The woodblock diary of Alex Gillies…

The trick to doing something repeatedly is to make it easier the subsequent times you do it. The fun part of making things for me is the challenges I need to problem solve. Those two things don’t always happen at the same time which means it is often interesting how different the outcome usually is to the initial motivating thought.

Making small-run handmade books is really fun. All it is (no joke) is some paper, sticky tape, scissors and sometimes a needle and thread! This latest book has been made specifically to go with my solo exhibition next week and it was supposed to be a piece of cake! At least that’s what I was thinking a month ago.

The not to uncommon scenario occurred where the book kept getting slicker and fancier with each new design step but hey I’m not complaining, I love how much like an actual small book this one looks like. I’ve covered some copies in metallic grey Japanese parer and some in metallic blue Japanese Paper. I’ve built the Obi strip into the front cover and hand-bound the spine.

Inside the book are some of the newest woodcuts I’ve completed over the last 12 months. While I’d love them all to be original prints, the variance in size and shape of my woodcuts means that high-quality reproductions was the most practical way to showcase the works.    

Of course though It wouldn’t be right to not include an original print so you can see and feel the tactile nature of the image. The roughness, the embossing of the wood into the paper. A hand printed image is always far superior to something spat out of a machine. This print is in an edition of 20 and will only be made available with the book (which is obviously also an edition of 20). For those with good memories (or search skills of this blog), this little bird came to exist on a skateboard last year but seeing as that was a one off creation and I loved how the bird turned out, I’m using this book as an excuse to bring him back and one for myself to keep.

I will have all these at the opening night of my exhibition, next Thursday night 23rd from 6pm.  I will also have the last three copies of THIS book available on the night. More details have been put up on the Mild Manners site and of course there’s stuff on Facebook too.