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, November 7, 2011

Book 268 - "101 Dalmations" - A Recycled C hildren's Book Journal-Single Needle Coptic Stitch

Here's a cute recycled kids' book made into a blank book/journal  made from a copy of the book "101 Dalmations." I came home with a quite a stash of old children's books from the thrift shop the other day, so expect a lot more of these.

Those who have been following me here for awhile are familiar with this technique. I remove the book block (often battered, yellowed and/or torn) and slit the book covers apart right down the middle of the spine. I then fold the cut edges back over the book covers and glue them down to the inside to create the two covers for a single-needle coptic binding.

I folded 40 sheets of plain white text paper into eight signatures to make 80 pages (160 counting both sides). Punched holes in the signatures and the front and back covers. The binding is a single-needle coptic stitch done in bright red waxed hemp cord. I can finally do this stitch well and have it look neat and tight and nice.

I created end papers for the book by raiding a couple of illustrations from the original book.

It's nice... and I think some girl would love carrying it to school.










5 comments:

  1. Oops, indeed. More tired than I thought, I guess. Adding it now.

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  2. This is one thing I have wondered every time I encounter it. Why do you write Dalmatian with O? It's even written with A in the cover! It's a dog from Dalmatia, a Dalmatian, not some weird comination of damnation and dog.

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