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.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Day 12-Rhodonite Bead Book

Well, I did warn you at the bgining that some of this year's worth of books might be,well, ephemeral. Here's one you'll never be able to pick up and read, write in, or put on a shelf. In fact, it's already gone. It doesn't exist anymore.

I spent the day wandering around a few giant bead and gem shows in Tucson. Overwhelming, really, and tomorrow will be more of the same. And I spent way too much money on beads. So what better than to make a book out of beads.

I took some rhodonite beads I bought today and laid them out on my black sweater to make the book front. The spine is made from four big rectangles of tiger eye plus a few small round tiger eye beads at the top. The "pages" showing at the top are made of rutilated quartz beads. The whole book is about 4" high x 3" wide. Enjoy the pix. The "book" is no more. One day it will be a necklace. Forgive the quality of the photos. Shooting in a hotel room by wall light is not the ideal conditions.


Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. oh! La ViejaJune 11, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    I am enjoying your entries and unsuccessfully fighting off inspiration (that means I will have to get off my lazy 'bucket')! Especially love your rock/gemstone creations. (I lived in AZ for 35 years, have friends in Tucson, have been to Quartzite during the rock shows.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. francesj14January 19, 2012 at 9:46 PM

    I love this book idea, it reminds me of the jade books made in ancient China. They were flat 4"x 1" x 1/4" jade pieces inscribed with a mythic story and stitched like your bead book here so that it folds like an accordian. I have been making one the folds like DNA.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)