Another leather journal, my favorite books to make. This is a fat little book covered with a buttery soft camel-colored leather. The closure is a pair of brown leather strips that tie in the front. I'm not completely happy with the closure yet. I think it needs a button or buckle or something rather than just a tie. I'll have to think on it a bit more.
Book measures 3 1/2" w x 4" high x 1 1/4" thick, a nice purse or pocket size. The inside end papers are a textured banana paper. The pages are cream heavy text paper. Once again, it is bound with a longstitch binding and sewn with waxed linen thread.
I'm Donna Meyer and this is a Daily Journal of a Challenge: to make a book a day for a year, to stretch my imagination, creativity, skills and discipline. Inspired by Noah Scalin's Skull-a-Day. Why books? A book can be made of almost anything, and I can stretch its definition. Some will be fancy, skilled and take time. Others will be quick-&-dirty, maybe just images, or ephemeral, disappearing books. Follow along. We'll discover together how to create a book a day for 365 days.
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.
what a beautiful little book!
ReplyDeletedo you have detailed steps on how to make one? Thanks alot!!!:)
ReplyDeleteChezka - I'm sorry, I have not written out a tutorial, but there are some good ones on the web. One pretty good three part tutorial on YouTube is http://www.youtube.com/user/MajhadaCrafts?feature=watch#p/a/u/2/3bERAwpNeKo I don't start my stitching on the outside because I don't want the knot to show, but otherwise this is just how I make my books. I hope you find it helpful.
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