In a pandemic, it's easy to tap into bookbinding bliss

The book on books

The world outside remains frightful, so no better time to duck between the pages and learn about where books came from and how you might make some yourself—or just take an immersive trip to China including fabulous meals, cross-cultural fun, thousands of miles of sights, and falling down a Beijing manhole.

Visit the dedicated website here for more details on my book, China Under the Covers: A Binder's Journey to the Roots of Books.

Wishing you all health and happiness even more than usual.

Coming soon: How to bind a USB drive. The visual teaser:

When camp resumes, Athenas stand ready

Scripps Camp didn't happen in 2020, like so many things, but scrolling through these pics from camp in the summer of 2019 gave me the warm feels all over again. These humanities babes proved to be naturals at the bench, many doing twice the books expected. May we all become bookbinders, if only for an hour.

Before corona came, Chinese bookbinding packed a lecture hall

Attendees of my "Heavenly Head, Earthly Foot" lecture in
January get ready to uncover thousands of years of bookbinding. Most photos this post by Joan McGuire

As part of the long-running lecture series First Saturday PDX, I brought my presentation regarding the evolution of the world's oldest communications device to Portland State University on Jan. 11, seemingly before time stopped for the rest of the year.

A curator from the renowned Freer Gallery in D.C. came, as did a fellow who grew up among monk bookbinders in rural Oregon, and then there were the Asian Studies students, the Sinophiles of all ages, the former Beijing Scene comrade, newsfolk of my alma mater (one of whom, Joan McGuire, took these pictures), tango dancers (!), and so many people interested in books, adventure, and all the connections we can make across cultures and eras.

Afterward, we continued the conversation over delicious dishes in Chinatown. I had so much fun sharing my story that I look forward to doing it all over again for a similarly minded group in Montana early next year.

After the First Saturday PDX lecture at Portland 
State, people flocked to get their hands on history.

Paper over those flaws for one-of-a-kind furnishings

A bench with a trashed top became a marvelous opportunity to create yet another piece of chiyogami furniture! I just had to try again, taking full advantage of the full length of a gorgeous recurring scene of clouds and waves. 

Surf's up, and my bench gets a whole new artful life.