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.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Book 153 - Red Triangle Accordion Fold Handmade Book

We have another really small handmade book today. That's probably because the only paper I had that was in a long enough single strip to make this fold was our cash register receipt paper. Not very wide.

I got this structure from Shereen LaPlantz' "Cover to Cover," the first book on bookmaking I ever owned. It's really quite simple. You just fold your long long strip of paper in a triangle, then a straight fold, then another triangle in the other direction, then another straight fold, etc. It's very similar to folding up a flag, if you've ever done that. The covers are mat board covered in a decorative Japanese paper. Ribbons are glued between the covers and the end papers, then the folded accordion is glued onto the insides of the two covers. Tie it up and you're done.

One point LaPlantz makes--and I can verify it from personal experience--is that when you are making these kinds of folded books it is crucial to be very exact with your folds. Points must be perfect, lines all straight. A really small error in the folding will compound rapidly and throw the whole thing off by the time you're done. Ask me how I know!

I've been poring over bookmaking books the last few days and I'm getting very anxious to start making some more complicated structures, some that will take more than a day. What I will likely do is have a few going at a time so that I can finish one every day for posting. I think that's kosher for the challenge.




2 comments:

  1. I can see where you'd have to be exact with your folds. Cute!

    I think having several going at once is perfectly kosher--and gives you more leeway. Just need to finish one a day. Or, for that matter, to just show us one a day. ;)

    With dry time and life not always going according to schedule, I wondered how you could do this for a whole year. If you get sick or something unexpected comes up I'm sure we would all understand in a heartbeat.

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  2. Rita - You are very forgiving. and I am too easily persuaded to take a day off. But no, I am determined to have 365 books to show at the end of the year. I've no always been the strongest on follow through. I am CHANGING THAT!.

    Thanks

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