Episodes
Monday Feb 07, 2011
Episode 61: Emura's Book
Monday Feb 07, 2011
Monday Feb 07, 2011
I asked a friend who happens to be a graphic artist to make me a logo for this blog and she did. Here it is in black and here it is in red. It's got the word Tedorigawa in Japanese. In Japanese it's 手取川. The te is 手, which is on the top; the dori is 取, which is the face; and the gawa is 川 which is the smile and cheeks. Cool, eh?
In thanks, I made her this book with her name on the front. It's a blank notebook with about 160 pages in a case bound book. The covers are made of black, wrinkly paper that is kind of thick, green book cloth, and the yellow and red papers that are under the artist's name. It is also the first book to have the logo in it. An historic first! This is actually the second book I've given her. The first one was another blank book with her picture on the inside front cover.
Wednesday Feb 02, 2011
Episode 60: Red Kanji
Wednesday Feb 02, 2011
Wednesday Feb 02, 2011
I found this red and gold kanji-esque paper in my local paper shop (conveniently located by a major bus stop) which I decided was too good for endpapers and not useful as text-block paper so I put it on the cover. These blanks notebooks, the smaller two with the black book cloth on the spine, are 128 pages. As is the smaller red one without the black book cloth on the cover. The larger one is a novel.
The novel is called The Priests of Hiroshima. Perhaps in the picture below you can see the kanji a bit better. The novel is about a medical student, a Japanese university student and a talking cat that shows them how to traipse through time. They meet a priest who challenges Gutenberg. The priest meets a nun. Is the med student the priest or the nun? Love and revolution ensue. In fact, the subtitle is An Historical Love Story.
There is nothing about the actual priests of Hiroshima in the entire book, I believe. I haven't read it in a while but I did write it. The P and the H on the front have to do with, yes, Priests and Hiroshima.
The Priests of Hiroshima is a sequel of sorts to Calvado, A Deadly Love Story, a novel about the same medical school student involved with a singer who has a deadly secret about love.
Both Calvado and The Priests of Hiroshima are available in One Volume. Click on For Sale to find out more. And now, obviously, The Priests of Hiroshima is available as a solo adventure.
Saturday Jan 22, 2011
Episode 59: The Mini Fish
Saturday Jan 22, 2011
Saturday Jan 22, 2011
As promised: Audio for The Mini Fish is up.
At the end of making a few books (see below for the Islamic Wave book and the New Year book, plus others upcoming in future episodes... Wait, you can't scroll down to see future episodes.)
After completing a few books, I had a lot of leftover scraps of paper, thread, and a small bit of glue. I decided to make a small book in order to use up the leftovers. Waste not, want, eh? Naturally, what I thought was going to be a project to consume leftovers turned out to be a project that produced More Leftovers. Considering the size of the Mini Fish book, it was quite frustrating trying to reduce & recycle only to end up with more garbage.
The problem that arose was I decided on the size of the book based on some leftover bookboards I had. A little trimming (some waste) and they were square. Then I needed paper for the pages. I trimmed some leftover paper (more waste). When I went to gather my endpapers, I chose a leftover sheet and, yes, trimmed it (more waste). And there was a mistake or two.
The Mini Fish Book is 184 mm x 75 mm with 10 pages folded in thirds so that each page is wider by a third than the book itself. Casebound with, I think, very nice endpapers that are just bit askew.
As I think about it, the Mini Fish book is not a book for mini fish (Mrs Paul's?) as the Islamic Wave book is not about sports enthusiasts standing and sitting in staggered unison. It's a mini book with a fish on the back cover. The cover is actually a recycled bag that some food (a fish-shaped piece of pastry) came in. Without the pastry in it, of course.Music on the audio is Something Else by The Drowning Hundred
Tuesday Jan 18, 2011
Episode 58: The Islamic Wave Book
Tuesday Jan 18, 2011
Tuesday Jan 18, 2011
Recently I have been looking at other ways to bind a sheet of papers and I ran across the Islamic style. This has a flap over the front edge to protect it from wear and tear. Often used with qurans and other books the binder felt needed protection. This book, to your left, is my first attempt. It's about 128 pages of 8 signatures of four sheets each, I think.
The paper is a Japanese-style paper I picked up at a local paper shop (recently opened) and not the cheapest pulp in the place. But it looks nice, along with the green bookcloth. I also combined the same wave-y paper with black bookcloth on the spine to make a birthday present for a friend: another blank notebook of about 128 pages
As you might be able to see from the photos, the Islamic bound book is A5 and the birthday book is B6. This year's New Year's resolution is to bind more in more different styles and get more expertise under my hat. Perhaps this is a good start. My current project is another birthday present: Islamic binding, again, with more pages.
Monday Jan 03, 2011
Episode 57: New Year New Book
Monday Jan 03, 2011
Monday Jan 03, 2011
Today being the first episode since the last one, I must gleefully report that I made one book and repaired another one. First, the repair job. One of my small green blank notebooks had a problem: the endpapers were falling out - not enough glue or the wrong kind. I ripped it off, glued it back, and counted myself an accomplished soul.
Next, the new book. To call it a book is a misnomer because it has about 16 pages. It contains a work of fiction, however, so it could be a book. The fiction is called
"The Box"
about a boy who wakes up in a box. He spends the day in his box until, as publishing marketing corporate types would say, He Learns a Valuable Lesson.
What did I learn from making "The Box"? Planning. Again. You'd think I'd learn after a few years that planning is kind of important. Measuring is kind of important, too, if you're not going to use standard sized paper.For those of you who listened to Tedorigawa Bookmakers: Check out this link for the axolotl and Lake Xochimilco: Link
Friday Oct 01, 2010
Episode 54: Workflow
Friday Oct 01, 2010
Friday Oct 01, 2010
I was daydreaming during an important work-related meeting and got to thinking about the workflow of making books. Then I started organizing my workflow. Since I don't bind books full-time, I need to separate the different stages of binding in order to make maximum efficient use of my time. Here is what I've got working for me now.
First, I cut and fold the signatures, then I sew them. In the past four days I've sewn four blank notebooks that I plan to casebound. Next, I measure and cut the book boards, although I'm thinking of buying a supply of pre-cut boards just to save some time. The two things I don't have are time and space. Third, I glue the mull on the books and the book cloth to the book boards, thus I have an entire stage of production dedicated to using glue. My fourth step is to glue the book boards to the signatures without screwing up the endpapers. This is a challenge. The main challenge.
This is a relaxing way to make books, I think. In the evenings, instead of vegging out in front of the boob tube, I click on 'classical' on iTunes radio and sew signatures together with Mozart. Well, he's not actually sewing signatures with me. After a frustrating day at work, this is a nice way to relax. Plus, by sewing just one book a day, in five days I have five books. Better, I think, than cramming it all into one marathon sewing day. In the picture above right, you can see six books ready for their covers: four blank B6-size notebooks (on top) and two A5-size novels: The Priests of Hiroshima - A Modern Love Story From 1453 to 2007 by me and This is Life - A Jack Palms Novel by Seth Harwood. This Is Life has its mull already attached - it has been in the production process for quite some time and I hope to finish it this month. (Wishful thinking, eh?) On your right is another view with the novels open and the four blank notebooks providing moral and physical support. You probably can't see any of the words of these two great novels, but mine is on the left and Harwood's is on the right. I think. This Is Life is a crime/mystery novel. It's the second part of the Jack Palms series with Jack Wakes Up being part one. You can see more of his work, and download free audio, from his website: http://sethharwood.com/ The Priests of Hiroshima is a time-traveling love story between a priest in 1453 and a book shop clerk and a parallel love story between a medical student who has been suspended for practicing medicine and a Japanese tourist. They all meet in an ancient book shop in Istanbul - meaning both the books are old and the shop is old, too. This is part two of the medical student's story with Calvado: A Deadly Love Story being the first (a murder/what's going on novel). Both are available in one handy volume on this very site. For a pittance- considering it's a one of a kind book.Thanks for dropping by. See you next week.
New Audio is Now Up. Enjoy, especially if you like steampunk sounds.
Sunday Aug 22, 2010
Tedorigawa 53: Sixty
Sunday Aug 22, 2010
Sunday Aug 22, 2010
For the first time in a couple of months - actually almost four months - I made a couple of books. The first one was a mess. What did I expect after a four month layoff? You can't just jump into the deep end of the pool and expect to ride a bicycle. (What?)
My plan was to make a Chinese stab-binding blank notebook with colored thread. A couple of errors were made. By me, of course. First, holes on the wrong side of the paper - I was using printer paper that was going to be thrown away. I folded it over but punched the holes in the closed side when they should've been on the open edge. After re-sewing it correctly I managed to tear the thread. I added tassels because it looked neat and makes it fun to use. Blank notebook, 60 pages, A5 in size.
Book Two was simpler and easier to make. Again, printer paper that was going to be thrown away folded over once and then chopped in half to make an A6-sized pad of paper which is being used to celebrate the number that is 60. Why? Because 60 has a lot of characteristics that other numbers don't have.
It's a composite number with 12 divisors - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60. It's also a highly composite number, a unitary perfect number, a semi-perfect number and is the smallest number divisible by the numbers 1 to 6. Finally, 60 is the sum of a pair of twin primes (29 + 31), and the sum of four consecutive primes (11 + 13 + 17 + 19).
Back to the book: A6-sized paper using a modified Daifuko Cho binding - holes in the top so a merchant could write the day's profit just by lifting up the top and then hanging the book on hook by his bed. Or desk, if he's not weird. Sixty-six pages. The Japanese on the cover is, of course, 60 - pronounced roku-ju six-ten = sixty.
Monday Jul 12, 2010
Tedorigawa 52: Santa Reparata
Monday Jul 12, 2010
Monday Jul 12, 2010
What is Santa Reparata in Florence, Italy? It's your basic International Art school that teaches, among other subjects:
- Digital Imaging - Photography
- Drawing - Painting
- Creative Writing, Literature, Journalism
- Design: Fashion, Jewelry, Textile
- Italian, Music appreciation, Politics and Social Science
•••
That said, my goal for this summer is to make three books: an accordion book with a series of short short stories, a blank journal with a funky cover, and a couple of novels that may or may not be for sale. The other two will, of course, be up for the highest bidder. I mean, isn't the purpose of bookmaking to make enough money to go to Italy to study bookbinding? Of course it is.
Tuesday Apr 06, 2010
Episode 48: Entrance Ceremony Book
Tuesday Apr 06, 2010
Tuesday Apr 06, 2010
This is the fourth book I've made in the last few days that has improved my making of books like this. Which only makes sense. I'm getting better at making them faster, too. I've worked out a production schedule that streamlines the process: folding, sewing, gluing the text block and measuring, cutting, and gluing the covers.
This is the "Entrance Ceremony Book" It is B6 in size (7 and a half inches by about 5+ inches for you Americans), as are the other books I've made in the past few days. There are 10 signatures of five sheets each for a total of 200 pages. The other books were 100 pages but felt too slim. With 200 pages it looks more like a, uh, book. The cover paper is a nifty paper I found in a paper shop. Very Japanese-y, don't ya thunk? The endpapers are a thick paper I had assembled in a previous life - a pale yellow-ish endpaper that matches some of the color in the cover.
Why "Entrance Ceremony Book?" Because the day I finished it was the day I attended an entrance ceremony for a high school. (Since school starts in April here.) And I figured, what better name for a book? Plus, I can give it to someone who is starting school next year - unless they've discovered computers, cell phones, and apps.
Monday Mar 29, 2010
Episode 47: The Productive Weekend
Monday Mar 29, 2010
Monday Mar 29, 2010
This weekend, a three-day affair for Tedorigawa, we put together three blank notebooks. Unfortunately, many mistakes. Each notebook is five signatures of five sheets each for a total of 100 pages B6 size; handy and useful. Fits in any pocket. Book One "Red and Black" has a thin cover, too thin for the glue, and a white stripe down the left side. The Front has a yellow label on it not unlike Japanese texts. From this we learned not to use thin boards for the cover.
The second, a rather charming monocolor number, has bare book boards save for three yellow strips of bookcloth holding it together. It also has a green interior paper cover to keep it together. Our third attempt utilized a cornucopia of leftover bookcloth to make a charming Piet Mondrian-esque cover. Nicely put together, if I do say so, except for those Blasted EndPapers! Why?! Why!? Are those Endpapers so Hard to get? Actually, this weekend and these three notebooks were an experiment to see if I could:- A) get the endpapers right and
- B) Time how long it took me to make a notebook.