Week 7: Priority Mail

This week's book-of-the-week, Priority Mail, is made with the results of two of my favorite pastimes: (making) pastepaper and (collecting) postage stamps.

A cover paper of pastepainted Tyvek® postal envelope

Every stamp has a story... though I'm just the collector of the stamps, not the stories. This stamp, from Republic of China (Taiwan), was on a package I received from my brother... who has lived in Taiwan with his family for the past 20+ years... now there's a story!

Republic of China, Taiwan

   Postage stamps are tiny works of art that have a unique style and character depending on the location and era of their creation. Postage stamp themes now number in the hundreds (or thousands?) but years ago, there were just a few.. in the '60's we had the 4¢ Lincoln stamp and the 5¢ Queen Elizabeth stamp. I look forward to the new pallet of stamps that are created for the USPS each new year! I stand in line at the local Post Office and buy packs of stamps in all sorts of colors and themes... Chinese New Year is one of my favorites!

A Love stamp from Penland... a place I love.

A collection of US States' stamps... such a big country!

a touch of art

  Pastepaper, like stamps, is a form of art that is both unassuming and commonplace. Pastepaper dates back to the Middle Ages. Medieval manuscripts used paste-paints for illuminated script and edge decoration, as well as the inside cover end-sheets. A mixture of wheat or rice paste was mixed with the colored pigment, giving it body and a means of adhesion. In modern times, paste-paints have been used by many book artists to make a heavyweight and durable paper for covering books and use for internal pages. Because of a relaxation of purpose, the imagery can be either playful or dark, and emotions and imagination are quickly worked into the piece as patterns and imagery. Stamps, brush strokes, and fingerpainting in layers of colors make a surprising and delightful backdrop for books. 

   Priority Mail is a sample book of paste papers, marbled papers and postage stamps. They are bound into this little activity book of your own narrative... 

Week 6: The Year of the Snake

   Time is one of those things, that.. though real.. can't be touched nor held.. can't be begun nor stopped.. is infinite and yet inconsequential... and is always in sequence. But not always in the same sequence. Calendars prove that. The years are numbered in A.D. and B.C. and B. C. E. .. there are solar calendars, lunar calendars, fiscal calendars, court calendars...the Gregorian Calendar, the Hindu Calendar, the Islamic Calendar, and the Chinese Calendar... This week's book of the week, based on the Chinese Lunisolar Calendar, is titled The Year of the Snake. 

A brass button and silk ribbon over japanese print paper

When stretched out, the accordion folds resemble the body of a long black snake... the astrological symbol of this Chinese New Year...which starts today, February 10, 2013.

Black snake slithering across the porch...

Poised and ready to strike!

Inside the little book... hand-lettered in gold ink.. are the attributes and prescriptions for the Year of the Snake. Wisdom and wealth, focus and discipline, attention to detail, intuition and mystery all are traits of a person born in the year of the snake...1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013.

Add responsibility and make headway

Focus and move forward

   And the prophesies of the New Year...

Change.... Isn't it always that?

 
Happy New Year of the Snake!

Week 5: Steps to a Perfect Birthday

    Two things... birth and death. Death is a powerful and fearful part of life and lends itself to serious contemplation about the meaning of life. There have been several books created on this blog which refer to death and the transformation of one life to the hereafter... Yet, an equally powerful life event is the birth of a being. Always awe-inspiring to me, the celebration of a birth day is one yearly event which I love to practice! Self help and DIY books are always popular, so that's why this week's book-of-the-week is a do-it-yourself book titled Steps to a Perfect Birthday. 

Hand-marbled bookcloth and cover paper

Printed on the toy letterpress

Birthdays are (should be) a festive time... with special attire, especially
Step 1: Funny Hats!

Are birthday hats always funny looking?

Hand-made hats keep everyone busy too!

Step 2: Candles... Blowing out candles and making wishes is always a high point of a  birthday!

   You can never tell anyone what you wished, or it won't come true. Why is that? ..and what do 3-year-olds wish for? What do 80-year-olds wish for? Ever notice that the whole room helps with the blowing? Are they making wishes too?

Three candles, whew!

Step 3: Friends and Family... Nothing makes a birthday party wonderful like being with folks who love you and think you are just the best!

They surround you with love and a sense of special-ness... They tell stories about you and laugh at your jokes. Ha Ha.

Kids love anybody's birthday!

Step 4: Cake. You've got to have cake for a birthday... Usually it's decorated with stuff you like... roses or super heros or gummy worms.

Oh Yea! ...Chocolate Chip Layer Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Coconut Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Cream Cake, Carrot Cake, Devils Food Cake, Bundt Cake, Barbie Cake and Bunny Cake! What's your favorite birthday cake?

A gumdrop cake with candy hearts, yum!

Step 5: Surprises! The anticipation of some yet-to-be surprise party always gives me a shy smile the days before my birthday... 

A little pocket with a watercolor painting

...and then the day comes and there are the cards from far away friends and those prettily wrapped presents...Yeah!  The memory of years of wrapping-paper and frilly ribbon-bows is probably why I love making books with so many pastepaper pages... all just presents in disguise.

When it's your day, I hope your birthday is PERFECT!

Week 4: Ballet at Six

   Dance! Children begin to dance before they can walk. They wave their hands, kick their legs, and swoop and sway By the time they can walk, they are twirling and leaping in joyful boogie waltzes. That is what this week's book of the week is about, Ballet at Six. 

A dancing lady from India on the cover...

Inside... "We join the dance...

"We move into the circle of learning...

"We become one with the tribe...

"And we are heaven-sent roses.

     It's a series of four etchings and handwritten text, bound in an accordion style that is a variation of the stiff leaf binding. The fabric soft cover is hand-dyed with dispersion dyes and woodblock printed with walnut ink. The paper is handmade Arches print paper. Sweet and happy, this little book makes you smile ...just like dancing.

Week 3: A Penny for Your Thoughts

   They say the value of copper in a penny is now worth more than the value of the penny as cash. How often do we find something that is worth more than it's value?  When it comes to thoughts and ideas, perhaps that makes sense. This week's book-of-the week is a nod to the current economic climate and is titled A Penny for Your Thoughts.

What thoughts are inside this little book?

The book has a cut-out circle window that passes through each page until the back page where the circle is filled with the picture of a Lincoln penny...

An array of colored pages with windows that open to the penny

Simple thoughts in this complex world of conflict and turmoil.. just simple colors and the images they elicit to the imagination...

Brown page for chocolate and coffee and cocoa... All Yum!

White page for pearls and fluffy clouds and snowy days...

Each page a different color.. pink for tutus, rosy cheeks and rabbits' eyes; purple for royalty, violets and pansies; beige for beach sand and vanilla pudding; turquoise for Indian jewlery and The Blue Mosque; light blue for summer skies, cornflowers, and fields of tiny bluebells...

Daydreams, really, just daydreams. That's what you get for a penny.
...Unless you weigh it.

Week 2: Family

    What is it about family? Whether we are routinely and intimately connected to the lives of our family members, or if we are spread across the world like wafts of dandelion fluff... the connection of biology and upbringing creates a particular bond.  The second Book-of-the-Week is titled Family. This tiny stiff-leaf book that will fit into the palm of your hand, alludes to the powerful and long-lasting bonds that are created within a family.

Family portrait

 Watercolor paper pages and painted Tyvek® spine strips make up the little book that is a picture album of an imaginary family, The Redmans:

Grandma Lucy

Dad and Mom

Uncle Joe and Bubba

Sissy and Cousin Lou

Grandpa Joe and Auntie Betty

Baby Joey and Ahab the Fish

Spot the Dog and George the Cat

Family stories are a staple of mythology, religious text, and in my case... southern lore. The family is center to the human condition and most of my favorite tales revolve around family dynamics and the mundane day-to-day reactions and relationships. Our family heros, the obstacles and disappointments of life, the love and warmth of unconditional love are all part of that continuous narrative. With time and change the family stories play out in unexpected ways, yet they always remain a powerful statement of identity and soul with a bond that can't be broken.

Week 1: River Bottom

light on a river bottom

   A new year has begun and the Book-A-Week challenge books for 2012 are on display at the Pullen Art Center from January 2-31. An open house reception will be given from 6-8pm Thursday, January 17th, 2013 to chat with the artists, Jenny and Kathy, and to see the books.  You may be reading this blog from far away and not be able to get by and see the 104 books in person, but if you are nearby, I hope you will join us! Jenny and I have decided to continue our challenge but we have changed our objectives to include a Page-A-Week for Jenny and a Stiff Leaf Book-a-Week for me. I'll be concentrating on the stiff leaf binding, which is the binding I used for the Oyster Love book I made last year. Jeweler Betty McKim will join us by making a Link-A-Week. And.. we may have more challengers.. the year is young!
   This first book for 2013 is titled River Bottom. It's inspired by the beautiful creek that runs through the  land preserve beside Gray Bear Holistic Retreat Center in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Check out Gray Bear at www.graybear.org. I just spent 5 days visiting my friends Diann and Adam who have spent the last 20 years creating this lovely oasis in rural Tennessee. We soaked in the sauna and the hot tub, we cut wood and cleared brush from the land, we made books, and we walked along the beautiful Allen Creek on the 200 acre land preserve that they have pledged to protect.

River bottom by the cliffs

River bottom along the creek through the woods

River bottom by the waterfalls

When I created this book, I envisioned rippling water and currents of light reflecting through greens, and rusts of the forest. The cover is of pastepaper and seemed to portray the sunlight reflecting in the pool I visited at the falls of Allen Creek.

River Bottom cover of pastepaper

The sun's reflection on the river bottom

The pages are made of suminagashi...which is japanese marbling inks floated on water and then transferred to the watercolor paper pages as they "kiss" the surface of the inky water.

suminagashi pages

I dried the marbled pages by the fire and then attached them to each other with handmade bookcloth.

pages drying by the fire

looking inside River Bottom

the spine of River Bottom

   What's at the bottom of a river? At Allen Creek it's mud, rocks, water plants and animals, and detritus of the forest.  Many rivers have bottoms littered with tin cans and garbage... their waters filled with pollution and algae blooms, human waste and contamination of epic proportions. Let's hope the river bottoms in our world stay clean and alive. And if they are filled with the waste and wash of man and machinery, let's pray that they will survive until they have begin to heal and return to the pristine beauty of Allen Creek in Hohenwald, Tennessee.