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.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Book 274 - Sorry" Board Game Notebook/Journal - Single Needle Coptic Stitch Binding

This notebook made from a recycled board game was fin to make. I love making books from old game boards, and I especially love this board from the game "Sorry." I love the symbolism of the "Start" and "Home" graphics. I often find these games at thrift stores, and I don't feel terribly guilty about cutting them up because the games are often missing parts.

For this one, I cut the large pieces from the game board and used them for the front and back covers. Because there were raw edges where the board was cut, I needed to cover those with something. I used washi tape, a kind of decorative masking tape from Japan. It comes in lots of colors and patterns and is a perfect solution for this kind of situation. Since the board back and edges were a light blue, I covered the cut edges with a medium blue washi tape and burnished it down very well.

This is a large notebook-sized journal. I folded signatures from 11"x17" paper and trimmed it down slightly to fit the boards. I poked holes in the sigs and drilled corresponding holes in the boards, then bound it with a single-needle coptic stitch.

I'm finally beginning to feel quite confident with this stitch. Guess I finally "own" it.

This is a nice notebook, quite sturdy, it lies completely flat and would be handy for all sorts of things.










3 comments:

  1. Oh, I loved playing Sorry! This is soooo cool! This size book would make a great sketchbook.
    Glad you "own" the stitching now. ;)

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  2. A great sketchbook. I love the idea of using game boards for covers! Here I go off to the thrift store after raiding my games.

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  3. You're right, those graphics are wonderful, especially for the cover of a journal.

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