15: A Canvas Covered Art Journal: Book-in-a-Day 15

Title: 15
Structure: Canvas Covered Art Journal
Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 9
21 blank pages
Video of my process

Immediately after this book was done, I was on to making another just like it. That's how much I loved the final product. The feel of the canvas around the watercolor papers had me eager to start journaling with paints and inks and gesso. 

If you watch the video, you'll hear me talk about the book that inspired this week's book. One of the members of the Giving Hands Creative Community, Lorrie, made a beautiful hand bound art journal for the current art journal swap. I was so enamored by it that I wanted to make my own. She used a pair of old khaki pants to make her cover. I used raw canvas. The results were amazingly similar. 

My plan for this blank book is to take a class with one of my favorite art journal teachers and fill the book with goodness. OR to simply make a new page each week. Maybe I'll even video that process too. :-) 

I'll be making a lot more of these. I really enjoyed it. I think I'll even teach a live workshop where I teach this process to others and we make art journal pages in one day. Sound fun???

I'm looking forward to next week, as always. Stay tuned! If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please share here or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site. 

Recursive: Book-in-a-Day Wk13

Title: Recursive
Structure: Flip Pamphlet
Dimensions: 6 1/4 x 5

Another book done and done! It feels great to have the 13th book completed and to have finished before midnight.  I think that is going to be my new goal each week -- complete the book by midnight!! Sounds realistic, but my track record says otherwise :-). 

Recursive was my first (and definitely NOT last) attempt at creating a structure. That part was the most fun. Everything else I did with this book was familiar. I found it quite exhilarating to engineer a structure. Now, of course it's possible that the structure already exists in the world somewhere, but it's not one I've seen anywhere or been taught by anyone so it feels like I'm creating it from scratch. My process for creating the book is documented, but there's more than 2 hours of footage that I didn't include because for most of it, I'm rambling on as I think through the process and structural concerns inherent in this kind of task. 

For the most part, this might be my new love -- creating simple structures and using them to make art journals. Let's see where it takes me next. 

So the poem for this book was something I drafted a few years back. It seemed to be waiting for just this moment. Don't you love when that happens? The poem never had a title, so the calling the book Recursive is really a homage to what I've been telling my students for almost 20 years. Writing is recursive. It's a process that folds in on itself and can start (or restart) at any point in the cycle. I love that about writing. It makes the idea of writer's block such a myth. 

In retrospect, the process for this book was a bit overwhelming. I did a lot of things:

• created a structure for the book from scratch
• watercolored the entire book 
• cut out shaped images from upcycled monoprints I made months ago with my Gelli® Plate

So it took me a lot longer to make this book than I had anticipated. It's a good thing I started earlier in the day than usual. I think I wasn't really considering how long each piece might take me, so in the end, I wasn't very happy with the way the text and the images speak to one another on the page. I could have done a lot more with color composition and positioning if I had more time. This is one of the caveats of making a book in a day -- I want to do more than I can really do in a day once I get started. I mean, my idea starts small, but it morphs and grows as the day goes. {This is where I remind myself that it's a book made in ONE DAY and that I can easily make more of them the way I want after the fact!!}

See you next week!!This month of books should be tons of fun since it's also National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo)!! I'll be writing one poem a day. I'm posting prompts over at my facebook page and teaching an online poetry class at givinghands.ning.com. You should join in the fun and write a poem a day with me. 

I'm looking forward to what next week brings. I have a reading on Thursday night and a speaking engagement on Friday, so I'm debating whether or not I should make the book on Wednesday. Stay tuned! If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please share here or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site.

The Things Behind: Book-In-A-Day Wk7

Title: The Things Behind
Structure: Double Signature Pamphlet
Dimensions: 4 x 6

Video of the process.

This was another great bookmaking experience. I enjoyed the time I got to spend on content for this book. I knew I wanted to do something with black and white photos, but I didn't know which photos or what I wanted to do with them. After attending CODEX earlier in the week, I was inspired by many book artists and their work. I found myself really digging the miniature books, but I didn't want to make a mini this week. I knew I wanted to try the double signature pamphlet. I'm planning on making a few blank art journals using this structure (do you smell a give-a-way?) so I thought I should create an actual book using it first.

At CODEX, I got the chance to experience a book created by my dear friend, Lyall Harris. Her book, The Indistinguishable Bones, inspired me to look at black and white photos as my springboard. I had a ton of fun journeying down memory lane with my old photos.

Eventually, I felt drawn to a pattern (I talk about this in the video), so I let that guide me. A good deal of my time was spent selecting old photos, scanning them into a digital format, and manipulating them using Preview and MS Word. Then, I had to figure out how to get them on the page the way I envisioned.

Once I printed out the first set of photos on plain printer paper, I sat with them, examining and brainstorming. I spent time writing the text and twice as much time revising. And in the end, I did a happy dance because I love the way the photos inform the text and vice versa.

But getting to that point was not easy. I toiled over the words and it took them a while to come. In the video, I talk about using strategies to help me arrive at the content for this book. One of the things I did was make lists.

I started with the color versions of the photos and listed all the colors that stood out. That list became my descriptors. Then I wrote freely while trying to use those descriptors when it felt right. It was an organic process, a lot like my art journaling. In the end, the writing gave me direction for how to order the photos in the signatures and how to pair them with the text.

One of the great elements of this book was how easy it was to assemble once all the pieces were in place. I mean, once I fumbled around with the formatting and printing :-). All the work is done up front and I can easily reproduce this book if I want to edition it.

Since I started learning book art, I thought I'd be someone who editions books. I wasn't really a fan of the one-of-a-kind book, but recently, I've found a lot of appreciation for them, so I'll continue to explore both book types throughout the year.

What I learned during the making of this book: 

• Paper selection is key. The wrong paper can make or break the book. 
• My printer is a little bit evil (or I just need to spend more time with it).
• The way we view a photograph changes as we grow and live and experience life in motion. 
• I love sewing paper. It's calming. 
• My printer cannot do a full bleed print, no matter how much I beg.
• I need a better paper cutter. I'm planning to buy this one: x-acto laser trimmer 
• When the content doesn't come easily, change your perspective. 

To see a list of materials I used for this project, please join the free community at givinghands.ning.com. 

I'm looking forward to what next week brings. If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please post them to the flickr group or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site (where you can view the list of materials I use and see more photos). 

See you next week!!

Her Story: Book-In-A-Day Wk 6

Title: Her Story
Structure: French Door
Dimensions: 3 11/16 x 7

Another great day for BIAD. Even though I set a record for the longest night for BIAD (4AM), I'm happy I was able to get through it. This is the first book I've done where I used handmade papers (I didn't make them) and my memory of them slowly resurfaced as I made this book. Handmade papers can be so fragile and delicate, especially when you add PVA. 


Watch the video of my process.

Inspiration
This book is a nod towards the start of Black History Month. I figured it was appropriate to bring out the handmade stamps I made a while back when I got frustrated trying to find some that I could purchase. While I don't have any real ties to West Africa, I find myself  drawn to the Adinkra symbols. I'm in love with symbols in general, but these are ones I come back to time and time again. And they keep showing up in my life at random times. 

Most recently, one of my students, Rosa Cabera, created a flyer for a free workshop she's giving here in Oakland. Her hand drawn logo is the "aya" fern of the Adinkra. It symbolizes endurance and is a perfect image for the InkRise workshop she's leading. It's Rosa's flyer that reminded me of the stamps I'd made. 

Her Story takes five of the symbols that show up in my life time and time again and places them in a narrative context that tells my story. Without using any original text, I've attempted to tell my story in a way that I hope will speak to other women who experience the book. 

The French door structure allowed me to arrange the symbols in a way that leaves the flow of the book to the reader. There are infinite possibilities for interpretation. 

Embracing The Mistakes
So this book yielded the most mistakes so far and that was a great experience to go through. It was frustrating at times and caused me to stay awake a lot longer than I wanted, but my BIAD definition of a "day" is from the time I wake until the time I go to bed, so I HAD to get it done for my sanity :-). 

1. The first mistake was in my measuring. For some reason, I just kept measuring things wrong and having to redo and redo. 
2. Mistake number two -- my ink sprays were not working with my handmade stencil and it drove me crazy. I tested four different sprays. Made a new spray and tried it; it didn't work either. Then I tried using paint directly from the bottle with a makeup sponge -- NOPE. Finally, I settled on pochoir (my fav technique) and wondered why in the world I didn't just start with that. BLAH!! 
3. The beads I wanted to use for the "dangle" were too big. Had to find suitable ones. All of my old jewelry making stuff is in the laundry room behind and over and under things. I had to fish it out and that seemed to take FOREVER. 
4. Stamping blunders -- I should have measured the longest word first to see if it would fit on the largest acrylic block I own and on the page, but I didn't and when it came time to stamp the word "fawohodie" my spacing was wonky. Then I had one word "Wawa Aba" that was really two words but I stamped the first word right in the center, which left no room for the "aba". But it's all good and I'm happy with that page anyway. 

But despite all of this, I LOVE THIS BOOK. I'm happy with my mistakes. I consider them the touch of a handmade, one-of-a-kind book. Not to mention, I am so happy that my stamps (after being in storage for so long), got to see the light of day and stamped beautifully. 

I realized in making this book that I really like the effect that embossing has on a stamped image. I embossed the Adinkra symbols with clear embossing powder and LOVE LOVE LOVE the way they came out. 

To see a list of materials I used for this project, please join the free community at givinghands.ning.com. 

I'm looking forward to what next week brings. If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please post them to the flickr group or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site (where you can view the list of materials I use and see more photos). See you next week!!

Midnight at the Oasis: Book-In-A-Day Wk5

Title: Midnight at the Oasis
Structure: Wraparound Pamphlet
Dimensions: Closed -- 4 ²⁄₈ x 6 ²⁄₈
Fully Extended -- 19 ²⁄₈ x 6 ²⁄₈
It's week five and I have complete another book-in-a-day. This journey has already been so much more than I could have expected. Each week I wonder if I'll be able to make another book that I'm pleased with and each week, I am able to create something that I feel really proud of. This week five book is no exception.

Click here for the video of my process.

Midnight at the Oasis is a wraparound pamphlet book structure. I had forgotten about this structure until I had a conversation with my husband about wanting to create a book that could be sewn but where the sewing would not be visible. He remembered seeing a blank one that I made in a class with Julie Chen at Mills College. I had to dig back through my blank book stash and there it was!!

I adore this structure and will likely make a blank art journal to give-a-way in the next Giving Hands give-a-way and, of course, I'll make one to use as an art journal.

So the process for making this book was really organic in that I selected a really old poem and spent several hours reworking it and revising it. Once it felt right for me, I spent some time journaling about the poem to see what came up for me. (Yep, that's my process.)

What came up was something I spend time working with when I have creative clients who can't seem to move past their "block". I don't believe in writer's block or artist's blocks. I do believe that we have creative lulls in our lives and that those lulls can seem like blocks. Exploring that line of thinking made me really go deep to figure out why I don't believe in "blocks" and this book is what emerged from that space.

In the end, this book made it to the number two spot on my list of favorites so far. I think I enjoyed the process so much because of the time I spent revising and thinking about my poetry. 

Other things I realized during the making of this book:

• My heat tool is invaluable.
• The scoring board is a magnificent tool.
• I like shimmery paints.
• Simple can be beautiful. 

One of the biggest revelations I had this week was that I am starting to let go of the implanted idea of perfection that I've had for so long. This book felt freeing (as did all the others I've made so far) and I realized that when I let go of the idea of perfection as defined by others, I end up loving the result much more than I could have imagined. 

I'm looking forward to what next week brings. If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please post them to the flickr group or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site (where you can view the list of materials I use and see more photos). See you next week!!

Dos-á-Dos Blank Book: Book-in-a-Day Wk 3

Three views of the Dos-á-Dos

I'm really happy about this week's book. I selected a simpler structure this week to give myself time to ease into having to teach and make a book each week. I'm glad I did. This structure, the Dos-á-Dos, is one of my favorite blank books to make. 

The first time I made this book, I was assisting my dear friend, Lyall Harris as she taught a letterpress class at the San Francisco Center for the Book. I've been trying to revisit the structure ever since and this seemed like the perfect time. 

This book reminds me that January is a time for reflection. The two back-to-back signatures give me amazing opportunities for journaling and thinking about the past (2012) and the future (2013). That's what January is all about, right? Reflection, recollection, and reinventing. Well, at least for me that's what happens in January. You know, like the story of Janus. (here's another great source for the story of Janus) 

The video for this week is here. 

The Dos-á-Dos structure has reminded me that:

• art is reflection
• the blank page is an opportunity/an invitation
• thinking about something from more than one perspective can be freeing
• creative moments can be short and sweet (it took me less than four hours to gather all the materials, set up the video equipment, and construct the books)

If you're watching the videos, I'm honored! If you're making the books, I'm intrigued, so please post them to the flickr group or on the Giving Hands Creative Community site (where you can view the list of materials I use and see more photos). See you next week!!