Karen Hanmer
Glenview, Illinois
Karen Hanmer is a binder and book artist in suburban Chicago, Illinois who has studied with Priscilla Spitler, Don Etherington, Scott Kellar, and Monique Lallier. She has served as Exhibitions Chair for the Guild of Book Workers and on the editorial board of The Bonefolder, a peer-reviewed, open access book arts journal. Hanmer was awarded the 2009 DeGolyer Jury Prize for Binding.
Example Binding:
Lives of Saints, with Excerpts from their Writings.
Introduction by Father Thomas Plassmann, OFM. Editorial supervision by Father Joseph Vann, OFM.
New York: J. J. Crawley, 1954.
French technique binding sewn on flattened cords, laced into boards and covered in a variety of hues of blue leather, mostly goatskin. Tooling and titling in carbon, 23k gold, and dark blue foils. Edge-to-edge goatskin doublures, flyleaves of navy blue paper with texture echoing the vertical wrapping of leather on exterior of book. Hand-sewn, French style headbands, watercolor top edge in a variety of blues. The design incorporates numerous classic metaphors for achieving spiritual enlightenment.
Design Description:
Book will be disbound. Original boards and spine to be housed in a separate enclosure matching that made for the new binding. Signatures guarded and repaired as necessary. Text block will not be trimmed, double folios of plain handmade paper sympathetic with the text block added at front and rear, all sewn on flattened cords. Book gently rounded but not backed, boards shaped at inside spine edge to match natural shoulder. Boards laced in and book covered in a variety of hues of brown leather, mostly goatskin. Tooling and titling in carbon, 23k gold, and dark brown foils. Edge-to-edge goatskin doublures. Hand-sewn, French style headbands in multiple shades of brown. Design incorporates numerous classic metaphors for spiritual growth: movement from darkness to light, from chaos to order, from rough to smooth, and from earthly to heavenly domains. Overall pattern of tooling is in the shape of a stylized dove.
