East Wind

This archival, hand-sewn journal/sketchbook is made from 80 gsm Mohawk Superfine archival paper stitched with Irish linen thread in the linked pattern that dates back to the ancient Copts. This stitch allows the book to lay open easily at any page.

 This book’s endbands are brown and yellow cotton, and its bookmark is calfskin.  Its spine is covered in blue Buckram, and its boards are wrapped in paper that was hand silk-screened in Japan in the factories where kimono fabric is printed.

 Treasure binding began with monks in the 6^th Century who would encrust volumes with jewels. During the Renaissance, there was a resurgence in treasure binding. This is a contemporary revival of the treasure binding in which a lucky charm has been embedded in the cover of this book.  

 The talisman in this journal is an early 20^th Century Bakelite Mah Jong piece signifying the East Wind. In Chinese mythology, the East Wind drives progress.  Invite that breeze, and let it become a gale.

This book is roughly 6 x 9” with a few more than 150 blank pages.