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.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Book 121 - La Tiznada - Screwpost Envelope Book

A hand-made screwpost book - I found these fabulous contemporary Day-of-the-Dead style Mexican "loteria" cards today in the "Mercado de Artesanias" here in San Miguel de Allende. It's a wonderful market with dozens of shops and stalls selling every kind of Mexican handicraft imaginable. It's a real treasure trove for artists looking for materials and inspiration.

The card I used on this book is a "calavera" or skeleton/skull with Frida Kahlo eyebrows and style. The name, "La Tiznada," comes from the Spanish verb "tiznar," which means to debase or stain the fame or reputation of another. Here it's used in the feminine, so it means a woman who has besmirched someone else's name--i.e. Frida's (At least that's my mid-level Spanish take on it. Someone else might know better, and I hope they'll tell me if I'm wrong.)

The pages of the book are made from manila money envelopes, the kind a lot of employers still use here to give employees their pay in cash. The hand-made book covers are made from mat board covered with light blue text paper. And the binding is a pair of aluminum screw posts.


Cool!



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