Many of you have seen my Coptic bound sketchbooks online or at workshops. They were the result of a wonderful workshop with Laurie Doctor at Cheerio and the realization that I had a myriad sheets of art papers that I’d accumulated from workshops and random studio projects. I decided to randomly tear those papers down, glue them to boards and include them in signatures created with Bugra, Ingres and Arches Text paper. The art papers became magical inspiration and the resulting Coptic bound books became great places to paint, draw, write and play. Soon I had half a dozen and often I had them with me at meetings and workshops.
Last summer, John Neal asked me to write a how-to article for Bound and Lettered (Vol. 10 No. 2) and subsequently Joyce Teta asked if I would teach a mini-class at this last Cheerio Calligraphy Retreat. What an honor to share with such an esteemed group of artists. They were an amazing group, creating all together twenty-four individual and original sketchbooks.
These small gems have become great places to play and a source of inspiration when the idea bank is running low.