I think this is the longest I’ve ever disappeared from the blog. I’m still around. I’ve even been mildly productive, I am happy to report.
The Handbook of Model-making for Set Designers, a recent discovery, is filled with all kinds of fun tips and suggestions for making small stuff with card stock and paper. I’d originally been making a staircase out of book board (something I’m still working on), but wound up suddenly deciding to fashion a tree out of wire and cover it in lokta paper, giving rise to this little book object. I also had some tiny polymer clay eggs sitting around from some previous thing, and so added a nest.
The text in back is, more or less, a stream-of-conscious bit of nonsense that mentions, among other things, a cat climbing a tree. It ends with “And the cat will climb down by the tips of his claws.”
This was inspired by seeing my cat Dominic climb a redwood the other day. He’d spied a bird way high up (redwoods, you might remember, are tall), and decided to go up after it. He made it to the first limb — still impressively high off the ground — which creaked precariously under him as the bird watched safely from above. I don’t know what the cat was thinking — that the bird would hop down onto the branch with him?
At any rate, I had fun putting together this little book object. Nothing like a little productivity to lift one’s mood!
How can one not like a book that has pages on scalpels and knives? It even has a sidebar (not shown) outlining the history of X-Actos in the U.S. and scalpels in the U.K. (it’s a British book).
I LOVE your climbing book. It is beautiful and classy and I love its back and spine as well. And it looks like just the sort of tree that the Dominics and the Jazzs of this world would revel in. Given all that has beset you of late, with health issues, visitors and cat calamities I am in awe that you managed to create this beauty.
The tools and materials page could also be happily fit with Introduction to Sociopathy 1 – or perhaps this is my own latent urges coming forth.
Thanks. (and I am really pleased you found the button to enable followup comments to be, well, followed.
Thanks so much E.C. You make me like the book more. Now hopefully I can do more! Deadline approaching in . . . a month and a half?? God help me.
Isn’t that knife page delightful? Sociopathy 1–love it! I prefer scalpels myself. (I really will have to do that post on studio accidents someday…).
As for the follow-up button, I’m so glad you nudged me on that. I hadn’t realized that’s a separate thing you have to download with WordPress. I’m glad it’s all functional now. Thanks!
Glad to see you use the “bow-tie” stitch! Beautiful book!
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Hello D.Guff–
So nice to see you here. I loved your workshop, and I have indeed been using the stitch, with pleasure. Thanks!
This is BEAUTIFUL!!!
I LOVE the charming story, the lokta paper becoming the redwood tree, the wonderfully executed binding!!! A precious “book”!
xoxox
Thanks Anna! Much appreciated!
Your work is so delicate and clever. If i wasn’t so committed to blogging I’d be tempted to follow in your footsteps
Thanks Nurse Myra! So kind. You made my day. I must say, I’m glad you’re committed to blogging–the world needs your talents as an archivist/historian!
What a delightful book. I love the tree.
What a wonderful idea! I love it that Dominic feeds you inspiration. As for the book structure, it glorious, really lovely to look at and as always inspirational! I’m chomping at the bit for the new uni term to start so I can get back into the workshop.
Tan! Lovely to hear from you. You’re so kind. Thanks. I hope you have a great new term! I look forward to seeing what you get up to in the workshop.