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, December 3, 2011

Book 287 - Grand Canyon Suite Finale - Recycled Beer Package Notebook-Perfect Binding

Here's the final entry in the "Grand Canyon suite." (You can see Books 272 and 273 for the first two books made form this same beer carton. Obviously, I really like the graphics on this box.

The cover of this perfect-bound notebook is made from the side panel of a carton of beer from the Grand Canyon Brewing Company, based in Williams, AZ. It's a fairly lightweight chipboard so I backed it with sturdy, metallic-finish card stock. The panel is a piece of white chip board also bonded to some of the metallic card stock. This makes the covers slightly sturdier than a commercial notebook cover.

The book block is made from tan text weight paper stacked and trimmed to size. Then the entire cut end is glued together with padding compound, a glue developed especially for perfect bindings like notepads and magazines.  The block is attached to the covers with black duct tape, which then also creates the spine.

I've never really watched anybody do this kind of perfect binding, so I'm pretty much winging it. and I have a feeling  I'm leaving some crucial step out or doing something else wrong. The book seems fine, but I'm worried that it would not stand up to use. I need to see a tutorial or watch someone who knows what they're doing make this book. Then I'll have it.








2 comments:

  1. I am back from my vacation and what fun this afternoon to sit down and catch up with what you have been doing. Love the Grand Canyon, the Fruits, very interesting here with the John Wayne book *pilgrim* and why not have a fall-back hairy journal position. And the nifty little two sewn as ones, neat with a quote on each. You have been keeping well busy and it is a treat to be back and see your work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Rachel. Following your vacation on FB, it sounded like you had a wonderful time. Glad to know you are home safe.

    ReplyDelete