Chapter 10 – Investigating book structures

This chapter of Module 4 opens up such an incredible realm of possibilities in book making that at first I felt overwhelmed. I have a tendency to get sidetracked all the time so I made up my mind to not indulge too much and concentrate on book structures that I feel I might use for the assessment piece at hand!
My inspiration for this piece is going to be the world of blogging, with its ever growing number of web pages interconnected by threads and links fanning out in every possible direction. This makes me think of a labyrinth so exploring the maze books comes to me as a natural choice. I find this kind of structures totally fascinating.
I used a wonderful book, COVER TO COVER by Shereen LaPlantz, to learn how to make them. I love how these books are born from a single sheet of paper folded and cut in different ways, their being complex and simple at the same time.
I used A4 sheets of cartridge paper weighing 120 grams in different colours to try out some suggested patterns, avoiding the most difficult with multiple cuts since I don’t want to end up with an impossible project!

Feeling a bit more comfortable with the folding, in the first sample underneath I stitched a booklet in the form of a B in the first fold. I used a running stitch forward and backward for four or five times leaving some loops on the outside. Of course other letters could be added. Another idea could be inserting small concertina books in the folds …
Sample 1


In this second fold book sample a used the Japanese technique of kirigami to open up areas in the folds, a bit like in pop up books. The thin strips might possibly work as “connections” jutting out of the pages. Perhaps they could be used as links to other fold books.
Sample 2


In this third sample I cut some pages as frames and used a rather thick paper yarn to make loops and connections. The small “leaves” at the end of the yarn are obtained by unrolling the yarn by wetting it. I like this paper yarn since it keeps its loops well and is also in keeping with the paper theme.
Sample 3


This fourth sample shows a maze book with the addition on top of a simple concertina book (on the right) and of folded pages (on the left). These additions are joint to the main book by means of slits and help in making the maze book “grow” in another direction. I like this idea and would like to explore it further.
Sample 4


These two little samples show other simple ways to create “connections” On the left a ribbon is laced in and out of a concertina in the way of a Venetian blind, while on the right flags are pasted on both sides of the concertina folds and so go in opposite directions when the concertina is open.
Sample 5 and 6

        
In this other sample I tried a double concertina (they are linked by means of slits). This concept could be used as a book in itself or as a reinforced spine for bigger books.
Sample 7

This last sample is my indulgence towards another book form, the TUNNEL BOOK. These books are very fascinating with their telescopic effect, so I wanted to see how they are made!  I prepared three paper grids and pasted them one after the other between two concertina sides. I do not know yet if I am going to develop this theme. If not for this Module perhaps in some other form
 Sample 8