Loading…
17
My sister said my hand-stitched spines looked 'too perfect' and it threw me off
She's not a binder, but she collects old books and pointed at a 1920s novel with a slightly wobbly stitch line, saying 'that's what makes it feel real'. I've been so focused on getting every stitch exactly even that I never considered a bit of character might be better. Do you think there's a point where our craft becomes too clean and loses its soul?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
keithbutler7mo ago
That quiet pride @davis.ruby mentioned is real. It reminds me of a potter I knew who hated when people called his smooth glazes "soulless." He said the soul was in the ten thousand hours of practice to get it that way.
5
davis.ruby7mo ago
That idea about the "wobbly stitch line" making it feel real is interesting, but I see it the other way. For me, the soul is in the care and skill it takes to make it perfect. My own satisfaction comes from that clean line, like a quiet kind of pride in the work itself.
1