And the Ass saw the Angel

Bound by Kate Holland

And the Ass saw the Angel by Nick Cave
London: Black Spring Press. 1989.

The book is covered in full hand-dyed orange alum-tawed goatskin, with a black goatskin onlay of a lightning tree and scratches in the leather. The black endpapers are reverse off-set printed with images of dead crows, the edges are coloured black with black sprinkle and the headbands are orange leather.

This is a tale of murder, lust and God set in small-town Bible-belt America. The colours are inspired by films such as Night of the Hunter and Gone with the Wind. The scratches evoke the protagonist's self mutilation, the silhouetted lightning tree plays centre stage and the crows are forever circling the narrative.

It was awarded the Hewit's prize for craftsmanship at SOB 2007 competition and is now in a private collection.

Kate uses Hewit's alum-tawed goatskin a lot in her work. She enjoys colour and does not like being limited by a preordained palette. Using a white skin gives me a blank canvas on which to work and allows for greater creativity.

Kate is happy to undertake commissions for design bindings.

For further examples of her work please go to www.katehollandbooks.co.uk