This book is sort of a mutt--a bit of this and a bit of that. I wanted to practice another spiral bound with wire, but that can make for really boring books. So I made the pages of the spiral book out of manila envelopes cut down. These pages then formed pockets. Into each of the six pockets, I tucked a little 2" x 2 1/2" pamphlet bound booklet.
For a cover, I wrapped a piece of sturdy paper around the notebook and glued it onto the last page. I stitched the 6 booklets with 100% cotton embroidery floss and also tied a piece of floss around the book to hold it closed.
Interesting experiment, but this is not a book I'll be selling any time soon. But I learned some things, and that's part of what this challenge is all about.
I'm Donna Meyer and this is a Daily Journal of a Challenge: to make a book a day for a year, to stretch my imagination, creativity, skills and discipline. Inspired by Noah Scalin's Skull-a-Day. Why books? A book can be made of almost anything, and I can stretch its definition. Some will be fancy, skilled and take time. Others will be quick-&-dirty, maybe just images, or ephemeral, disappearing books. Follow along. We'll discover together how to create a book a day for 365 days.
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.
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Oooh, thank you so much for the reminder that this is supposed to be about the journey, the process, NOT always about the product. I need to click my ruby slippers together and repeat that three times every morning.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's a hard one to remember sometimes, Rachel.I know for me I've always had the thought "Can I sell this?" even when I was just starting something. So it's good for me to concentrate on process sometimes.
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