Priscilla Spitler, Hands on Bookbinding

Smithville, Texas

Paula Hocks & Priscilla Spitler, The Conversant Sea, 2005

Fine, laced on boards binding, covered in green goat skin and decorated with back pared and traditional leather onlays, inlaid leather lines, and pochoir acrylic paint. Gold and colored foil tooling and lettering. Unique copy with text designed, illustrated and printed on an ink jet printer by the binder. Inspired by poems of the sea written by the late book artist Paula Hocks, who often collaborated with the binder. Paste paper toned text and endpapers, with stenciled and collage illustration by both Spitler and Hocks. 32 x 20 x 2 centimeters. Created 2006.

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Priscilla Spitler was born in 1954, and studied printmaking at the California College of Arts & Crafts (BFA 1975), bookbinding with Alfred Brazier and John Mitchell at the London College of Printing (1980–1981), and attended a master class in design binding with James Brockman at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. She was edition binder at BookLab, Inc., before establishing her own Hands On Bookbinding studio in 1995. Her work has been exhibited widely with the Guild and some of its regional Chapters, and she was Exhibitions Chair from 2000–2004. Website at priscilla.bookways.com.