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.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Book 231 - Recycled Wallpaper Journal/Blank Book-2-Sewn-as-1 Binding

This blank book journal has a hidden 2-sewn-as-1 binding. And yes, it's another one of my recycled wallpaper wonders in a nice bamboo pattern.

Before we get to the book... I know I'm way behind on posting lately. Mom care-taking time that is more intensive than I expected combined with major computer problems have put the kabosh to my postings. But I HAVE been making books. I have 5 or 6 ready to post right now and will add them over the next couple days... if this stinking computer cooperates. My sister's old Mac is in serious need of some TLC. For a couple days it would not upload any photos from my camera's memory card (even erased about a dozen of them in the process of trying). I have to unplug it to reboot at least once a day when it freezes up. And last night there was no internet connection at all. Extremely frustrating.

BUT, less computer time meant more book-making time! And I scored another book of wallpaper samples this week. Funny, I almost didn't bother to pick it up when I saw the style. It is SO not me.. in terms of home decor. I'd likely never put any of this stuff on a wall in my home. But once I started really looking at it, I realized it had some tremendous book possibilities. It's been fun finding new ways to use it.

So today's book is the first from the new find... a really simple journal with two fat signatures bound with a 2-sewn-as-1" binding. That's what Alisa Golden calls it in her incredibly useful book, "Making Handmade Books: 100 Bindings and Structures." (If you don't have it, you can get it at the link in the top left column.)

Since the wallpaper by itself was a bit thin for a cover, and because it had some printing on the back, I glued it to a piece of coordinating wallpaper for a liner.

For this simple structure, basically, you fold your cover in half with a deep pleat in the center. You then open it up, lay your two signatures on either side of the pleat inside the cover, and stitch through all the layers with a single row of stitching. I used a simple three-hole pamphlet stitch for this one.

Then I decided to make the binding hidden, so I covered the spine with a strip of the same coordinated wallpaper as the liner. Stuck it in the book press for a couple hours and Aha! A nice, neat, simple little journal/blank book with 36 pages (72 both sides) of felt finish cream paper.

As they say at Staples... That was Easy!







1 comment:

  1. Nice! I especially love the paper with the bamboo leaves. Looks like this was a good wallpaper find. :)

    Sorry things have been draining with your mom--and that you've had so much trouble with your sister's Mac and the internet! But glad to hear it has given you more bookbinding time. I know you'll show us eventually. I'm patient. ;)

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