Alphabet City Press is me, Avril Makula, a book artist and book designer.
My practice revolves around making books.
I make books by hand as works of art to exhibit, I teach bookbinding and book arts, and I continue to accept book design commissions under the Gravity AAD banner.
Books as works of art
I bring a strong design aesthetic to my handmade books. Much of my work explores the book as art using typography, geometry and colour as content, but I am increasingly drawn to themes of connection to place, landscape and the natural world. I print and hand-bind books, I restructure discarded books into new forms, and use text snippets from old books as collage elements.
I love the way a closed book can reveal its secrets depending on how it is opened by the reader.
My book works are in major public libraries and private collections both in Australia and internationally.
You can see some of my artists books here. You can find my bio here.
Published work
‘Type Town: a neighbourhood of glyphs, graffiti, ligatures and legs’ is a full-colour exploration of the rich typographic landscape of a neighbourhood—a photographic visual feast of the quirky, fanciful and fantastic signage that contributes to the rich cultural fabric of Sydney’s vibrant Inner West. There are worn and weathered ghost signs, advertisements, faded and peeling signage, graffiti—a collection that is aesthetically and historically diverse. In its celebration of typography in the urban landscape, ‘Type Town’ highlights the idiosyncratic, the beautiful, a disappearing history and a growing future.
Book design
Under the Gravity AAD banner I design a diverse range of books and publications for publishing houses, self-publishers. government departments and organisations.
Bookbinding and teaching
I make notebooks and sketchbooks using traditional bookbinding techniques. I teach a range of bookmaking techniques and approaches, including the invaluable skill of traditional bookbinding at the NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders.
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QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Art (Visual Art), Alexander Mackie CAE (UNSW)
AFFILIATIONS
Type Directors Club
NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders
Sydney Book Art Group
Alphabet City Press 