Ars Librorum

 With each book I make I love the craft more and more. Its certainly a test of my abilities, makes me think about my work in new ways.  All that is to say that I enjoyed this project and I am satisfied with the results.   I received a fascinating criticism, that the work could be expanded upon, could go further than what I had set up. I certainly agree. Formulating ideas for books I've found is exceedingly difficult, trying to juggle what is feasible with my limited skill set and time with my grand ideas. What I landed on I find fun, but ultimately somewhat shallow in concept. An exploration of a small clipping of paper, a piece of paper with limited context... the idea is there but I hadn't thought it out thoroughly. I was so preoccupied with following in the footsteps of LennOno humour and absurdity that I lost my own voice within it.  Despite this, I still love my books. I love the colours, the simplistic yet not overly mulled over arrangement of words and im...

     "Home for Snails" was my first real attempt at constructing a book. I had made many a crude pamphlets and zines throughout my life, but attempting to make an honest to God book was out of my skill set. I am a woman who holds high expectations for my handmade creations. I have always been perhaps too confident in my ability to pick up a new creative skill quickly and begin producing high quality work, this project was a stark reality check on that front. This begs the question, what went wrong?      It starts with what would seem the simplest of tasks, to measure and cut the paper. I believe my largest issue was the need to bind together several sheets of thick, unpliable paper. While excellent to draw and paint on, its another thing entirely to manipulate the sheets how I would have liked. While trying my best to hold the paper in place as I sliced it up, I subconsciously thanked myself for not buying the $18 sheets of paper from the bookstore (which I...

 Hello to all! I decided this week to share a video I enjoyed greatly. It's a video explaining the process of traditional papermaking in Bhutan. Click HERE to watch! Keep in mind to turn on closed captions, as the video is not narrated in English. I was interested in this topic as one of the many unused notebooks I have contains this paper! Its a wonderful material, really different from anything you'd find at the bookstore. Feels more cloth-like than the paper we use here at the uni.  Short post, I know. Don't mention it. 

Last May, I visited the UK alone for two weeks and had an amazing time. I was sure to make it a point to do everything I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. I treated myself with trips to historical sites such as the Tower of London, The Cavern Club, and more. While there, I found a small art supply shop with all manners of goodies I couldn't possibly fit into my suitcase. I decided to pick out a few small items to take home with me, one of those being a small bottle of iron gall ink. Unknowingly, I had just sown the seeds of an interest that wouldn't bloom until 7 months later.  My bottle of ink. Iron gall ink was a black ink used primarily from the 5th century CE to the 20th century CE. Another black ink called carbon ink was also used but iron gall was valued for its permanence, it was more difficult to scrape off the page with a blade and is water resistant. It is important to note that carbon ink and iron gall ink are difficult to distinguish from looks alone. It is conv...

First post! Yay! Here is the postcard I designed. I like this assignment a lot, I have a massive postcard collection so this one felt very relevant to me and my interests. This one is a simple greeting postcard, inspired somewhat by the Yellow Submarine film (1968). The hands on the postcard are my own. Postcard size: 7" x 5"