school
on monday morning, kristin‘s sister jaci asked me to present my books to her class of 10-12th graders. eeks! jaci’s students are working on altered books, and needed ideas for the covers. jaci suggested i show them some of my books that are covered with book cloth, and i agreed to come visit her class in tuesday afternoon.
i had some time monday to come up with a few new ideas with ikea fabric that would be easy for teens without a lot of supplies or experience. i covered 2 old hard cover books: one with strips of ikea fabric, linen, ribbon, and felt, and the other i used fabric and ribbon to create more of a traditional cover. the 3rd book is my altered book (which, sadly, has been neglected lately), and i quickly sewed a simple book cover by hand.
it was so much fun! jaci introduced me as an artist, which really… i sometimes feel like an imposter when the term artist is used to describe me. but i’ll take it! a few of the kids never looked my way, but most seemed engaged and even asked questions. i did a quick book covering demo, made a big mess of glue, but i think i pulled it off. after i was done yammering about books and book arts, i had a chance to look at everyone’s books. oh, to be a teenager again. the angst, the apathy, the creativity… it was a great afternoon.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:43 am
imposter? no! artist? definately! covers? love! to be a teenager again? PASS!!
January 8th, 2009 at 5:04 am
I like the idea of the sewn book covers – I’m going to have to do that with the new sketchbooks I bought and a smidge of my stash!
Artist you are my dear! I also get a bit wierded when people use that word about me. Someone asked my husband if he was an “ARTISAN” which he loves because he is an engineer and so practical and not-arty. He now calls himself a “FARTISAN”.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:11 am
You ARE an artist, and your creations are just beautiful art! love your books!
How nerve wrecking in front of a mob of teenagers! hahhaa Well done!
January 8th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Love stepping out of the comfort zone. And not only are you an ARTIST, but an inspiration. Nice job.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Well done! Love what you came up with. I would have been petrified in front of that many teens. They can be so judgemental at that age. So kuddos to you my dear artist friend!
January 8th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Wow – I love this! Thank you again for being so generous with your time and talent. The kids all dove in yesterday, eager to create sharp-looking book covers like yours. Your presentation was inspiring, warm and professional. What a gift you are!
January 8th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
excellent! what a great age group to teach! they’re on the edge of making many important life decisions – it’s quite possible that you nudged one of those students out of apathy or lit a creative soul on fire on tuesday afternoon.
good luck with your upcoming work gig!
January 8th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I wouldn’t want to be a teenager again for quids. I have teens in my household and am a Guide leader. I like this idea. I was thinking of a book of recycled paper and a very easy binding using found sticks for the first night back at Guides – a diary to record their year.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
You
Are
An
Artist!!!
Sounds like you had a great time passing your art along to the teens!
OXO
January 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Yes, I agree with everyone else – artist you are! (Weird, that sounded like Yoda.) What a terrific project with fab results. And you get the nerves of steel award for doing this with highschool students. I would have been sweating bullets. But I love the thought that you might have lit a creative soul on fire!
Love that polaroid to btw!
January 11th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Lucky kids! It looks like you did a great job. And don’t feel uncomfortable about being called an artist; it may not be who you are all the time, but when you’re making things you definitely are an artist.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:30 am
don’t be silly! you are an artist…a wonderful and talented artist!
January 11th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
seeing those chairs just brings back such vivid memories…i can almost smell cafeteria lunches and gym locker rooms…i love that you appreciated this experience AND helped jaci out so much. again, thanks so much.
January 11th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
oh! and OF COURSE you are an artist!!!