Pursuing sustainability in materials has long been a core value of Debra Frances’ practice.  Her immersion in fish leather processing has opened a new sense of collaborating with the land, rather than simply harvesting from it.  Repurposing fish skins (a vastly discarded resource) as archival leather is a traditional practice, kept alive by myriad fishing communities and keepers of ancestral skills.  As an avid fisher person themself, Debra found it meaningful to honour the fish that she caught in this way.  Each fish skin boasts an intricate, beautiful pattern, preserved through the act of tanning.  As her work pushes more towards the sculptural, the story behind each cover is a crucial element.  The choice to use fish leather becomes an entry point for dialogue, meant to provoke curiosity about the leather and its origin.

The walleye used for this cover was caught on Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.  It has been tanned with oak gall nuts and sewn with Irish linen thread onto a piece of soft Argentinian leather to form the wrap cover for this sketchbook/journal.

Inside you’ll find Strathmore drawing paper (80 lb).  This paper works well with graphite pencil, coloured pencil, pen and ink, marker, soft pastel, mixed media and oil pastel; perfect for all your drawing and writing needs.

Each signature (group of pages) is wrapped in a cover of Strathmore  400 Series watercolour paper (130 lb).

6” x 4” x 2”

16 cm x 11 cm x 5 cm

192 pages | 32 watercolour pages