Bookmaking party on January 20, 2001

The night was crisp and clear, outside temperatures went below zero but inside the gallery the atmosphere was warm.  It was an evening to bring your favorite, whatever that might be and whatever that might mean.  There were pot luck dishes, kids and bigger kids.

Sue and I are doing a series of parties this winter that center around making books.  In the  first one we created hand bound pamphlet journals and for this party we would create a book from one sheet of paper and with several folds and one cut, the sheet would fold into an eight page book.

But first we had to eat, there must have been eight different dishes from shrimp to chicken and  rice/beans to a mushroom stuffed bread.  Plenty of dips and desserts.

We had work tables set up in the gallery and another table filled with all type of instruments for decorating.  Lee used a carrot to stamp out a pattern.

I did a quick demonstration to get the ball rolling then I enjoyed traveling around and seeing what everyone was doing.

 I found my daughter Emily tucked away inside my studio decorating the paper that will become a book.  I can only imagine what thoughts are going through her mind, I take my picture and leave.

The idea for doing this book came from several sources, books that I own and from the internet.  Like most things though, it's what you make of them.

Combining the creation of the book and a party made for a wonderful evening.

I was really excited about the next part where we would then write in the book.  Write down on the spur of the moment whatever the moment was for you, what it meant or felt like.

Even though I knew about the structure of the book, I tried to stay in the moment so that each aspect of this book would reflect me at that moment.

The gallery quieted down and yet it was filled with energy.

 When it came time to write into the folded book I searched for the voice inside.

I read first and below you will find links to 16 of the books.

The books were humorous, thought provoking, from the heart and artistic.

 The evening ending with a round of drumming.

Look through the links below, each one takes you to a separate page where a book is.  Look for word and symbol links to change the pictures in the slide shows.

Thank you for looking through our books.