365: Make a Book a Day: Book 340 - Colored & Textured Amate Paper Guest Book - Blank Book

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, January 24, 2012

Book 340 - Colored & Textured Amate Paper Guest Book - Blank Book - Japanese Stab Binding

I always love using amate paper, the bark paper made in Mexico. It can be picky, because it often cracks if you crease it, but I love the look and feel of it.

The piece I used for the cover of this guest book-journal was textured/sculpted into a design while the bark was still wet. Then, when it dried to form, it was painted with natural pigments. I bought this paper in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico last year.

For the back of the book, I used another piece of amate paper in a light color.

The guest book's pages are 80 lb cream-colored paper with a slight fleck. The top and bottom edges of the pages are hand torn for a more natural look.

The binding is a Japanese stab binding done with two colors of waxed cotton thread. At the top, I left the threads hanging and tied on two cylindrical carved bone buttons. I think they are the perfect complement to the paper.

I will always be looking for ways to use this luscious bark paper. It takes me back to Mexico and gives anything I make with it a rich, rustic, earthy feel.