Some of the things that I took away today from Cathleen Miller today is that something so simple can still be incredibly beautiful. We can make a very simplistic artist book and it still can reach exactly what you want it to. She mentioned how it is good to think about how the book itself carries out the illustrations and what we take away from it, also creating an idea that is going to carry through. The artist book examples that were brought in were quite beautiful and all unique to their own ways. I specifically looked at an artist book that as stitched together with a bunch of medical doctor appt. cards and this book told the story of a women living through cancer. It was super personal, creative, and it really spoke to me. I loved the personal touch and how that the artist book could really encapsulate that never-ending life through cancer and how messy it really is. I hope to have personal touch with my artists book by adding my photography and maybe drawings. I picked that artists’ book without opening it because it grabbed me from the start. The other artists’ books we got to look at today were also incredible, some even by the same author, and it really just showed me that so much can come out of a simple looking book, a piece of scrap paper, medical cards, painting, etc. while adding your own written words: its magical.
One thing I took away from Cathleen Miller’s lecture today was that you can make something incredibly beautiful and eye-catching more simply than I would’ve expected. The way that the structure of the book does some of the storytelling for us I found very intriguing. I specifically looked at a flipbook (with a page set up like our drafty-draft poems) detailing facts about the Northern Moon Snail which used watercolors and glitter to illustrate the ocean theme, which is what caught my eye. There is one page where the author described the way the Northern Moon Snail preys upon mollusks by piercing a hole through their shells, and that page shows two holes that are reminiscent of eyes which not only stuck out to me as looking really cool but also reminded me of the cycle of life and death that animals operate in every single day. Many of the other artists’ books stuck out to me with their very personal connection, such as the ‘dark room’ artist book detailing depression and using the metaphor of developing photographs in a dark room to illustrate that. I truly found all of them very beautiful and touching.
Some of the takeaways I gathered from our guest lecturer, Cathleen Miller, on the Artist’s Book collection for our upcoming project are that there really is a wide variety of options for us to choose in the actual format of the book but that the style of them can be where we truly make it our own unique book. I thought that going around the room and also her explaining different options at the beginning of her talk was helpful for me because I could see that even though the format of the book, whether it be the accordion style or chapbooks, the author/artist has so much to do with the feeling of the result that surpasses just the type of medium used to portray that. Another point that stuck with me was the simplicity of some of the most beautiful books – the craft and thought process are obviously not simplistic, but I felt the choice to let a few powerful images or design choices speak for themselves was a cool concept and allowed me to find the connection between the poem and appreciate the craft of not trying to do too much in one limited space.
Today’s guest lecturer was very interesting! I loved looking at the book that I got (44 Worries). The construction of the book and the page setup was incredibly interesting. I loved the way that the author/creator used a needle and thread to sew the book pages together. Not only this, the images used to create the strange collages fit incredibly well within the context of the word that was the focal point of the page. The tryphobic and tomophobic elements of the book permeated the pages and really made it so much more interesting and spooky. As for the speaker, I really appreciated how she seemed to care for and know each of the books so intimately. Not only this, I loved the insight she provided into the creation of them, such as the medium of the art, the usage of different mediums and materials, and different binding techniques. One of the best things about the class was being able to brainstorm what kind of things we could do with our own art books. They don’t necessarily have to require a lot of actual artistic talent to create (not that the ones in the class weren’t artistic), they just need a creative mind that can come up with ways to tie the poems together with the art. For example, the one I had used mostly collages and smears of paint plastered up onto ripped pages, and it was beautiful in its own strange, macabre way. Another artist book that was showcased consisted largely of individual check in cards from hospitals. Another was just a simple book with beautiful cutouts of Greek goddesses. There are so many ways one can create an artist’s book beyond just drawing, and I really appreciated that aspect of creating them.
I was excited to see some new artist books in this class as well as some I have seen before when I took short fiction. There was also a really big array of materials used for the other books and varying degrees of intensity of the poems/stories they told inside. I really enjoyed hearing how everyone interpreted their books as well. The one book about the frogs really grabbed me because of its design. I liked how skinny it was while also being an accordion style book. I also really liked the clean look of the printed words along with the imagery they printed on the pages. I really enjoyed looking at the book I picked up as well because of the materials used. It seemed like they used some parchment paper or wax paper to make the covers of the book. Within the cover you were able to see pieces of fabric that I assumed were ripped from an article of clothing which was really interesting to think about in tandem with the poem inside. But overall, it was really interesting to see all the different materials used to make the covers, pages, and artwork inside each book. It definitely got me thinking about what I would like to do for my artist book in the coming weeks.
I was very grateful for Friday’s class visit from Cathleen Miller because I was feeling nervous and unsure about creating an artists book and she provided a lot of inspiration with the books she brought. One big takeaway that I got from her visit was that the materials and abilities required to create an artists book are much more accessible than I had previous thought. These beautiful artists books that she brought used what they needed, and no more. The artists book that I looked at closely was called Furies. The artist utilized only three colors: white (the color of the paper), red, and gold. They painted outlines of the feminine and mythological figures the poems depicted either in red or gold. The rest of the pages were filled and decorated with gold paint with different textures. It seems like the artist pressed with plants, wood, and different textured materials. This showed me that when used thoughtfully, an artists book can beautifully and artistically utilize simple materials and colors to synergize with the poetry. At the same time, other artists books were less simplistic and elegant, and were more maximal. There was a book that used lots of different layers of paper with different textures and stitches all throughout. The commonality between these books is that the tools used to create were not as complicated as one might think, they just use their tools in the right way to accompany the poetry. Overall, I really prefer the idea of a book rather than an accordion book because I was really intrigued with the different ways of binding. I also really liked the use of different textures and materials such as the rough edged pages and textured paint in Furies. I also really liked the way other artists book used the space on the pages as the poems were printed/written across the pages and not in typical format. I am feeling better and more inspired going forward and working on my own artists book.
It was great to have Cathleen Miller come into our class to talk about the artist book project. Before her visit, I was uncertain of the direction that I wanted to take for the rest of this semester, but now that she has come I have a much better idea. The idea that grabbed me was the accordion-style book. Although this concept is simple, I think that it would be the most fitting for my skillset and artistic ability. Some of the examples that she brought in that were made in this style really spoke to me in terms of their organization. The format made most sense when it went poem, illustration, poem, illustration. This gave me the freedom of mind to look at the poem and illustrations separately, then as a combination that has the two work together to express meaning.
There were small technical aspects of these books that I also appreciated looking at and hearing about. One of these was how to build the artist book. While I complete this project I will do my best to avoid cutting corners, like using tape where I could use glue instead. Basically, this would be to give the project a cleaner look. Another thought that accompanies this string of ideas that I had, was whether or not I should type the text. My handwriting is neat, but it is not final project neat, so this will be something to consider as well. Finally, I just want to jot down the questions that came to mind while listening to Cathleen Miller’s presentation. “How will I make my illustrations? What will the title be? Should I just make a book with traditional binding? What should the ratio of poems to other artwork be? Should my book be landscape or portrait oriented?”
Some of the books we looked at in class evoked strong emotions in both their thematic and visual representations. I think when the artists were writing their poems, they were simultaneously considering the book as an extension of their poem. I think it can be challenging to create an artist book out of a poem that wasn’t written with that intention, which is what I feel like I am trying to do. I think the most important and unifying aspect of the books was color. All of them used colors intentionally to represent an element of their poem and was often the most striking aspect. For my book, I want to use color in both minimal and maximal ways. Minimal in the diversity of color, and maximal in its effect on the reader. It’s been difficult to find a common theme throughout my many poems, but trees are a symbol that have come through in at least 2. I plan on using green for my book, as well as other neutral colors like brown. I liked the books that had different textures and would like to implement layers into my book, to kind of, as Hall said, create some ambivalence and opposition. I think to do this, a chap book will work the best, as I can layer pages and ideas in unique ways that an accordion style book can’t facilitate. As someone who is not very creative or talented, at least not in the physical artistic way, I will be trying to brainstorm ways to formulate my book that won’t require much drawing or painting. I think I might try to use Cripp’s typewriter, if allowed, or print text or cutout things from magazines. But mostly, I want to work with papers and textured papers to create a rich book.
I took creative writing last fall, in which we made artist books. I saw Cathleens same presentation around a year ago. Last year I found it really intimidating. Being someone who is really not good when it comes to visual art, I was nervous in my abilities. Having now been though the artist book making process once already now, I was able to approach this presentation in a different manor. I remember last year that my biggest down fall in the book making process was time. I ran out of time because I didn’t put enough thought into what I wanted to do before it came time to actually make the book. This year I was able to be reminded about how simple things can be very beautiful and that there is no reason you stress yourself out in any manor, it does not need to be busy. I actually find this year that I am excited to try out the artist book again. I think that I might find it less intimidating to do with poetry instead of trying to fit a short story in one.
This is not the first time I’ve taken a writing class where we have to create a book at the end. I found that during that class I was much more interested in the physically bound books with string or twine than I was with the accordion style books. So I ended up making a book bound with string for that class. But during Miller’s presentation in class I found that I was much more drawn to the accordion style books this time. Whether that was because they’re different from what I’ve done before or because of the amount of detail on these accordion books I’m leaning more towards creating one of those for the end of this class. I think because I’m not sure which poem I’m going to be adding to my book I’m unsure of what I want it to look like but the level of detail and the pictures people were able to add to their accordion books really grabbed my attention. If I were to do a poem I’ve already written I may tweak it a bit. The poem I turned in I ended up cutting out a part about roses of sharon. But with more space in my accordion book to play with I may add the part back in and add spiraling branches of roses of sharon across the pages. I’m not sure yet. But specifically the accordion book with the printed leaves on it pages and the dates across the top really caught my eye.
I think what helped me the most was being able to see all the different formats we can use to make our artist books pop. From stitching to accordion-style books, some people were really dedicated to their craft. Personally, for me, it was the red book with the stitching on the side. This book titled Homecoming was written by an Asian American artist who was telling about his struggles back home and in America. The design and artwork were so simplistic but they carried so much weight behind them. The cover and back were made out of a light thin paper material while the inside was very dense and made out of stronger paper. The stitching was made with light strings which contrast nicely with the red cover. I would like to do my book like this, but figuring out simplistic imagery might be hard to come up with though.
The biggest takeaway I had from Professor Millers visit was the variations of intricate detail/concept an artist book can take on. Meaning that it doesn’t need to bee the greatest work of art to exist, and that even visually simple artist books are meaningful (if not more than the most artistic ones). I found this to be profoundly interesting as someone who has made and looked at artist books previously. This is because I had once believed that artists books were required to be this amazingly artistic representation of one’s written work. That the book itself must stand out to the eye and have loads of creative element. Yet, the ones brought into class ranged from ones with heaps of artistic detail/talent to simpler ones, such as “Fire Within Me”, an artist book I looked at myself. Not to say this one artist book wasn’t gorgeously constructed, but it was much simpler in design. The choices surrounding catching someone’s eye were put into the color scheme, and simplistic art, and cover. There was not use of paint, collage, or even colored pencil. The artist was able to use just construction paper and glue, but still created something stylistically and objectively beautiful. Also, was intertwined with the poetry and concept the artist was attempting to share. I want to keep this in mind as I move forward with the concept I am developing. Overall, to remind myself that less can be more.
As someone who works at the library and have met Ms. Miller before, I’ve always been fond of her! She’s a wonderful soul with an obvious spark of creativity; and I couldn’t feel happier to have been able to see a familiar face work alongside this class for such a cool and interesting project. The many books were so well thought out and designed, I felt really inspired by my own fish one (I’m blanking on title and author) and the two other books that were centered around the burning witch ancestry and the use of gold and red to influence her poetry about different Goddesses. There were also the two that fascinated me about the woman’s relationship with her Cancer and her depression through lack of light and I think it was doctors’ notes. I’m blanking on any others that drew in my attention, but I really appreciated all of the books and how they all seemed to be made with dedicated care. Not to mention the word play and how the theme or mood was shown through the book’s presentation- whether that be in a simplistic or complex light. I think this is a very interesting project to be involved in and I couldn’t be more excited to see what varying directions everyone wants to follow with their art books.
13 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 8”
Some of the things that I took away today from Cathleen Miller today is that something so simple can still be incredibly beautiful. We can make a very simplistic artist book and it still can reach exactly what you want it to. She mentioned how it is good to think about how the book itself carries out the illustrations and what we take away from it, also creating an idea that is going to carry through. The artist book examples that were brought in were quite beautiful and all unique to their own ways. I specifically looked at an artist book that as stitched together with a bunch of medical doctor appt. cards and this book told the story of a women living through cancer. It was super personal, creative, and it really spoke to me. I loved the personal touch and how that the artist book could really encapsulate that never-ending life through cancer and how messy it really is. I hope to have personal touch with my artists book by adding my photography and maybe drawings. I picked that artists’ book without opening it because it grabbed me from the start. The other artists’ books we got to look at today were also incredible, some even by the same author, and it really just showed me that so much can come out of a simple looking book, a piece of scrap paper, medical cards, painting, etc. while adding your own written words: its magical.
One thing I took away from Cathleen Miller’s lecture today was that you can make something incredibly beautiful and eye-catching more simply than I would’ve expected. The way that the structure of the book does some of the storytelling for us I found very intriguing. I specifically looked at a flipbook (with a page set up like our drafty-draft poems) detailing facts about the Northern Moon Snail which used watercolors and glitter to illustrate the ocean theme, which is what caught my eye. There is one page where the author described the way the Northern Moon Snail preys upon mollusks by piercing a hole through their shells, and that page shows two holes that are reminiscent of eyes which not only stuck out to me as looking really cool but also reminded me of the cycle of life and death that animals operate in every single day. Many of the other artists’ books stuck out to me with their very personal connection, such as the ‘dark room’ artist book detailing depression and using the metaphor of developing photographs in a dark room to illustrate that. I truly found all of them very beautiful and touching.
Some of the takeaways I gathered from our guest lecturer, Cathleen Miller, on the Artist’s Book collection for our upcoming project are that there really is a wide variety of options for us to choose in the actual format of the book but that the style of them can be where we truly make it our own unique book. I thought that going around the room and also her explaining different options at the beginning of her talk was helpful for me because I could see that even though the format of the book, whether it be the accordion style or chapbooks, the author/artist has so much to do with the feeling of the result that surpasses just the type of medium used to portray that. Another point that stuck with me was the simplicity of some of the most beautiful books – the craft and thought process are obviously not simplistic, but I felt the choice to let a few powerful images or design choices speak for themselves was a cool concept and allowed me to find the connection between the poem and appreciate the craft of not trying to do too much in one limited space.
Today’s guest lecturer was very interesting! I loved looking at the book that I got (44 Worries). The construction of the book and the page setup was incredibly interesting. I loved the way that the author/creator used a needle and thread to sew the book pages together. Not only this, the images used to create the strange collages fit incredibly well within the context of the word that was the focal point of the page. The tryphobic and tomophobic elements of the book permeated the pages and really made it so much more interesting and spooky. As for the speaker, I really appreciated how she seemed to care for and know each of the books so intimately. Not only this, I loved the insight she provided into the creation of them, such as the medium of the art, the usage of different mediums and materials, and different binding techniques. One of the best things about the class was being able to brainstorm what kind of things we could do with our own art books. They don’t necessarily have to require a lot of actual artistic talent to create (not that the ones in the class weren’t artistic), they just need a creative mind that can come up with ways to tie the poems together with the art. For example, the one I had used mostly collages and smears of paint plastered up onto ripped pages, and it was beautiful in its own strange, macabre way. Another artist book that was showcased consisted largely of individual check in cards from hospitals. Another was just a simple book with beautiful cutouts of Greek goddesses. There are so many ways one can create an artist’s book beyond just drawing, and I really appreciated that aspect of creating them.
I was excited to see some new artist books in this class as well as some I have seen before when I took short fiction. There was also a really big array of materials used for the other books and varying degrees of intensity of the poems/stories they told inside. I really enjoyed hearing how everyone interpreted their books as well. The one book about the frogs really grabbed me because of its design. I liked how skinny it was while also being an accordion style book. I also really liked the clean look of the printed words along with the imagery they printed on the pages. I really enjoyed looking at the book I picked up as well because of the materials used. It seemed like they used some parchment paper or wax paper to make the covers of the book. Within the cover you were able to see pieces of fabric that I assumed were ripped from an article of clothing which was really interesting to think about in tandem with the poem inside. But overall, it was really interesting to see all the different materials used to make the covers, pages, and artwork inside each book. It definitely got me thinking about what I would like to do for my artist book in the coming weeks.
I was very grateful for Friday’s class visit from Cathleen Miller because I was feeling nervous and unsure about creating an artists book and she provided a lot of inspiration with the books she brought. One big takeaway that I got from her visit was that the materials and abilities required to create an artists book are much more accessible than I had previous thought. These beautiful artists books that she brought used what they needed, and no more. The artists book that I looked at closely was called Furies. The artist utilized only three colors: white (the color of the paper), red, and gold. They painted outlines of the feminine and mythological figures the poems depicted either in red or gold. The rest of the pages were filled and decorated with gold paint with different textures. It seems like the artist pressed with plants, wood, and different textured materials. This showed me that when used thoughtfully, an artists book can beautifully and artistically utilize simple materials and colors to synergize with the poetry. At the same time, other artists books were less simplistic and elegant, and were more maximal. There was a book that used lots of different layers of paper with different textures and stitches all throughout. The commonality between these books is that the tools used to create were not as complicated as one might think, they just use their tools in the right way to accompany the poetry. Overall, I really prefer the idea of a book rather than an accordion book because I was really intrigued with the different ways of binding. I also really liked the use of different textures and materials such as the rough edged pages and textured paint in Furies. I also really liked the way other artists book used the space on the pages as the poems were printed/written across the pages and not in typical format. I am feeling better and more inspired going forward and working on my own artists book.
It was great to have Cathleen Miller come into our class to talk about the artist book project. Before her visit, I was uncertain of the direction that I wanted to take for the rest of this semester, but now that she has come I have a much better idea. The idea that grabbed me was the accordion-style book. Although this concept is simple, I think that it would be the most fitting for my skillset and artistic ability. Some of the examples that she brought in that were made in this style really spoke to me in terms of their organization. The format made most sense when it went poem, illustration, poem, illustration. This gave me the freedom of mind to look at the poem and illustrations separately, then as a combination that has the two work together to express meaning.
There were small technical aspects of these books that I also appreciated looking at and hearing about. One of these was how to build the artist book. While I complete this project I will do my best to avoid cutting corners, like using tape where I could use glue instead. Basically, this would be to give the project a cleaner look. Another thought that accompanies this string of ideas that I had, was whether or not I should type the text. My handwriting is neat, but it is not final project neat, so this will be something to consider as well. Finally, I just want to jot down the questions that came to mind while listening to Cathleen Miller’s presentation. “How will I make my illustrations? What will the title be? Should I just make a book with traditional binding? What should the ratio of poems to other artwork be? Should my book be landscape or portrait oriented?”
Some of the books we looked at in class evoked strong emotions in both their thematic and visual representations. I think when the artists were writing their poems, they were simultaneously considering the book as an extension of their poem. I think it can be challenging to create an artist book out of a poem that wasn’t written with that intention, which is what I feel like I am trying to do. I think the most important and unifying aspect of the books was color. All of them used colors intentionally to represent an element of their poem and was often the most striking aspect. For my book, I want to use color in both minimal and maximal ways. Minimal in the diversity of color, and maximal in its effect on the reader. It’s been difficult to find a common theme throughout my many poems, but trees are a symbol that have come through in at least 2. I plan on using green for my book, as well as other neutral colors like brown. I liked the books that had different textures and would like to implement layers into my book, to kind of, as Hall said, create some ambivalence and opposition. I think to do this, a chap book will work the best, as I can layer pages and ideas in unique ways that an accordion style book can’t facilitate. As someone who is not very creative or talented, at least not in the physical artistic way, I will be trying to brainstorm ways to formulate my book that won’t require much drawing or painting. I think I might try to use Cripp’s typewriter, if allowed, or print text or cutout things from magazines. But mostly, I want to work with papers and textured papers to create a rich book.
I took creative writing last fall, in which we made artist books. I saw Cathleens same presentation around a year ago. Last year I found it really intimidating. Being someone who is really not good when it comes to visual art, I was nervous in my abilities. Having now been though the artist book making process once already now, I was able to approach this presentation in a different manor. I remember last year that my biggest down fall in the book making process was time. I ran out of time because I didn’t put enough thought into what I wanted to do before it came time to actually make the book. This year I was able to be reminded about how simple things can be very beautiful and that there is no reason you stress yourself out in any manor, it does not need to be busy. I actually find this year that I am excited to try out the artist book again. I think that I might find it less intimidating to do with poetry instead of trying to fit a short story in one.
This is not the first time I’ve taken a writing class where we have to create a book at the end. I found that during that class I was much more interested in the physically bound books with string or twine than I was with the accordion style books. So I ended up making a book bound with string for that class. But during Miller’s presentation in class I found that I was much more drawn to the accordion style books this time. Whether that was because they’re different from what I’ve done before or because of the amount of detail on these accordion books I’m leaning more towards creating one of those for the end of this class. I think because I’m not sure which poem I’m going to be adding to my book I’m unsure of what I want it to look like but the level of detail and the pictures people were able to add to their accordion books really grabbed my attention. If I were to do a poem I’ve already written I may tweak it a bit. The poem I turned in I ended up cutting out a part about roses of sharon. But with more space in my accordion book to play with I may add the part back in and add spiraling branches of roses of sharon across the pages. I’m not sure yet. But specifically the accordion book with the printed leaves on it pages and the dates across the top really caught my eye.
I think what helped me the most was being able to see all the different formats we can use to make our artist books pop. From stitching to accordion-style books, some people were really dedicated to their craft. Personally, for me, it was the red book with the stitching on the side. This book titled Homecoming was written by an Asian American artist who was telling about his struggles back home and in America. The design and artwork were so simplistic but they carried so much weight behind them. The cover and back were made out of a light thin paper material while the inside was very dense and made out of stronger paper. The stitching was made with light strings which contrast nicely with the red cover. I would like to do my book like this, but figuring out simplistic imagery might be hard to come up with though.
The biggest takeaway I had from Professor Millers visit was the variations of intricate detail/concept an artist book can take on. Meaning that it doesn’t need to bee the greatest work of art to exist, and that even visually simple artist books are meaningful (if not more than the most artistic ones). I found this to be profoundly interesting as someone who has made and looked at artist books previously. This is because I had once believed that artists books were required to be this amazingly artistic representation of one’s written work. That the book itself must stand out to the eye and have loads of creative element. Yet, the ones brought into class ranged from ones with heaps of artistic detail/talent to simpler ones, such as “Fire Within Me”, an artist book I looked at myself. Not to say this one artist book wasn’t gorgeously constructed, but it was much simpler in design. The choices surrounding catching someone’s eye were put into the color scheme, and simplistic art, and cover. There was not use of paint, collage, or even colored pencil. The artist was able to use just construction paper and glue, but still created something stylistically and objectively beautiful. Also, was intertwined with the poetry and concept the artist was attempting to share. I want to keep this in mind as I move forward with the concept I am developing. Overall, to remind myself that less can be more.
As someone who works at the library and have met Ms. Miller before, I’ve always been fond of her! She’s a wonderful soul with an obvious spark of creativity; and I couldn’t feel happier to have been able to see a familiar face work alongside this class for such a cool and interesting project. The many books were so well thought out and designed, I felt really inspired by my own fish one (I’m blanking on title and author) and the two other books that were centered around the burning witch ancestry and the use of gold and red to influence her poetry about different Goddesses. There were also the two that fascinated me about the woman’s relationship with her Cancer and her depression through lack of light and I think it was doctors’ notes. I’m blanking on any others that drew in my attention, but I really appreciated all of the books and how they all seemed to be made with dedicated care. Not to mention the word play and how the theme or mood was shown through the book’s presentation- whether that be in a simplistic or complex light. I think this is a very interesting project to be involved in and I couldn’t be more excited to see what varying directions everyone wants to follow with their art books.