Catch Up Post

I’ve been in a creative slump the past while. It’s not like I haven’t been doing things.

- Was in a show at the Vogt Visual Art Center this summer

- Was in a show at SXU for a retrospective in the printmaking classes this fall

- I’ve been designing a blog header for a friend of mine

But book wise? Eh. I gave up on making one for August. I’ve made maquettes in class. But I haven’t felt compelled to make one that is notable or artworthy. Maybe that will change soon.

During July I totally planned on making another quiet book. I bought more felt, I looked at layouts, and I even started on a page or two. Then, a friend of mine (the same one from the breastfeeding blog picture request) asked if I could help make a well child booklet for World Breastfeeding Week for an event Breastfeed Chicago was organizing. If you don’t know, most well child booklets are a little informational booklet formula companies hand out with pages for your child’s stats, and notes to take down at each dr. appointment. They also feature a generous portion of each page to asking what formula you’re using and when. To my knowledge, there aren’t any well child booklets that feature information from a breastfeeding education standpoint, and this is what I helped design with my friend contributing the text. I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out, and we’re passing them out at our event this Saturday at the Garfield Park conservatory. I printed 72 of them, but so far we have more than that slated to attend. We’ll see what the reaction is on Saturday!

I actually finished a book before the last day of the month! I think this is my favorite book a month project yet, and George really enjoys it too. I think I’m going to make another quiet book since I’m on a roll.

Progress photos of my quiet book

May’s book was going to be a different book. However, as the end of May swiftly came to a close, I decided to make a book in an hour. Well, it took a little longer than that.

I came across this entry on a friend’s post on Facebook:

While they are at your side, love these little ones to the uttermost. Forget yourself. Serve them; care for them; lavish all your tenderness on them. Value your good fortune while it is with you, and let nothing of the sweetness of their babyhood go unprized. Not for long will you keep the happiness that now lies within your reach. You will not always walk in the sunshine with a little warm, soft hand nestling in each of yours, nor hear little feet pattering beside you, and eager baby voices questioning and prattling of a thousand things with ceaseless excitement. Not always will you see that trusting face upturned to yours, feel those little arms about your neck, and those tender lips pressed upon your cheek, nor will you have that tiny form to kneel beside you, and murmur baby prayers into your ear. 
Love them and win their love, and shower on them all the treasures of your heart. Fill up their days with happiness, and share with them their mirth and innocent delights.
Childhood is but for a day. Ere you are aware it will be gone with all its gifts forever.
George Townshend (1876 - 1957)

My George has been going through a bit of separation anxiety/mom preference lately, and as I laid there on my bed waiting for him to go to sleep, I thought of this passage, and decided to make my book in an hour about this. 
Each page was sketched while he (fitfully) slept next to me and each picture has shorter and shorter time I was able to add detail. I think it works with the text describing how babyhood/childhood is so fleeting. 

this and that

My goal for the year was to submit to 3 art shows. It was looking a bit grim as June is just around the corner, but as luck would have it the visual arts center nearby had a show deadline of tomorrow! Nature themed, I submitted my accordion book of the poem “trees” by Joyce Kilmer. So one show down, 2 more to go!

(a snippet from the book)

I’ve been keeping busy with illustration projects. Recently I was asked to do some illustrations for a friend’s blog post on the TIME article about attachment parenting and the uproar about the cover. It’s a well written piece, featuring a viewpoint I haven’t seen brought up in the whole media brouhaha. It has people talking for sure, not always about the correct things, so personally I’m honored to be a part of something trying to right TIME’s provocative wrongs in attempts to sell magazines.

April’s book: tunnel book fail. My first attempt at tunnel book structure ended up going off on a diagonal when I accidentally glued the support structure folded the wrong way. I think it kind of turned into a happy accident as it adds to the feeling of moving down the sidewalk, but it is what it is I guess.

Cross that off the list →

Finally updated my website to reflect some more projects I’d worked on in the past year. Check it out, would you?

Much needed creative inspiration

I’ve been struggling this past month with my book projects. I’ve known going into this overall project that I wasn’t going to make museum quality pieces, but there’s still the drive to make something good. Part of this pressure is from the choice this month to try a tunnel book format. It’s never been a style I’ve been particularly attracted to, it actually kind of intimidates me. Something to do with figuring out depth and accurately placing all the pieces to form a cohesive image.

I’m also hoping to submit my finished project to an art show, the deadline is at the end of May to enter. My goal was to submit to 3 shows, I need to find two more shows between now and the end of the year.

So today, between errands and meeting up for playdates, I stopped by a friend’s studio to see what she was up to. Sometimes all it takes is a visit to another creative person’s space to have some of that energy rub off on you. Tonight was a bit crazy to try and focus to get work done, but I’m planning on getting over my tunnel book fears tomorrow.

Better late than never, March’s book.

I was inspired by a children’s board book called In My Nest, where the last page is visible through smaller and smaller cutouts in each of the pages for this book design. I also decided to break out of my accordion fold rut and try a japanese stab binding. I think it worked out pretty well. 

April’s book is a tunnel design, more traditional than the one shown here.