Vol. 38, No. 18

3-14-2006
By: Susan Wittstock Dalzell

Handmade books get fresh start at Ohio State

Handmade books get fresh start at Ohio State

In the basement of Thompson Library, old books are tended to — repaired and cleaned and made fresh again by the libraries' conservation staff so that new generations of readers can open their pages.

This quarter, deep in the bowels of the basement, new books are being created — stitched and glued and folded by students in a book crafting seminar taught by Robert Tauber, book arts specialist with the OSU Libraries.

"Such Sensations: The Structure of Handmade Books" is Tauber's opportunity to impart to a small group of students the joys of constructing a book by hand. "It's about finding that perfect relationship between form and content," he said. "We deal with books here as hand-held art."

The two-credit-hour class meets Wednesday afternoons for two hours, with additional time scheduled for labs. Through guest speakers, presentations and discussions led by Tauber, the students are introduced to different styles of bookmaking and given guidance on creating a book of their own. The class culminates in a small exhibition showing off their finished books to one another and library staff.

For a recent session, six students were seated on a random assortment of chairs at two tables in their basement classroom. Tauber reclined on an orange chair on wheels, but frequently jumped up to grab book samples he could use to illustrate a point.

Dale Starr, who is the former operator of the Ohio Village printing shop and is auditing the course, was first to present his book-in-progress: an accordion-style book that features photographs taken by his 18-year-old daughter. Starr opened the book and it unfolded, upright, across the table, revealing six black panels, each with a photograph. When he turned it around, there also were photographs on the other side.

"I had to make a book, so why not for her?" Starr said. The photographs were all self-portraits by his daughter of her wearing a Marilyn Monroe-style wig and dressed in her grandmother's 1950s dresses.

Other projects shared included a 3-D book with four sections that fold out into a star shape and a book that presents an imaginary history of what prehistoric Ohioans ate. The latter will be compiled by inserting the pages into a groove carved into a walnut branch, with the front and back covers made from bark paper.

Courtney Jacobs, a recent graduate with a degree in English, needed help figuring out how to construct her children's book so that 3-D "googly eyes" on the watercolor illustrations wouldn't make the pages bulge. Jacobs is using the class to remake a book she made in high school about what happens to missing socks. Tauber encouraged her to focus. "Don't make this book do everything you've ever wanted to do," he said. "There's plenty of time later to make lots of books with lots of other concepts."

As each student presented, their classmates and Tauber offered feedback and advice on how to proceed. To make their books, the class has learned skills that range from sewing to painting to computer design. "People get into this and find they have to learn how to do different things," Tauber said. "You get an idea and then have to figure out how to do it."

Tauber previously directed Logan Elm Press & Paper Mill, which was OSU's Arts-of-the-Book Laboratory for the Department of Art Education, from 1979 to 1995. The press was started up again this year under the umbrella of the University Libraries Preservation Office. In addition to using two proofing presses, housed at a Kinnear Road facility, to create limited-edition folios and books, Tauber is directing an interdisciplinary publications program that offers courses under the Logan Elm Press imprint.

Each page of every book produced on the presses must be guided by hand through the roller, and if more than one color of ink is used, the page may be sent through multiple times. It is a time-consuming method more modern technology has made obsolete for widespread use. But there will always be people who admire the beauty of handmade books. "My idea is that all old technologies become art forms," Tauber said.

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