Book-in-a-Day 45: Coptic Memory

Title: Coptic Memory
Structure: Coptic Bound Journal with Hard Cover
Dimensions:

Video of my process

I'm so excited that I made a Coptic stitched journal this week. I learned to bind a book using this method back in 2009 when I was a student at Mills College studying under Julie Chen. As soon as she taught it to us I fell in love with it. I think I made a total of four while in her class.

It's an easy stitch (once you've done it a few times) and I find that it's really great for art journaling because the spreads open flat. I think that is my favorite feature of this structure.

The other thing I like about this structure is that you can use as many signatures as you want and play around with the kind of paper you include.

I created one of these for my mother-in-law back in 2009. I never got to give it to her because she passed away the morning I was going to see her and hand deliver it. In her honor, I call the book Elegy, both for what the word elegy means and because her initials were LG and that just seems fitting -- "L--a--G".

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Elegy (for Linda)
Coptic Bound Journal with Watercolor Paper and Black Canson section dividers.
©2009, Kiala Givehand

So making this week's book was all about memory. I pulled out Elegy to remind myself of the stitch and how it looks and functions. That led to Damon and I reminiscing about his mom and her creativity. She was probably one of the most creative women I know. I even pay homage to her in book 20 -- The Women Who Raised Me.

The book I made this week, though, was really about remembering how to do the stitch so that I could start making more Coptic stitched books. As I started the process, I realized I needed a little refresher on the stitch, so I went to YouTube and watched this video by Sea Lemon (love her videos). This helped me recall the stitch and complete the book. I really put a lot of gel medium on the covers to hold down the many different papers I used to create the mosaic-styled cover.

Oh!!! I must mention that the covers are collaged with bits of art from my original prints. Some are Gelli Plate prints and some are prints I made during an art retreat with Traci Bautista.

It's always great to revisit a structure after being away from it for a while. I really LOVE sewing signatures (not sure why, but it brings me lots of joy). In true BIAD fashion, I created another Coptic journal the next morning (I've done this almost every week) for a silent auction to help raise money for a local elementary school in danger of closing.
Here's a few pictures of that one.

Blank Mixed Media Journal
Coptic Stitched with Hard Covers

I'm looking forward to what this week brings. Stay tuned! 

If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please share here or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site.