Another Day in Paradise

Maui truly is a paradise with our beautiful beaches, warm ocean breezes, and sunshine almost all year long. Can you see yourself relaxing here on the shoreline?

Making Books and Paper

Some of you might be interested in these books if you're interested in making your own books.

• The Art and Craft of Handmade Books by Shereen LaPlantz

• Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden

• Keith Smith Books (Online site listed under Reading and Resources)

Interested in hand papermaking?

• The Papermaker's Companion: The Ultimate Guide to Making and Using Handmade Paper by Helen Hiebert

• The Art and Craft of Papermaking by Sophie Dawson

There are many other books that I found informative and helpful, but these are ones I'd recommend highly to begin. If you do a search on Amazon or other book shops, you'll be able to find more information about them. I also love Keith Smith's books, especially his Volume II.

My "Romance" with the Bamboo Forest

These are the two poems I wrote in the book. Yes, we have bamboo forests in Hawaii although you'd think it's more likely in Asian countries. Every summer, some friends and I go and visit these beautiful bamboo forests. The peace and solitude refreshes the spirit as the breeze dances with the bamboo leaves. I also made some paper using some bamboo fibers mixed in with some other fibers.

Bamboo Night

Swaying

with the wind,

they bathe their

sleek bodies

as rain falls.

Leafy arms glisten,

fingers beckon

as they dance

with the silver moonlight.

Singing to the spirits

of the forest,

Voices tangle

with the mountain breeze.

Tasting the earth,

they drink the rain,

stretching their arms

to the sky

until the stars

shower down

upon them.

Bamboo Day

The morning sun raises it head,

casting sleepy grey clouds away.

The road to Hana

twists and turns

like currents of the sea.

Golden hau blossoms, ferns,

ruby red mountain apples

shimmer in the sunlight.

Trudging up

the jutted road,

sentinels of ginger,

hau, kukui, bamboo

lead the way.

Deep in the forest,

bamboo

live in solitude,

a quilt of leaves

at their feet.

They gather and pray

to the earth,

wind, rain, sea,

moon and sun,

chanting in the

morning light.

(I'm sorry about the formatting of the poems. I tried to place it into two columns, but that didn't work out.)

Making Books and Secret Belgian Binding

I became interested in letterpress printing because of my involvement in paper making and making books. This is a dos a dos (two by two) book that I made that depicts a bamboo grove at night and at early morning. The binding is known as a Secret Belgian Binding. It's interesting how the spine has a weaving effect. The handmade papers are made of Hollander beaten cotton rag and straw. No dyeing of the paper and I liked how the pages had rich, deep olive colors and sunny green hues.

Letterpress Cards Custom Blind Debossing with Lydian Bold Cursive Metal Type

Another example of blind debossing using Lydian Bold Cursive metal type. Debossing and embossing are often confused. Debossing is when the type or image is impressed into the paper. Embossing is when the image or text is raised. Embossing requires male and female dies so the image or text is "pushed up." Custom personalized cards are offered at my Etsy Shop. There's a sale going on now!

Letterpress Cards Sunny Poppies

Sunny Poppies printed on 100 percent cotton Lettra paper. A recent printing that I did with a magnesium plate and metal type handset with Lydian Bold Cursive type. Just right for a brief note of thanks.

Letterpress Cards Love Birds Etsy Treasury

What a warm welcome! My letterpress printed cards of lovebirds were featured on an Etsy Treasury that featured shop owners who are new to Etsy's online shops. Thank you, Megan! Megan's shop is meganbauerle on Etsy. Etsy has some wonderful treasures that are handmade by many creative people. If you've never shopped Etsy, do visit and take a look at the many unique items created by artisans from around the world.