I added a new video on YouTube a couple weeks ago of a flip book I made for my sister’s birthday.
“Raffie Goes to the Olympics *as a spectator” is an flip book (bound with a version of the Koki Toji, or Noble Japanese stab binding) about a young giraffe who desperately wants to be an Olympic-level gymnast, despite his size, body build, and the disapproval of those around him.
The song is “Party With Children” by Ratatat, no copyright infringement is intended.
front endpages of "Hallelujah"
Last month, I finally finished a collaborative book project I’ve been working on and off (mostly off) for an entire year. I’m glad I finally completed it as I can now focus on other projects. Current and upcoming projects include: re-binding a flipbook about a hard-working giraffe who just wants to be a gymnast, a thin volume of collected quotes from Kent Boyd of SYTYCD, a tin full of Edward Gorey-inspired blank books, and hopefully participation in the 2011 Sketchbook Tour, among other things.
In terms of writing, I’m sending out a few more things this week. Hope something will come of it.
I forgot to mention this earlier (probably because I haven’t been posting) but right now the best place to read excerpts of my novella The Butterfly Collector and view other images of the corresponding art books is here at the UH Honors College website.
Onto the real news: I got official word yesterday that two of my poems will be appearing in the upcoming Fall/Winter issue of Poet Lore. The two poems are “House of Cards EP” (which I wrote in 2007 about my sister being carjacked at gunpoint) and “What Happens Behind Boarded Windows” (which I wrote earlier this year about Hurricane Ike). This will be my first major publication, so I’m fairly excited. Frankly, I never in my wildest dreams thought that my poetry would be published before my fiction, but I suppose stranger things have happened.
I made a deal with myself that for every poem or short-short that gets accepted by a publication, I have to write two more (strong) poems/shorts by the time it actually appears in print. I might have to come up with a different rule for electronic publications and longer stories, but for now that’s what stands. I hope to send out more poems and get some shorts out by the end of the month.
There I go, not updating again. It’s quite sad really. I’m also not sure why I updated in mid-January and didn’t mention what was going on around that time. Strange.
Anyway, I’m hoping to launch my own domain and official website some time next month, but I’ve put up a temporary portfolio here. Although I am still adding images, it’s the best place to see some of my work now.
I should have some exciting news soon!
Welcome to my new blog! For the longest time, I’ve had a hard time organizing my thoughts about my work in a consistent manner, and it’ll still probably take a while before blogging becomes a habit, but now that I’m no longer in school, I’ll try.
Last weekend, I finally finished reading Annie Tremmel Wilcox’s A Degree of Mastery, her memoir about her apprenticeship in Book Arts and restoration at the University of Iowa. While I don’t think it was the most compelling narrative and wouldn’t really recommend it to people who are not Book Arts practicioners or at least interested in the craft, I was definitely pulled in by her description of process and long hours in the studio. Jealous, even. I’ve always been the kind of person who can never figure out what I want–because it changes from year to year or month to month, sometimes even day to day. I really think I’m ready to dedicate myself to this for the next few years though. I would love to at least try.
One thing about the book that I found annoying however: Wilcox hardly talks about her life outside of the studio. Sure, she mentions teaching rhetoric and pursuing a PhD at the same time as her apprenticeship, but never goes much deeper than that. And I understand that that’s not what the book is about, that Book Arts in all-consuming in many ways. But the way I see and approach art, all kinds of art, is with its constant marriage to life. I don’t understand how one can repair books all day and not have that process bleed into their personal life and vice versa.
As for me, I just finished up designing the jackets for my last thesis art book. It involves a layering of different book jackets, each representing a different part of the manuscript and a different year. Right now I’m still going back and forth on what the whole piece should be called. Thick Skin or Onion or simply, Skin? I don’t know but I have a lot of time to decide. I’ll actually get the jackets printed and cut in the next few weeks.
Projects that are coming up: After reading about clam-shell boxes, I feel like I should make one for I’m Sorry But We’re Closed, maybe one that allows for it to stand up on display. I’m also starting a some-what secret project, pictures of which will hopefully be posted once it is finished. I am excited… Also, I am still trying to decide whether to apply to graduate programs for Fall 2010 admission. Classes began again at UH today. In some ways, I still don’t feel like I’ve graduated.
by Susan L. Lin 林🦕 