Lang Ingalls
Crested Butte, Colorado

Claude Fain, Le retenu laisse une meurtrissure

The title of this book translates, poetically, to "the choice leaves a bruise." The poem itself is airy yet reflects intense sensuality, a vague prodding towards the cyclicity of life, being hemmed in by love and desire (or the memory of it), and the leaving. I chose a mottled goatskin that reflects a bruise. The chains dangle and move in the cutouts on both the recto and verso, perhaps acknowledging the limits on freedom, perhaps suggesting a gentler way toward creating memory, the bars fluid on the gaol. I chose to submit this book as an example of my design aesthetic, the act of creating a fine binding, the honing in on the meaning of the content of the poem: this is what was formed.

Bound in the French technique in mottled blue-green goat, montage sûr onglets. Cover design includes cut-out rectangles with vertical chains. Hand-sewn silk endbands, edge-to-edge doublures in seafoam goat, and baby-blue suede flyleaves. Natural edges. 8.25 x 5.75 x .75 inches. 21.8 x 15.8 x 1.8 centimeters. Created 2015.

LANG INGALLS is a professional fine binder. She works out of her atelier in Crested Butte, Colorado, making books year-round. Her work shows in the US and abroad regularly.

Website: http://langingalls.com