Longstitch with Dan Essig- Book 121

Friday I had the opportunity to take a workshop with Dan Essig at Small Studio in Westlake.  Dan is an artist that makes sculptural books and is well known in the world of book arts.  He has taught all over the country and had his work featured in publications including 1000 Artists' Books (the photo on the lower left of the cover is his.)  You can learn more about Dan and his artwork at www. danielessig.com

The workshop was about longstitch binding.  I learned how to do the binding called Italian longstitch, and made my first ever leather book.  Longstitch bindings involve sewing the pages directly to the cover (in this case leather.)  After assembling the book, he showed us how to add tintypes to the book as a decorative element and to provide a place for a magnet closure.

I had a wonderful time learning from Dan and I love longstitch binding!  You can expect to see more longstitch journals from me in the future...