Day Book, D.A.I.Y.E. Day.

Today I made an organizer, because when I am feeling disorganized I make systems for organizing (and then maybe I don't use them).  I decided the first thing I would do after my time at my current position ended would be to do something that felt productive and grounding... so... and organizer it was.

I took three sides of an old box (plucked out of the paper recycling bin in our apartment, somewhat to JewishGuy's dismay).  I collaged on the outside, covered it with mod podge, and used brads to hold the "general to-do list" paper on one side.  Then I did something way too complicated to bind the other side together into a book and then sew it onto the cover very slowly.  I also put a brad on each side of the covers to be used as closure devices (a red string wraps around them to keep the book closed).

I might still sew a pocket into the large empty flap so that I have somewhere to keep business cards or whatever that I pick up.

Basically, I felt like I needed something to keep me motivated, because now that I have nowhere to go during the day I have become very anxious.  Okay, today was Day 1 of not having anywhere to go... and I already contacted a temp agency to help make some moneys while I continue the job search.

My position ended because the department closed, effective Erev Rosh Hashana, last Wednesday.  Last week was such a stressful week, and even though Rosh Hashana was good it was not due to our planning!  We were both so stressed we barely got what we needed to get done, done, and one of the meals we hosted was woefully short on food (I mean, for my standards - I want people to be stuffed with food of all sorts before dessert, and that just wasn't the case).

A piece of good news - I sent in my ATR application as soon as I got home from work on Wednesday!  All of my hours are finished, the application went in the mail, and this week (or next) I will follow-up to see if they got it.  Hooray!  I also put in for a hold on my LCAT permit, hopefully that will come through soon.

And finally, one of my goals for the month of October is to create a consistent online presence, which will mean a major overhaul of my website and blog.  I will keep updating (such that I have been) in the meantime, but look forward to some big changes soon :)

Book making

Today I started assembling the books that I meant to assemble back in February when I initiated a mail-in collaborative artist book project.  Fifteen people signed up, fourteen people actually sent in pages, which is pretty good.  This morning I put holes in the pages and covers and bound six complete books in a few hours.  I'm hoping to finish them tonight and mail everything tomorrow or Thursday, but we'll see.

I really meant to have this finished back in February.  But that was when I started volunteering almost full time, along with a lot of other things, and it fell very far down the priority list.  Since the end of May I cut back my hours and a few other things, and have been spending time winding down.  I finally felt like I could begin to tackle this enormous undertaking.  I can't wait until it's finished.

Will I do something like this again..?  Maybe, but not a book project, not something that requires so much work on my end!  I have coordinated printmaking exchanges and that was much more fun because all it required (after coordinating sign-up, etc) was assembling collections of images and mailing them back.  It's the binding that has been the daunting part of the process.

Anyway... back to work!

Featured Blog: Make Something Every Day

makesomething365.blogspot.com

WOW What an enormous undertaking!  This blog is posting one new project idea every day to inspire people to make something every day!  Okay, maybe I won't make each project every day (I think that is impossible), but I love this blog idea.

Of course, there is also a book full of daily prompts by the same author:

I definitely want to get this book!  What a fun idea... Even if I don't do it EVERY day, I could still work through the projects.  A bunch of them could work for a great art therapy group, don't you think?

Happy Hanukkah!

JewishGuy and I decided not to exchange presents this year - instead, we went to the used book store and bought some new books.  When I was growing up we always got books for Hanukkah (among other things), so it seems only fitting to splurge and buy a bunch of books all at once right before the holiday.

My new books:

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
"The Best of Simple" by Langston Hughes
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" by B. Traven
"Slapstick" by Kurt Vonnegut
"Memories of My Melancholy Whores" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

JewishGuy's books:

"Silas Marner" by George Eliot
"Exist Ghost" by Philip Roth
"The American" by Henry James
"Dead Souls" by Nicolai Gogol
"Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev

So excited!

We figured out (based on the different display tables set up in the book store) that JewishGuy mostly reads "Classics" and I mostly read "Modern Classics."  So, okay.  Now I have a label for the kind of books I like.  I don't know which I'll read first!



(Also, Happy 97th birthday, grandma!)

Defining Home FINISHED

I can't believe it's finished!

Read about the original directive, my birthday and first progress post, and the last progress post.

This has been a great project to do with my group.  A month may have been too long for some people, and maybe not enough for others.  For me, it was the right amount of time.  I got to invest in my project, but not become overwhelmed or consumed by it.  I worked on it for about an hour a week for the whole Found Object Art Month at work.  Today, I took pictures of all of the clients' projects for a big creative arts celebration we're having on Wednesday, and I have to say I am really proud of what came out!

Since I can't show any of their work here, I will just conclude this directive with my finished piece.  I may also write a formal directive outline for future use (and to pass along to others).

See the individual pages below the cut.

"Defining Home" directive

I'm on the prowl for some good magazine subscriptions. Even though I read a ton of blogs, having a physical magazine to read, cut out, and share is exciting. Before my trip to this past weekend I stopped into a bookstore and picked up a few magazines.

One of the magazines I picked up was the Somerset Apprentice, which has some great ideas for projects and descriptions of new techniques. How exciting!

This directive, "Defining Home," was taken from their autumn 2010 issue. I scanned in the images from the magazine, but full credit goes to them and the artist who submitted the project, Bethany Kartcher. Visit her blog at creativeruminations.blogspot.com!

This project is perfect for an art therapy group, especially during Found Object Art Month, which starts next Monday! Today I prepped some cardboard pieces for my group. I love this project because it combined book making (which I love) with a three dimensional element (which many of the clients love). It's kind of like Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables, in that its form directly relates to its content. I hope it will be a hit.




I like what she wrote about how she came up with this piece:

"There is a definite spiritual component that is sometimes lost in the hustle-and-bustle of every day living. I created my Home Album to celebrate, and perhaps more importantly, define this intangible feeling." (p75)

Check out the Autumn 2010 issue of this magazine to see more pictures of her finished piece and to learn about the techniques that she used. I'll post pictures of my creations when they're finished!

Self-Disclosure: "i'm a jew"

I had a kind of weird conversation recently with someone. This person was under the impression that I was going to talk about being Jewish with my clients more than I do. Because, otherwise, I appear to just be another white person, someone who doesn't understand being a minority.

Anyway, I made a piece about it... I wanted to make a book where I could be revealed in pieces or as a whole.

I chose a skeleton to represent me because 1) I tried to draw myself and that was a disaster, and 2) because I really wonder how much disclosure she was thinking of. Just mention that I'm Jewish, or go down deep to my identity issues?

(I considered finding a naked person for this, but I felt like that would be too funny and not taken the way I intend.)

After making this I wondered if there was more relationship between making a skeleton to represent my Jewish identity in this book.

The image seemed gruesome to some but I think I am trying to express that I felt like I was being stripped of my individual identity. In this instant, I felt like what I am was more important than who I am. The parts of me that make me look unique (skin, fat, muscle, facial features, clothing) are all stripped away.

I kind of like this skeleton because he looks friendly to me. He has a posture that isn't like the standard medical posture, he's kind of extending a hand. He says, "Hey, let's make some art."

The Boy That Was A Wolf

Okay my grammar isn't amazing but OH WELL.

This was today's project. We had to take the story of someone in our internship and turn it into a fairy tale, making up as much as we wanted. It only had to be 3-5 pages so it doesn't go very much in depth.

Anyway, I couldn't think of what to write, so I started making a book to house the fairy tale, and then I was able to write the story. I've never bound a book like this before so it took a couple of tries to figure out how to tie it tight enough. But I never looked at instructions! (I don't know if that's something to be proud of or not!)

Altered Book Project

In the Materials and Media in Art Therapy class, we have split up into groups.  Each group has to do a workshop and presentation on a type of medium ... well, medium isn't the right work, I guess.  This group's "medium" was books, so for our workshop we altered books.

I dug out of my book and re-glued the pages I cut out onto the cover (which I also cut).  I kind of made a poem out of the words but I won't post that here because it doesn't make much sense.

Hooray for in-class workshops!  I will post more as we go on.  The workshop my group is leading is about puppetry, so that will be interesting...

Eee! I want this book.

I read about it in Book By Its Cover today, and now I really want it!  It sounds like a great book and good inspiration :)