Book of the Harvest
March 2021
The Book of the Harvest was another solo binding, and I explored themes of reaping as well as designs that I aimed to balance between humble and earthly themes and the elevation of such concepts to a level of grandeur. I took lots of inspiration from gothic architecture for the cover.
This was my first project using wheat paste as my main binding agent, and for the techniques I use and how I incorporate my embroidery it simply didn’t pair well. The book was ultimately a successful bind but as most binders don’t include embroidery in their work and that was my main problem using such a slow drying adhesive as wheat paste (which takes hours). It was extremely difficult to form and hold the leather around the cover windows. I was drawn to the archival qualities of wheat paste and how well it adheres when applied properly so I was very sad when I discovered it was non compatible with my work.
The book is bound with handmade vintage cotton paper, red goatskin leather, and three embroidered pieces. The sewn pieces show three windows, all of which include a white gothic window border and a mix of cotton and silk sewn wheat. The cover includes tree like pillars and a scythe. The cutouts are also outlined with paper thin strips of black leather and pasted on with wheat paste. There are small adornments of 23 karat gold.
I still use wheat paste in small quantities today, mainly for outlines, like used here, or for small onlays on the spine or cover of a book.