Marc Randall: A Life of Books

I have acquired an extensive background in the craft and artistic fields. I have learned and become proficient at many forms of art and craft without the benefit of formal artistic schooling. Years of being a dental ceramist, years of working with my partner in the arts and entertainment world have brought me to a place where I can finally indulge in a craft/art that really appeals to my sense of time and place in the world.
The craft of book making and bookbinding is quite old indeed. The present form we use today is virtually unchanged over the last two thousand years. This is one of the major appeals to me for making books and journals. With today’s modern technologies that art and craft of handmade and hand-bound books is rapidly diminishing. To me it is important that these time-honoured handcrafts not be entirely lost to convenience or sacrificed to a sense of instant gratification. I greatly enjoy planning, designing and executing the many steps it takes to create a handcrafted book such as the selecting, researching,or making just the right kind of paper and finding, making and using a wide range of materials. The building of a book to create a dramatic effect,or a book that says;” touch me, open me, tell me your secrets? Just a few of the reasons why making books is so much fun for me.
The best part of this process is the knowledge that for each and every book I sell, it’s only the beginning of each and every book’s life. Imagining the tales, adventures,journeys or sketches that will find their way into the pages of the book I make is also one of my greatest satisfactions.
I create my books with much love and much attention to detail, to be sturdy and to last for many years to come. It is my desire that these qualities are much in evidence in my work. (text by Marc Randall)