I hope you guys had a great weekend. We had some rainy weather, found a great vegetarian restaurant and went to the Ex Libris group show at Flatbed Press. The show was about the modern interpretation of the bookplate. Well, I could not pass that up.
The work we saw was really wonderful. Some was fun and a bit lighthearted but there were the other works that were a bit more on the dark side. You can see some of work on the gallery’s instagram. This fantastic “curse” was one of my favorites by artist Cathy Rylander.
I had to buy a little something and got a pack of three bookplates by PaperCutPress. These are black and hot pink and remind me of a woodcut. I’ve already put one on one of my current journals and it’s perfect as that journal is hot pink!
If you want to learn more about bookplates, which I actually don’t know much about, you can find this interesting article on the first known printed bookplate. Very cool. Do any of you use bookplates? I don’t but I definitely love to see them.
After we saw the show we wandered around Flatbed to see some of the other exhibits and visit the Book Arts Center, which is also housed there. I’ve taken a couple of bookbinding classes there and just love coming out here in general.
Unfortunately as with a lot of great places in Austin, Flatbed Press along with all the other galleries, are going to have find a new home next year. They’ve lost their lease due to rising rent costs. This is one of those things that bugs me so much about Austin. So many indie businesses have had to close shop because of the rising costs and it’s really disheartening. I’m just hopeful that they all find a home so they can continue to be a part of this community.
I believe the Austin Book Arts Center is going to have a fundraiser later this year so I can’t wait to get more details on that.
Anyway, hope you had a great weekend and let me know what you were up to.
Yes, we got rain as well and also that little tornado was near us. However, it was minor damage to a few. It is May after all – rain, storms, etc. to be expected. I enjoyed hearing about bookplates (which I don’t use either) and your trip to the ExLibris show. I do understand about rising costs of rental properties. Austin is growing by leaps and bounds and I guess that comes along with it. As a longtime resident of this area, I’m not so pleased with all the growth – and especially the traffic. Sigh.
Love the curse! Bookplates fascinate me, and I have bought them just for their beauty or weirdness, but rarely have ever used them. They are nice when you are giving a book as a gift, though!
Rents rising – same thing happening in New Orleans and Atlanta.
It’s so sad.
The Ex Libris group show sounds wonderful, it sounds like a great day 🙂
We’ve had alot of rain here as well lately. Enjoy the long weekend xo
Kay – You and me both. I remember when I went to college at UT and Austin seemed so small then. Now it’s just insane to try to get anywhere. Hope you had great weather this past weekend. I heard that there was a tornado somewhere around us.
Jenclair – Aren’t they great? I love the illustrations and really enjoy finding them in books.
Isabel – It’s unreal isn’t it? I especially love how the average salary in Austin is 50K… How can people live here?!
Bookworm – Hope you’ve had a great long weekend too! 🙂