A Book a Day? What's Up With That?


Hi, and welcome to this year-long project. So what's this all about and how did it happen, you might ask. In mid 2007, artist Noah Scalin decided to make a skull out of anything he could find, every day for a year. It stretched him in ways he never imagined, as an artist, a writer and a person. His experience turned into a blog that went viral, and then a book.

Others have picked up on the idea: 365 Hearts, 365 Masks, 365 Bears drawn on a cellphone, 365 paper napkin mustaches.
I wanted to play, too, and I chose books. I love books, I know a bit about making books (thanks to my talented book-maker sister, Marilyn Worrix), and they're broad enough in definition to give me a lot of creative leeway.

The whole point is not really the books. The idea is to stretch myself in many ways as an artist and a person, to set up a discipline, stick with it and see what that teaches me.

I hope you'll join with me and follow along on the journey chronicled here, and let me know what you think.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Day 59 - Stick Binding Journal/Album

Because the stick binding on this journal/album features a real stick--a small tree branch I found in the yard--this one is for nature lovers. It also has covers made of heavy hand-made paper (which I bought; I'm not a papermaker... yet). The paper has a lovely texture and small confetti-like flecks of pastel colors.

The stick binding is similar to the Japanese stab binding, since both are end bindings with simple stacked pages rather than sewn signatures. With a stick binding, you simply bring your thread (or in this case raffia) up through the holes, wrap it around the twig and then sew back down through the same hole, snugging it tight around the stick or twig. When I finished stitching this, I tied a few more strands of the raffia around the top knot and shredded it for embellishment.

This kind of book makes a nice photo album or guest book. Measures 6 1/2" x 8 1/2".



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2 comments:

  1. Mrs Jones VintageMarch 28, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    Hey Donna,
    great idea and keep up the awesome work! Very inspiring! I've written you up on our crafty goodness blog, VaaVoom.com! Here 'tis: http://www.vaavoom.com.au/?p=606

    ReplyDelete
  2. DonnaMarch 29, 2011 at 1:28 AM

    Thanks so much for the mention! Keeps me motivated!

    ReplyDelete

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