Shadow Box Books

When Paul Johnson was in Los Angeles a couple of years ago, he stayed here in my cabin for a few days and worked with my students for two days.  During one of those workshops, he taught us a 4-step shadow box that can be used as a single or as a multiple (no math and no rulers involved!).  You can incorporate drawings, paint, photos, collage, etc..

I have loved those boxes, and have always been amazed at what my students can do with them.  I have decided that I want to put together both a workshop (I shared them with Tamara last night), and also present them to high school students.

Working with a few layers allows you to address the background, mid-ground, and foreground in a very tangible way.  Here are a few results from my recent experiments.  Kudos to Paul.  (P.S. Have no fear, I did make a Valentine with this format; hence, the day!)

GREAT class today at UCC

Today I took my first class at The Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica with book artist Jeannine Stein.  I am slated to teach there in March and again in April, but I had not taken a class yet.  I had read about Jeannine's book Rebound, and was very impressed.  I love the idea of creating art with recycled materials, but I have to admit that it's rare that I see "recycled" work that looks like NEW art, and not just....ummmm.....trash put together for recycling sake. (Does that make sense?)  It is also difficult to find a group of book artist instructors  that are organized, have materials prepped, and are truly dynamic people who love what they do, and love to share ideas.  (Sad to say, that may be the one thing on the east coast that was in abundance!  Hmmm....okay, I also miss picking my own blueberries, raspberries and blackberries abundantly.)

So meeting Jeannine in this fabulous space was a treat, and I am delighted that I pushed myself out this morning to join them.  Jeannine is organized, has materials prepped, shares open-heartedly, and knows her medium well.  Her work is clean, concise, and professional.  And, unlike me, she is truly "hip" to all the latest craft gadgets that make cutting corners easier (literally), and punching a variety of holes, and using rivets to adhere covers, etc..  I was disappointed that her published book wasn't available, but, hey, that's what Amazon is for, yes? 

I want to say that I LOVE THIS "ROMANESQUE" BINDING!  It is indeed beautiful.  So thank you, Jeannine, thank you UCC, and thank you to the other students in today's class.

Scrapbooking.com -- Article - TYVEK in My Craft Room

Scrapbooking.com -- Article - TYVEK in My Craft Room

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The Flag Book

For many years I have taught variations of this simple, yet appealing structure. Initially, I had middle school students use it as a format to display "painted tags" pertaining to lessons on color theory. Later, I designed a self-portrait version where we divided up the face onto the flags of the correct proportion, and then when the book opened, all of the flags spread apart to create the face.

For Christmas this past year, I wanted to give a dear friend a gift that would be a memento of our brave explorations with throwing 25 pound blocks of clay (without any real "expert" advice or guidance). We picked up a few tricks watching people throw clay at Xiem Clay Center, but had not taken a class where this amount of clay was being addressed. For the most part, I hadn't yet thrown more than 6 pounds; my friend, maybe 10.

I like to make a double cover so that an inside layer acts as a protective cover for the interior, as well as provides more support if you want to stand it up to be viewed sculpturally. HINT: When you make a double front cover like this, make sure you double the back board by laminating/adhering two together so that the weight feels good and balanced in the hand.

Good luck and have fun with this very versatile structure! (P.S. I just recently read a great book called Magic Books & Paper Toys by Esther K. Smith who recommended using something floppy as the flags like band-aids! A new terrain to explore!)

Meandering Books

I wanted to make a note regarding "simple" books that do not always require a "model" or days of envisioning the final outcome. My son was visiting in the early fall and while cleaning my shed, he came upon a mother mouse and her four babies. Because we are such ridiculous people, it turned into a story....one that I knew Jack would enjoy when he got a bit older. (After all, I would say that Granma and Uncle Alex are two of his favorite people).

I finished a volunteer project this past week making 60 books with the classroom teacher at a local charter school, and as an afterthought, I sent him an email and said, "If there is one book you must have to learn basic structures, ask Santa for Shereen Laplantz' Cover to Cover." It is a must for everyone interested in making books. In that book, you will find a variety of quick and easy "booklets" that she refers to as "flutter books." As much as I love her work, I have never been able to call these wonderful little structures flutter books! Somewhere in my travels, I picked up the term, "meandering" books....and they do indeed. They meander as you fold, as you cut, and as you refold, and as you view them again and again.

Needless to say, there is a connection between my son, mice, and meandering books! (You were worried, weren't you?) I intended to get the mouse story down much sooner than now, and with the holiday approaching, it seemed like the perfect gift for my son....who can then become The Keeper of Family Stories for little Jack (a very important job indeed).

First, I drew the mice in a loose and quick contour; I splashed some watercolors on it, and let it dry. Second, I folded it, unfolded it, and cut the "T." And third, I refolded into its final form and wrote out the story (I didn't even pre-plan the text layout...I simply wrote it out with a song and a prayer). Lastly, I glued on two cover boards (cereal boxes covered with handmade paper that looks like chewed up wood.....yes, staying in touch with the mouse content), and added a ribbon for a closure.

That was all it took. Fast and easy. AND....because I made sure the covers were the same exact size as the booklet, it can be unfolded completely (see photo) to reveal the original drawing. Meandering Books. Flutter Books. You choose.

Play and have FUN.

Create MODELS, not regrets...

I wanted to make a note here about the importance of taking the time to make a model when thinking about a new handmade book structure. Now I know that my students over the years have SCREAMED about this tedious process (just like I did many moons ago when my mentors held me down and branded this on my brain), but it is SO IMPORTANT!!

I have been playing with an old favorite form this past week: my alternate star book that fits neatly inside my book-in-a-box project. I want to create a handy little book that will contain both my local landscape and the Station Fire that burned this landscape. For a fire to leap from 1,200 acres to 100,000+ acres within a 24 hour period was quite intense. It was an interesting event for this native Vermonter, and affected me on many levels. Terrifying for the most part, but it also awakened me to how wonderful and kind people are during this type of crisis. I have been reading about the "necessity" of fires for the environment (which I understand intellectually), but am not sure if officials are suppose to pre-think these events into "controlled" fires, or if they plan on waiting around for some looney arsonist to do it. It's beyond me.

BUT, what is not beyond me is finagling a new component into a book structure! I want to make a slider that reveals two different images on six units within the book. If you know the alternate star model, you will understand why this can pose several problems. The two units on each end have two accessible sides each, whereas the four units between them have no accessible sides (they are enclosed). So a model was absolutely necessary!! (Especially if I am using top quality images from that fancy art printer!) I like things to be ....gee, I don't want to overuse this word....accessible to the viewer. I want the viewer to feel comfortable handling it without tearing it. I want the viewer to be able to appreciate the content and the structure without worrying about how to open it, examine it, enjoy it! Thus, the making of a model is imperative to the process.

So I am going to attempt to post a few photos of this model (former students will see that this model is not painted)!! I have a new way to apply color without paint and a blow dryer (I must tell you, though, that the final structure for this project defaults back to paint, colored pencils, and sand paper). I used this one for a model because when you teach these things, you tend to accumulate them, and so they are .... yes, accessible.

Rain and Fire and Digital Photos

It is finally raining. For some reason, us [relocated] Californians know instinctively that we must have rain...not only for obvious life-sustenance, but to wash this ash into the earth...and still, we wake up to the sound of rain and feel we are robbed of another gorgeous day. Is that ridiculous? I would say, "Yes, it is. We southern Californians are a spoiled lot."

SO I am beginning to think it is time to share some of my ideas with the Outer World. My students have been the only recipients of 20+ years of book structure experimenting, and I think I should expand my horizons. As a result, I am combining my local landscape (yes, here in the foothills) with images of the Station Fire (August-September 2009) into a small book that shows the beauty and necessity of both (I hope).

My daughter asked why I would use my quality art printer for such small images (Epson 2200), when I could easily print them at the local Walgreens. Here is my answer: when you have to specify size and several different images [of that size] on one sheet, there is simply no way to do that on the photo computers at the drug store. It is my experience that you can get down to a wallet size, but then you'd have to settle for only 1 image for an entire sheet of wallet size photos. They aren't going to allow you to pick 6 different images to place on one sheet. Does anyone have a different experience of these "do it yourself drugstores?" The only other option would be to organize your images on one 8.5 x 11 sheet, save it on a CD or a flash drive, and bring it to Kinkos to print it on the paper of your choice. Yes? I have never been truly happy with the color quality at Kinkos, but I am a picky woman about those things.

So with that being said, I shall return to my task of entertaining Mr. Jack Fynn, and then return to this process of bookmaking. Stay dry, and stay tuned for a warmer and drier day. It's inevitable.