Karen Hanmer
Karen Hanmer's artist-made books are physical manifestations of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science, and technology. She utilizes both traditional and contemporary book structures, and the work is often playful in content or format. Her studio practice is unusually varied, including small editions of artists' books, larger editions of inexpensive multiples, bookbinding instructional materials, and one-of-a-kind design bindings. Her work is exhibited and collected internationally. Hanmer has studied with Priscilla Spitler, Scott Kellar, Don Etherington, and Monique Lallier, and holds one of only eleven diplomas in fine binding awarded by the American Academy of Bookbinding in Telluride, Colorado. Her work is included in collections ranging from The British Library and the Library of Congress to Stanford University and Graceland. She has served on the editorial board of The Bonefolder, as Exhibitions Chair for the Guild of Book Workers, and as frequent exhibition curator and juror. She offers workshops and private instruction focusing on a solid foundation in traditional binding skills. www.karenhanmer.com
Winner: Award for Design
Example Binding:
Written, illustrated, and printed by Kimberly Kwan.
Worn Yesterday.
Austin, Texas, 2018.
An "Even More Simplified" binding structure. Crimson goatskin spine wrapper laced on with binder-made linen sewing supports. The boards are a multi-color laminate of Fabriano Murillo paper. Dark blue rolled leather endbands. Ruscombe Mill endpapers. Sewn with crimson thread. Title carbon tooled down spine. The binding's visible structure and the design of sewing patterns mirrors the text: the construction and deconstruction of a relationship told through a series vignettes focusing on what the author chose to wear for each encounter.
Design Description:
An "Even More Simplified" binding structure. Boards of laminated tan and black Rives BFK to match the text block. Black goatskin spine wrapper laced on with binder-made linen sewing supports to match the boards. Crimson rolled leather endbands, a subtle splash of color mirroring the red on the title page. Black BFK endpapers. Title and rules blind tooled on the spine. This modest binding on this slim volume uses few materials and no colors beyond those existing in the text block. The visible structure emphasizes the lean design of the text. The stripes accentuate the book's verticality, and the negative space between mirrors the silhouette illustrations. To echo the title, visual elements appear in groups of five. Five sewing supports. Five stripes per board. Five Poems.
