Artist by Nature, Books by Design

Rumi

Let the beauty we love be what we do. – Rumi

By Rachel on March 21, 2017

While sorting and sifting, tossing, tearing, and leveling the pile ever slowly, this little scrap caught my eye. It attached itself to my hand so I turned it over, reading and re-reading the poem I hand copied at least a decade ago.

The little scrap that made its way back into the sun.

Ah yes! Rumi! He has always resonated with me as a dancer. ‘Don’t sit still and read’ he urges. Wake up! Play music! Get your body moving!

Rumi tells me what so many are saying to my recent discovery. Don’t just wait for your mind to direct you – use your body to direct your mind.

I can’t imagine Rumi had so rigorous a regimen as Tony Robbins’ priming ritual, but I get the sense that the transformative power of commanding our physical selves in order to direct our intellectual and emotional selves is the same wether we plunge our bodies into freezing water or do a sun salutation. Or our 100s. Or some serious head banging. Whatever turns us on, just so long as we do it everyday, in the morning, before that feeling of emptiness leads us to meaningless screen time.

Walking my dogs into the woods, out through a grassy field, down to our little pond and up a dirt road has been my morning action lately. It gives me time to observe nature’s morning actions, mostly the Texas spring flower explosions happening right now, but I also listen to birds sing their first songs of the day while fresh air expands both my lungs and my mind’s capacity to receive.

And I say, don’t just do it once a day. Do it again and again. In the middle of the day, when it’s time to move from your chair/computer/book/machine, skip the screen and instead find something that lifts your spirit. A sprint up the stairs. I walk around the building. A 3 minute meditation outside with the sun on your face.

My go-to computer break is the few minutes it takes to dance to Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September or The Kungs This Girl – an equally motivating groove. My body moves without hesitation or instruction and my brain gets a jolt of dopamine.

As I begin this adventure into the wild world of making beauty in books – I will move and groove and kiss the ground with gratitude for my time on Earth.

How about you? Why are you still here? Go shake a tail feather!

Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.

Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

~ Rumi

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Birthday Gift

“We think back through our mothers if we are women” – Virginia Woolf

By Rachel on March 15, 2017

Their love created another beautiful smile, the smile of MaryAnn

Favorite photos from my life collection often become the central element in my card making. Such a simple and wonderful exchange – a moment illustrated in faded, glossy tones with fashions that incite elation, youthful optimism brimming in everyone’s faces, my family in it’s early formation. I have spent timeless hours with old photos from both sides of my family helping me connect the varied chapters of my life and encouraging a familiarity with people whose influence I embrace.

Re-framing images in a gift is my way of saying thank you for creating your life as you did, for your participation in my life, and for our relationship as it continues to grow.

For my mother’s 70th birthday I wanted to celebrate her radiance and beauty in both her youth and her wise years. Choosing one image was impossible. Instead I made a short book using 59 images, totaling 26 pages which I created by folding 13 – 11 x 17″ full color prints in half.

As a long time collector of beautiful bits of paper, I found a lovely wallpaper-esque roll of cotton fiber paper in my craft closet to use as detail over a black card stock cover.

I put it together using an uncomplicated Japanese stitch binding. This video tutorial by Sea Lemon was perfect and when I found myself needing single frame instruction, this step-by-step at Design Sponge did the trick. Both are clear and easy to follow.

Seeing my baby self in the light of my mother’s glowing smile, fixed gaze, and capable hands fills me with warmth. Her smile became the theme of the book. By the third book, my stitching edged on graceful. Final size : 8.25 x 7.5″.

Her smile persisted, even through unimaginable sadness

Life, as always, was full of adventure, difficulty, joy, sorrow, gratitude and faith.

Seventy years of smiles has made MaryAnn’s beauty ageless.

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Bibliophile

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read” – Groucho Marx

By Rachel on September 20, 2016

Old books. Tiny books. Oversized books. Pop-ups, cut outs, hand bound, fold outs, artists’ books, comic books, graphic novels, spiritual texts, journals, portfolios, photo albums from the late 19th century. Photo albums from the 20’s… or the 60’s. First editions, hard cover, soft cover, cloth books, board books. Autographed, anonymous, out of print, banned books, best sellers, scrolls, parchment codex, carved books, book sculptures, magazines, fanzines.

I love them all.

Don’t you? What’s more thrilling than the smell and feel of a leather bound book a century old? Or illustrations that tickle our eyes? Or the potential for books to transform our minds? Who doesn’t look forward to those moments of joyous solitude when we can deeply engage with a delicious book? Sigh. It’s been a life long love affair. Books are gifts that ceaselessly give, friends forever true.

Though I grew up writing, drawing, and picture taking, I took the path of graphic designer (yawn) and at one point found myself designing coffee table wedding books. (This was before the explosion of online photo book companies.)

The wedding industry depressed me (a rant for another time), however, I found digital offset printing completely exciting. My little brains exploded – suddenly I had an outlet for my writing, drawings, and photos. I started making books and cards for every occasion. Grrrrl, my family was in high cotton!

It wasn’t until I worked for the Center For Book Arts in New York a few years later that I discovered the beauty of hand binding. And that I am missing the perfectionist gene that makes the end product of so many book makers works of gallery ready art. What I do have though is a MacGyver – esque sixth sense about making things and crafty problem solving.

As I’ve learned to embrace my strengths and surrender my weaknesses to the wind, I’ve found momentum in my creative life. Perfection is the enemy of good as the wise ones say. When faced with a mistake I can choose to cry, cuss, and throw things or take a deep breath, pour myself another cup of coffee, and view it from another perspective. My worst flubs have become precious gifts in many cases.

So, that’s why I’m here. Not only to explore the magic of books, but the fun of making them and the joy of gift giving. And how to get out of our own way while doing it.