Bookmaking

Clapper bridge watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

Little Stories – Unwind

Posted on December 15, 2021
by Soma Acharya
Bookmaking, Kitties, Paintings, Photography, The Girl And Her Cat

This Little Stories collection is all about finding comfort in everyday things, celebrating them, and unwinding. Unwinding is a hard word for me. I tend to reprimand myself for sitting around and doing nothing, but it is so important for any work. So, when I struggle with focusing and need to unwind, I let my mind wander while letting my hand do some easy work.

This is another set of the daily photos of simple, everyday things I took between Feb. 2020 – Feb. 2021. They possibly represent my version of unwinding better than I could ever do with words.

Simple 365 – Set 7

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I also created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I will add more photos to that page as well, as I share them here.

Little Memories

I learned to play chess from my grandfather. He and I used to play every night after having dinner together. If I had too much homework, he would always wait for me so we could spend that time together. These are his fountain pens. I love to jot down little thoughts and notes with them. My love for printing and book making is a credit to him.

A Little Story

Mr. Nigel Forsythe Castleton is the proprietor of the Lost Pages Bookstore. Owing to the bookstore being in a very old stone building, it is very drafty and cold, even on the warmest of days. Mr. Castleton loves nothing more than to spend his days in the bookstore, but the poor thing is always very cold even though he is made of wool. Luckily, the bookstore has a wonderfully big fireplace, where he keeps a fire going at all times. He pours himself a glass of ginger wine and sits by the fireplace, perusing those lost pages.

This time he is visiting his friend who also has an antiquities book shop full of books of magic and alchemy. He loves the old city of York, so he has decided to spend some time there.

I have knitted and introduced Mr. Castleton before, but if you are new here and don’t know him, he is a very gentle fellow who loves all things books.

A Not So Little Celebration

Winter is a celebratory season at our home with tons of birthdays, starting with Charlie. He celebrated his 18th birthday very recently. Even though he is not allowed, he loves to sneak in sweets made of dairy. For his birthday, he got a special treat – a very sizeable portion of cheesecake.

He was looking up at my husband to sit with him while he enjoyed his birthday cake. They have a very special bond. Although Charlie is a perpetual kitten, I thought I paint this dignified version of him for my husband.

Little Journals

Growing up as an only child, I have always lived most of my days in the worlds of stories and books.

Hand-binding books for those stories while listening to an audio-book is one of my favourite ways to unwind while staying mildly focused. This moss green journal was the very first 3″ x 4″ journal I made for myself with a special drawing theme in mind. I look forward to starting on that soon.

(handbound by me pocket journals are available in my shop)

Girl And Her Cat – Wandering Pages

I painted the Girl and Her Cat stories in little 2″ x 3″ books. This is the last set of paintings from the the Girl And Her Cat – Wandering Pages book.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures and read about their wanderings –

You can see the full Wandering Pages book here.

The Girl and Her Cat decided to become lost in the mist for a while, visiting the land of the snowy owls. It is also time for me to go on my winter hiatus. I wish you the most magical holidays with lots of rest.

Thank you so much for being here with me and for your most lovely and encouraging words. I will be back around March.

See you then,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them.

P.S. The Ink Torrents Graphics shop remains open. I will continue to mail orders, as always. You can also purchase quilting patterns, which you can access immediately via Instant Download. I will also be available via email. Thank you for continuing to shop from my store.

Wandering Pages & Watercolour Books

Posted on November 4, 2021
by Soma Acharya
Bookmaking, Paintings, The Girl And Her Cat

Hello Everyone! I have been working on so many different things that it has been hard to share all of it here in real time. I have been painting quite a few adventures of The Girl And Her Cat, even though they have not been here lately. Before we join them on their next adventure, I have something special to share with you.

Growing up with sketchbooks and watercolours in my hands, I have grown very persnickety about paper.

When I started painting the Lost Pages book, I decided to make my own journal so I could paint without having to worry about the paper falling apart on me. I have made quite a few books since then.

This rekindled the love and awe I felt toward bookmaking as a child. Most of these books are about the Girl And Her Cat but there are also a couple of other stories somewhere in them.

I even reorganised my Atelier to have all the supplies at hand. I also realised that I am making more books than I can use. In the end, I decided to add books to my shop.

It drives me insane when paper pills or falls apart when I am painting. I should be able to layer paint as well as lift it off without the paper starting to disintegrate. I could not be happier with the paper choices in these books.

Here are a few detail photos. Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos.

A little about the books –

The books are encased in covers made with high quality book cloth.

They are made with paper vetted by me.

I hand stitch them the traditional way with special strong thread, then additionally use glue and other methods to secure the spine.

They are also bound in a way that they stay flat. There is almost no gap in the middle, so a painting can be done spanning both pages.

The end papers are made with card stock. My logo is on the back for authenticity.

Wandering Pages

It all started with the Lost Pages book and the Girl And Her Cat. It is time for them to return here. This time, the adventurous girl and her cat decide to take a walk past the little bridge that they can see over the wall and see where it takes them.

So without further ado, let’s see where they go in the Wandering Pages Book. Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures and read about their wanderings –

Aside from exploring with them, I have also been making the new books in these colours. They are all clothbound, which I have always found to be very special. Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos.

Purchase Journals

I want these books to be available to both artists and non-artists. So I have created two kinds. Other than the paper, the two kinds of books are identically made.

For artists – The pocket watercolour journals are made with 140lb cold press artist grade 100% cotton watercolor paper.

For non-artists – The pocket journals are made with 140lb high quality paper great for pen, ink and gentle watercolor. I use them for any kind of notes such as gardening, travel and nature.

At 4″ x 3″ (4” x 6” opened) the books are the perfect size to carry around everywhere. You get the exact journals that I make for myself. This way, I can share the joy of using traditionally-made clothbound journals filled with wonderful paper with you. You can purchase the journals from my shop.

Since I make them personally, please allow me a few days for making them, especially if you are getting them for gifts.

I hope you liked the beginning of the new adventures of the Girl And Her Cat, as well as the books I made. Where would your journey begin, I wonder…

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them. Also, you can still link up on Wandering Camera.