in the making

while winter deepens.

out back

i make artists' books,

but i'm most certainly not an edition binder,

i don't have anything like the skills or the dedication.

but i do like putting my work into a book.

or my work being a book.

or whatever.

a stack of indigo hemp papers sandwiched by shifu

which binding style suits best?

i'm prepping for Codex,

and happily my daughter hannah's generous boss jane gave her leave

to accompany me to san francisco.

a happy lively and springy wee book, flax and hemp

so there is paper everywhere,

shifu,

threads,

even some pva and a huge piece of african bark cloth

as well as a couple of yards of black wool to sew into a tablecloth.

huge bark cloth sheet

covering cloth cut

boards glued, covered, weighted, drying

bags have been ordered and arrived, and a receipt book still to be procured.

but this is what i've learned:

the more i make, the more i dive in,

the more ideas come and the bolder i become.

paper everywhere.

ideas everywhere.

books everywhere.

shifu, too.

the silk slot and tab book came together,

after years of gestation there's an edition of three

you can't rush some things.

almost 9K stitches.

i was given a little miracle found growing on the woodpile.

colored like the bark cloth

meanwhile outdoors the deep freeze has set in

and a snowstorm predicted today

on the stove the pot of dye gets intermittent use

and the left "ink spots"

from the spoon resting on the stove

are nifty.