making books

Lately I've been loving making books-- books of artwork, themed books, books of quotes, books of memories. I don't like calling them scrapbooks (I hate the cutesy, commercial image it's become), but I guess that's what they are...

Making these books grew out of my need to organize and record. I have always been terrified of losing memories, and of not remembering the details of experiences and places. I also save everything (a trait passed on by my mother; you never know when you might use something again!), and when the need for closet and bookshelf space was becoming immediate, I sought to synthesize years' worth of memorbilia into something meaningful.

I like making books because it feeds my love of collage-- even if I don't save an entire card, or every single map from a vacation, the torn corner of a receipt or menu is enough to represent a larger meaning. Somehow, together, those little bits of days, moments, and memories become a cohesive object. A book, a conversation, a narration. My physical organization provides a canvas for words, capturing my relationship to the subject that can only be achieved in this mixed-media genre of work.

I followed the same design concept as outlined here, using cardboard for the cover and cutting up old file folders for the inside pages. My first book documented a year of high school; my most recent attempts have been at cataloging summers spent at camp.