A Planetary Collage – Timothy C. Ely | drawings, paintings, bookworms, book forms, sketchbooks, bookbindings, lists, poetry, recipes, equipment, book artist and stuff

When the Asteroid Passes, What is Left Behind? Journals, Sketchbooks, and More

May 22, 2020 by telyhardware

Strange, strange times indeed. Historically we have had hundreds of pandemics but never before have we been so tuned in, as Marshall McLuhan suggested, to the world —electronically and, perhaps, psychically. In any event, I am able to know, as soon as a response comes in, how my friends are holding up in Norway, Australia and Israel. Yet I recall that John Adams did not know the Revolutionary War had concluded for some months. In the midst of this time […]

Categories: My Work, Working & Methods

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Timothy Ely’s Five Essential Bookbinding Tools

May 8, 2020 by telyhardware

This morning a guest post I’d written about my Five Essential Bookbinding Tools went up on Jeff Peachey’s blog. Just follow this link to “Timothy Ely’s Five Essential Bookbinding Tools”. Enjoy my list — which starts with Randall Hankins’ superb weights (Randy is a blog co-conspirator). If you aren’t familiar with Jeff, he makes outstanding knives and other tools for bookbinders. As an active bookbinder, he was dissatisfied with the tools available for his use. So he started making his own. […]

Categories: My Work

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SCALE

February 24, 2020 by telyhardware

It began with a question of ‘’How large should I make my book?’’ My student felt the question absurd but really there are no absurd questions. I told her of many successful experiences and missteps with scale. What does it mean to make something of any size? We were specifically referring to sketchbooks and I have reasons for why my preferred size works. Many are practical while not a few are eccentric… like how mine all are designed to fit a […]

Categories: Mastery, My Work, Working & Methods

X-RAY. A New Work.

October 7, 2019 by telyhardware

This week I’ve been finalizing X-RAY, a new book. Fortunately, much of the process around X-RAY has been documented with the film and photographs which follow. I’m quite often asked “How long does it take to create one of your books?” The truth is similar to that expressed by Abraham Lincoln when asked “How long should a man’s legs be?” Lincoln reportedly replied “Long enough to reach the ground.” Each work takes as long as it takes. That’s the way […]

Categories: My Work, News

The Right Triangle

July 3, 2019 by telyhardware

I don’t think celebrate is the right word for what I’m thinking today — perhaps deeply acknowledge is better? Regardless, I am aware of the anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon along with my departure for the CIA a month or so later. In the middle of all this, in 1969 I had my first solo exhibition in Snohomish Washington, where I grew up. The exhibition came through a series of the wild attractions which have […]

Categories: Mastery, My Work

A Visit to Reed College’s Special Collections

April 22, 2019 by telyhardware

My co-conspirator in this blog, Doug Garnett, and his son Sam Garnett, have begun filming a documentary about my work. Doug has directed national TV commercials and Sam is an excellent videographer and editor. (Here’s a clip with us busily at work in my studio.) It has been exciting to see film about my work begin to come together. While the documentary won’t be out for some time, the recent TX83 blog post has the first public example of their work. […]

Categories: My Work, News

Registration Open for Summer Workshop — The Sketchbook: Thoughts and Actions.

April 1, 2019 by telyhardware

I’m pleased to announce there are a few spaces still available in our second summer workshop this year which will be held July 29 – August 2, 2019. Detailed discussion of the workshop is included in this PDF brochure Sketchbook Workshops_2019. The brochure also includes the registration form. The workshop is appropriate for the beginner as well as intermediate and advanced book binders. All levels welcome, and each will find ample inspiration. Hand skills from any discipline are helpful, but bookbinding […]

Categories: My Work

Video Tour: From My TXC Series

March 4, 2019 by telyhardware

TX83 was made in 2014. It is a Drum-Leaf™ binding, non-sewn and on laminated rag paper. Individual folios were split at the fold and regrouped to form novel configurations. The paper was treated with gelatin and acrylic resin and the instrument drawing was made using ink, graphite and pigments. Several of the experiments in this book involve using half-loose guards around the sections and the leveling up for the quilt-like paper piecing of the covers. Each book in the TXC […]

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Thoughts On Process: The Impact of PanPastel Colors from Colorfin

February 26, 2019 by telyhardware

The books and drawings that I make are, I am told, eccentric. I make them using archaic techniques and using tools for industrial or architectural design. The resulting drawings create their own category. It is difficult to ascertain with precision just what is is going on — which is my intent. (All art benefits from a little mystery.) My drawings begin from a small plan about the size of a business card and expand to fill the format of a […]

Categories: Mastery, Working & Methods

SCORE (cont.): Making, My Process and the CD

February 12, 2019 by telyhardware

I recently introduced a new work, SCORE, which can be seen at the Lilly Library at Indiana University then posted a walk-through of the piece. Although artistic process really can’t be fully explained, I enjoy hearing artists talk about their processes because I find that hints and helps come about. So with that in mind… (Note that each of the photo’s below can be clicked to expand to full resolution.) …a few details about the creation of SCORE. Last winter […]

Categories: My Work, Working & Methods

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