This was the third cover of the “off white” themed series.  For some reason, this one didn’t turn out as the rest, to fix it, I cut out shapes of wings from different papers and adhered them randomly to the surface using a semi-translucent mixture of acrylic medium and Titan Buff paint.  After it dried, I sanded it slightly.  On the back, you can see that the gold of the joss paper has come through.I read in a magazine or multi-media book that you can do photo transfers by printing on photo paper with an inkjet printer, then pressing the fresh print face down on a thin layer of gel medium.  It looked really cool in the book, so I tried it, first scanning an image from an audobon print, then preparing the surface of the cover with a thin layer of translucent medium.

It did not work. At all.  None of the ink came off onto the paper, and when I lifted the print up, some of the papers came up as well.  Best it did was leave a faint greenish yellow stain on the lower edge of the paper.  Maybe it would work if I were to do it on a smooth, flat sheet of paper, but that’s extremely limiting.

Once I’d finished swearing and complaining, I let the photo dry, and then decided I could salvage some of it. I cut out both the birds on the print, and chose one of them which looked like it would fit on the finished cover.  I cut out some circles of other paper, to make a halo and keep the bird from feeling too framed.  You can still feel and see the rough texture from the acrylic paint that stuck to the surface of the photo.

In keeping with the bird theme, I sewed the feather on the back. I think it’s a dove feather, from an acquaintance who keeps doves as pets.

Despite the botched photo-transfer technique, I feel that this book cover works.  My only complaint is that the paper isn’t as sturdy and flexible as cloth, so on the edges of the cover, it’s torn and will probably fray.  I have a person in mind to give this book to, and I hope she doesn’t mind that it will quickly become even more worn as it’s used.

When I made these three books, I meant to have  a theme of off-white covers. This one started as gesso brushed over off white muslin, with stamps impressed into it for texture. You can see the faint image of a bird in the lower right hand corner of the cover. After the gesso dried, I used interference paints to give the surface some depth. Interference paints don’t show up well in photographs.  They basically make the book have a sheen of color when viewed from a certain angle.

For the cover, I first started by cutting some scraps of Chinese brocade and ironing them under so that I could sew some down to the cover without the edges fraying. I knew I wanted a tactile focal point, so I took an old car key and sanded it until it shone. Then I painted it with alcohol based inks, which stick to non-porous surfaces.  Once I’d sewn the brocade down, I sewed the key on top of it.

On the back, I placed a collection of antique keys on the bed of my scanner and scanned it. In some ways, this is even better than a photograph, as long as the pieces are flat.  I printed it on laser transfer paper, then cut the shapes out wiht a razor blade.  I debated cutting out the shadows, but in the end decided to draw them back in with colored pencil.  This time, I used acrylic medium both under and on top of the images, so hopefully they will stick.

Not shown in this photo: on one of the inside pages is yet another laser transfer of a key.  I’m wondering if the adheseive sheets that I got (which I assumed went with the temporary tattoos I bought at the same time) were really supposed to go with the laser transfer sheets as well?

This would have, should have been my favorite book cover.  I started by stamping gesso designs onto muslin, and then using a wash of buff paint to bring out the details.  Since the background was so plain, I went to my old files and found a photograph I had taken last year of my yard of California poppies.  I printed out one of the better photographs on lasertransfer paper, cut a window out of it, and transferred the photo to the muslin.

Here’s what I’ve discovered about laser transfer paper. It does the laser part fine, but the transfer doesn’t stick.  In the future, I’ll try to use a layer of acrylic medium under it or something. Not only does the photograph not stick very well to the muslin, but the acryilic paint on top doesn’t stick very well either, and is peeling off like an unprimed wall.  Very frustrating.

For the detail on the front, I used an epoxy sticker of a clock face and stuck it down to a circle I’d cut out of the remaining laser transfer paper. This one does stick, since I put glue underneath it.

Before I glued the cover to the book blank, I sewed the braided cord around the perimeter for depth. I also sewed on a strip of orange cloth to use as a bookmark. I had been planning on using a red glass bead as part of the design, but nixed it.

On the back cover, when I was doing a wash of translucent buff paint, I used stamps in the wet paint to create further depth and detail.

The most disappointing part of this project was the laser transfer paper.  I’ve heard other people rave about using it in mixed media projects, and perhaps for a purely ornamental piece it is fine, but my books are meant to be functional.  In time, with even moderate use, the paint and photo will flake off, leaving only a beige muslin cover with some braided cord for detail.

For this book cover, I started with orange printed calico over paper, and again did Rorschach-like blobs of black gesso on it.  I wanted to try a photo transfer onto colored paper, so I chose a blue square with brown seedpods printed on it.  The transfer worked fairlywell, and I glued it to the orange background, then used a thin wash of gold acrylic paint to tie it together. In retrospect, I shouldn’ t have used such thick paper to do the photo transfer on, because the resulting cover wouldn’t bend easily over the head and foot of the spine.  It’s messy, and I’m not happy with that part.

The angel statue image was dramatic enough that it felt done with an orange and a blue butterfly (the cut-out and the stamp) to make the front and back of the covers cohere stylistically.

For the cloth of this book, I used thin, rainbow tie-dyed cotton.  I added black gesso just as I did to the other two books in this series.  Again I wanted to experiment with photo transfers, so I transferred the images of a poritco (front cover) and gate (back cover) using acrylic medium.  I love these images, but didn’t want to just leave it at that.

I had the inside of the crow from the stencil, so I adhered it to the cover, hoping it would serve as a focal point.  Unfortunately, it got lost in all that black, so I did the spiral design with red paint marker.  Then, to make sure the edges didn’t buckle from the glue, I laid wax paper over it and put a weight on it. Uh oh. The edges of the crow stuck to the wax paper, and lost some of their culture. I”m not sure if this is a bug or a feature, but I’m leaning toward the former. Not yet sure how to fix it, but I may yet tinker with this.

The metal work on the back was to satisfy my “stuff for the fingers to feel” urge. I started with medium weight aluminum sheeting, and looked up latin phrases on the internet. I think this one means something like “I strive to improve.” Latin isn’t just for webtemplates anymore!  After I found a good, short, phrase, I picked a font from my calligraphy book and used my incising tools to impress the metal.  The glue on the back should keep it from flattening too badly, I hope.  The inks are alcohol-based inks, good for non-porous surfaces.  I believe that with time the ink will get rubbed off everywhere but the letters.