Book Binding and Marbling Paper

Contextual Factors

                  This lesson is taking place in rural Union City High School.  The student population consists of 98% Caucasian students.  50% of the students at Union City High School also qualify for free and reduced meals at the school.  The total number of students at the school is roughly 400 in grades 9-12.  The art room is very well equipped and the department has a very large budget for such a small school.  The school offers classes in drawing/painting, weaving, ceramics, stained glass, arts and crafts, graphic design, and more.  There are two very large storage closets and a ton of cupboard space for storage.  There is an electric kiln and two wheels for ceramics class; there are 5 floor looms and several table-top looms and inkle looms for weaving class; there are soldering torches, band saws, kilns, and grinders for the stained glass class; there are also the normal essential materials that every art room has.  This school really has most of the necessary supplies you could think of.  There are 7 tables at which students work and the room is filled with visual aids and example projects for student inspiration and knowledge retention. Class periods are 84 minutes long and students are seen every day for an entire nine-week marking period.

                  Students will be creating their own custom hand-made books.  Students at this age often make scrapbooks or write in a journal.  This custom made book can serve as a sketchbook, journal, or scrapbook that fits their specific needs.  Part of the lesson is to teach these students, who always seem to be “plugged in” to some sort of technology, the importance of self-reflection and introspection.  Students in this class always have their phones and electronic tablets with them in class, and making a handmade journal is a great way to encourage these students that it is a good thing to become “unplugged” every once in a while.

Goals and Standards

• To show superb craftsmanship by accurately cutting, measuring, and sewing the signatures, cover, and bindings for their books.  9.1.H Incorporate the safe and effective use of materials, equipment, and tools into the production of works in the arts
• To apply their knowledge of the history and technique of book binding 9.2.A Explain the historical, cultural, and social context of an individual work in the arts.
• To create their own unique handmade book, utilizing proper vocabulary for the tools, materials, and sections of the books 9.1.C Integrate and apply advanced vocabulary to the arts forms
• To evaluate and discuss the centuries old trade of bookbinding and paper marbling and compare it to the typical book making today. 9.1.K Analyze and evaluate the use of traditional and contemporary technologies in furthering knowledge and understanding
• To analyze their own work and the work of their peers through a critique 9.3.E Examine and evaluate various types of critical analysis of works in the arts and humanities

Content

                  In this lesson, students will be creating unique, one of a kind books.  Students have the option to make their books into sketchbooks, journals, scrapbooks, etc.  Students will learn the book binding process as well as the paper marbling process.  This will be an ongoing project, with students working at different stages on different days.  It is impossible for all students to marble paper on the same day, so they will take turns and go in shifts when they are ready to marble their paper.  If they are not marbling paper, they will be working on each of the steps involved in binding their books together.  This lesson will span 5 class periods long.

Book Binding:

1. Take sheets of paper in sets of 4-5 sheets.  Fold them in half.  Make at least 5 sets of these.  These sets are called signatures and will be sections inside of the book.  Label each signature with a number (1-5, for example).
2. Measure equal spaces along the fold of each signature.  Make marks that section the paper off into equal groups of 4 or 5 (about 1-1 ½ inches apart).  Puncture these marks with a needle or pin, going all the way through the sheets of paper making small holes.
3. The next step is sewing your signatures together, utilizing the small puncture holes.  Take signature #1 and signature #2.  Pin these two signatures together so that they do not slip during sewing.  Open them to the fold where the puncture holes are and sew them together.  Continue with this method, sewing #2 to #3 and so on.  Students should sew back and forth, so that they go over each hole twice.
4. After the signatures are sewn, the next step is to make the cover and spine.  Measure a piece of mat board for the covers the book.  The cover should be ½ inch longer and ¼ inch wider than the signatures inside.  The spine should be the same length as the cover of the book and have the same width as the signatures sewn together.
5. Choose fabric at least one inch larger than the mat board cover if you wish to cover the book with fabric.  The same rules apply if the student wishes to use decorative paper. 
6. For the fly page, cut out decorative paper the same size as the open book (8 ½ X 11 inches).
7. Evenly brush glue onto each piece of mat board and lay down the measured piece of fabric for the cover.
8. Cut off the corners of the fabric at a 45 degree angle to 1/8 inch of the mat board.  Glue with Elmer’s glue and fold over.
9. Cover the inside of the book cover with Elmer’s glue, ¼ inch from the edge.  Glue on top of the inside fabric that was folded over.
10. Hold book upright with sewn edge against the spine and lay the first and last pages down to the glued inside of the cover.
11. Fold decorative fly paper in half, lay it on newspaper, and spray with spray adhesive.
12. Place this over the first and last pages of the book that were glued to the cover.
13. In order to avoid warping, place your book in a book press or under something heavy while all of the glue dries.

How to marble paper:

1. Some alum is dissolved in water. This is sponged onto each paper to be marbled, and the paper is allowed to dry. The alum is what will bond the color to the paper.

2. A thick liquid, referred to as the size, is made by blending a type of gelatin (carrageenan) with water.

3. The size is poured into a shallow tray.

4. Several colors of ink or paint are sprinkled onto the surface of the size. They float on the surface because they are lighter than the thickened water.

5. A stick is used to stir the floating colors if desired. Various combs and rakes may also be run through the colors to make more intricate patterns.

6. A sheet of the alum-treated paper is gently laid onto the surface of the size, and it absorbs the floating colors. Only one print can be made.

7. The paper is lifted off, rinsed, and hung up to dry.  Fabric marbling is done the same way, except for step #1: Instead of sponging the alum onto the cloth, it is soaked in the alum water, then hung up to dry, then ironed flat. After that, it can be marbled just like a sheet of paper. 

Day 1: Introduction to the project and demonstration on book binding technique.  Students will begin the planning process and begin folding, measuring, and sewing the signatures for their books.

Day 2: Students will continue to work on binding their books.  There will be an introduction to the history of book binding.  There will be a discussion and PowerPoint presentation about the history of book binding. 

Day 3:  Students will be introduced to the history and method of paper and fabric marbling.  I will give a PowerPoint presentation about the history of paper marbling and show a video of different patterns for examples.  We will then demonstrate how to marble paper, step-by-step.  Some students will get the chance to marble paper, others will have to wait until another shift of people in the following days to come. 

Day 4: Students will continue binding books and marbling paper.  Some students will begin adding unique decoration to the covers and insides of their books (adding fabric/paper to the cover, creating the end sheets inside of the cover, adding page numbers, adding pockets, drawing on the cover, etc.)

Day 5: Students will continue binding books and finish marbling paper.  Students will continue to add unique decoration to the covers and insides of their books.

Day 6: Students will complete binding their books and adding unique details to the covers and insides of their books.

Vocabulary/Word Bank

• Signatures- Sections inside of the book that are sewn together
• Alum- powder material that is dissolved in water.  It thickens the water so that the paint for marbling stays on the surface of the liquid.  It also helps the colors of the dyes to absorb into the paper and fabric.
• Binding- To fasten or secure two things together
• Spine- Part of the book where all of the pages are sewn together.
• Fly Page- Paper that is glued inside of the book to the cover, usually decorative

Materials/Resources/Technology

Student Materials

• Colored copy paper or art paper for the book pages, rulers, large pins, needles, heavy thread, clothes pins or binder clips, pencils, scissors, mat board, paper cutter, Elmer’s glue, newspaper, large brushes, spray adhesive, marbling dyes, alum, large try for marbling, clothes pins to hand up paper after marbling

Artists/Works

• examples of past student work, historical examples of book binding and marbling

Teacher Resources

• Paper marbling resource website http://marbleart.us/
• Paper marbling patterns video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNUhn7ifeO0
• Book Binding Tutorial http://www.diyplanner.com/node/456
• Book Binding Instructions http://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/category-living/keyword-book%20binding/
• Book Binding Anatomy http://www.aboutbookbinding.com/anatomy/Parts-of-a-Book.html
• History of book binding http://www.aboutbookbinding.com/Art.html

Summative Assessment Plan

• Students will be assessed based on the guidelines outlined in the rubric.  I will assess them based on the guidelines of the rubric, and the students will assess themselves based on the guidelines in the rubric.
• Students will also be assessed on their active participation in class by doing the daily bell ringer, actively working, and participating in critiques.