New Rabbit Hole
I printed another 50 little 4x6s to fill out my ongoing “book edit”, and the walls are plastered in prints. Don’t tell Yakuta, but listening to people who have done this before (this conversation between Michael Mack and Gregory Halpern for instance) - it sometimes takes years for an edit to come together and actually feel right. For me, accepting that certain things just take time is actually relaxing - allowing me to focus on little bits of the project without feeling the pressure to get it all done ASAP (and then be accepted by the world’s best publisher). In the process of slowing down I did find some image sequences I hadn’t thought of before. You have to discard your ideas of what you thought was good the day before, in order to see things afresh the next day. Easier said than done.
Anyway, all this book making thinking eventually led me down a new rabbit hole. I’m struggling to remember the exact moment it happened, but - BOOK BINDING! Found some great tutorials, and ta-da! I made a notebook!!
I started to get excited about the possibilities. Another video to learn a slightly more advanced stitching technique and bam!
A photobook!
It’s crazy how empowered stitching a few pieces of paper together with some needle and thread makes me feel. To think that with some practice I can relatively easily make an actual book from scratch is amazing. And a quality book no less. No Kinko’s spiral binding here - no sir! Hand-stitched! Imagine how much that would cost to have done by someone else. Imagine all the compromises you’d have to make. Imagine all the fun you’d completely miss along the way.
Need to figure out a hard cover next. Hmm, I’ll need some supplies. Ok I’m getting giddy again, so I will stop now.
Cheer up, stay open, something good is around the corner.
PS: The YouTube algorithm now thinks I am a young woman. The three latest ads I’ve gotten are for a bra (for women with small breasts), deodorant endorsed by Serena Williams, and dish soap. Compare that to gun hoslters, manscaping implements, and some stock market scam from a week ago.
Ha! Stick it to the algorithm! You think you know me? YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME??!