Roz Wound Up

Eye Candy—Utilitarian Objects, etc.

Above: Old seed sacks decorating the walls of the Crop Art "gallery" in the Ag-Hort Building (Agriculture-Horticulture) at the Minnesota State Fair. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Everywhere we look our culture offers up bits of visual distraction and interest. We might even see such things as billboards as urban blight. But on those billboards, and in the advertisements we see in print and on television, and in the signage stores display, and even in the clothing people wear, little bits of our history are being captured and displayed. Someday someone might even say he is nostalgic for one of those advertisements even though he didn't live in the time that produced that item.

I wasn't around when these seed bags were in use, but I can't help loving the typography and printing that made them possible. Nostalgia for things not lived. Nostalgia for a visual organization of elements that touches something emotional in me. How does it inform what I do as a visual artist either as a tribute, continuation, or rejection?

If you're trying to understand what appeals to you and what is merely an eye irritant, spend sometime looking at the packaging and items you surround yourself with. What do these things say about you?

If you want to understand a bit more about the visual organization of information take a look at the work of Edward Tufte.

Also, look at the work of graphic designers like Chip Kidd who throughout his career has put a face on many of the books you probably have sitting on your shelves and bedside tables. See Chip Kidd Work:1986 to 2006, Book One for "the heartwarming story of a little boy from the tiny community of Lincoln Park, Pennsylvania, who grew up to become that most anomalous of things: a famous book jacked designer." Here's a little interview with Kidd. And another interview with him here.

Start noting the visual media surrrounding you, filling your visual life. Explore what you think about these influences, how you respond to them, and what they tell you about your culture.

Designing My 2009 Minnesota State Fair Portfolio

Above: journal cards from my 2009 Minnesota State Fair Journal sprawled out on a collapsible work table. Read below for details. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

The only downside to keeping an unbound journal is that at some point you have to make a container for it. When the event is over you can't simply close the book. Making a container doesn't have to be an intense project—you can simply repurpose a cigar box or folder. For State Fair journals that I do on journal cards I like to make custom portfolios.

Typically when the Fair ends I have everything wrapped up by Labor Day (I don’t go to the Fair on Labor Day). This year an end-of-summer cold not only influenced and curtailed my scheduled Fair trips, it stopped me making the portfolio on Labor Day (I just can’t measure and mark and cut well when my brain is clouded by a cold). Instead of a completed packet of journal cards I have things spread out on the table shown in the above photo. And as I looked at it today I thought it might be interesting to write about it and let you in on the process of design and organization.

Making a Photocopier Imposition Dummy

Left: a visual aid for the following discussion on making a dummy for a photocopier book. Click on the image to view an enlargement. (This is a straightforward pamphlet)

When I posted on the MCBA Visual Journal Collective Portrait Party I meant to post about creating a photocopier book right away; other things intervened. Now to make the discussion quick and simple, because it really can be simple folks, I have provided the labeled photo to the left.

Let’s walk through the process. And "No your head will not explode!" Just hang in there and read.

If you want to photocopy something and put it together as a book you have to be aware of how to layout your master pages (the originals that will be photocopied) so that when they are copied back to back the pages will fall in the correct order. You have to think in signatures.

The easiest way to do this is to make a small imposition dummy, which is essentially a bunch of folded sheets labeled with the page numbers, so that you can check you’re organizing it correctly. (I sometimes find it helpful to label these pages with a note about content as well as the page number.)

Define Your Terms

Above: A sketch of book parts and the terms relating to them. See the post for more details. Click on the image for an enlargment. The sketch is on Quatro 8 x 8 grid paper that comes padded from Hand Book Journal Company (I just know someone is going to wonder).

A short while ago one of my blog readers wrote in and asked if I would write about the terms I use when talking about "the book." She had been confused about my use of "Verso" and "Recto" when referring to pages. In context she'd ultimately worked it out, but she wanted more definitions. (These are simply the Latin terms for left and right applied at a time when Latin was the "universal language.")

Initially I put off the task. I thought I could handle it by pulling diagrams and discussion from my class handouts, or just writing a new post. Each time I thought about it however, the sheer magnitude of the task made me elect to write on other topics first. And so it went, until this morning when I decided that with a few quick sketches and some handwritten notes I could cover a lot of what I constantly refer to.

Adventures in Book Binding: Buttonhole Journal Class

I have just updated my class list section on my website to include the information on my spring class: Have it Your Way: Designing a Hardcover Buttonhole Stitch Journal.

You can also find information about this class in a past post. (The photo of the sample is bigger there.)

In this class, instead of making a class project that matches the sample, each student will learn to make this structure to fit his own needs of size, paper type, and decorative paper and fabric. The lessons learned in this class will form a great base of knowledge for book artists working on editions, artist's books, and journals.

If you live in the Twin Cities I encourage you to sign up for this 4 part class. Contact MCBA at 612-215-2520 or their website.

I have not yet updated other sections of my website, but hope to update the journal selections section in the next few weeks. In the meantime you can see peeks at my daily journal work on this blog.

Helvetica: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit

Left: handsetting type, a still from the film, ©Gary Hustwit.

I don't know how I missed this film when it was shown at the Walker (well actually I miss a lot of things so that's wishful thinking). Happily Helvetica A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit was shown on PBS the other night on an episode of Independent Lens.

I watched it twice yesterday! (It's only an hour long.) It's a great tribute to a font that is a ubiquitous part of our visual landscape.