Traditionally Hard-Bound work of Art (at least in my opinion)

Not sure whether my favorite traditionally hard-bound book “counts” on the basis that it’s not hand made, but I LOVE my copy of Hunter Thompson’s The Curse of Lono, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. It’s not just Thompson’s writing or Steadman’s illustrations that make me love this book – it measures an awkward 11×15 inches (note – it’s not the ideal book to bring in your carry on if you’re taking a flight – you’ll get on the nerves of the stranger sitting next to you). Once you remove the dust jacket, the book is black writing on a white background – a stark comparison to the colorful and bizarre illustrations inside. I generally opt for smaller sized books with minimal images, but the oversized measurements of The Curse of Lono are something I find almost nostalgic, perhaps it reminds me of reading as a little kid, when pretty much every book was oversized (at least in comparison to a little kid). I’m also drawn to the fact that I can’t help but become absorbed in reading it or perusing the drawings because its size inundates my entire line of vision and peripheral vision.  Either way, this book is by far my favorite hard cover book not only for content, but for it’s larger than life design.

The Curse of Lono

I really enjoye…

I really enjoyed making my two books. Surprisingly, I had more fun than anticipated while fun making the images-only book simply because I had never thought to make one before. I’m definitely more comfortable using words than images, especially when given the choice to use exclusively one or the other. I’m looking forward to trying to make a book that incorporates BOTH text and images – there were a LOT of great ideas in class, and it got the wheels turning on how I can incorporate images into my own writing.

I definitely felt more challenged with my Found book, which used only pictures. This would have been particularly MORE difficult had we not been exposed to the various types of bookmaking – I think the forms of the books we were introduced to in class were definitely helpful in enforcing our ideas. For instance, the tunnel books were difficult to “read,” but this loss of legibility was complementary to the concept of loss.

The biggest challenge I faced with both the Lost and Found books was coming up with ideas on not only the content of the book, but also the concept and the execution of that concept. In our writing workshops we’re faced with generating content; in other courses (Typography, Book Publishing), we’re faced with concept. Even though my Lost and Found books were simple from both context and concept perspectives, it really reminded me of the importance of seeing the “full picture” when creating anything (or at least trying to see some semblance of a full picture).

Purty Picture Books

So apparently there is a place in Japan – the Oshima Museum of Picture Books. Every year they hold an international handmade picture book contest, and you can view the winners online here. Criteria for entry state that “entries should be bookbinding style,” and that “materials/techniques are without restriction.”

I don’t speak a word of Japanese (which is fine, since these are picture books), but the two third-place books really caught my eye. There are some really interesting works and beautiful illustrations among the winners, but a these were may favorite:

Samurai to boku, by Yutaka Kobayashi – I’ve got a weakness for anything that resembles Daniel Johnston illustrations. It looks like there is text (English text at that, since it looks like it’s going left to right instead of vertical), which I think is odd for a picture book competition, but whatever.

Samurai to boku, by Yutaka Kobayashi（Nagano/Japan）

Kishuudensetsu Anchin to Kiyohime, by Chiemi Nagasawa (check out these pop-up skills!)

Kishuudensetsu Anchin to Kiyohime by Chiemi Nagasawa

( couldn’t find anything else by this book artist, but will post anything I find later on).

Being more of a word person, this particular assignment started my thoughts rolling about books that feature exclusively pictures. When content is written, the window for different interpretations is significantly smaller than when people are faced with pictures, which not only have more accessibility (e.g., you don’t have to speak the same language as the artist to enjoy his/her work), but there is virtually no limit as to how people can interpret those images. It’s as if picture books have the potential to be a lot more personable to the reader.

I’m not sure whether this particular train of thought makes me want to incorporate pictures into my writing or not. Am guessing I’ll give it a shot (especially with my “found” book for this week’s assignment).

Soft Book Covers

Hi Everyone,

I must admit, when I first read the assignment all I could think about was books for little infant babies. But the more I read about the findings of others, I moved slightly from the childishl, Winnie the Pooh version of soft cover books and leaned more towards the adult-version children’s version of books. For this reason, I selected

I’m honestly not sure of why I’m pulled towards these soft photographs.  I think it’s probably because of the reader’s ability to achieve a reach to childhood (i.e., the paperdoll nature of the dolls that had “childlike aspirations”)  versus  the ability to relate that childhood recognition to  current situations.

Sometimes I relate to is, sometimes I don’t. It all depends on the minute of the day of the week of the month of the year. Today, I happen to feel like I relate to the cover. Tomorrow might be a different story.

Bookiness Inspiration

Hi Everyone!

A couple semesters ago I had to research publishers for my Book Publishing course. I distinctly remember coming across Flying Fish Press which is run by Julie Chen. I immediately ruled it out for my hypothetical project because:

1. I’d never even considered experimenting with different forms of publications, and therefore had no idea of where to even start, and
2. After looking at Julie’s work I was completely intimidated.

But being intimidated doesn’t mean that I wasn’t impressed. And even though I didn’t select Flying Fish for my final project, I was awestruck with the creations by Julie Chen.

Julie Chen

The covers for the book art I’ve seen by Julie have generally been comprised of neutral shades – a bit misleading, as once you open one of her books, the form of the content is wildly inventive. Personal Paradigms is my favorite because it appeals to my thought that reading any book is a highly personal experience – depending on whatever is going on int your life at the time, you’ll likely have a different interpretation (probably a reason so many of us re-read our favorite books). I think having a book in the form of a collaborative board game that records the the players’ personal experiences in playing the game, and the relationship of that game to their lives is a remarkably ingenious way of re-creating that ability to speak directly to the reader and leave a lasting, personalized impact.

I LOVE the concept, but for $2,400, I don’t think I’ll be “reading” it any time soon…

In addition to running Flying Fish, Julie Chen teaches Book Arts and regularly lectures on book making. More info about her is available here: About Julie Chen

Isaac Salazar

Another artist I came across was Isaac Salazar. I’m not sure whether he counts for this assignment, since he doesn’t write his own books, but I love how he transforms the work of others into incredible 3D typographical displays with his book origami. Admittedly, some of his choices for individual words aren’t my favorite (a lot of it is inspirational-type stuff), but I do admire his eye for detail and his craft. His work is available for viewing on Flickr. Apparently there are pieces of his that you can purchase on Etsy, though I wasn’t able to find any for sale.