We are so excited to feature artist and new Aurifil Designer e bond (ebondwork.com & @eisroughdraft). We’ve been following along with e for a while, entranced by her bold and vibrant artwork, often adapted into pattern for her three collections with Free Spirit Fabrics. We love e’s story, including the fact that she’s not actually a quilter. She loves seeing her fabric used in all sorts of incredible projects, and will even feature them on the covers of her show-stopping handmade books.
e bond is an artist, an educator, a graphic designer, a printmaker, a lover of books (reading, writing, and making), a sea-loving west coast-er, and truly just an all around amazing human. She is passionate and driven and loves sharing her craft with the world, whether via gallery shows, Creativebug classes, or in person workshops (like QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC next week)!
We jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with her on a curated collection– truly to answer the question: Do Aurifil threads work within the practice of book-binding. The answer? A resounding yes. It’s been so fun to see our threads used in an entirely different context and we’re thoroughly grateful to e for giving us a chance and playing along.
Her debut collection, Ravel, was curated to coordinate with her fabric line and includes a range of 50wt threads for sewing & quilting AND 12wt and floss for embellishment and book-binding. We brainstormed all sorts of ways that these threads could be used in bridging the gap between quilting and book-binding and will have more on that soon. For now, we’re truly honored to share a bit of e’s story. Maybe you’re meeting her for the first time, maybe you’ve been following along with her forever. In either case, we’ve been captivated by her interview and are certain you will be too!
Hi e! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. We’re so thrilled to welcome you into the Aurifil family! Let’s dive right in… What inspired your love of and passion for art?
Art and books were always around me at a young age, and were highly regarded & encouraged, thanks to my mom and grandmother. It’s all because of them, they were/are so creative, even in their thinking and approach to life. They made a space for anything to be possible which allows room for art & reading and any kind of curiosity to thrive.
Did you begin your journey as an artist early on and how did that develop throughout your youth into adulthood?
It began super early for me. I don’t really remember wanting to do much else except make things; collages, paintings, weird installations. I was lucky enough to be encouraged to try a lot of things early so by the time I went to high school I pretty much knew I wanted a life of making. I went to a high school for the arts (in DC), and then right into an art college (in Philadelphia).
You’ve traveled a pretty impressive path, with a background in graphic design & art history that led to book arts and fabric design– how has your background informed your artistic style?
I think everything we do & learn informs all that we are, so I can never separate the designer, from the binder from the printer or the writer… It’s what makes me see the world the way I do and then respond in this singular way. One thing I know is that all the parts of me are drawn to this idea of the ‘book’, so whatever I make is investigating that form and/or its contents in some way.
When did book making first become a part of your life and what brought you to that medium?
I learned about book making pretty soon after I graduated from my under grad art program. As a young artist I was really struggling to navigate how to live a life that included art and having a job. On a whim, a group of friends and I decided we were going to take a book making class and after that I was forever changed. I became so interested in how the ‘container’ of content could play into the larger story being told. As a graphic designer I was always so concerned with the internal content of a form. These classes were helping me understand the external form. I just kept finding and taking more classes that taught book structures. It really took me over. Something clicked and I never let it go.
Do you have a favorite type of book to make?
It’s funny, a lot of my favorite bindings don’t even have sewing components to them, like the accordion and the dragonscale binding. But my all-time favorite sewn binding is an exposed spine simple sewing over bands. It’s so simple but it allows for the pages to lie flat which has always been super important for me when making books that I want to draw and write in.
Do you always incorporate your own prints & sketches in developing your book covers?
You know, I didn’t always use my own artwork. Before I would use anything I could get my hands on to make a book cover but for about the past 10 years I’ve basically been making prints and collages that then become the covers of books and journals.
When did you first dive into the world of fabric design and what was it like to see your artwork come to life in an entirely new way?
Ah, my introduction to fabric design was one of those things we might look back on as an unlikely occurrence of the pandemic era. I started designing fabric in 2020 after a random text from my cousin Sarah (amazing quilter) who asked if I had ever considered making fabric. She was asking for a friend, Victoria Findlay Wolfe (another amazing quiltmaker) who had been following my fine art work online for some time. She told Sarah that she wished some of my drawings could be patterns because she wanted to to use them in her work. She also happened to be in contact with a fabric company (Free Spirit) because she was collaborating with them. Anyway, somehow the universe aligned for Victoria to have that thought & to act on it, for Sarah to ask the question and then for me to have the time and energy to say ‘yes I’d love to try that’… Sometimes things just happen that way, it was all a generous gift.
We know that you incorporate thread into your book-making via statement bindings and exploration in color. How do you determine what types of thread to use and how do color play into it?
Well honestly thread used to be the one thing I didn’t experiment with. It was kind of my one constant while all the other materials were the variables that would change and shift. Previously what would guide my decision with thread would be size and strength, which is why I normally just stuck with linen thread. It also was the one integral part to the structure of the book so I wanted the thread to be reliable and strong. That’s why I was so excited to do these new tests with your threads because I want to be able to integrate more color and variety into the thread too. It’s been so far really great. I love the new 8wt so much, and the 12wt and floss also work really well for the kinds of bindings I sew.
What are your thoughts on working with Aurifil 12wt and floss within the practice of book-making?
I like both weights for different reasons. The 12wt allows me to maintain a similar look to the linen thread I would normally use and still introduce more color into the bindings (because the 12wt comes in so many colors). The floss is great when I want the bindings to ‘pop’ and really stand out. It’s thick but still pliable which makes it able to still get through some pretty small holes.
Let’s talk about Ravel, your debut collection with Aurifil – how did you go about selecting the threads and how did ultimate use factor into your decisions about thread weight & color? Can I just say picking the thread colors is honestly so much fun. It took me forever, I kept changing my mind, but ultimately I was looking for colors that would pop against the colors in the fabric. This was a little challenging given most of my collections are pretty colorful. I wanted the thread colors to defy blending in with the fabric. And as for weights, I wanted to honor the sewists and quilters but also the people who might embroider, embellish or even bind books like me. So I chose a few floss colors and a heavier neutral weight in case some book binders wanted to give the collection a try as well.
What are you most excited about seeing this collection out in the world?
I am very interested to see what kinds of textures are made using this collection. I am a fan of markmaking, and I really enjoy when artists top stitch or add texture and color over their sewn creations. I can’t wait to see some of that happening out in the world.
Can you give us some background on your Ravel fabrics with Free Spirit? Where did the inspiration come from for those designs?
Yes, so RAVEL is the third installment for me in this visual exploration around language as shape. When I am making a fabric collection I am usually using that opportunity to explore some idea I have in another area of my practice. These collections have been wonderful drawing/mark making spaces for me. Ravel is the study of how shapes (in this case the Roman alphabet) come together to make meaning, and then fall apart. I was thinking a lot about the cycle of putting things together and pulling them apart. Some of the patterns feel like they are deconstructed, or the images are being destroyed in some sense. I wanted to play with shapes that are imbued with meaning and then see to what ends it would take for them to visually lose their meaning. It’s kind of a interesting book end to GLYPHS (the first collection) which was all about beginnings and simple shapes, and then ROOT which was about growth and connection.
Note: e did a wonderful IG series delving into the details of each print. We thoroughly enjoyed reading about them all and as such, are including links here for easy reference (click on a print title for more): Accumulate, Process, Fray, Ebb, Memory, Loosen, Ravel, Intertwine & Small Intertwine, Scribble, Jumble, Tangle, Remainder, Twist, Unravel.
As a non-quilter, what has been your experience with delving into the quilting world?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of sharing and community I’ve experienced, also the amount of interest people have had in what some might call unconventional patterns and uses of color. It’s also been a learning curve for me in terms of how quilters and sewists create their pieces since I am not a sewer of fabric, but I think the fact that I sew books gives me a little bit of insight into how they do what they do.
You’ve worked a lot with your cousin and prolific quilter, Sarah Bond. What is it like for you both to feature those collaborations within the quilting world?
We’ve been having such a good time collaborating together on the details of any collection I put forth. I love having her involved. You know everyone is just so busy these days and we live pretty far apart, so these projects also give us a concrete reason to make time to just talk about art, and making. And personally to have such an expert like Sarah as a guide into this new world of quilting has made it infinitely easier to navigate and so much more inviting. It’s like having a friend show you around the space they already love and inhabit.
You sometimes incorporate quilt blocks into your book-making process as well – can you tell us a bit more about that?
This just kind of organically came about when Sarah was using my fabrics for blocks in her own quilts. I loved them so much and since I am not a quilter I was just thinking about how I might use fabric as covers in my own way. Then one day she was explaining to me what orphan blocks are and how quilters always have them hanging around. I thought well those would be perfect book covers. Sarah started sending me her orphans and the rest is history.
Where can readers learn more about your techniques/how do they sign up for your classes on CreativeBug?
Oh yeah! Creativebug is THE place to find classes I teach. They are always available online & the classes range from abstract drawing process driven classes to learning book structures. Brief descriptions are below and links to find them are always in my Instagram bio.
01-ACCORDION BOOK AS ART FORM:
The newest of the classes that could be perfect for you if: you are a reader/lover of words & someone who is interested in combining that with making art.
02-WORDS INFORM IMAGES:
This is the class that is perfect for you IF: you are a reader/lover of words & someone who is interested in combining that with making art.
03-UNCONVENTIONAL BOOK STRUCTURES:
a class where we explore three book forms I love; two ancient and one more modern. What I love about these three is that they all manage to become interesting ways to bind/hold/house single sheets of paper, i.e. piles of content I have laying around my place.
04-PERSONAL MAP MAKING:
A Daily Mixed Media Practice: is a class rooted in abstract drawing, perfectly suited to let your mind wander free by using prompts that get you thinking about time & place in new ways. This is a 31-day daily practice class available to view at any time.
What’s on tap for 2024? Where can we find you and what’s up next?
Well, a new fabric collection launches in April of 2024 with Free Spirit Fabrics, and also I’m in two group shows in my corner of the world (Northern California) which I am super excited about!
Speed Round
Cats or Dogs: Trees!
Shoes or Barefoot: shoes
Country or City: This one is hard. I’d say forest, but I’ll go city.
Camping or Glamping: Glamping but let’s be honest, it’s really Airbnb or a weird motel is where you will find me…
To the Mountains or to the Sea: Sea, always water.
Favorite Notion: my grandmother’s super old beat up tomato shaped pin cushion
Go-to sewing room playlist: lately I’ve been going hard on fantasy audio books
Current binge-worthy show: I love TV but I don’t keep up very well with it. I’m always like 5 years behind any current show. I just recently watched Ted Lasso this summer and High Fidelity (the series) again. (I tend to watch the same thing over and over, lol)
