ArtiphyTheHeart

Rescuing An Old Book To Make A New One

Last year the Scottsdale Public Library system got rid of thousands and thousands of books by selling them off at 10¢ each.  That's 100 books for $10.  Many of these books were in excellent condition.  Some had been donated, but most were discards from the stacks.  I did my part and rescued armloads of these, some in great shape, some falling apart, some to read, some with only a few but precious salvagable pages, some with rotting book blocks but fabulous boards, some for their spines, some for their covers, some for their blocks, some for their size, etc.   I stayed miles away from book mold, and was surprised to find that the librarians didn't know what it was and how invasive it could be.  But I did pick up some dirty-but-cleanable books, especially those with uber-sturdy library bindings.  

I've done a lot with lots of them already.  The book I'm showing today was one of four, all of them falling apart, glue rotting at the spine with blocks only partially connected to the endpapers.  I thought I'd farm these four for images and text and discard the covers, but then came Kelly Kilmer's newest workshop, "The Journey Within".   Any book can be used for this workshop, but the bookbinding she features uses covers + spine of a book minus the block.  It can be falling apart because it will be restored, spine reinforced with tape, and given new life as a completely new book.  Clear and precise directions along with one-on-one email support are part of the workshop, so if you're interested, you can do this too.  Here are pics of my restoration:

This pic is really blurry, but so was I by the time I shot it.  It isn't the book I restored, but it's just like it.  One of the other three that I picked up in this series.  I forgot to take a before pic, so this will give you an idea of what it looked like prior to gutting and covering.  Hang with me.  The pics improve.

Here's a peek at the inside cover.  Again, it isn't the exact book I restored.  Mine had a navy blue block which had come almost completely unattached to the endpapers and was literally falling out of the cover.  But it is an accurate representation since it's from the same series.

This is the actual block from the book I restored.  I didn't even have to tug.  It fell into my hands the minute I cracked the spine.  Lots of potential inside, too.

Here's my restoration.  Paper from the Paper Studio.  The upholstery fabric I used for the spine was a gift from someone who saves nice tidbits for me and passes them along every once in awhile.

New inside cover.  More Paper Studio paper, and as you can see, I carried the covered spine all the way through, wrapping it entirely around before stitching in the new sets of signatures.

Here's a close-up of the new spine.  Unfortunately, you really can't see the stitching because I used black bookbinding thread that lost itself inside the texture of the upholstery fabric.  But it looks great in real life.  Subtle, but good.

Keep in mind that inside and out, the cover will change dramatically as the book is worked from the inside-out.  I usually complete the cover after working most of the inside since the cover will take a beating traveling with me and being repeatedly opened and closed.  It's nice and simple as is, but just wait till it becomes art!

Little Pages

Most of my time is taken up with painting.  I work around a painting in layers, section by section.   While one section dries I work on another, then I go back and add more layers, fleshing it out.  This is slow, satisfying work.  I spend a lot of time thinking about it while I paint, and I take breaks often.  I love this slow work that takes a days, weeks, or months to complete.  But I also have a real need to finish something in a day for the pat-on-the-back that a sense of completion brings.  

This isn't the reason I work in a tiny collaged book that will morph into an art journal.  I do it because I love it, and because it provides a home for some very luscious snippets that really shouldn't end up in the dust bin.  But working in a tiny book does have the added benefit of quick accomplishment, especially when it's broken up into tasks, such as collage and paint today, embellish and journal on another day.  

Here are a couple of 2 page spreads from my tiny collage book.  They have a very unfinished look partly because they are unfinished, and partly because they haven't yet been sewn into book form.  Working this small, it's much easier for me to collage and embellish the pages, then sew and journal later.  If you click HERE, you can see a post that puts the size of these tiny pages into perspective.  The pages are 3" X 4-1/2".  The book is the one I'm holding in my hand in the first photo when you click the link, and also in the last photo when you scroll down. 

I've also been spending a lot of time reading.  I'm a big fan of Haruki Murakami, and I'm finding that his book1Q84 is unputdownable.  I work more smoothly when I'm in the middle of really good fiction.

And last but not least, there's a new post up on ArtiPhybers.  Click HERE and take a look.

In The Cards

Day three of Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Drawing.  Rapidograph, sepia Micron, and gray Pitt pens on an ex-library page in my Hand Book.  Just by coincidence, the last page in this book will be finished on the 31st of December, and I'll be starting a new book on January first.   If that's not serendipity, nothing is!  

I have three new books in various stages of binding.  Two will be filled with white mixed-media paper, and the third with Full Tilt Boogie style signatures.  I'll post pics of all three soon.

Visionary

This is one of my favorite ways to work in a journal.  Not because of any particular technique, combination of techniques, or content, but because of the process of discovery.  Sometimes it delays, and that takes patience, but it never disappoints.  

I make up the rules spontaneously as I go along, working in segments that I define and set time limits to.  It doesn't matter what comes first, second, third.  I just decide, for instance, that I'm going to use two things I haven't used in ages, and three things I use all the time.  I set the timer for 8 minutes and use them.  Then I move on.  Maybe this time I'll write for 5 minutes.  Maybe I'll decide to pick up 3 magazines and cut out things that catch my eye for 4 minutes, then take another 2 minutes to use them all.  It doesn't matter what, how long, or when.  It's about rules, but rules decided randomly, on the spot.  So in the greater context, it's not about rules, it's about me, and my choices of the moment.

 

Without fail, these are the sketchbook pieces that I identify with personally, as opposed to pieces that identify me.   I don't work to illustrate my identity or define myself.  When I'm working, especially in this type of process, I identify intimately with the work that evolves, as it evolves.  

In dreams, the symbols and  connections that are brought to mind by the dream cannot accurately be defined outside the context of life of the dreamer.  In this respect, these sketchbook spreads are like dreams.  Each of the symbols a person perceives, even archetypical symbols, can be defined only through the life and experiences of that individual.  So whatever you see here, it's for you.  If you make identifications in my work and draw parallels, it won't be me you're seeing, it will be yourself. 

Of course this is finished.  And it isn't finished.  Which means that it has said all it has to tell me today.  I think probably this is where it stays, at least for now.   But you never know about later.   

There are lots of great things that come out of working like this for me.  Two of the biggest benefits are that these types of pages almost unfailingly lead to stand alone work, outside of the sketchbook.  Not work that looks like the sketchbook, but work that the sketchbook evokes.  

The other huge benefit is what I see after I've finished, walked away for a time, and then come back fresh.  Things that looked like something at first, now seen in a new light, take on different meanings.  There are Aha! moments.  Things I saw before that had me saying to myself, "I think this may be...." and, "Hmmm, this looks a bit like....", etc., all of a sudden jump out and have me saying, "Ah!  So that's what that is!"  

If you haven't done this type of work before it may seem a bit odd, crazy, quasi-mystical, etc.  But it's none of those things.  It's just making dreams from the unconscious appear on paper, and going back to see what they might have to say, then using ideas from them in larger works.  That's simply all there is to it.

SDC-36

It has been ages since I answered a challenge, but today when I saw my friend Willy's beautiful page, and she mentioned the Stampotique Designers Challenge to alter a book page using Stampotique Stamps, I couldn't resist.  

I won't go into tons of boring detail, but suffice it to say that my relationship with Stampotique goes back a bit.  I made my first handbound book at a Stampotique workshop, and I've been making books ever since.  

For her 12th birthday, my daughter asked me if she and a handful of her more serious arty friends could do make 'n takes at Stampotique.  I was amazed, and so happy when Carol said "Yes".  Thanks to Carol and artist Amy Wilson Wellenstien, those kids seriously worked for an hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon when the shop was usually closed, and came home with some wonderful completed projects.   The girls are 20 now, and still talk about how much fun they had!

So here's my altered page.  It's from a book on Bavaria, and I decided that Head, Bob, and their balloons needed to be in this picture.

If you're a fan of Stampotique Stamps, I'm sure you'll recognize the two Daniel Torrente stamps: "Head", and "Bob's In Time Out", as well as "Star Balloon" by artist Susan Mahoney.  

I Think I Can

I skipped a day.  Yesterday I didn't blog my work.  It would have been my 38th consecutive day of blogging, but I really needed a day off.  Which brings me to the conclusion that everyday, just for the sake of everyday, is really not good enough.  But a regular blogging habit is definitely worth it, so from yesterday forward, I've decided to take Sunday's off, curl up with a good book, and prepare myself gently and restfully for the beginning of a new week.  

The artwork is another matter.  Taking a day off from creating would be like, well, taking a day off from myself.  That's just crazy.  So I'll show you on Monday whatever it was that I did on Sunday.  Depending on your time zone it may work out a little bit differently, but it will work out.

Here's the latest two-page spread.  These pages were begun in October of 2010 and then put aside.  They needed more information, but they hadn't yet come into their time.  I finished the background and drew the lettering and the flowers last year.  After I added the bright pink, I let the whole thing sit and percolate all this time while I worked away on other things.

The old date is still there underneath the images.  The new date is on top, but you won't be able to see it since it's on the bottom 2 inches of the page, and that part didn't scan because the book is too large.  But the general idea is there.  And more may be added later.  Sometimes the pages in this book are never finished.  That's perfectly O.K.

Toxic Air

A couple of inches are missing from the bottom of these pages, and there's quite a bit of information there.  But you can still get a fairly good idea of what the spread looks like from this scan.  It's a fairly large book and the lighting just isn't good enough to photograph indoors.  I fit what I could onto the scanner.

This type of page satisfies me more than any other.  Many layers of seemingly unrelated images and words coming together out of nowhere, then resolved to the point where it all makes sense.   Well, maybe not sense to you, but perfect sense to me.  

The third or fourth layer consists of brown doodles.  Another example of raw art.  I mentioned Quinn McDonald's Raw Art Journaling workshop in yesterday's post, HERE.  Go take a look for more information, then join us!

Sun Rooster

Beginning August 14th, Quinn McDonald, creativity coach and author of Raw Art Journaling, will begin a complete class in Raw Art Journaling following the chapters in her book.  All you need is a copy of the book, and to show up online.  Really.  That's all.  It's that simple.  Quinn's aim is to help you combine making marks with making meaning, and she approaches it much differently from what is typically presented in the arts and crafts world of art journals.  You'll love it.  It's perfect for beginners, and fills in a lot of the blanks for Intermediate and Advanced journalers. Click HERE for more information.

Today makes day 36 of my goal of 40 days of consecutive art blogging.  Thanks to Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Getting Your Art On, I was motivated to amp it up from 30 to 40 days, and see if I could make this habit permanent.  So far, so good, and it gets easier with each passing day.  

Today, in addition to various works in progress, I doodled a Rooster and a sun.  The sun is the real act of Raw Art.  I tested out my markers in the upper right corner of the paper with the idea of cutting that part off, but in the end, I liked the marks.  They were in a somewhat haphazard semi-circle, and I thought "sun".  So I ran with it.  And true to traditional, classic collage style, I found an unusual place to glue it which worked without any further fanfare.  The page enhances the Rooster, and believe me, the Rooster enhances the page, which orginally read: "Romance and Realism in Southern Politics".  I daresay, this is an improvement in style, content, and context.

I'm not entirely sure I'd trust this hot Rooster if I met him in person.  Something in the smile, the too-white teeth, and the leering green eyes...

Oldies But Goodies

Yesterday my friend Rosie Rowe posted a journal page to her blog that made me squeal with delight!  The colors, the pen work, and the subject matter all resonated with something deep in my soul.  You can see that piece by clicking HERE.  

I left a comment for Rosie, and told her that her piece reminded me of an art journal spread I created more than a year ago, but had never posted.  I told her I'd photograph and post it, and see what she thought.  

Rosie and I have a connection.  Like twins separated at birth.  What I'd like to know is this:  Do you see kindred souls when you look at my piece, then at hers, then back to mine again?  Is this something that can be seen from the outside?  Or is this just something that Rosie and I notice from time to time about ourselves?  I'm not asking you to compare and contrast.  I'm just wondering if you see the similar personalities.  The kindred spirits.  

Here's mine:

There are tons and tons of things I do that never make it to the blog.  This spread was one of those things.  The number one reason something gets left off my blog is "category".  Lots of artwork I do just doesn't fit the look, feel and format of this blog.  The number two reason is quantity.  There's just too much stuff, and it won't all fit.  And while I love looking at blogs that display picture after picture in a single post, it really isn't the way that I'm comfortable with making my posts.  At least not here.  

If we're going for the top three reasons things get left off my blog, the third reason often has to do with photographs.  Either the lighting was poor on the day I was ready to shoot a piece, or it didn't fit in the scanner, or maybe there just wasn't enough time left to shoot and upload.  

So what you finally see posted on my blog is most often an art journal page or a hand-bound book, and it's most likely what I worked on and finished on the day it was posted.  I just don't post many slow pieces, as in the ones that evolove over time, although those are almost always my favorites, and most often are stand alones, not pages in a book.  

That may be what happened with this piece.  I know that there are layers of crackle paint which had to dry overnight before the type of glitter I used could be added, and that took another overnight.  I also know that a year ago in May, I had several works in progress, and this was just one of them, so it was left behind until today.  And since I create what I create from what my heart and soul yearns to do, and not usually for challenges or themes that aren't my own, unless of course the challenges or themes are what I'm yearning to do, a lot of these pieces are so personal that it's hard for me to decide which ones someone else might want to see, and which should stay in the cabinet.

It's Day 33

I did quite a bit more pen work on yesterday's pages, but not enough to show, so you'll have to wait for an update on those.  Besides, with the heat, the dust, and the humidity, I felt restless all day, so I decided to do something else.

I have a stack of journals in process, each with it's own unique attitude, use, flair, understatement, drama, etc., so I browsed my stack and came up with an ex-library, a discard full of really richly mulit-layered backgrounds and coded journal entries that I started last summer.  I love this book.  It's 5-1/4" X 8-1/2" and only 1/2" thick.  A nice size to fit in a bag, but the backgrounds in this book make it really difficult to work in out of studio.  It is a nice size to take along for pen work.  

I removed half of the text block by alternating the signatures I pulled from it, so there's plenty of room for expansion.  Best of all, the cover is a lovely shade of  deep plum.  As soon as I have the boards cleaned and have covered the spine with a new strip of painted canvas, I'll photograph it.  It's very strong and can certainly take a beating, but still, unless my project is the book itself, I like to save the covers for last.  That way I don't worry about how aggressive I get with the pages.  Here's today's spread:

Rather than explain the coding -- there are several layers of it, too, I'll list some of what's on the pages.  I'll probably forget something, so if you spot something I've forgotten, please let me know in  a comment.  Here goes:

Black and white Xerox of hand and Mandala; parchment paper cut into interesting shapes; left over patterned paper after shapes were cut from it long ago; color copies of artwork I've done previously; layers and layers of acrylic paint; masking tape and gesso to fortify the substrate; flower Mandala shapes, hearts, dots, and lettering penned with India ink; old, dried up red letter rub-ons; brown ultra-fine tip Micron Pen; red Marvy Marker; tissue paper; glass rim stamped with black Staz-On; olive green washi tape; transparencies; ...and I think that's all...but I'm probably forgetting something...

And by the way, this is day 33 of my daily blogging habit...

In And Out Of Time

These are today's pages in progress.  They're part of the book where I house some of my more extreme pages.  The more symbolic pages that usually only I know the meanings of.  This is just a beginning. 

The pages in this book often evolve over a long period of time. There are several layers here already, but there's quite a bit more to come, and the final outcome may, or may not bear much resemblance to the pages as they are now.  

It's enough for today.  It's time to leave them alone for awhile.  I worked on them later into the day than I had planned, so they had to be photographed inside.  The lighting isn't very good.  Maybe I'll show you more as they progress.

 

Later tonight I'll be posting to ArtiphyTheSoul, so please stop by if you're interested.