Lovely papercraft video.

Via I Like Cool

I just watched this amazing new BBC documentary called “The Machine That Made Us”. Host Stephen Fry attempts to reproduce a Gutenberg press. There are no illustrations or plans of Gutenbergs original press, so Mr Fry visits the museums in Strasbourg and Mainz - and even gets to look through one of the original Gutenberg bibles! - to try to piece together what a Gutenberg press might have looked like. Along the way he makes paper, forges type and builds the press with a master woodworker. I wish he also met with a bookbinder, but this is a great documentary.

In the end they successfully print a few pages. I *love* BBC documentaries. They are SOOOO much better than anything you see on American TV. We own a TV, but don’t have cable or satellite, so I probably don’t know what I’m talking about, but whenever we watch BBC TV, we enjoy it. American cable TV, not so much. Junk food for your eyes.

If you’re into books & paper & type - I recommend this documentary. I live in the US so had to download it through a torrent site.

Here’s the official BBC page.

We love the Japanese director and artist Miyazaki and his wonderful films “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, My Neighbor Totoro”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Spirited Away” and the rest. Our daughter is a fan too, especially Howl’s Moving Castle. I found two paper craft models of the castle, one is from a book, now out of print, from Studio Ghibli itself, the other is a free download from the Japanese Epson site.

I’m saving this project for winter, when we have more time. I’ve already printed out the one from Epson, only 26 sheets, but the instructions are in Japanese. There is a rough English translation from a fan that’s a little helpful, but it’s still a daunting project. I’ve flipped through the printed pages and have my doubts whether I can do it or not.

Ben Millett crafted this Studio Ghibli version from the book and it looks great! He even made a time lapse movie of the process with the iSight on his laptop. Check it out here

Last Thursday, I finished the papercraft project I started about 3 weeks ago. Spending a couple of hours each night, I spent about 72 total hours, and watched 24 movies.

This is the Mother Of All Paper Craft Models and Ben has inspired me to actually tackle it someday. I think.

Ben’s flickr photos
Ben’s movie
The book

I just came across the work of Kinetic Sculptor Theo Jansen and I’m speechless. These are like nothing I have ever seen before, except in dreams from other planets. If you watch the videos at his website, you’ll see that these are meant to move by themselves by wind power alone. But they are so graceful! Amazing.

View more at strand beest
View more at YouTube

I could watch letterpress printing all day. Here’s a new video from YouTube, the only one I know with Fugazi in the soundtrack. You’ll learn new letterpress terms from this instructional video, like where “Mind your P’s & Q’s” comes from. Enjoy!

Direct YouTube Link

“You’re looking for yourself at the library”
Ray Bradbury

The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians through Film will be the first full-length documentary film to focus on the work and lives of librarians. Hooray for librarians! Who are those folks behind the glasses? Part parents, part teachers, part researchers and part mystery, what kind of lucky person gets to commit their life within the stacks of our local libraries?

Using the entertaining and appealing context of American movies, the film will hold some surprises for people who may think they know what librarians do. American films contain hundreds of examples of librarians and libraries on screen — some positive, some negative, some laughable and some dead wrong. Films such as Sophie’s Choice, Philadelphia and It’s a Wonderful Life show librarians as negative stereotypes. The librarians in Lorenzo’s Oil, Desk Set and The Shawshank Redemption, on the other hand, are competent and professional. Dozens of interviews of real librarians will be interwoven with movie clips of cinematic librarians and serve as transitions between the themes of censorship, intellectual freedom, children and librarians, pay equity and funding issues, and the value of reading.

I forgot that Mary turns into a spinster librarian in George Bailey’s alternate future when George wasn’t there to marry her. All things aside, I cry every time I see that movie. Just thinking about Zuzu’s proclamation, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings” tears me up.

Watch the trailer here.

Visit hollywoodlibrarian.com

This clip is from Martin Frost’s website, the British master of fore-edge painting today. Since he began in the 1970’s, Martin has painted more than 3000 fore-edge paintings. You can see from the video what a fore-edge painting is, but here is Wiki to explain it in more detail:

A fore-edge painting is a scene painted on the edges of the pages of a book such that the painting is not visible when the book is closed. In order to view the painting, the leaves of the book must be fanned, exposing the edges of the pages and thereby the painting. Generally, gilt or marbling will be applied by the bookbinder after the painting has dried so as to make the painting completely invisible when the book is closed.

What I love most about these are that they are hidden in plain view. I have seen only a few artists attempt fore-edge painting on book art, due to the fact that it is difficult to acheive. Does anyone have examples of book art fore-edge painting to share?

Visit www.foredgefrost.co.uk

Paper Money Week is over, so here’s a penny post…

How amazing is this? I just HAVE to do this some day. Very clever. The artist (who is it?) says, “I used 1,702 pennies to make a portrait of Lincoln. Sorting the coins took about seven hours, and making the image took just under six. May 2005.” Awesome, just aswesome.

Back in the movie days of black & white, when movie studio film scripts called for paper money, the art director simply ordered studio dollars from the prop room. Apparently, studios printed their own “fake” money to be used on-screen in place of the real thing. Makes sense - no point reprinting fake dollars everytime an actor has to throw a hundred one-dollar bills into the air.

Buy Studio Dollars here

This is a press-kit created to promote the Buena Vista film, “The Jungle Book 2″. It’s clever use of materials make it more than just a press piece, it literally is a “jungle” book. Or at the very least. a front lawn book.

I did something similar to this once in my first studio - when I worked alone - by covering a book with handmade paper which had seeds embedded in the pulp. All I can remember was the book growing to twice its size then emitting a reeking stench in my little book bindery. The book eventually found its way to the dumpster, but was fun to watch while it grew.

Via www.adverbox.com

No way!

Here’s a direct link to the video

The introduction of revolutionary new technologies can confuse some early adaptors.

I love this short documentary clip from Firerfly Letterpress in Somerville, Massachusetts. Filmmaker Chuck Kraemer provides a look inside the workings of a lively letterpress shop. He interviews Firefly proprietor John Kristensen, who offers a softspoken, but edgy, look at their present day letterpress operations. The equipment is beautiful. If you’re a machine junkie, you’ll love not only the letterpress machines themselves, but also the other equipment in the shop which actually forges new type.

John mentions running out of type, or “sorts”, as “out of sorts”. I didn’t know that was a letterpress reference. I was aware of “Mind your p’s & q’s” as a reminder to take care not to reverse letters (b’s & d’s, ect.)

More here
Via Black & White

This is different. An origamic-paper-folded-book-art project.

From Curbly
Via the Craft ‘Zine Blog

I’m sure you’re familiar with the 1000 journals project, where 1000 blank journals were set out into the world in random locations on 08/01/00 to be filled in, used, traded, passed on and generally admired. Well, there is a 1000 Journals Film in production, following the journalers and some of the journals - all but one are still in circulation. If anyone has a release date for the film, please let us know.

1000 Journals Film

“Exploring Origami” is the working title for a new video by Green Fuse Films documenting origami artists. It’s intent is to “…illuminate the beauty, complexity and powerful duality of origami in the 21st century, and the unexpected lives it shapes.” The film is currently in post-production but I don’t see a release date on the website. Soon I hope.

Origami artists are an interesting bunch. A little geeky, and I say that in a nice way. Mathematicians are using origami art and paper tessellations to illustrate mathematical equations in the physical world. This looks to be an interesting peek into the lives of paper artists.

High resolution trailer
Visit the Green Fuse Films website

OK. You’re going to have to sit through the first quarter of this little clip wondering why we posted it, but stick with it. It’s a slide show of unique paper art. Similar to Sue Blackwells work with books. I can’t find anything about this artist, and I’m not sure if the person who posted the video is even the original artist or not. Anyone know who this is?

Bre Pettis and Allison Kudla over at the Make Blog show us how to make a paper turkey. Can you imagine this made with Yuzen papers?

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers. We’ll be back with more posts over the weekend.

Visit the site
Watch the video
Download the instructions (pdf)

It looks like If’n Books, our bookbinding neighbors next door here in Pawtucket, Rhode Island have a little more fun at work than we do. Hats off for the craziest bookbinding demonstration video we’ve ever seen.