Record, reflect, reveal your history, says Libby Ward, who makes unique books for that purpose

Rik Nelson  /  Correspondent

Libby Ward makes books by hand, like this accordion-style book, with her designs on the pages. (Photos by Kathryn Stevens/The Spokesman-Review)

Book artist Libby Ward creates unique history books – all the pages are empty. Whether one of her handmade books is used as a photo album, scrapbook or journal, Ward says it is up to the book's owner to fill in the blanks.

"Each book is an opportunity for someone to record, reflect, reveal – and that's a history," Ward says.

Ward's interest in history began with a class assignment in graduate school. Required to write a history of someone other than herself, she chose her then-partner, Peter Campbell, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes.

"So many people go from Point A to Point B, but don't get to know the history of either place," Ward says. "Peter has generations and generations of family in this area: relatives who helped build the Cataldo Mission, some whose horses were killed by Wright ... He'd say, 'We were here before and we're still here; we've always been here and always will be.' "

Impressed by that history, Ward wanted to put it in book form. She had a Kinko's spiral-bound version made, but it didn't seem to give the book's content its due. So she began taking classes to learn to make her own book for Peter's history.

With a degree in home economics education and plenty of sewing experience, Ward says the transition from sewing fabric to creating forms from paper seemed natural. In fact, in some of her books Ward combines her two creative histories by using scraps from upholstery or drapery fabric to make book covers. The Japanese stab binding technique she often uses is also a sewing process that allows her to incorporate ribbons and buttons to bind covers.

"Inherent in my books is a kind of history, too," Ward says, "since a lot of them are made with recycled materials."

For book covers, Ward has used the cellophane wrapping found on potted plants sold at grocery stores. A friend who worked in shipping at Nordstrom's gave her packing paper from China and beautifully decorated paper sacks with the look of mulberry or rice papers. Those papers became covers as did some gift wrapping paper. "It was celebratory – the sky, raining roses – I had to use it," Ward explains.

Between a book's covers Ward places some recycling surprises as well. For front and end fly-leaves she's used Craven's Coffee bags. The flyleaves of another book are colorful, calligraphic pages of ads from a Japanese newspaper. Pages of a telephone notepad were cut from leftover posters from a powwow at Eastern Washington University.

Ward says it is family history that has prompted her use of these recyclables. "My parents are from the Depression," she says. "We lived on a farm, had a garden, lived off the land. We made use of what was available." Her experience also makes her concerned about the consumer mentality of society today.

"So much is thrown away after only a short life," Ward says. "We have so much, yet take so much for granted. I wish we'd reuse more, have more of a purpose for things. That's what appeals to me about book making – it's been around for so long and is still valuable."

As Ward's personal history with making books evolves, she says she next plans to learn letterpress printing. She's also been a guest lecturer at Spokane Falls Community College, teaching the book form in Jeannette Kirishian's printmaking class.

"When I first started making books in order to make one worthy of Peter, I never guessed it would take me on this journey," Ward says. And although he died suddenly of a heart attack in 2000, Ward says Peter continues to inspire her daily.

"Friendships are sacred," she says. "Peter always encouraged me to make books, so I feel like he's here while I work. It's helpful in healing from losing him." Ward says for her, making books has a definite spiritual aspect.

"It's keeping an old craft alive," she says. "You take some old things and transform them. They grow and take on a new, useful life."