Above: Three recent journals from bookbinder and artist Wendy Hale Davis. See enlargements and peeks into the interior in the link provided below.
Wendy Hale Davis is an amazing artist (actually she's simply an amazing person) I'm fortunate to have as a friend. (I've actually held many of her journals in my hands and been able to look through them. I think her life and her mind are pretty amazing!) She binds the most wonderful books with leather covers decorated with leather dyes.
A recent series of journals have had painted canvas covers. You can see three of these recent journals in the above image. (You can also see these journals and more images at Wendy's blog.)
Wendy begins a journal by giving it a title. This title is then in someway reflected in the cover artwork. In various posts on her blog you'll find other images of her journals and the wonderful approaches she has employed. Also you'll find glimpses inside various journals she's kept over the years. The journal pages are filled with her wonderful calligraphy and illustrations as you will see in this other post which shows page spreads from Flying Cloud. Her journals are illuminated manuscripts—a joy to look through.
If you missed my earlier post about Wendy's podcast on creativity with Ricë Freeman Zachery now might be a good time to go and listen to that. You can put a voice to the artwork as well. (She has a wonderful voice.)
Wendy lives in Austin, Texas. She teaches bookbinding classes so watch her workshop listings or contact her for more details. You'll learn bookbinding—but by spending time with Wendy you'll also be inspired to think more, see more, and smile a whole lot more.
What a treat! Thanks for the links. And I’m trying not to feel too ridiculous in comparison as I put together my little duck tape journals. But hey, whatever works, right! And seeing hers (and yours) gives me plenty of room for experimentation in the future.
LizzieBo, if duct tape is what you’re using now and it’s working for you and you have journals that you love working with keep going for it. I think the joy of seeing what a long-time journal keeper like Wendy does, both for her books and her approach, is that it gives you options. You have to create a visual journal that works for you, but along the way you can be inspired by all the wonderful work out there.
Wendy,
Trying to let you know that I had to miss class because of a terrible family tragedy.
Please save my things for me & I’ll get in touch when I stop flying btn NYC & San Fran
Tks so much!
Kyra Kert-Fitzgerald
Kyra, this isn’t Wendy’s blog, it’s a review of her work. So comments go to me, the author of the blog. Wendy is a friend so I’ll pass this along.