WoodBound
wood bound is my degree show project looking at the experience of being in the woods/forests. inspired by the German word: waldeinsamkeit loosely translated to forest solitude
WoodBound
This project was inspired by the German word Waldeinsamkeit, which loosely translates as “the feeling of being alone in the woods”. It is often considered spiritual, encompassing the sensation I experience being surrounded and engulfed by the trees. This project explores the philosophical theme of the sublime and the experience of solitude through the lens of spiritualism and folklore.
I used a wide depth of field to capture the feeling of being in the forest and to enhance an otherworldliness to the work, connecting to Irish mythology and the concept of the otherworld. I became a flâneur wandering the forest waiting for the moments of Waldeinsamkeit and the sensation of the sublime.
Becoming a naturalist flâneur, wandering, freeing my mind and perhaps unmasking from social confinement. This connects with my ADHD where wandering has often calmed my mind and doing so in the forest enhances this peace of mind. In a sense reconnecting with nature helps me reconnect with myself and free my mind.
“Not all who wander are lost.” -JRR Tolkien.
Book creation
It all begins with an idea.
my initial book design idea was focusing on the idea of a concertina/accordion book to get the feeling of being lost in the forest and the overwhelming feeling of it. I was advised against this.
I was given the advice to work instead of a accordion to work with a full bleed design that would better
filler
diagram on the creation of an accordion book by Kristin link
Book Development
It all begins with an idea.
moving forward with the book development I decided to go with the Japanese stab binding method instead of an accordion design
with this came possibilities for designs on the cover, relating it back to the forest
these are sketches of possibly design for the book cover.
book printing
It all begins with an idea.
for the book I used my university Epson printer with a Matt paper type of 240GSM
the process of using matt paper like this resulted in some of the images coming out darker than they did on the screens and resulted in my having to use test prints and then bring up the exposure of the images
after I had adjusted the images to bring in more depth and contrast I went forward with printing the entire book which brought the images in a new light I used a mixture digital and film images which brought a ranges of colours and lightning conditions to the book.
Finalised book
It all begins with an idea.
for the finalised book I bounded it on a adhesive leather like paper covering green to match the rest of the work and I bounded it using a yellow thread
timelapse of cutting paper for the book bounding
after the paper was printed I needed to remove the guide lines around them and ensure they were all the same size before I could move forward with the bounding process, this required a ruler and sharp knife. I lightly guided the knife across the paper and cut through marks on the guides that would have been cut off once I cut on side of the page
after cutting the paper the book was ready to be bounded I started by taking my covering material and bounding it to a piece of green card to fit the colours in the book.
book bounded and ready for showcase
after the cover was bounded onto the paper I went forward with using a green thread and bounded the book together in the Japanese stab bounding method. I have yet to decide on the leaves if they are required or not
