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, May 9, 2011

Book 101 - El Limon Gigante (The Giant Lime) Journal

Ah, the best laid plans... On my way to the big outdoor market here in San Miguel de Allende today, I ran into an old friend who is leaving town tomorrow. Today was the only possible time we could catch up. So out went the market day in honor of friendship. But I did get up to the "Mega," (sort of a smaller Wal-Mart) and picked up a few bookish supplies. One of the best was a foam placemat shaped like a giant lime. How could I not buy it and instantly make a book out of it?

The hardest part of this hand-made blank journal was cutting the book block after the signatures were folded and nested. It's a skill I have not perfected, especially when the pages have a shape, like these. I am not at all happy with the smoothness and evenness (or lack thereof) of the pages. But after working on them for nearly two hours I realized they could only get worse, not better, and let them be with the happy thought that "Limes are lumpy!" So limey pages should be too!

The book has 6 signatures of 12 pages each. They are bound to the foam placemat with a simple longstitch binding, and the book closes with a piece of Velcro.

I think it's at least worth a laugh.









2 comments:

  1. This book definitely made me smile =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was on another computer and lost track of you for a couple of days. What fun to get back and see what you have been up to. The lime is great. Its wraparound cover, with the little tab, makes it very practical. You are finding what you need.

    ReplyDelete