"The Path To Mastery" Series

“The Path To Mastery” Series

“Bookbinder - a person whose job is fastening the pages of books together and putting covers on them”.

“Calligraphy - beautiful handwriting that you do with a special pen or brush; the art of producing this”.

Long time no see.

I don’t update this blog for a long time. Many things have happened since the last time I showed up here. I moved from Warsaw to Prague, lived two years there, and now I’m back on Polish territory, living in a small city called Płońsk.

Who would ever guess?

But my postal code was not the only thing that changed in the last two years!

As my friends know well, I have always had many different passions and hobbies. I wrote for many years (poems, short stories, etc.), studied Bonsai for some years, learned the basics of music, played the drums and much more. This makes my friends question: “ok, so what next?” I am here today to tell you exactly what is next on my list. In fact, today, I am starting a new blog series called “The Path To Mastery”, where I will tell you about two of the passions to that I’ve been dedicating a big chunk of my time now: bookbinding and calligraphy.

In 2021, in the middle part of the COVID pandemic, I started timidly learning bookbinding. But just recently, I’ve decided to dive in and move from being a beginner to becoming a master of the craft. I don’t know how many years this journey will last - or if it will ever end! - But my goal with these posts is to share my projects, my frustrations, and the lessons I’m learning along the way.

I am far from becoming a master. I am still a beginner bookbinder, but I’ve been working every day to improve my skills and keep learning. This time I found one of the things that really defines me. Therefore, I’m in love with the art and feel it would be amazing to share it with you. It may inspire you to find your passion in this world, or it just serves as a journal for me to see how I evolved with time. Who knows where the path will lead us?

I just wanted to give you this headsup. On the next post I will talk on how I started bookbinding and which projects I’ve recently finished and which ones I’m currently working on. Why bookbinding and calligraphy? Why pursue this goal of becoming a master? Techniques, designs, workshops… I will write about everything!

See you in few days.

photo by myself (Rafael Toscano).

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