The Solar System- Art Book 2/14

My latest art book is an accordion book of the Solar System with a matching clamshell box.  This is art book 2 of 14 for my 14 in 2014 Challenge.

This book is a follow up to the Astronomer's Alphabet and the Aurora Borealis books I made back in 2012.  The accordion is a lovely navy blue cardstock with a different part of the solar system on each panel.  The book starts with the Sun, and ends with Pluto.  (I know Pluto isn't technically a planet anymore, but I still consider it to be part of our Solar System.)

I started by folding the accordion, and using pencil to draw the outline of each planet.  Then I painted each planet using several layers of acrylic paint.  I referenced photos from NASA to try and get an accurate representation of each planet.  Then I added dots of white paint for the stars.  Finally, I wrote the name of each planet at the bottom of the page.

This was my first time making a custom clamshell box for an art book.  I found a very useful tutorial about how to get the measurements correct, and combined that with my previous box making experience.

Since this book is the same size as the Aurora Borealis book, I made a box for each of them at the same time.  Both books are going to be part of an exhibition in April.

Books 037-040 and Art Demo

Meet Eva the Girl Astronaut, mascot of the International Women's Air and Space Museum

Over the weekend I participated in the International Women's Air and Space Museum's Family Day by demonstrating and talking to people about book binding.  The event was held at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport and there were all sorts of space related activities for kids and families.

I had such a great time at the event!  I love space and astronomy (as you can see from my Astronomy Alphabet book) and after my demonstrations I got to poke around and have my picture taken as an astronaut.  (Best. Day. EVER.)

Look, I'm an astronaut!  Pretty convincing, eh?

Anyway, back to the books!  For the demo I brought four unfinished books I've had sitting on my work table for a while.  The covers are old cardboard mounted slides, with plain white paper for the signatures, measuring 2in x 2in x 1/2 in.  I got the slides when I worked for the Art History Department of my college.  The slides were old, discolored, and hadn't been used by the department in years.  I snagged one of the boxes as it was being thrown out, and set it aside until the right project came along

The first two slide books I completed at the demo, and the other two I finished at home.  The next book project I'm working on is a big commission, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!  The project will be completed in the next week, so keep an eye out for a post about it.

Photo Album: Handmade Books

This post is all about books!  Specifically, photos of my recent handmade books.  Because let's face it, I am making these suckers faster than I can blog about them all!  Many of these are blank journals.  Others are made using interesting recycled materials.  And there are a few art books thrown in there for good measure.  Enjoy!

Mini journal with ribbon closure.

Mini journal and regular journal both with ribbon closures.

Astronomy Alphabet book.

Astronomy Alphabet book, detail: Milky Way.

Journal with bird paper and brown book cloth.

Expandable spine, Octopus book.

A collection of journals, roughly 5x7 inches each.

Recycled tea box books.

Recycled tea box book.

Robot journal with cork book cloth.

A stack of journals, roughly 5x7 inches each.

Aurora Borealis art book, front.

Aurora Borealis art book, back.

Monday Project: Astronomy H-I-J

Last Monday I was dealing with day one of a cold... So my "project" for the day was laying on my couch, napping, and drinking tea.  My whole to-do list of projects, laundry, and writing blog posts went out the window (and got put off another week.)  This week on my day off I made the pages for H, I, and J in my Astronomy alphabet book.  H is for Halley's Comet.  I is for the International Space Station.  J is for Jupiter.

Sneak Preview: Astronomy Book

I couldn't wait to share with everyone the book I'm working on.  It is an alphabet book based on Astronomy.  I am using acrylic paint, fine tipped markers, and embossing powder on navy blue cardstock...  And pure AWESOMENESS.

So far I have made 6 out of 24 panels.  Aurora Borealis, Cassiopeia, Draco, Eagle Nebula, Flame Nebula, and Gemini.

I am planning on entering the completed book into a show at Zygote Press in May.