Large heart book ....

The last few weeks have been ... fun, very productive and pretty manic,  I have had so very little time to document my new work. So here are a few pictures of my largest Heart book, cut from one of my A4 book-blocks  ... I am both delighted and a little sad that she was with me for such a short time ... 

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Adventures with Allium Cepa

 In between bouts of feverish making, in preparation for the Saltaire Arts Trail,  I have been surreptitiously: purchasing mordants, scouring linen threads and brewing onion dyes .... I even called into action a rusty Victorian iron, found buried in the back garden, washed off the mud and popped it in a bucket of water to make an iron mordant  (apologies for the poor pun). Here are the results ......

... oh! Exciting news! ....  my woad seeds have sprouted ... so we are all on nightly slug patrol to stop the slimy blighters eating my stash.  Huge thank you to Claire Wellesley-Smith for introducing me to this fascinating process!

Bookbinding Workshop 6th July 2013

Workshop Full
Please contact me if you would like first dibs at my next workshop ... date tbc 

Wow! I am a little overwhelmed at the speed with which my June workshop booked up. Thank you chaps! 

So I would like to offer a third bookbinding workshop in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. The workshop will take place in the Art room above the Art Shop on Saturday 6th July.

During this workshop, I will guide you through the process of making your very own “Open Spine” hand-bound notebook, which you can then take home and enjoy. All abilities are welcome as I will endeavour to adapt the workshop to your requirements.

All materials and specialist equipment will be provided. If you have any special fabric or paper you would like to include then please bring them along too. We will also have access to the materials in the art shop at a discounted price (% tbc). It will be like having our very own arty larder!

Coffee and tea will be provided, but please bring your own packed lunch. If we're feeling a bit flush, we could always pop up the road to the world-renowned Betty's Tea Room.

The Art Shop,  Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9DU (on the corner of Hawksworth Street, facing onto Leeds Road - a brisk two-minute walk from the train and bus stations).

Please contact me via katehbowles@gmail.com  for further information or to book a place. I will be asking for a £10 deposit at the time of booking to confirm your place on the workshop.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Kate x

Please note that the building is pretty old and the staircase to the art room is a little steep, and may therefore be inaccessible to people with a mobility issue.

Bookbinding workshop 22nd June 2013

Workshop Full
Please contact me if you would like first dibs at my next workshop ... date tbc

Due to popular demand I would like to offer a second bookbinding workshop in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. The workshop will take place in the Art room above the Art Shop on Saturday 22nd June.

During this workshop, I will guide you through the process of making your very own “Open Spine” hand-bound notebook, which you can then take home and enjoy. All abilities are welcome as I will endeavour to adapt the workshop to your requirements.

All materials and specialist equipment will be provided. If you have any special fabric or paper you would like to include then please bring them along too. We will also have access to the materials in the art shop at a discounted price (% tbc). It will be like having our very own arty larder!

Coffee and tea will be provided, but please bring your own packed lunch. If we're feeling a bit flush, we could always pop up the road to the world-renowned Betty's Tea Room.

The Art Shop,  Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9DU (on the corner of Hawksworth Street, facing onto Leeds Road - a brisk two-minute walk from the train and bus stations).

Please contact me via katehbowles@gmail.com  for further information or to book a place. I will be asking for a £10 deposit at the time of booking to confirm your place on the workshop.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Kate x

Please note that the building is pretty old and the staircase to the art room is a little steep, and may therefore be inaccessible to people with a mobility issue.

Natural Dyes

Lucky lucky me .. I spent yesterday dying threads, with natural dyes, in the studio of the very talented Claire Wellesley-Smith. Picture a cellar studio with an old range and numerous Kilner jars filled with: unidentified floaty organic things, rusty nails and even a bit of copper piping. I now have the most beautiful stash of naturally dyed threads and a brain bubbling over with ideas for new books ... oh and a new appreciation of the lengthy process and skill required to make these dyes ... off to plant some woad!

Linen thread for my books: 

... and my stash of assorted threads: silk, coarse linen and cotton