John DeVylder

Imperfectly Perfect

Book Arts, book binding

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Using scraps, leftover sheets and misprints from old screen printing projects and re-purposing orphaned pads of bristol and drawing papers, I have started to make sketch books of a more manageable, and convenient size than the large pads of art school’s past. The thread reinforced glue (or perfect) binding that I have been experimenting with is sturdy and allows the book to lay flat without a wonky spiral/wire-o binding or the spread gap that goes with it.

As I tend to draw in a sketchy fashion and rework the drawings a lot either to get to a better rendering or to better formulate an idea, having a thicker, multi-ply drawing surface suits me more than typical text weight notebook paper. Although small, these sketch books are substantial—the thick covers provide support and the paper is suitable for a range of media. I’m trying to keep the look and construction of these books utilitarian. However, beyond function I’m bringing some style to the bindings through thread color and spacing and am starting to experiment with fore edge coloring to make these things unique.

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