In her own work, Susan delights in the interplay between form and content, the accidental imagery of paste paper painting, and the pleasures of discovery in paper engineering. She is an avid journal keeper and fills her journals with watercolors, pen and ink drawings and a running commentary on whatever is sharing her world at the moment.
Leather Bound Books, 2004
size: (brown) 6.5"w x 7.5"h x 0.875"d;
(blue) 6.5"w x 7.25"h x 1.25"d
materials: colored leather, paste paper, Arches MBM text paper
These books — quarter- and half-bound with goat leather — were made at the Center for Book Arts in NYC.
Click on a small image for full, larger view and information.
Special commissions often focus on preserving family memories — from a twenty-volume edition of a personal memoir to unique, hand-bound wedding guest books and photo albums. High-quality materials and craftsmanship distinguish Susan's work and her open, friendly, and creative style insures that what you want is clearly understood and that her design will best suit your needs.
Wedding Album, 2006
10.5"w x 7.75"h x 0.75"d"
Asahi book cloth, Yuzen Shi silkscreened paper, binder's board, text paper, gauze ribbon, and mother of pearl button.
Susan makes wedding albums like this one on commission. It features two sections at the beginning to be used as a guest register; the following four sections contain stubs to allow for expansion to hold photographs.
It was a complete pleasure working with Susan on a 20-volume hand-bound edition of The Mental Portrait Album adapted from one my great-grandfather had in the 1890s. She overcame several challenges with the format, created a beautiful product and cared about results as much as I did.
—Jennifer Gilbert
The Stories of Isidor Jacobs, 2005
7"w x 8.25"h x 0.75"d
Canapetta book cloth, binder's board, printed stories.