or you don’t find him or her engaging, then it will be difficult to stick with writing this character. It will also likely be difficult for your readers to engage and sympathize with the character. This is the difference between a round and flat character. E.M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel states, “The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat.” To make a character and a story real you have to convince yourself before you can convince your readers. After learning about characters in Bruneau’s workshop and working on her writing exercises, I feel that my characters have become alive and, hopefully, much more convincing.

In my next blog post I’ll discuss the third class of Carol Bruneau‘s creative writing workshop where she discussed developing dialogue and narrative voice.

Click here to read what I learned about writing in Bruneau’s first class.

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Creative writing tips: Getting started

March 4, 2013 in Writing | 1 comment

Last October/November I took a creative writing workshop at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) with published author Carol Bruneau. The workshop lasted for eight classes, and in that time I learned some great tips for writing creatively, and practiced my writing through various exercises. Not all of Bruneau’s advice or writing exercises (of which there were many) helped me get over certain stumbling blocks, and I’m sure that some of what I wrote during the workshop isn’t worth the page on which it was written, but Bruneau’s workshop was great because it got me writing and thinking about new ways to look at my novel in progress. I’d like to share some of Bruneau’s wisdom, what writing exercises worked for me, and why taking a writing workshop can help motivate you and improve your writing.

Carol Bruneau

Carol Bruneau

Creative writing with Carol Bruneau: Week One

Carol Bruneau says that writing is walking really slowly and looking at stuff. To write you need to take notice of the world around you and really look. She suggests carrying a notebook with you wherever you go and jotting down the quirky things you see, the funny expressions you hear, and any interesting or odd incidents that you come across. You may never feel the need to use these notes in your fiction or creative non-fiction writing, but writing these things in a notebook gets you into the habit of noticing what is going on around you and thinking creatively about your experiences.

Bruneau also says that good writing speaks to the reader; it draws the reader in so that s/he can relate to the story. She suggests doing this by capturing synesthesia in your writing — in other words, write all of the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. Although this wasn’t the first time I heard about writing from the senses, and I know I’ve occasionally done this in my writing before (but not deliberately and without intention), Bruneau gave us the following exercise, which allowed me to put this great writing technique into practice:

Write about a colour as though you are explaining it to a blind person. What does it mean to you? What/who does it remind you of?

This writing exercise made me think about colour and description in a different way. Not only did I attempt to describe the sight, sound, touch, taste and smell of a colour — an intangible perception — but I also personified that colour (I chose blue because it’s my favourite) and gave it a personality. Writing the senses breathed life into my description of the colour blue and made it more dynamic. It also got my creative juices flowing because I had to shift the way I think about colour in order to describe it to someone who has never seen it before. I really enjoyed this exercise — it was my AHA! moment of Bruneau’s first class. I certainly feel that describing the senses (not by accident but with intention) has greatly improved my creative writing. Try it and see for yourself!

In my next blog post I’ll discuss my experiences during week two of the WFNS Creative Writing Workshop in which Carol Bruneau got us to work on creating and developing characters — an area that I seem to have difficulty with.

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Farewell to Carbonstok

February 22, 2013 in Current events, Letterpress, Personal | No comments

Inside Carbonstok on Barrington StreetToday I went to Carbonstok to pick up my remaining letterpress cards and my last consignment paycheck: Carbonstok on Barrington Street is closing its doors. The mood in the store was a little somber (or perhaps it was just me) and the shelves already looked a bit bare as shoppers picked up clearance items for 50% off. Coming just off the heals of Nova Scotian Crystal‘s announcement that it will be closing next month, I’m not surprised that Carbonstok is the next casualty of our economic recession and the trend to buy goods at big box stores and to shop online.

I’ve loved Carbonstok ever since I discovered the store when I attended a book launch that was being held there. I was delighted and surprised by the unique items they had for sale, and it became a place I frequented when looking for presents or unique items and decor. I furthermore loved that Carbonstok made an effort to stock locally made-items and products that were created with minimal environmental impact. We need more stores like Carbonstok — not less — and I hope that one day Halifax will see a Carbonstok 2.0.

As I said my goodbyes to the manager, Catherine, one of the friendliest people I think I’ve ever met, and left Carbonstok with my remaining letterpress stock, an “I Love Local Halifax” tote bag, and a few extra goodies I’ve been meaning to buy, I felt grateful that I got to (in a very small way) be a part of such a great store and community. I want to thank the owner, Gordon Stevens, for taking a chance on my letterpress cards and selling them in his awesome and unique retail space. He was the first person to make me realize that my love of letterpress could be more than just a hobby. I also want to thank Catherine for her help and support, and her ever-present smile when I walked through the door. I never thought people would be interested in buying my cards, but Gordon and Catherine proved me wrong and gave me the confidence I needed to get my work out there. It was great doing business with you both and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

I still have some letterpress cards available for sale at Inkwell Boutique in Halifax and at Dots & Loops in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and you can also find them in my Etsy shop but, as always, I encourage everyone to support their community and buy local.

I Love Local Halifax tote bag

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For the love of books: A talk by Gaspereau Press’ Andrew Steeves

January 29, 2013 in Bookbinding, Books, Publishing | No comments

Last fall (yes, I’m a little behind in my blog posts) Mount Saint Vincent University held its annual “Celebrating Writing” week, which is a campus-wide initiative that promotes reading and writing. As part of the celebration, MSVU held writing workshops and hosted guest speakers with authors and industry professionals to talk about all things writing and books. Andrew Steeves, co-publisher at Gaspereau Press in Kentville, Nova Scotia, was one such guest speaker, and unfortunately the only speaker I could attend that week due to my work schedule. I specifically booked the time off to go see Steeves speak because when one of the best bookmakers in North America talks about books, you make the effort to listen. It’s no secret that I have a nerd crush on Steeves because of the beautiful work he does at Gaspereau Press; each book that Gaspereau prints is a work of art beyond the words on the page, and I envy his knowledge, skill, and technique.

Steeves began his talk by relating how he often gets calls from reporters asking him to comment on the death of the book. He knows what kind of answer they are looking for, but he disagrees with the notion that the book is dying. “Books are tools,” he says. He asks people to think about the “mark a book makes on the world, on the one who wields it.” Steeves says he’s “accustomed to talk about a book like water: it’s just there”; it will never stop existing.

But Steeves also thinks that if one is to talk about the proposed death of the book, one must first talk about the history of the book. Before the invention of what we know as “the book,” a scribe might write a single manuscript, and the market for that manuscript was one person. The invention of the book press, on the other hand, allowed text to be replicated quickly so that it was available to more than just one person. The problem with replication, however, is that there needs to be a market for multiple copies of the same thing. He explains that accurately judging the market is where a lot of book publishers fail. “Even Gutenberg,” Steeves said, “failed financially because he didn’t think of the market when printing hundreds of books. So books have always had a precarious relationship with the financial market.” But, as Steeves passed around a book from 1736, he reiterated, “books are tools that can survive.”

Andrew Steeves Bookbinding Talk - Book from 1736Andrew Steeves Bookbinding Talk - Book from 1736Andrew Steeves Bookbinding Talk - Book from 1736Andrew Steeves Bookbinding Talk - Book from 1736Despite being a little worn and rough around the edges, a book that has seen almost three centuries (like the one above) can still do the job it was intended to do at its creation. And unlike electronic books read on the computer or an eReader that will one day stop working, physical books have their own history — a history that includes inscriptions, annotations, fingerprints, bent corners, torn pages, and the smell and texture of time and space. Books can therefore tell people more than just the story written inside of them. How a book is bound can tell one about the publisher. For example, Steeves explained that if the pages of a book don’t follow the paper grain, this speaks of poor workmanship or the carelessness that may come from budgeting constraints. Older, hand-printed books (meaning letterpressed books made with moveable metal or wood type) can also tell a person the typeface to which a print shop had access, and whether or not a publisher and/or print shop was paying attention to trends and techniques coming out of London and New York.

As Steeves continued to talk about bookmaking, he passed around some well-made and some poorly-made books, explaining the differences between them. Of course, at the time I didn’t think to take any pictures of poorly-made books — just the books I thought were beautiful — but the poorly-made books were often bound against the paper grain, which made the paper chunky and group together as they were flipped open. Steeves even showed us a book that was bound upside down to the cover. But the well-made, hand-bound books Steeves passed around were more than just beautifully printed and bound — they were works of art.

Hand-bound books from Andrew Steeve's personal collectionHand-bound books from Andrew Steeve's personal collection

Hand-bound books from Andrew Steeve's personal collectionWith each beautifully-made book that Steeves passed around, my envy at his collection soared higher and higher. I especially fell in love with this rare, hand-made Jan Zwicky book titled 21 Small Songs.

21 Small Songs by Jan Zwicky21 Small Songs by Jan Zwicky

21 Small Songs by Jan Zwicky21 Small Songs by Jan ZwickyThis Barbarian Press edition of Zwicky’s 21 Small Songs was, of course, a limited edition that is now out of print. Serious book collectors can still find a copy for sale online, but it will cost close to six hundred dollars USD for the honour of placing it on your bookshelf. Yikes!

I’m glad I took the time off of work to hear Steeves speak about books, and the importance of making them well. Listening to him speak about books, with love and passion in his voice, has increased my own love and appreciation of books and they ways in which they are made, so I’m currently taking a bookbinding course through NSCAD’s School of Extended Studies. Although I’ve tried my hand at bookbinding before, Andrew Steeves’ book collection gave me the desire to improve my bookmaking skills so that I can not only make functional books, but also beautiful art.

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The Heartbreak a Stranger Trenton Project: Letterpress endings

January 22, 2013 in Craft/Art, Letterpress | No comments

In the spring of last year, singer/songwriter Aaron Hartling of Halifax’s Heartbreak A Stranger approached me about making some perks for his “Trenton Project” Indiegogo campaign (see my blog post, “The Heartbreak A Stranger Trenton Project: Letterpress beginnings“). Aaron was fundraising in order to make an EP, which included artwork, studio time, mixing, CD duplication, musicians, and film shoots, etc. The Trenton EP is a concept album that centres around Aaron’s hometown, Trenton, Nova Scotia. The purpose of Aaron’s “Trenton Project” was to make a “musical postcard” to Trenton — a town that has seen many changes since the rail car company closed its doors, resulting in lay-offs and other business closures.

Aaron wanted to offer unique perks during his campaign, and in the spirit of artists helping artists he commissioned me to design and print some letterpress cards to complement his musical postcard to Trenton, Nova Scotia. At first I wasn’t sure I had the necessary skills to take on the job. For one thing, I’m not a designer. For another, I was new to letterpress printing and still learning; I wasn’t sure the quality of my cards would be of an acceptable standard to myself, let alone to the public. However, Aaron saw promise and assured me that I was the right one for the job. He also knew his EP wouldn’t be ready for a few months or a year, which gave me time to practice and improve my (mostly self-taught) letterpress skills. Now, about nine months or so after Aaron approached me to print his Trenton EP letterpress cards, I’m pleased to say that the quality of my prints has greatly improved and I’m proud to have Aaron send my letterpress cards out to his campaign supporters, some as far as the Netherlands and Brazil.

Each card is 3.5″ x 4.75″ on 118 lb cardstock. I printed the factory and silhouette with hand-made linocuts; other graphics were printed with metal letterpress cuts. Most of the type is Parsons 12 pt, but the “Thank You” card includes Wedding Text, and my signature on the back of the cards is printed with Times New Roman. Please note that the Heartbreak A Stranger silhouette was designed by Seth Graham (Brink Of Ink).

Heartbreak A Stranger "Trenton Project" custom letterpress card Heartbreak A Stranger "Trenton Project" custom letterpress & linocut card Heartbreak A Stranger "Trenton Project" custom letterpress card.Heartbreak a Stranger "Trenton Project" custom linocut cardHeartbreak A Stranger "Trenton Project" custom letterpress cardHeartbreak A Stranger "Trenton Project" custom letterpress cardAaron ran his “Trenton Project” Indiegogo fundraising campaign in October 2012. He reached his fundraising goal and has since finished his Heartbreak A Stranger Trenton EP, which will be released (officially) on March 16, 2013 at The Company House in Halifax. The campaign perks, however, including my letterpress cards, will be sent out at the beginning of February.

It was a pleasure to work with Aaron and I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to be a part of his campaign so I could both improve my skills and get my letterpress work out into the world. I hope to work with him again in the future.

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Monoprint painting and printmaking

December 6, 2012 in Craft/Art, Printmaking | No comments

Immediately after taking a “Recycled Journal” workshop at Inkwell Boutique with Rhonda Miller from MyHandboundBooks (see previous post: “Bookbinding with recycled materials”), I took a monoprinting workshop with Nova Scotian artist Amy Rubin Flett. Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that can be done without a printing press; however, where a press can print multiples of the same design, each monoprint is different, creating a unique piece of art each and every time.

Acrylic Monoprints

The first monoprinting technique that Amy showed us was how to make prints with acrylic paint.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Amy Rubin Flett demonstrates how to make a monoprint using acrylic paint.

First, tape a piece of acetate (better known as a transparency film or a clear plastic sheet) on a table or hard surface. Amy uses Japanese Washi tape (a decorative masking tape that is often found at craft stores) because it peels off paper or pictures easily without tearing or damaging the item’s surface. If you don’t have Washi tape, any kind of tape with a low adhesive should work, but you may want to cut your paper a bit larger than necessary in case you need to trim it in the event that the tape tears the fibre.

Place the tape along only one edge of the acetate, but tape it down along both sides of the edge because you will be flipping the acetate back and forth as though turning a page.

Next, lift the acetate up so that it is perpendicular to the table and, along one side of the acetate, tape down the image that you would like to print. This image can be something you drew or an actual photo. You won’t be painting on the image and as long as you’re careful not to get your hands full of paint, you don’t need to worry about ruining your drawing or picture.

You’ll want to tape the image down on each edge to ensure that it doesn’t move and shift as you work.  On the other side of the acetate, tape down the blank piece of paper on which you want to print the image. Again, tape down along each edge to stop the paper from shifting.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Setting up to begin monoprinting with acrylic paint.

To make sure your image is lined up with where you want it to print on the paper, place tape on the acetate to use as a guideline. When you flip the acetate so that it is over your paper, the tape shows you where your image will be printed. Adjust the placement of your paper or image as necessary to get the alignment you want.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Using tape as a guideline so that my image will print where I want it to.

Once everything is set up to your liking, flip the acetate so that it covers your source image and then begin to paint on top the acetate, following the image underneath. Use light layers of paint and do only small sections at a time because acrylic paint dries very fast. Then flip the acetate over and press the painted area down onto the paper with your finger. Once the paint has been pressed, flip the acetate back over your source image and repeat. You can wipe clean the acetate as you go or keep building on top of it and clean it once you’re finished. Don’t throw it out — reuse it for your next monoprint. Of course, if you keep building up your paint on top of the acetate, you may just find that you’ve created another piece of art!

Here’s how my monoprint turned out:

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Starting to paint and press.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Adding some different colours.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

It’s almost finished. Working on shading and highlights.

Monoprinting Workshop at Inkwell Boutique: Acrylic Paints

Done! And not a mark on the source image!

Please note that this printing technique will give you a mirror image of your drawing or picture, which is why my monoprint of Rodin’s “The Kiss” is printed opposite to the original. There are ways, however, to flip your photograph using a computer. Even if you don’t have high-tech, professional software like Photoshop, you can still do this using Paint or even Microsoft Word.

Acrylic Monoprint: Rodin's "The Kiss"

Finished monoprint of Rodin’s “The Kiss.”

Since the original image I worked from was untouched, I can use it again to create another monoprint of Rodin’s “The Kiss”; however, the wonderful thing about monoprinting is that any new image I make from the original source will be different from this one. The amount of water left in your brush, the paint strokes you use, and the thickness of the paint on your brush make unique patterns when pressed, thus yielding different results each time. You can also play with different colours and textured papers: the possibilities are endless and each monoprint is one of a kind.

Traced Monoprints

If you’re not a fan of the acrylic painting method, you can also “trace” monoprints, which is Amy’s preferred monoprinting method. You can see some of her traced monoprints on her Facebook Page: Amy Rubin Flett Artist.

First, spread a little bit of ink with a brayer onto a flat piece of glass or a Styrofoam tray. Then roll the ink-covered brayer onto a piece of tracing paper.

Monoprint Workshop at Inkwell Boutique - Tracing Monoprints

Inking the brayer and tracing paper.

Next, place the tracing paper ink-side down over the paper on which you want to print. From there, take a plain piece of paper or a drawing you’ve already done and put it down on top of the tracing paper. Use a pen to draw an image on the blank sheet of paper, or trace an image you’ve already drawn. Don’t draw too lightly — be sure to press the pen down. The ink will transfer from the tracing paper onto the bottom piece of paper where the image is being pressed by the pen. Amy cautions not to press too hard onto the paper with your fingers or the side of your hand or else you might transfer ink from the tracing paper onto other areas of your print.

Once you are done drawing and/or tracing (and therefore printing) the image, carefully lift the papers off of the print. If the ink is too heavy in places, you can try wetting a rag and dabbing it onto the ink to lift some of it off. Once you have your printed image, you can add extra colours with ink, paints, and/or other media. Be creative and experiment!

Whether or not your monoprints turn out as desired, Amy says to keep trying — it can take some practice. However, she also mentioned during the workshop that we shouldn’t immediately discount any of our art projects that don’t turn out as planned. On the contrary, Amy hangs her undesirable prints up on the wall. As she walks by them they give her ideas of what to do and what not to do the next time around. They inspire her the more she gets to know them, and she is continuously reminded that there is beauty in all art, whether or not we see it right away.

Happy monoprinting!

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Bookbinding with recycled materials

December 4, 2012 in Bookbinding, Books, Craft/Art | 1 comment

A few weeks ago I took a “Recycled Journal Workshop” at Inkwell Boutique. Rhonda Miller of MyHandboundBooks led the workshop, which focused on making books from recycled material or “junk,” as Rhonda says. Emma Fraser, at book and paper conservator at the University of Dundee in Scotland, created what she called “Secret Scottish Rubbish Binding” as a way to reuse materials that would normally end up in the trash can. When Emma met Rhonda at a bookbinding conference, she decided that it was time to divulge her “secret” and let Rhonda bring this unique and environmentally friendly form of bookbinding to Canada.

To make a recycled journal you need the following:

  • Scissors
  • Cutting knife
  • Bone folder
  • Cutting mat
  • Awl (or a thick needle with the eye pushed into a cork)
  • Two plastic bags (or one very large bag)
  • Recycled paper (scraps that are reusable/can be written on)
  • Box board (for example: cereal, beer, or cracker box)
Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

What you will need to make a recycled journal.

Cut your paper so that it is all the same height and width (my paper measured 5″ x 8″ so that, when folded, each page is 5″ (h) x 4″ (w)). Take six of the sheets and fold them together to make a book signature of twelves pages. Use the bone folder to get a nice, crisp fold. Repeat this step to make additional signatures. The recycled book I made had six signatures of six sheets each, which gave me a book with 72 pages (6 x 2 x 6).

Once you’ve determined the height and width of your pages, you can measure your book cover. The size of your book, of course, also depends on how large your box board is. If you use a small cracker box, you will need to make a small notebook. If you use a cereal box, on the other hand, you can make a larger book. The centre area of my front and back covers measure 5″ (h) x 4″ (w), but you should cut out twice that length plus an inch of box board so that you can fold each cover into three sections (below). The two pieces of box board that fold to the back of each cover should overlap each other.

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Making the front and back covers and stays.

With your leftover box board, cut out eight strips, or one for each signature as well as the front and back covers (above). These are called “stays” because they give the binding support by making it stay in place. These should measure the same height as your paper and be about 0.5 cms wide.

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Making the binding.

Rather than sew the book together, the recycled book is bound with plastic bag. Depending on how many signatures you are joining, you will want to use a long or large bag. Flyer bags like these Canadian Tire bags (above) are perfect! Please note that the bag binding will show, which means you may want to keep the colour of the bag in mind. I chose green bags to match the green Fruit Loops on my box board. The fold of the signatures will also be visible along the spine of the book, so rather than show white paper I used red paper for the outside sheet of each signature (shown below).

Cut your bag(s) so that you have two wide strips. For example, I cut each of the two Canadian tire bags (shown above) along one seam on the side and then along the bottom seam. This left me with two long, wide sheets of plastic. The width of each strip of plastic bag depends on the thickness of the bag. A blue Sears bag, for instance, uses a much thicker plastic than a flyer bag. Once you start binding, you’ll be able to tell if your bag is too thick and then trim it down accordingly.

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Plastic binding on finished book.

Choose which piece of your cut-up box board you want for your front cover. On the fold on the left-hand side of the front cover (with the front cover facing you), punch one hole into the box board with your awl one inch from the top. Go down the fold another inch and punch a second hole through the box board. Then punch a hole one inch up from the bottom, and another hole one more inch up from that. You should now have four holes on the left-hand fold of your front cover.

Take your blade and cut a line from the first hole to the second hole so that you have an inch-long slit. Do the same between the third and fourth holes. You should now have two inch-long slits on the fold of your front cover. Punching the holes before cutting helps to ensure that you don’t accidentally make your cut too long with the slip of the knife.

Repeat these steps with your back cover, but be sure to make your holes and cuts on the right-hand side fold of the back cover (with the face of the back cover facing you) or else your back cover will be upside down when you attach it to the signatures.

When you’re done cutting slits into the covers, repeat the same procedure for each of your signatures, making sure that the cuts on your front cover, signatures, and back cover match when all stacked together.

Now you’re ready to bind your book together. Take one of your strips of plastic bag, bunch it together lengthwise, and then feed it through one of the slits on your first signature, going from the outside in. Take the other strip of plastic bag, bunch it together, and feed it through the other slit, also going from the outside in. Pull each bag through the slit until there is about three inches left outside of the signature.

Both strips of plastic bag should now be through your first signature. Open the signature. Take one of your “stays” and place it in the crease of the open signature, next to the plastic bag. Then take your first strip of plastic bag, move it over the stay, and feed it back through the same slit it came out of. Do the same with your second plastic bag in the other slit. Tighten your bags around the stay so that it’s secure (below).

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Plastic bag binding around stay.

At this point, each strip of plastic bag should be back on the outside of your signature. Place your second signature on top of the first, and then take your plastic bags and weave them through the slits in your second signature. Tighten the bags so that your signatures sit snugly together. Add the stay and repeat with each signature until they have all been weaved together by the bags. Pushing the plastic bag through the slits in the box board can be tricky, but have patience. You can also use a pencil or your awl to push enough of the bag through the slit so that you can pull out the rest.

Once your signatures are bound together, you are ready to add the front and back covers. Take the pieces of plastic bag left hanging out of the final signature and weave them through the slits you made in your cover. Add a stay to the inside of your cover and then bring the plastic bags back through the slits in the box board (below).

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Inside fold of cover.

Once you’ve secured your stay in place, your plastic bag will now come out in between your cover and the signature to which the cover is attached (below).

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Adding the covers.

In order to hide the ends of the plastic bags, cut another slit in the cover about 3/4″ up from the slits that sit along the fold (above). Then weave each plastic bag through this second slit so that the space between the cover and the signature looks like this:

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Hiding the ends of the binding.

The inside of your cover (with the flaps open) should now look like this with the remaining pieces of plastic bag showing:

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Inside of cover.

If necessary, trim the remaining pieces of bag down a little bit, but not too much. Then secure the two folds of the cover together (to hide the ends of the plastic bag binding) by cutting opposite slits along the edges of the box board and fitting them together, like this:

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Attaching the two folds of the cover in order to hide and secure the binding.

Add the opposite cover to the signatures using the same steps as above with the 3″ strips of plastic bag you left outside of your first signature. And then you’re done!

Here’s the finished book: simple, unique, and environmentally friendly!

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Finished Book with box board cover, recycled paper book signatures, and plastic bag binding.

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Finished Book. Inside Pages.

Recycled Journal Workshop at Inkwell Boutique

Finished Book.

I’d like to thank Rhonda Miller from MyHandboundBooks for showing us Emma Fraser’s “Secret Scottish Rubbish Binding.” I’ll certainly think twice now before I throw out my trash.

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Christmas Craft & Letterpress

November 19, 2012 in Craft/Art, Current events, Letterpress | No comments

The Letterpress Gang is one again getting ready for the holiday season. Members are printing beautiful cards and baking yummy treats. If you’re in Halifax, Nova Scotia, please join us once again for the annual Letterpress Holiday Bazaar this coming Saturday, November 24th, between 12-5 p.m. at the Dawson Printshop, which is located at 1895 Granville Street.

The following weekend, on December 1st and 2nd, we will also be at the Halifax Crafters’ Winter Market between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Olympic Centre on the corner of Cunard and Hunter Streets.

Please come visit us at either (or both) of these events and see what we’ve been up to. We have greeting cards, posters, and more. Yummy treats may also be available (if we don’t eat them all first!).

Letterpress Gang 2012 Holiday Events

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