The time on Friday was a way to help push me to get thinking in more detail about my artists book. I picked out a few options of decorative paper to use in my chapbook and some of the off white paper with rough edges, but I held off on putting anything together because I still was a bit unsure of where I was going with my artists book. I think my next step is narrowing down on what poems I want to include and how many of them. That way I can actually create the book with the correct number of pages for writing. Also, I think that having the actual poems in mind will help guide me to choose which decorative papers will work best and go along with the writing. I’m hoping that some of the options I picked out will be able to work with some elements of the poems to make some sort of synergy. So far the poems I am liking are my drafty draft poem, my picture is worth a trillion dollar$ poem, my rhyme poem, my anniversary poem, and my food poem – they are my “earthy” poems. They all have that theme, but they do not necessarily all go well together since they are sometimes about very different things. So I am hoping to find a way to pick out and then lace a few of them together along another common idea being portrayed. I also might try to write some more of my future poem assignments along these lines, with the theme or portraying a common idea. I will just have to keep these poems in mind for the future. Next time we have a work session I hope to have a better sense of which ones I am going to use so I can actually form and bind the chapbook with the number of pages according to these choices.
My plan moving forward with the artist book consists of two main things. First, I need to get hold of some photographs of me as a child with family/friends/etc. My sister is coming to see me this weekend so I plan to have her bring such photos. After I have the albums I want to sift through what pictures best serve the book and its poems. These will then need to be copied so I can cut up/draw on/paste them without destroying original takes. My other decision I need to make is whether the photos only go on the cover, only go in the book, or both. I think what will decide this is how many photos I have to work with.
Secondly, mentioned in the last journal, is my use of font. I found it be very thought provoking that size of font could be incorporated into the book. I think it could play an interesting role in how I want my poems to be read. Certain words could be in alternative size or font to the rest of the poem for emphasis or add to the overarching them. The fonts I’m looking into specifically is mostly from newspapers or magazines. This is because I like typewriter-style font, but cannot feed the construction paper through an actual typewriter. Instead, cutting up newspapers can provide me with letters or words to be pieced together. How they are arranged will be decided based on elements of each poem.
I have an idea for what poem I want to put into my book. After writing the last free poem I think it’s a very good option to be put in my book. I’d like to have the book made before I decide what goes in it but I have ideas of decorations for the pages and I can see this poem being in my book which I think is a good sign. I’m excited to start working on it.
As I said in my last journal and many before that, I am trying to make my artist book look sweet and sentimental. I feel as though this best matches the vibe of my poems even though there is not one very specific word to describe them all completely I think “nostalgia” sums it up the best. The next steps for me are adding my poems and the finishing touches of scrapbook things. We talked about how writing the poems in different fonts can change the meaning of the poem so I think I am going to try and do that for myself. I think handwriting them over typing them will make them a little more meaningful which is indeed the vibe I am going for. I also want to add more cutouts or stickers and kindly make it look worn and collected. I am excited to keep adding to it and see what it can become.
When looking back on the second time at the art studio, it really had me locked in, in terms of the poems, themes, and ideas I wanted to put into my book. I think looking through the magazines while also thinking about the materials I have at home got me excited about the many ways I could work out this book. The poems are pretty heavy and personal in some way but also relatable in a way, so I hope the images I use will help convey that concept. The one photo poem per se is the goal. Because a picture can convey more words than the poem itself. I am also wrestling with the idea of either printing or handwriting the poems myself. I believe handwriting them will give them a more personal weight, so that is what I am leaning towards.
My artist book still needs a lot of work. As I said in my last journal, I need to line the pages (of which there are about 12) and then color the front and back covers so it looks like a composition notebook. One of my friends has an extensive collection of art supplies, and another got me some stickers from their mom’s scrapbook collection, which is exciting. I have already started with the lining and the tracing for the covers and pages and it’s already not fun. The lining is so stressful because I’m doing it with colored pencils that I had the exciting experience of finding out is not, in fact, erasable. The covers are going alright but the black marker I’m using has a tendency to bleed outwards so it’s kind of a guessing game as to how close I have to get to the pencil lines I made. On the bright side, once I finished with the first cover it actually looked good, so we’ll see how the back cover goes. I still have to add a calendar to the inside cover for the front which is going to be a while experience, and I also have to add something onto the back which is going to be a whole other hassle. But it’ll all be worth it. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway…
6 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 12”
The time on Friday was a way to help push me to get thinking in more detail about my artists book. I picked out a few options of decorative paper to use in my chapbook and some of the off white paper with rough edges, but I held off on putting anything together because I still was a bit unsure of where I was going with my artists book. I think my next step is narrowing down on what poems I want to include and how many of them. That way I can actually create the book with the correct number of pages for writing. Also, I think that having the actual poems in mind will help guide me to choose which decorative papers will work best and go along with the writing. I’m hoping that some of the options I picked out will be able to work with some elements of the poems to make some sort of synergy. So far the poems I am liking are my drafty draft poem, my picture is worth a trillion dollar$ poem, my rhyme poem, my anniversary poem, and my food poem – they are my “earthy” poems. They all have that theme, but they do not necessarily all go well together since they are sometimes about very different things. So I am hoping to find a way to pick out and then lace a few of them together along another common idea being portrayed. I also might try to write some more of my future poem assignments along these lines, with the theme or portraying a common idea. I will just have to keep these poems in mind for the future. Next time we have a work session I hope to have a better sense of which ones I am going to use so I can actually form and bind the chapbook with the number of pages according to these choices.
My plan moving forward with the artist book consists of two main things. First, I need to get hold of some photographs of me as a child with family/friends/etc. My sister is coming to see me this weekend so I plan to have her bring such photos. After I have the albums I want to sift through what pictures best serve the book and its poems. These will then need to be copied so I can cut up/draw on/paste them without destroying original takes. My other decision I need to make is whether the photos only go on the cover, only go in the book, or both. I think what will decide this is how many photos I have to work with.
Secondly, mentioned in the last journal, is my use of font. I found it be very thought provoking that size of font could be incorporated into the book. I think it could play an interesting role in how I want my poems to be read. Certain words could be in alternative size or font to the rest of the poem for emphasis or add to the overarching them. The fonts I’m looking into specifically is mostly from newspapers or magazines. This is because I like typewriter-style font, but cannot feed the construction paper through an actual typewriter. Instead, cutting up newspapers can provide me with letters or words to be pieced together. How they are arranged will be decided based on elements of each poem.
I have an idea for what poem I want to put into my book. After writing the last free poem I think it’s a very good option to be put in my book. I’d like to have the book made before I decide what goes in it but I have ideas of decorations for the pages and I can see this poem being in my book which I think is a good sign. I’m excited to start working on it.
As I said in my last journal and many before that, I am trying to make my artist book look sweet and sentimental. I feel as though this best matches the vibe of my poems even though there is not one very specific word to describe them all completely I think “nostalgia” sums it up the best. The next steps for me are adding my poems and the finishing touches of scrapbook things. We talked about how writing the poems in different fonts can change the meaning of the poem so I think I am going to try and do that for myself. I think handwriting them over typing them will make them a little more meaningful which is indeed the vibe I am going for. I also want to add more cutouts or stickers and kindly make it look worn and collected. I am excited to keep adding to it and see what it can become.
When looking back on the second time at the art studio, it really had me locked in, in terms of the poems, themes, and ideas I wanted to put into my book. I think looking through the magazines while also thinking about the materials I have at home got me excited about the many ways I could work out this book. The poems are pretty heavy and personal in some way but also relatable in a way, so I hope the images I use will help convey that concept. The one photo poem per se is the goal. Because a picture can convey more words than the poem itself. I am also wrestling with the idea of either printing or handwriting the poems myself. I believe handwriting them will give them a more personal weight, so that is what I am leaning towards.
My artist book still needs a lot of work. As I said in my last journal, I need to line the pages (of which there are about 12) and then color the front and back covers so it looks like a composition notebook. One of my friends has an extensive collection of art supplies, and another got me some stickers from their mom’s scrapbook collection, which is exciting. I have already started with the lining and the tracing for the covers and pages and it’s already not fun. The lining is so stressful because I’m doing it with colored pencils that I had the exciting experience of finding out is not, in fact, erasable. The covers are going alright but the black marker I’m using has a tendency to bleed outwards so it’s kind of a guessing game as to how close I have to get to the pencil lines I made. On the bright side, once I finished with the first cover it actually looked good, so we’ll see how the back cover goes. I still have to add a calendar to the inside cover for the front which is going to be a while experience, and I also have to add something onto the back which is going to be a whole other hassle. But it’ll all be worth it. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway…