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why I made this book
‘The Spine Witch’ was developed from an idea in Terri Windling’s novel The Wood Wife. A character called Dora del Rio writes a children’s book of the same title, printing the small copies herself and using her own handmade paper. Unfortunately, her husband Juan, in the throes of artistic frustration, torches the copies along with years worth of his own work. While reading The Wood Wife, I could not help but fill my sketchbook with drawings of Windling’s otherworldly characters, including Thumper, the Drowned Girl, Crow, The Nightmage and the Spine Witch. I wanted to hold a copy of Dora’s book in my own hands before it was destroyed, to trace the paper’s grain and the flow of print with my own eyes. Quoting Thomas Canty; “You know, sometimes when you want to sit down you just have to build the chair first.” So I decided to make my own copy. My Spine Witch is a first attempt at bookbinding. Its pages are handmade and bound, with tissue-paper inlays for the printed text. The inset, title page and headings are all drawn directly into the book, as well as six hand painted illustrations in watercolour and ink. The cover is bound in cloth and rusted steel bands, and set with a drilled, incised river stone. I decided to make the volume a small homage to Terri Windling, filling the pages with mythic poetry from her outstanding website: The Endicott Studio. Two of my own poems are included as well, giving me the simple (vain) thrill of seeing my work alongside such evocative writers. The book will be submitted for a self-directed college arts project in bookbinding and illustration.
In posting excerpts on this website, I hope to share my own version of the Spine Witch with other fans of the mythic arts. A friend remarked that keeping the single volume to myself was a little selfish. I took that as a compliment. Please note that this is a completely non-commercial book created purely for my own pleasure. The authors have kindly given their express permission to reproduce part of their poems here. If you would like to read on, I have included links to the poetry pages on The Endicott Studio website.
The Spine Witch is a brewer of magic. She collects pieces of story, scraps of destiny, and weaves them together as bright gifts. Her talk is beautiful and strange, her eyes curious, and her medicine very potent. Advance at your own risk: those who encounter faerie never return the same…
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