Dear Low-Fi Friends:
I'm so excited to hear about all your projects as they progress. I especially identify with Megan's comment that her project is suddenly taking off with an unexpected influx of cigarette boxes and her own focus on creative writing for her packet work. I often find that a project feels distant or daunting for a while after my initial acceleration, and then (seemingly miraculously) something will jolt me into energetic enthusiasm once again, just as I'm beginning to wonder if my project is even possible in the first place...
So whatever those jolts of energy might be for each of you -- whether they are revelations about seeds (yay for radishes and other growing things!) or about basement jails (yay for small-town telepathy!) -- I hope each of you experiences some very zingy and electrifying progress in the next couple of weeks.
I'm also thrilled to see that you're really starting to respond to one another in posts and comments. Please make sure to read all the way through everyone's posts/comments, because there just might be a personal message directed at *you* in there... and keep up the superb work in terms of being in conversation with one another. I'm so happy to be involved in this process.
As for my own process, I'm nearing completion of the poem and the short "essay" (modified version of essay?) I'm writing with my collaborator and friend, Patrick. Once my semester at CalArts is over (December 11 and counting...) I'll have time to sit down at my kitchen table (my favorite place to make books), turn on some music, make a pot of tea, and figure out how I want to construct the books. Ah, and this reminds me that I had a suggestion in response to Nancy's comment that she's making 15 books. It's great to make at least a few more books than you need to cover all 9 people in our group as well as two copies for Goddard (one for the BFA program and one for the library) -- but you might want to consider making even more "extras" if possible -- you'd be surprised how many people are enchanted by small books, and would love to get one as a gift or purchase one at a reading or performance. I've found that it's a lot easier to make more copies when I'm in the thick of the process than it is to go back and make a new bunch of books from scratch. And there's no expiration date on writing and art!
Fondly,
Jen
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
hello all-
I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the image of Nancy using turkey dressing equipment to create her beautiful books- I hope someone took pictures!
I am looking forward to that moment (as are you, jen) when I can sit down at the dinner table, turn on the radio, pour some matte and surround myself with everything I need to COMPLETE something. I smile thinking of it. I do however have questions..
I will have a fairly thick book- they're a lot of people on the wall. Because of the sheer volume I was wondering if it would be acceptable to bind them via kinko's or staples? I do not want the aesthetic quality of the cover to suffer. I have a beautiful flyer from 1986 I will use but wanted to incorporate some type of musical item.. a pick, finger pick, banjo string... I am not sure...
Thank you and best of luck :-)
jordan
Jordan,
Happily, no one took pictures! I just wanted you to know that the only reason I bound my books myself this time was because Jen asked me to try something different, (since I used Kinko's when I produced my first chapbook several years ago). It's probably a good idea for you to go that route due to the thickness of your book. Kinko's does a good job - it just isn't as cheap as hand sewing them - but it's a helluva lot more practical when you're dealing with a bigger book. Mine's pretty small and not so thick. Good luck! Nancy
hey jordan,
what if you use the musical items (pick, string, etc) as a way of clasping your book? i have this image in my head of having to unwind a little banjo string from around a finger pick in order to open the cover and reveal whats inside... just a thought. your project sounds so beautiful.
monica
Dear Jordan --
How thick exactly (or approximately) is your book? There are a number of bookbinding styles that allow you to stack pages and sew through all of them, rather than trying to sew folios (sets of folded pages).
Japanese binding techniques are especially appropriate for these projects, I think. Here are a couple of resources:
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~dawe5/bookbinding_pages/BB_sewn2.html
and
http://www.scribd.com/doc/426487/Japanese-Bookbinding
and of course you can consult google yourself to find thousands more.
There are also ways to sew multiple sets of folios together, but that does get more complicated and may be prohibitive -- though if you want to try, go for it!
Another idea is to think creatively about non-sewn binding techniques: I've used both bolts and binder rings for projects I didn't want to sew for whatever reason, and those have worked well. You can see an example here: http://jacketmagazine.com/35/dk-hofer.shtml. I don't intend this as an advertisement for my own work -- undoubtedly there are zillions of other examples -- but this is the one to which I have easiest access. This little book contains 37 pages plus front and back cover, and there was actually extra room in the bolt, so there could have been more pages. I bought my bolts after days spent searching in papelerÃas in Buenos Aires, then returned home to learn from a student that they're readily available online (but I had more fun trying to find them!!).
I also wanted to second Mónica's suggestion about the possibility of creating a book that has a "clasp" -- picks would be great for this, or other bits from instruments. I've also used buttons and yarn to fasten books. This can be a great solution for a book that doesn't want to stay closed on its own.
All this is to suggest that perhaps Kinko's or some other commercial bindery might be your last resort. If and when you can, do some more exploring, and let us know what you discover.
Good luck, and enjoy!
Jen
Hi again --
As you can see, I was having trouble creating linkable links in my comment. It's easy to do in a post, but not so easy in a comment.
Let me try again:
japanesebookbinding
and here's the other:
morejapanesebookbinding
And let's see if that worked!!
Bests,
Jen
Thank you all so much!
This is a challenge.. to keep this project small enough to be a complete piece. I am working with banjo picks as you suggested and it is so much fun! I want to books to be a beggining for a larger project. Perhaps filming and more in-depth writing about Old Fort. For the exhibit at Goddard in the spring, I was wondering if it would be far too over the top to set my computer beside the book and provide a few minutes of film so that people can see and hear what I am presenting? thanks again and happy happy holidays- jordan
Post a Comment