Week 5: True's World

The book for week 5 is a tunnel book titled True's World. Tunnel books seem to have originated around the middle ages as "Peepshow" books, which were sort of portable puppet stages with layers of scenery within suitcase-like contraptions. They evolved to have accordion folded sides and be card-like. Often they were to commemorate a special event such as the building of the tunnel under the Thames River in London in the 1800's... which lead to the term tunnel book. They are credited with leading to the invention of moving pictures! wow!

True's World is a sort of fantastical portrayal of a day I spent with my friend True.. an artist, story teller, teacher, animal lover, naturalist, clown, mystic, and Pied Piper of sorts... Spending the day with True was something like falling into Alice's rabbit hole...full of wonder and magic.

The cover boards are covered with marbled italian paper and have glass beads sewn on.

The inside panels are watercolor paper cutouts painted with watercolors and the side accordions are colograph prints on heavyweight paper.

There are also some collaged photographs from my day spent assisting True teach a childrens' art and nature appreciation class. It was a day of drum circles, clown costumes, and learning about caring for "our forest friends." Though we were in a rather cluttered and tiny local art center and performance venue, I felt as if we were sitting cross legged in the middle of a very old forest. There's no doubt True's World is filled with magic.

Kathy

Week 4: In the Year of the Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year! This past Monday, January 23rd, 2012, was the first day of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar. In Chinese astrology, dating back thousands of years, the dragon symbolizes heaven, luck, and power. Those born in the year of the dragon (1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952,  1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, and 2012) are thought to be creative, ambitious, and successful extraverts. Chinese astrology is complicated as well as fascinating, so rather than misquote the information, I urge you to read more about it on your own. If you missed celebrating Chinese New Year on January 23rd, you can follow the Chinese tradition of celebrating until the Lantern Festival, which occurs every year 15 days after Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, I'm celebrating by eating lots of dumplings and tangerines, which according to folklore, will build up my stash of good luck and prosperity!

For this week's Book of the Week I was inspired to make a dragon book, titled In the Year of the Dragon. The scale pages are a string of origami "stars" made of pastepaper lined with suminagashi on kozo, the scary mouth is a folded "devil's pocketbook" of marbled paper lined with suminagashi  on kozo, the legs are accordion-folded marbled paper lined with natural dyed kozo, the tail is a strip of serrated pastepaper, the eyes are spiral-cut circles of pastepaper, and the fiery breath is two strips of marbled paper lined with natural dyed kozo. All along the breath, the tail, the scales, and the legs I wrote fortunes, facts, and folklore about the wonderful Year of the Dragon. Below are some photos of the book, In the Year of the Dragon, taken at NC State University's Ralston Arboretum.

                                    Dragon in a Tree

                                      Dragon in a fiery bush

                                             Dragon in the Dragon Bush

My friend mentioned these pictures reminded her of certain gnome photography... oh dear...

Have a Happy Chinese New Year and may your year be filled with good luck and happiness!

Kathy

Week 3: Ages of Japan

Two things... The scroll book Ages of Japan and healing energy. I spent last week working on the sample book for this week's Bento Box of Books class. Its the scroll, one of the oldest book forms in existence. Egyptian antiquities as well as the ancient Chinese have examples of the scroll that date to the 3rd century BC and before. The Japanese got it from the Chinese.. rather late in the game... maybe 12th century AD. The oldest Japanese book (in existence) is a scroll... The Tale of the Genji written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu between 1120-1140AD. It's all written (very small!) on my scroll, Ages of Japan... my book for Week 3.

The scroll is made of strips of kozo with suminagashi background which are glued end-to-end for over 6 feet then glued to a small handprinted Japanese paper wrapper with satin ribbon. The strip is glued to and wrapped around a shortened round wooden chopstick. The ends of the chopstick dowel are paper beads. Once I finished marking the Japanese cultural timeline from the present back to 10,500BC in 1-inch/100 year increments, I was afraid the thing would resemble a roll of toilet paper rather than a lovely scroll. But, it didn't, thank goodness, and is quite sweet.

Now about the healing energy... I attended my first qigong workshop this weekend. Titled, The Healing Energy of Qigong, it was led by Kert Peterson of Eastside Qigong in Burnsville, NC. We practiced the sitting modes of movement. Actually the first 10 of 30. One of the other 8 students asked me if I had fun. "No." I said rather emphatically. But on thinking of it now, the reaching our hands up, rotating them in a circle, wiggling our fingers, sweeping them gracefully from side-to-side or floating them up and down, breathing in and out, and counting it all... it was fun. Or will be fun... when I'm not concentrating so much on following the directions and mimicking the others. Paulus said, "Just don't think about it so much." He is right about that. And I was wrong, it was FUN, I just didn't realize it... You can read more about Kert Peterson's form of qigong by checking out his website at www.eastsideqigong.com

With (more) energy,
Kathy

Grids in Chaos

That's the title of the tiny book I've made for week 2 of the Book A Week challenge. What is it about grids,  an array of lines in a repetitive pattern, that calm and intrigue at the same time? Graph paper grids, like some urban street patterns, have that  element of assurance that things will turn out as expected. Point A will lead to point B... and there is no unexpected, no unexplainable...it's all right there.. on the grid. Math is like that.. 1 +1 = 2 and so on..except math goes on to infinity...wherever that is.. which in my mind looks like chaos. So the tiny book, small enough to fit in a hand, is a mathematical line from 1 + 1 to infinity...

A Book a Week

That's the challenge that Jenny and I have made for 2012. There are all sorts of ideas, but for Week One, Jan. 1 to midnight Jan 7, I have bound a book that has been sitting unfinished for 3 years. Editions can be like that.. write the story, draw the illustrations, letterpress the text.. and the background... and the illustrations... then sew up ONE book. The other 9 just sit on the shelf. Waiting. It's because the covers are the real problem for me.. all that judgement based on the covers! So finding just the right cover for this book has been... hard. The story is called "The Tale of the Blueberries". This is the story and a picture of the cover.


The Tale of the Blueberries


On top of a mountain, in a land far away
The blueberries lived each glorious day.


They lived all together on Bob's Berry Farm...
in neat little rows, far from danger and harm.


Each berry wore a button that said, "Sinners Repent! 
Blueberries are the Best, 'cause we're Heaven-Sent!"


The berries were raised with culture and art
given every advantage to promote a strong start.


Farmer Bob watered and fed them, and cultivated them too.
So the proud little berries grew, and grew, and GREW!


Over in the valley, in the Tall Piney Wood 
lived a family of robins - their songs sweet and good.


Mother Robin loved her babies, and went searching each day
for fat worms and berries - her brood's hunger to stay.


She flew to The Mountain and asked the berries there -
a bit of their sweet fruit with her would they share?


"Oh NO!" said their leader. "We won't share our wealth.
We need all our berries to ensure our perfect health.


"We live on this mountain, the richest on earth.
We're Heaven-Sent berries. We're special from birth!"


"Oh please," said Mother Robin. "My babies need food.
Just a few small berries to feed my poor brood?"


But the berries were certain that their way was the best.
So they ignored Mother Robin and the babies in her nest.


Then Old Mother Earth said to Great Father Sky,
"If you don't do something, those babies will die!"


So Great Father Sky gathered the clouds and the wind
and made a huge hurricane - No WAY to defend.


And he sent it to The Mountain, and it did its job well.
It was a Blueberry Hurricane! It was Blueberry Hell!


Some say 'change is inevitable'; and 'from each bad comes some good.'
Well, the berries blew ALL OVER, even Mother Robin's neighborhood!


Now the berries are scattered to lands HIGH and lands LOW;
a treasure to EVERYONE - and this we all know.


For each berry wears a button. You know, that small round dent?
Well, it says quite plainly, "Blueberries Are Heaven-Sent!"

Jenny and I would like to invite anyone reading this blog to join the One Book A Week Challenge for your own enjoyment. You can start any time, but make it for an entire year to complete the challenge. To see a photo of Jenny's weekly books check out her blog, whatsmahappenin.blogspot.com. and if you would like to share some examples of your books, email them to me and I'll try to get them on the blog. I'd love to see them!
Kathy

Book Classes are Fun!

Hey! So here are the upcoming book classes I've planned for Winter and Spring 2012. They are fun, packed with information, and always have a great group of folks.

At Pullen Arts Center, Raleigh, NC (Call them at 919-996-6126 for information about registering)

Bento Box of Books - In Japan, the art of paper crafts, calligraphy, paper-making, printing and bookmaking are in the forefront of historical culture and everyday life. Washi (Japanese paper) has as strong an impact on art and literature as it does in architecture and religion. In this introductory class we will spend 6 weeks exploring Japanese culture through books and paper. The scroll, the accordion book, the butterfly book, the 4-hole pouch book, and the multi-section book will be taught. In addition to bindings, we will explore the arts of suminagashi (marbling on paper) and kumihimo (cord braiding). Each book will be small enough to fit into a section of a commercial luncheon bento box.  6 Tuesdays, Jan. 17- Feb 21. 6-8:30pm

                                                           Bento Box of Books

Coptic Book with Headband- Coptic bound books make great journals, drawing and sketch books, wedding and celebration sign-in books, and beautiful works of art. We will make a small coptic book with a beautiful exposed binding of chain-stitched linen, pastepaper on book board covers, and pages of mouldmade Italian paper. We'll finish the book with a stitched headband along the top and bottom of the spine. 4 Thursdays, March 22- April 12, 6:30 - 9:30pm

                                                  Coptic Book with Headband

Travel Journal - Travel has an element of the unexpected, of adventure and an awareness of something new. The travel journal has to be compact and sturdy, but also adaptable to change and the unexpected. Most importantly, it must be able to hold a variety of treasures safe. This class will make a softcover journal with pockets, fold-outs, windows, and a multitude of ways to incorporate memories and mementos into a variety of book forms. Fan books, stab books, rubber band books, tacket books, and pamphlet books will be made to tuck into the pockets and envelopes. We'll make paper buttons, and incorporate all types of papers for collecting specimens on your journey. Bring any maps or travel ephemera you would like to incorporate! Tuesdays for 6 weeks, March 27- May 1, 6:30-9pm

                                                 Travel Journal of Books

At Cary Arts Center, Cary, NC (Call them at 919-469-4069 for information about registering.)

The Perfect Book - The casebound, flat back book is one of the most common books seen in libraries and in homes. It is  a lovely book to use for any purpose but especially for diaries, special occasions, and a very special written story. For this class we will make the text block from mould made paper imported from Italy, then  cover a "case" (the outer cover) in beautiful commercial book cloth and decorated paper we made ourselves with paste paints. 5 Mondays, 7-9:30pm, April 16- May 14.

                                               A Flat Back Book, "Wang's Chinese"

Covers and Closures - This class focuses on unique and interesting covering materials for books as well as a variety of closures. For covers, we will explore book board with putty painting, recycled paper goods, textiles, wood, and handmade paper. Well will use simple bindings such as  the long stitch, tacket stitch, coptic stitch, and accordion fold. We will spend one day making a sample card of 5-10 closure options and complete 4-5 books. 6 Mondays 6:30-9:30pm, March 5 - April 9

                                                          Painted Linen Cover Book

So that's the plan... hope to see you!


Kathy

Resolutions

   With the New Year comes the most ignored list of the year.. The New Year's Resolutions. I loved reading about The Pillow Book, a journal of sorts written by Sei Shōnagona who was lady-in-waiting for the Japanese Empress Teishi around 1001 AD. It includes musings, poetry, sketches, and LISTS. There are 164 lists. (The best description I have found of The Pillow Book is at www.koyotojournal.org.) Perhaps you would enjoy reading about this very personal journal and the lady who wrote it. Meanwhile, I'm still writing my lists. Every day I start with my "To Do" list.... very mundane things like "water the garden, pull weeds for 1 hour, write next week's class handout, work on class sample books, use up the pastepaints, vacume..." But The New Year's Resolution list is different... it's about aspirations, about dreams, and sometimes wishful thinking (that diet?) In the past, the things on the lists have been pretty hard to imagine attaining. It doesn't matter if I cross off all the things on the list or not.  Eventually they might get crossed off.. But they are a record of my aspirations at the time.. a record of what I think would be the perfect life, of who would be the perfect me.

   Several years ago I came across my New Years Resolution List from 1995. I remember writing the list, crying (good grief!) and thinking "These are things I WILL NEVER ATTAIN, but I'm writing them anyway, just to see them." The list was:
New Year's Resolutions for 1995
1. Write a book
2. Travel outside the USA
3. Have my art in shows and be recognized
4. Learn to play the guitar
I still haven't learned to play the guitar, but realized in 2005 that I had achieved each of the others many times over!

Now, my big list of the year...

Kathy's New Year's Resolutions for 2012
1. Write in the blog once a week... communicate
2. Complete 52 books for Jenny's "One Book A Week" project... commit to a challenge
3. Join the local Literacy council... volunteer
4. Write more letters and support the USPS... honor the past
5. Figure out my IPhone... embrace the future
6. Write in the blog once a week... love my mistakes

What's your New Year's Resolutions list? If you're local to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, consider one of my book arts classes.. or some other sort of creative endeavor. I'll list the upcoming book arts classes in my next post. I promise!
Kathy