Praeterita

Throughout the year, one of the classes I teach most frequently is how to make artist's books (accordion folds, how to glue decorative paper correctly to cover boards, various stitching methods). One of the best resources I have found, and which I pass on to all my students, is this YouTube channel: The person's name is Jennifer, from Scottsdale Arizona, and under her YouTube name of Sea Lemon she posts many professionally produced videos with detailed step-by-step instructions for bookbinding methods, such as coptic stitch, saddle stitch, long stitch, and more. 

I went back to England last week to attend my mother's 80th birthday. My home town of Newcastle is located about 300 miles north of London on the north-east coast, close to Scotland. It was one of the boom towns of the industrial revolution, with mighty coal mining and shipbuilding industries. The merchants who amassed great fortunes spent some of their wealth on public building, leaving a legacy of impressive architecture that looks better than ever these days, thanks to the clean-up that came along with the post-industrial urban renewal. The above photo shows the roof of Newcastle Central Railway Station. It was built in 1850, and architect used an 'arch and nave' design supported by cast-iron columns and hoops. This kind of framing, with glass roof panes, is reflected at smaller stations all around Tyneside. The street entrance of the station is a classical design of arches and pavilions in sandstone. This is also the style of Newcastle's elegant Grey Street: