Annie Fain » Asheville Arts Community

What’s hoppin’ at A. Fain Books’ Etsy Shop?

Annie Fain — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:16:57 +0000

Here’s a quick look at some of what I’ve been working on here in the studio lately. Most all of it is available from my etsy shop: www.afainbooks.etsy.com

Books and Banjos

Annie Fain — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:53:29 +0000

Here’s a look at what I do when I’m not making books. I’m the one playing the banjo uke. Pearl Mueller is on the fiddle and Ellie Grace plays mandolin, guitar and dances too! (which you’ll get a taste of at the end of this video). We also have a myspace page.

BookOpolis Video

Annie Fain — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:43:32 +0000

This is a YouTube video of this year’s Book Opolis event at Asheville Bookworks by LeAnn Smith of Eaglesway Productions. It’s a lovely visual snippet of what a sweet community event Book Opolis is. For you fellow Asheville bookies out there, you are sure to catch a siting of yourself or your book. Check it out!

Eaglesway Productions specializes in graphic/web design, photography and video. At the moment LeAnn is totally psyched about doing short, promotional, YouTube videos for artists and small business people. It’s a great way to get your work out there to a much larger audience.

ps. Here is the link just in case the video above doesn’t work on your computer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DGdFHDJxMg

Eco Books

Annie Fain — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:43:51 +0000

Lark Books has recently come out with a new book called Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin put together by Terry Taylor. It’s totally great, simple as that. Each project is by a different book artist, many of which are local to Western North Carolina (I happen to be one of them, but I prooooomise I’m not saying any of this because I’m biased in any way). You’ll find projects made of everything from egg cartons to cassette tapes.

Here are a few images of the book I made for Eco Books:

I took two hand embroidered pieces I had found in a thrift store (I had to peel them away from the backing that held them in their tacky wooden frames) and hand-stitched with black thread around the bunches of lemons and oranges to make the images “pop” more. Then I made book board for my covers by laminating layers of recycled cereal boxes that I then encased with my altered, vintage fabrics.

I decided to make the book a dos-a-dos (two books that share the same back cover) because I had two fabric pieces. I used 100% recycled Classic Laid text paper, stained the edges with walnut dye I made myself and bound the book with multi-needle Coptic Binding.

I made twine (with two contrasting colors so that it would look striped) to be wrapped around a vintage button each to create closures for the front and back of the book.

Check it out at your local independent bookstore (that would be good ol’ Malaprops here in Asheville).

Book Opolis 2009

Annie Fain — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:23:51 +0000

It’s the time of year again for the largest, annual bookarts event in Western North Carolina; BOOK OPOLIS. If you happen to find yourself in the Asheville area this weekend come on by and check it out. To see a slide show of a Book Opolis past click here.

The Fifth Annual BookOpolis 2009
September 25 & 26, 2009

Exhibition Opening and Reception
Friday, September 25, 2009
6:00 – 9:00 pm

Demos and Exhibit Hours
Saturday, September 26, 2009
noon – 6:00 pm

NEW for 2009
Extended Exhibit Viewing Hours
1:00 – 4:00 pm Monday – Friday, September 25 through October 2

Winning Smile and a Really Big Kiln

Annie Fain — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:52:03 +0000

Josh is a buddy of mine from the days of old when we were baby art makers. Since then, he’s grown up, completed various ceramics programs and has really “gone for it” in the world of hand-crafted pottery. I think he’s destined to be a big success. He’s got the drive (or the fire, as I like to say), he’s a natural networker, innovative in creating a community around craft and his work is awesome.

What does all this have to do with books you say? Well, it’s no secret that Josh is also an avid visual journaler. He was having problems with stuffing machine made books too full of mixed media finds and popping the binding. So, we came up with a Copus book design that would allow him to pack them good and full.

Below is an example of how crazy his journals where turning out before we modified the structure. See what I mean! You could lay your head down and take a nap on this thing.

This is what we came up with; fewer pages and more substantial spaces between each signature.

Josh is a member of Clay Space Studios in the River Arts District here in Asheville, NC. He is also participating in an upcoming show at the Blue Spiral called Fall Salon. The opening is October 1st, 2009 and runs through December.

Emolyn Knits

Annie Fain — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:31:38 +0000

My dear little sister (she’s not that little any more) has created her own blog called, Emolyn Knits: Handmade, Custom Designed Knitwear. She is an up-and-coming, second generation knit garment designer and her work is lovley! (We grew up on a small sheep farm with a mother whose profession is spinning, knitting and natural dying; clearly it rubbed off on Emolyn)

This last year she’s been taking on some pretty large projects; the most intensive being a custom-fit knitted dress with a hood.

As many of you artists out there understand, sometimes it takes a while before your destined craft form finds you. This appears to be it for her. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

You may run into her knitting away on the subway in NYC. If you do, tell her howdy from her big sis.

Painter Extraordinaire: Ian Brownlee

Annie Fain — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:40:25 +0000

I really enjoy trading with fellow artists for work that neither party could afford otherwise. It’s a great way to share, support and receive inspiration within your creative community without money being involved. Ian Brownlee and I arranged to trade work well before we became dear friends. I think it was actually one of our first conversations; to trade a painting inspired by “home” and “rain” for a large, hand-embroidered sketchbook. The following is what resulted:

Ian is inspiring to me in many ways:
-His work is amazing (simply put)
-He is incredibly dedicated and is prolific as a result
-He is versatile; creating both wall paintings and mural projects
-He is one of the most authentic people I know and it clearly shows in his work

If you’re in the Asheville area be sure to checkout this work at Gallery Minerva and a new group show called On The Verge at the Asheville Area Arts Council. You can also find one of his murals at Rosetta’s Kitchen on Lexington.

Here is an article by Brian Gallagher for WNC magazine.

The Big Crafty

Annie Fain — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:38:56 +0000

Come on out and support your local crafters! (Of course this will easier to do if you happen to live in or near Asheville, NC. If you don’t I’m sure there is a Big Crafty near you.)

Happy Holidays!

Bookbinder on Local TV

Annie Fain — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:39:14 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by Ursula Gullow, producer of our local Art Seen Asheville cable tv slot, to participate in an upcoming episode. Her projects typically feature artists, musician, writers and performers of Asheville. Her theme for this project was needles and her chosen artists were a tattoo artist, a DJ and a bookbinder. Can you guess which one was me?

As you might expect I felt a little shy about diving into my first tv experience, but it was actually lots of fun (luckily my performer within kicked in and left my shy self in the dust). Ursula is herself a painter and very involved in the rich artist community here in Asheville. Her goal is to create a show that is sensitive to artists and produced in a down-to-earth style that’s meant to be engaging and informative. The result was just that.

To checkout the 8 minute “bookbinder” portion of the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVUjRp61kWM

*For the complete version, tattoos and all, go to:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-316171183701447997

*To find out more about Art Seen Asheville visit www.myspace.com/artseenasheville or write to artseenasheville.

*If you are curious about Ursula and her fabulous paintings check out www.ursulagullow.com.