Iris Graville

Author / Bookbinder
Ever since attending my first hand-bound journal-making workshop in 1997, I've been captivated by paper – its texture, color, and as a medium to express myself. Bookbinding is the ideal accompaniment to my passion for writing, providing me the skills to create beautiful (and sometimes, quirky) places to record words. My captivation with paper has expanded my repertoire to collage cards, bookmarks, artists' books, altered books, and hand-made boxes. I think of the books and boxes as sacred spaces that I hope people fill with things that are meaningful to them. Iris's web sites are: www.blueheron-studio.com. and www.handsworking.com.

HANDS AT WORK, the 2011 Eric Hoffer Award "Best Self-Published Book," provides a rich tapestry of people passionate about laboring with their hands. Through biography, geography, and technical description, author Iris Graville weaves vivid narratives. Summer Moon Scriver's striking photographs of hands, tools, and materials convey an enthusiasm for work that has become rare for many Americans.

"This profound book is medicine for our hurting souls, celebrating as it does the gift of people expressing their love and passion through skilled work with their hands." 
 ~ Matthew Fox, The Reinvention of Work