Out of Circulation
👉 First finished book of 2022!
Read more about the book-making plan for 2022 and 2023 here.
There are times when I sort through collaging papers and a theme or trend jumps out and a pile starts. Out of Circulation started as a stack of pages and endpapers collected from “withdrawn” library books that were ripped, torn, scribbled in, or otherwise roughed up enough to force the book into retirement. (One of the books marked “discarded” came home with me in high school after I was told to toss it in the dumpster. Uh, no.)
This was my first attempt at bookbinding that went beyond my usual method of folding or stapling. I used bluish-gray waxed linen thread and stab-stitching instructions from the wonderful How to Make Books by Esther K. Smith. I really enjoy how simple and tidy it ended up looking:
Since 2022 officially become the year of book-making, I’m pretty pleased that the first completed book celebrates… books. Even if they’re books that someone thought were ruined. Especially if they’re books that someone thought were ruined. And it’s stuffed with other personal favorites too: library due date cards, aged paper in pretty colors, stamping, vintage illustrations, weird kid scribbles, etcetcetcetcetc.
The group of thumbnails looks pretty neat, but you can also flip through the pages one at a time in the gallery below.