Making and creating

The notebook I made in Rye

The importance of practice

A wad of folded and sewn pages, a selection of sharp and pointy tools, glue, old magazines … These items have been sitting on my desk for more than a fortnight, the result of a peaceful day spent with Philippa East of the Rye Book and Paper Studio.

My creative urge is tempered by my lack of skill. I can’t draw and I hate sewing, but I love books and paper, and have dabbled in bookbinding for several years now.

Philippa showed me how to make a ‘flat-back case binding’, i.e. a notebook made of sections of paper sewn together and protected by hard covers. I spent a whole day making the notebook under her supervision and while the end result had flaws, I was nonetheless very pleased with it.

Of course, once back home I never seemed to have a spare day to make a notebook and I even experienced difficulties obtaining suitable paper, thanks to the postal and train strikes!

When I finally embarked upon the process I was amazed how much I had forgotten and how many mistakes I made, despite having been given notes to help me. Only by practising do you begin to feel comfortable with the necessary steps.

The means whereby

As Alexander says, it’s important to pay attention to the ‘means-whereby’, i.e. the process, rather than ‘end-gaining’, i.e. focussing on the end result. It is clear this first solo notebook will not be perfect, but in a way this has given me the freedom to make more mistakes and learn from them. I don’t think I’ll repeat them.

Self-care

Any craft demands self-care. I don’t want to hunch over the table and end up with a sore neck so I hinge at the hips and take frequent breaks. Being sensible helps too! I need good lighting, sharp knives, enough space to work, scrap paper to glue on, a non-slip ruler…

Sometimes I sit, other times I stand, always looking for the easiest way to balance and spread the load. Cutting through cardboard can be difficult and it’s imperative to apply firm but gentle pressure otherwise you risk cutting crookedly. Economy of effort is key.

All the senses

I particularly love the way all my senses are engaged when working with paper. You use your sense of touch to assess the grain direction, and to check the paper is smoothly stuck down. The paper has its own smell as does the wax used to smooth the linen thread. You can taste the thread when you lick it to help get it through the eye of the needle. (Be sure to lick before waxing the thread!) If the knife cutting through the paper is blunt, the sound won’t be quite right. But hearing the bone folder smoothing the creases is rather soothing. Your eyes assess your work and, best of all, choose the patterned paper and coloured thread.

Inhibition

Things will go wrong and you will make mistakes, but if you lose your temper the situation will worsen. As ever, inhibition gives you the freedom to choose: accept, repair, or start again …

Finally you have an object imbued with your effort and attention. You’ve decided exactly how it looks and you’ve touched every surface. Now it awaits your thoughts and experiences. Or maybe you’ll give it to someone – if it’s good enough!

At last I had a free day and finished the second notebook, making more mistakes as I went along, but satisfied in the knowledge the next one will be easier.