Comments for everyone who's posted recently

Hello!

As you know from my email (I hope), you can now all post to this blog. You need to sign in to be able to post, and I think you need a gmail account to do that—it’s free and takes about five seconds to set one up. Let me know (either via email or in a comment attached to this post) if you’re still having troubles.

Below are specific responses to each of your posts from the past week or two. I encourage you to read all these responses (some comments not directed to you might actually pertain to your work!), and even more so, I encourage you to respond directly to one another, even without the benefit of those pesky threaded comments I can’t seem to figure out how to add to our blog. Some of you are starting to ask for help with resources and ideas for problem-solving, so please read through each other’s posts and send responses if you have ideas that might be helpful.

Also, most of you are asking questions about bookbinding, so I’d suggest (now that everyone can post to the blog, supposedly) that someone begin a bookbinding post and people might start to leave comments with links, bibliographic notes, instructions on different binding styles, etc.

Okey dokey. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your various processes as they progress (or digress, as the case may be). All the projects sound totally magnificent. I feel lucky to be working with each of you.

Most best,

Jen

Here are my specific comments:

Martin: I’m sorry you can’t do your city-wide adventure in low-fi publishing (not least because I’m sorry you’re in pain and/or encumbered), but I’m excited that you’ve come up with a totally viable alternative that will extend beyond the bounds of this group study, and will also connect up with some of the other work you’re doing this semester. I can’t wait to read your story! One question that immediately leaps to mind is the age group you have in mind for your audience, and how this might affect your process in making the books. Some handmade books can be very delicate—not so great for little kids—while others are super sturdy. It’ll be wonderful to see how this project unfolds, and how the various constraints and possibilities guide your work.

Rick: I love the title RADISH!! Even without knowing a thing about any of the poems, I can tell you that it would absolutely catch my eye if I came across such a book in the world. Your comments about structure, and about how sharing your work (in spoken form or in written/bound form) affect your process, are very apt, as Nancy noted too—and are one of the main reasons I think it’s so important for us to put our work out into the world. I’m very fond of the idea of repurposing everyday objects to use as book covers, and also of the combination of uniqueness (i.e. a different cover for each book) and multiples (books with all the same insides).

Nancy: It sounds like you’re moving along excellently well, putting all the pieces in place. Michael’s is one of my favorite stores (despite a strong preference, usually, for mom ’n pop shops above large chains)—they have wonderful knitting supplies at half the price of specialty knitting stores. Have you looked online or in the library for resources on bookbinding? I’m curious to know your specific plans, which binding or bindings you’ll explore. And as you discover resources, perhaps you’ll share them with Mónica and Rick (and others, of course), who are also beginning to think about fastening techniques.

Mónica: The flip side of being overwhelmed (and this goes for all of us, regardless of the specific circumstances!) is acknowledging that you’ve set out to do an ambitious, extraordinary project that asks a lot of you. That’s not a “silver lining”—it’s literally the other side of the coin. The difficult thing, I find, is figuring out how to flip that coin, to see the work from a different perspective. Aside from finding ways around our own resistances and fears, it seems that one lesson of your experience (and you seem well aware of this) is to think through a project as far as you possibly can before you start out, sort of like reading the recipe all the way through to make sure you’re starting out with a big enough bowl. Having opened your project up to artwork that isn’t readily reproducible on a photocopy machine (which I assume is the case, since you’re thinking about InDesign and offset printing), you’ve set up certain constraints or requirements for yourself, right? One option, if you want to keep this low-fi and in your own hands (which I think is a really good goal for now), is to learn InDesign—a skill I imagine will open up all kinds of possibilities far beyond this particular book. Another option is to contact the visual artists and ask them for a photocopy-reproducible version of their work, and/or let them know that you’re doing a photocopy-only project right now, but will use their artwork in a future publication. (I can see that both of these suggestions have pitfalls, but wanted to mention them regardless.) If you’re not doing layout by hand (i.e. on the glass of a photocopy machine or in individually-produced original books) then the only DIY option I know of is to use a computer for layout—unless the artwork can all be silkscreened or printed on a letterpress machine, if you have access to either of those. But that opens up a whole other can of potentially really fun worms! I’ll let others chime in about bookbinding techniques since I know many of you are working on that, but if you’re still wondering about it in a couple of weeks, ask again and I’ll send along some resources.

Madeline: Can’t wait to hear how your meeting went!! Your project sounds incredibly well-organized, with enough structure to make sure people keep on track but enough flexibility and openness to make space for unusual, unexpected and gorgeous events to unfold. And your project is an especially interesting model for collaboration, performance and documentation. It will be fascinating to see how you decide to use the book (such a different form from live performance) as a tool for documenting or extending some of the explorations the group enacts as they prepare for the performances.

Megan: Maybe put a little reminder alarm for every Wednesday at a certain time in your cell phone, if you have a cell phone? Or perhaps just a good old-fashioned note to self on the door of the fridge or the bathroom mirror? This goes for other of you lurkers, not just Megan, by the way! As for your project, it poses an interesting conundrum that you chose the form before having any specific content in mind. But I have no doubt that you’ll fill those cigarette boxes with all kinds of treasures; my guess is that as you continue working, you’ll start to see potential “book” material everywhere. And the craft store is always a great place to get inspired, I think.

Jordan: One of the most important aspects of working as an artist, it seems to me, is the capacity to shift gears (sometimes very radically) when you know you need to be doing something different than what you’d planned. So brava to you for recognizing that! Of course it’s ok for you to switch your project. And your new plan sounds absolutely incredible—what an amazing space, and what a generous gift to your community to explore this rich musical history more deeply. I can’t even remember what level you’re in at the moment, but I could envision an amazing senior study or book involving oral histories, photographs, local community history, documentation of concerts, etc. Hmm... In the short term, however, it seems to me that you’ve developed an excellent sense of how to begin, how to narrow your work so it’s a project you can get done in the next four or five weeks. I’ll be very interested to hear about the families’ reactions to your project. And I think the idea to include some personal reflection about your connection to this place is an excellent one. (P.S. I too am looking forward to learning more about my own process by writing about collaboration with Patrick—thanks for taking a look at the book!)

And finally, Alexander: where are you?! Please send news of your adventures.