allora

I have regained my health for the most part. I am pressing on. Here are some images from a book I am working on now. It isn't bound yet. I am trying to decide how to do so.





I have been thinking a lot about what I can make in terms of a found object book. I have a lot of ideas. I want it to have a lot of textures and colors. Photos of first attempts soon to come.

Lastly, I leave you with this special video to melt your soul.

archetype

Below is my most recently completed book. The inside content is representative of, what feels like, my rotting insides. On both sides, there are accordion folded pages that pull out. The imagery gets progressively lighter and more colorful towards the outside, symbolic for my hopeful return to health. The binding is a double accordion piano hinge variation. I couldn't get any good images of the spine to show you the neat piano hinge method. You can get an idea of how it works below. The second image is a section of one of the accordion pages when it is laid flat. The general imagery is all a result of experimenting with various hand printmaking methods on a large sheet of paper. And yes, those are old paintbrushes I used as dowels.





I was told by my bf that it is the best thing I have ever made. Though I appreciated the compliment, I would like to think the books I'm currently working on are much better.

Speaking of the fellow, he has been writing in his blog, painstakingly reviewing all the albums in his top 100 list. He mentioned one of my favorites the other day. Etta James' Tell Mama. If you haven't heard it, you most certainly should. He offers a free download of the album at the bottom of the article. Read and download.

ailing

So, I have been consistently sick with something new every week for the past month. I was never really a sick kid and I used to pride myself on my strong immune system. Things have broken down I suppose. The stress must have made me more susceptible. Hopefully this is the last of it. I don't want to be wheeze anymore.

So, I don't have any new artwork to show you, because I haven't gotten around to photographing/scanning anything. All moments at home have been spent in bed, with my phlegm spit cup in one had and toilet paper roll tissue supply in the other, watching movies to help me fall asleep in awkward propped up positions. Last night was Curse of the Demon. It might have been the drugs, but it was actually scary.



Also, in other news, my download of Degrassi Seasons 1-9 is almost complete. Anyone who wants to join in the watching marathon let me know. I will probably do nothing else all winter break.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this hilarious image from my sketch book where...essentially...I gave up...

a book for the day

Today, I decided to aim toward making a book a day. Instead of working on, and finishing, one sketchbook in about a month or two (which I have been doing for eight years now), I want to switch gears and try to make little concept books. In a completed series, they will encompass each day separately over a stretch of time. Above is an image of something I did over the summer. I found it while cleaning and it sort of served as the inspiration for the idea.

Below are some images of the book I made today.



Cover, inside, and back cover.

More to come with some of my handmade paper...

lesson plans

Grad school seems to be giving me a little bit of a break now that mid terms are over.

I had to teach a spur of the moment lesson to a Kindergarten class at my student teaching practice a couple of weeks ago. Teaching requires much more improv abilities than I thought. The project was a giant collaborative drawing of a "Jungle of our favorite animals". The image is just one of my favorite sections from the larger piece. I also taught a printmaking lesson to a class of 2nd graders for my field observation. The outcomes were really great. It was rewarding seeing children experimenting with materials. All the children have been really responsive to the lessons I create for them. One of the boys, Brian, age 6, drew me a detailed (and even shaded!) picture of a pumpkin, knowing that I love Halloween. "To Ms. Paleprmo From: Brian". It has been fun so far, especially when they are excited and motivated.

Here are some images from my Halloween...


Steve Albini, Big Black with a moshing pumpkin, Endless Mike, and Jurassic Park...respectively.

Images of book concepts I have been working on soon to come...