Back to the bindery.

Before I left my job in Connecticut, I promised a colleague I'd make a guestbook for her daughter's wedding. Behold said book. It's been quite awhile since I pulled out my bookbinding stuff, but it felt really good to get back to the bindery. Huzzah! You like? I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, although it was a bit tricky with the humidity we were enduring. Anyway, now that I have all my tools out, I might as well keep going, right?

Ex libris,

Marissa

Resolutions

Another year! Man, they just fly by. A new year means resolutions. I think I have only ever really kept one resolution, and that was 2001 when I resolved to write down all the books I read like my grandmother did. I still do that with pen and paper. My LibraryThing is a small slice of the list. I read 83 books in 2012 (although I missed some because when I read a picture book on the fly or read to my Lego Club, I don't count those.) I will continue to keep that resolution, but here are a few things that I will try to do in 2013:

1. I will add all my books to LibraryThing.
2. I will take my old notebook I write my books in and rebind it.
3. I will organize my room to the point that I can get a new bed.
4. I will finish the quilt I started randomly some years ago.
5. I will make more art! Bookbinding, spinning (my new love), whatever. It has been awhile.
6. I will visit people and/or travel just for kicks. (Lookin' at you, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.)

I'm going to stop there because I like even numbers. So, in short, be more creative, be more social, and clean up. I don't want to make any reading-related resolutions because of the Nutmeg Committee. I have 2 left of the 8 books I have to read by February 13. The Nutmeg Committee is a resolution in and of itself, reading-wise and being more social. I did that on purpose.

A few recommendations while I have you:
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (before she wrote Gone Girl)
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ex libris,

Marissa

My brilliant book reviewing career.

I read, on average, about 50-70 books a year. Reading has always been one of my favorite activities, in addition to binding my own books and any craft involving yarn (I just started spinning-- next step is sheep shearing school). I also enjoy the occasional bout of doing nothing, and I watch TV. So I'm quite pleased with my yearly book average. Then when I finished my Master's degree (huzzah!) I thought to myself, aha! Now I can continue working on the 1001 Books Project with my sister (she's in the C books, I'm still in the A books), and read more in general, and read galleys on Netgalley, and continue my TV-crafty-nothing-doing. I admit, I may have been overambitious in this quest. I know of several librarians who work at their day jobs, write reviews for major publications, serve on committees, present at conferences, and also seem to get their laundry done. And they usually have more familial obligations than I do (I have one dog). That being said, I am considering applying to be on the Nutmeg Book Award committee, which will kick my reading into super high gear. I think it will be quite cool to have a hand in the Nutmeg nominees. I may never be a professional book reviewer, but I can still be a good librarian.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Birthday book.

This is the second year I've bought a book for the library I work at. This year, I chose Playing With Books by Jason Thompson. The book is full of great ideas for using old books. We've already used the paperback postcards tutorial for a drop-in teen craft at my library, and we're going to be using the kusudama flowers tutorial next week. In addition, Thompson is the proprietor of Rag & Bone Bindery, a bindery that creates gorgeous albums and journals. I wanted to work for Rag & Bone after college, although there wasn't an opening and it was a pipe dream! I bought my sister one of their paper page albums after my niece was born, and it's now the only thing she ever asks for.

In summary, giving a gift on your birthday is good karma, as is finding new uses for old books. And if you need a new book, try Rag & Bone.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Hello 2009!

I've been keeping a list of every book I've read since January 2001. I tally up the number at the end of each year. Last night, just before bed, I tallied up how many books I read in 2008 and it came to-- get ready-- ninety-three. That is a lot. Granted, some were children's books and some were audio books, but still. I feel quite accomplished!
Highlights from my list for 2008:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (audio book)
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.
Triangle by Katharine Weber
500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form juried by Steve Miller
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Glass-Blowers by Daphne Du Maurier
Bliss by Lauren Myracle
Black Seconds by Karin Fossum
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

And onto resolutions for the New Year... I'd definitely like to get back to making books. I'd like to make a book a day, however small and simple the binding. I'd also like to take a photo a day. I don't know yet. I feel like making a resolution is just a promise to break it. We'll see.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Bookmaking attention

Last week at work I gave out two business cards. That's epic. The first one was to a library patron who had work in the library's current art exhibit. I bought a piece of his and he came to check out his books and I told him that I was the buyer. Then I pointed out my pieces in the show (both within sight of the circulation desk) and he asked for my card.

The second instance was the next day. I was walking from children's to the circ desk and a woman was looking at one of my books and we got into a long conversation about bookmaking. Apparently her daughter is a bookmaking instructor and we chatted about how I got started and how her daughter went to North Bennet Street School and how I have an Etsy shop and it was awesome. And I gave her my card.

So now I must make things for my shop tout de suite.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Finding the creative spirit...again.

I have been in such a creative rut lately. I haven't made a book in I can't tell you how long. Also, my studio space is all put away in preparation for the baby shower we're having for my sister over Labor Day weekend, so I don't have anything visually stimulating to set me off.

I feel like I have a lot of stuff to work with but I'm afraid of ruining something and not making it "cool" enough. For example, I have a packet of letters I bought at the Clignacourt flea market in Paris in 2004, but if I use them I won't have them any longer and what if I make something from them that turns out awful? Silly, I know, but I can't shake the creative apprehension.

This book Artist's Journals and Sketchbooks is pretty awesome and has lots of image transfer ideas and ways to be spontaneous. I think I am overthinking things too much in my desire for precision. Also, I don't have the bookmaking drive that I once had. I have fallen into the trap of yarn. Even though I love knitting and crocheting, I feel like I've lost a part of myself since I haven't made a book in awhile. And since it's been awhile, part of me feels like I might as well give it up because I won't ever get back the mad skillz I once had.

Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking is a great resource too. My former art professor Maryjean Viano Crowe is featured in it, and I always get jazzed by looking at her work. She basically taught me everything I know about bookmaking. It is because of her that I got to intern at The Center for Book Arts in New York and I've been in a number of exhibitions.

I think I may have the cure for my creativity ailment, however: 1001 Journals. I was walking over to Starbucks the other day and I saw a bumper sticker for 1000 Journals, and when I went to the website it redirected me. How cool is this website? It is a bunch of collaborative journals! Two years ago I tried to get a round robin book going among some friends, but it was dead in the water and I still don't have the book back. I think I may register on 1001 Journals and start collaborating with strangers because other people always have the coolest techniques. Then I can do a little work at a time and hopefully put my creative spirit back together. And I'll be able to work without pulling out all my supplies, and I'll have to be spontaneous because I'll have to send the book along to the next person.

I'll let you know what happens.

Ex libris,

Marissa