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.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Book 253 - "Dark Harbor" - A Recycled Children's Book - Blank Book-Journal--Double-Needle Coptic Stitch

Another recycled children's book tonight. This one is a young adult novel called "Dream of Dark Harbor." I picked it up because I loved the mysterious illustration on the cover. This was another "pre-loved" book from the Goodwill. The cover shows a few spots of wear, but I don't think that detracts from the finished book.

I cut out the rather tattered book block and slit the spine down the middle.I turned the cut edges over and glued them down, then clamped them to dry. Then I lined the inside of both covers with textured black cardstock.

The pages are a 24 lb creamy beige paper with a parchment like mottled look to it. I folded eight signatures and stitched the book with the double-needle coptic stitch, again using six needles for the six sewing station.

I really need to do about a dozen more of these multi-needle coptic bindings before I will really "own" it. Every time I start one, I have to rethink it all over again. not the middle part of actually stitching the signatures, but the beginning and end. I seem to have trouble remembering the order and feel like I'm reinventing the wheel all over again.

So expect more of these...





2 comments:

  1. I love these repurposed books! The wear makes them more special.
    I have only learned one way to do coptic stitch (one needle) off the internet and have only made half a dozen journals. Each time is almost like the first time. Maybe if I made them closer together--LOL!

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  2. Rita - That is EXACTLY what I need to do, make about a dozen of them one right after the other so I actually REMEMBER from one book to the next how to do it.

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