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.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Books 130 & 131

I seem to be on a black leather kick, don't I? Maybe it's the result of returning from the vivid colors and vibrant life of Mexico to the beige/rust/gray/dusty green of the Mohave Desert. But black leather has just been calling to me the last couple of days.

Today we have a pair of earrings. These are actual, complete books, each with two signatures and a total of 20 pages of white text paper (40 pages counting both sides). They are stitched with waxed linen thread, just like my larger books. Then they are hung from hand-made copper earwires.

I first tried making these out of a soft calfskin but it was simply too soft to hold its shape. I had to take them apart and start over with a stiffer leather. I used the softer leather to cut the thongs that wrap around and close these tiny books. Working this tiny can be really fussy and annoying. Things don't want to hang right. Surprisingly, these two little things took almost as long to make as if they were regular sized books. So I'm counting them as two books (to help me catch up).

Hey, it's my challenge and I make the rules. Two earrings, two books. Right? Right!




4 comments:

  1. These are fantastic. I think they (you!) are so clever.

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  2. These are fantastic! Gives me an idea for a different kind of book construction, with a message inside for my niece! She can wear my loving thoughts to her on her ears!

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  3. Are the signatures just sewn to the spine, or also to each other? The picture from above seems to show a big space between the two signatures.

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  4. Post a picture wearing them please!

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