The EXHIBIT

365 Handmade Books: A Book A Day

Exhibit of the Books (so far)

Here are some photos from the exhibit, displayed at 

River Bridge Arts & Wellness Center in Ipswich, MA.
http://www.riverbridgeartsandwellness.com/

The day was delightful, sunny and filled with looking, holding and talking about the books. It was a joy for me to see people, adults and children alike, holding and flipping through the books, asking questions about techniques and offering their own narratives and life stories for the books. It was rewarding for me to see the books come alive in the space and to see them exhibited together. Thank you to those of you who could make the exhibit, it was truly fantastic!

173-179 Simple Folded Ready

Book 173-179

These six books are simple, folded and ready. Measuring 3 inches by 4.5 inches, unencumbered by marks of any kind, they are ready to be written in, drawn in, sewn in or pasted in. They wish to be filled with collage of the random sort and then musings and daydreams. You are welcome to them, mention them to me at the Exhibit on Sunday 5/25 from 2-4pm at River Bridge Arts & Wellness, http://www.riverbridgeartsandwellness.com/, and they will be yours.

111-172 Small Folded Books for an Installation

Book 111-172

These beautiful 61 little books, 3 inches by 4 inches in fact, are sweet little ones, getting ready to collaborate to create an installation for an exhibit at River Bridge Arts & Wellness in Ipswich, MA (http://www.riverbridgeartsandwellness.com/) this Sunday 5/25 from 2-4pm , yes I am certain they will all work together well despite imagery which includes Minotaurs and such. These 6 page books are folded out of one piece of paper and evoke narratives with mystery, intrigue and lushness. They came all in a magazine that arrived for my husband, a French fashion magazine titled, "Hermes". I couldn't resist, I ripped out each page, finely trimmed the torn edges and folded and folded, catching up on my acrobatic tight rope of a schedule. Will post images of the installation soon.

Book 111: Collaborative Round Robin Book Making

Book 111

Book 111 was a collaborative interfaith book arts project, where each artist created their own book, and then each month a different artist in the group would create an entry based on a compelling question or prompt. Above is the cover of my book and then photos of entries that I made in other people's books, all the work here is my own. Learning how to make books as a part of this group is what planted the seed for this 365 abookaday project, I loved creating the book and learning simple binding techniques, I thought I might like to do it forever. This round robin book arts process has ended a while ago now, however I still miss the process and meeting with the group. Maybe the next project will be more interactive....

109 & 110 Book Necklaces made in Preschool

Book 109 and 110

Threading 109

These two books were made as a part of a workshop at Cuvilly, a preschool in Ipswich MA. These are the only photos I have as it was a very busy day helping 15  five year olds create miniature book necklaces, busy and super fun. 

108 The Sketchbook Project: Love, Interconnection, Mapping

Book 108

Below is what I wrote when I submitted the sketch book to The Sketchbook Project, to see more images go to: http://www.sketchbookproject.com/library/14784

I grew up the first grandchild in a large family of adults, I spent A LOT of time outside playing in the woods, making bark stew and conjuring up imaginary friends. Imagination and art has always been a respite, a reprieve, and a sacred space for me. Now as an adult, mother and art therapist, art is a way to maintain wellness, carve out precious alone time and creatively connect with others.

I recently heard a song by MC Yogi, and the lyrics were about giving love- to others- to the earth and to yourself...that's the inspiration for this book. How can we take the love we've been given, a little or a lot, and circle it around and then allow it to return back to us? That's what I'm truly interested in, as a mother, an art therapist and as a teacher...and just for me being me.

100-107

 100-107 Front Cover

100-107 separated out of envelopes, each book has 6 pages

100-107 bound together in envelopes 

 100-107 binding detail

Book 100 caused quite a problem. The hundredth book, I thought, it should be big, yes, very big. Complicated, yes, very complicated, and full of details, yes, horribly so. I got quite tangled in these thoughts and images, and steeped in thinking rather than doing, and then I began teaching. Teaching requires, for me, a significant time and emotional investment and a full immersion of myself, one that I quite like, where I read and re-read the required reading, re-create assignments so they are engaging and involved, hands-on/minds-on learning we say, and truthfully dedicate myself to my students. Their semester long task, developing and sustaining  a creative habit. Not unlike the one I have abandoned here. 

Over the semester I witnessed how my students struggled to develop a habit that would increase their own creativity and productivity. Then after tumbling through some crashing waves, each found a smooth rhythm, each creative expression emerged-  unique, fresh and with some necessary ragged edges. Seeing young adults grow socially, emotionally and intellectually, and take creativity seriously- with spices of humor, is what fulfills me in teaching higher ed. After heart-felt final presentations and subsequent grading I return to re-immerse myself in my own life and projects.  Like visiting an old high school friend after having experienced several life transitions, I return now to the book project. Some catching up I will do, however I have found, not surprisingly I suppose, that I enjoy the process, at times a book will take more attention than just one day, often requiring a few days. At the end of this project I will have 365 books, each handmade by me, however I will reconsider this idea of abookaday, to mean each day a book will be worked on, conceptualized, rather than completed to meet the daily deadline, which, truthfully, I've never been good at anyway. My own creative stance needs freedom to sprawl, reach and flip around, so now the blog and book making will be a bit more acrobatic and less linear. I certainly hope you will continue to follow, at your own risk of course.