handmade books ~memory keepers

I received a wonderful book for my birthday called How to Make books By Ester K. Smith of Purgatory Press.
I am quite thrilled with this gift because although I had a very productive year artistically last year I feel like aside from photos of finished pieces I have no record of my creative process. The book has great projects most are books that I have made in some form but the illustrations and fresh Ideas are all new to me and quite inspirational. I am especially keen on her cloth book examples~ For me the process is not only a reason I make art but also I find the process (esp thought evolution) to be an artistic entity in itself. In many ways I needed a break from all my "art" thinking. I needed to learn and practice the craft of sewing, but I am really beginning to feel a need for a visual/artistic synopsis of my sewing endeavors to help create depth and define boundaries.

~I love handmade books. They combine so many making methods that I am inclined to. I got my first sewing machine to help in my book and print making projects. I love the conceptual implications as well as the basic form and structure of books. The endless combinations of materials also draws me to the art of bookmaking. I have always kept journal/sketch books to help me record Ideas and sort through daily life.

~ This book was produced in my first formal book class that I took in the summer of 97 with Judith Golden ,at the University of Arizona. It deals with lost love, lost self, and loss of morale.






When I first started printing I used these journals so much that the lines between my prints and the journals became hard for me to draw. To me the prints were just not as strong without some of the information that I had in my journals. For this reason I started trying to combine some of the info from the journals with the prints and I fell into the world of art books. This was somewhere around 1995-6. I really got into bookmaking in graduate school; creating books as on their own and as accompaniments to installations and even some performance pieces.

~ this book was produced from ideas and materials used in a project that dealt with consumption and our relationship with the products we consume as well as how consumer culture effects personal relations
I continued bookmaking as a means to collect snippets of my thoughts and practice my love of drawing and collage long after I lost access to a press.

~this book I made in 2002 , It was traveling(Mexico) journal and also included alot of my frustrations with the state of the union in the aftermath of the 9-11 as well as what I was doing to help heal my own soul






~In the last year I have found myself in a position for the first time(in my adult life) without a journal book. And aside from my handmade cards I stopped making books as well.
I consider my handmade cards to be very much in the same category as my books, They are little tiny books that people give others in order to send a message.

~These two little cards are from last week
In October I started a journal that I will not let turn into and address book( my 2 journals from burger's first two years have both turned into address books)
I am not sure why I have been on a journal hiatus maybe part of i is this blog. I also think that burger and I have been so close it has been hard for me to be introspective.
Any way, this is the first post about books , I have many many books to share. these are just the first three. It was difficult for me to photograph them (but fun), Trying to show something virtually that is built to be a tactile experience is and interesting challenge.

~It is funny in the last few weeks I have made contact with a lot of my past. I pulled out my stash of handmade books in order to start documenting them with my camera and I had a flood of memories wash over me. I am the first to admit I have a horrible memory. I jokingly call it my coping mechanism. I am thankful to have all my books that give me little glimpses of my former self. It is interesting to me because at the time it was just a way for me to try and communicate with the rest of the world my perspective. Now 10 years later I am using them to communicate with myself.

some valentine sketches...and memories

~some little ideas for a silk screen maybe?

...And while I was searching for our marriage licence(don't ask) I came across some wedding photos I had forgotten about . I uploaded a gazillion photos to facebook last night(because I have nothing better to do?!?) so I decided to share these.

... Is it obvious I have started making valentines this week?

Fun yellow cards

I might be seriously considering moving on to yellow ...I think it is seeping out of my subconscious; I changed my serger thread to "maze"
I am really enjoying the change.
and so was someone else......hmmmmmm


I dyed the paper for these cards a month or so a go and I had a jolt of inspiration and whipped these little babies up this past week.




I sold all three on Saturday at the Farmers Market. Luckily daddy scanned them into the machine for me Friday night."What a man, What a man, What a man, What a mighty good man!"( don't you wish there was a music symbol key up there; they could just replace "^ " I never use "^" )

Think about it...Boy am I sleepy, night night

Manly cards

"Young Buck" 3.75"x5.5''

I posted some new cards on etsy yesterday that I must say are a little more masculine than my usual look( can greeting cards be masculine?). Any who I heart them, and they arrived almost too late for father's day.
"Stallion" 7.5"x5.5"


I used a Tea stained( tea staining is a very manly activity,like holding up a train ) rives bfk printmaking paper to house my collaged images.

"Train rustlin' "3.75"x5.5''


"Roar" 7.5"x5.5"


Each image is composed from vintage sewn fabric and recycled papers. Card interior is recycled brown paper bag.

Preview for this weeks Farmers MarkeT.....STRAWBERRIES!!!!!

It is strawberry season round these parts and I am getting inspired...I made these little cards to get my mind going on strawberries.








I will be making similar patches on ever thing from bags and skirts, to aprons and hot pads! Hope you like. Saturday April 28th is the pinnacle strawberry weekend in sunset valley Texas and the farmers market is celebrating with a strawberry jubilie

How to make pretty personalized cards

For a girl...

For a boy...

And a surprise!!!

Supplies

• Heavy paper (I use printmaking paper because it stands up well to the Sewing machine and other rough handling)
• Glue, I use tacky, diluted a little Glue stick
• Thread
• Scrap material
• Scrap paper

Tools

• Ruler
• Bone folder or chopsticks
• Sewing machine
• Heavy books for pressing
• Paintbrush

Inspiration
When I make a card series I like to use my materials to help dictate the quantity and content of the cards. With this particular series I had a need for Three “congrats on your new baby” cards. We had one boy, one girl, and one undecided. So I decide to make them based on the classic gender color schemes. I scavenged my paper/cloth scrap boxes for three-color piles. I kept in mind to look for a large background piece of paper for each, then a swatch that was to be the focal point, and then some accents that might or might not make it into the composition.







Card size
There is nothing more frustrating then making a beautiful card to send to someone and you realize you don’t have an envelope big enough. If it is a non –traveling card this is no problem. I love making funky shaped cards for my honey. For the others I try to think before hand about how it will be delivered. All of these will be mailed. For mailing cards I almost always go with a standard card size envelope and make the card to that size or smaller. I really enjoy more creative solutions for envelopes so when it is a hand delivered card you can have more fun. Just keep in mind the postal service has gotten pickier in the last 6 years with mailed packages and you want your precious handmades to get there. So with all that said I made the cards all the same size by picking a scrap paper that would make size appropriate cards.


Paper
I like to use a heavy printmaking paper with some tooth. Printmaking papers are made to stand up to abuse and they press beautifully back into flat pieces of artwork. They also stand up really well under the sewing machine foot.


Burnishing and glue
I like to use a glue stick to secure paper that will later be sewn and really any rather thin paper or small scraps that might fall apart under glue.
The most important part of gluing is burnishing.
Use a cover sheet to protect your card and absorb any excess glue.
Be very serious with your burnishing, it will make your card look polished.
I like to use a bone folder (it is really hard)
But a chopstick will also work.




To make cards

• Tear or cut your cards to size

• Fold and burnish card
• Glue your background in place (this could also be painted or stained or plain)
  burnish, burnish, burnish
• Arrange your collage playing around with different scenarios and
  thinking about how you will eventually attach each piece
• Attach your collage elements, burnish

• When sewing on your card test on a scrap first
  (machine tension on paper and cloth can be tricky)

• After the entire image has been secured cover the work on the interior of the card with a piece of paper the slightly smaller than the card itself,
  burnish, burnish, burnish.

• Fold your card and using a cover sheet burnish entire card (lots of pressure)

• Using heavy books press the cards for a day or so.
• Send out your smile makers!!!