David John Lawrence
Irving, Texas
David John Lawrence began his study of hand bookbinding at The Craft Guild of Dallas in 1998, studying with Pamela Leutz and Sally Key. He has also studied in the Czech Republic with Jan and Jarmila Sobota. He is a member of the Guild of Book Workers, Society of Czech Bookbinders, and Designer Bookbinders of America. In 2010 he received the Master of Bookbinding in Artistic Bookbinding by the Society of Czech Bookbinders. He has won several prizes in bookbinding competitions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Czechia. In addition to working as a binder in private practice, he is department chair and instructor in bookbinding at The Craft Guild of Dallas.
Winner: Award for Design
Example Binding:
The Four Gospels: The Gospel According to St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John.
Leipzig: Printed for the members of the Limited Editions Club by Poeschel & Trepte, 1932.
Decorations by E. R. Weiss and introduction by Ernest Sutherland Bates.
Full purple goatskin with multi-colored onlays depicting the four evangelists in geometric abstraction, surface gilding, gold and blind tooling. Top edge dyed and partially gilt, hand embroidered headbands of violet and lavender silk with gilding, flyleaves and doublures by Chena River Marblers. Bound in 2016.
Design Description:
Full black goatskin with multi-colored onlays, gold tooled lines, title gold tooled on spine. Top edge dyed and partially gilt, conservation headbands of black, grey, green, and gilt silk thread. Decorative paper endsheets and doublures by Chena River Marblers. The design for this binding was inspired by one of the scriptures from the Apocrypha read at the memorial service of Lawrence’s father: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the eyes of the unwise they seem to die: and their departure is taken for misery; and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace” [Wisdom of Solomon 3:1–3]. The idea for triangles comes from two sources, the binder explains. When you interlace your fingers, palms facing you, and then pull your hands slightly apart the open space in that union creates triangles; also, the triangles with their gold tooled lines suggest a very rudimentary camera shutter. The triangles thus represent the gathering of those souls at peace in God's hands as well as a means for looking through from one to other existences.
