Haiku and Watercolor

They make a nice combination, don't they? Like chihuahuas and raincoats. (My dog would agree, mainly because she thinks it means, "walk.")

The other day, I wanted to make another simple book using recycled cardboard and this is what I came up with. I thought the pattern would make a nice book to toss into my purse for that haiku urge when I'm waiting around at my kids' "extracurriculars." 

The cover is a little messy, but I don't mind; it's representative of nature.

I've also been reading up on tea bag art. Lynn Hoppe has some amazing works on her site, but I didn't have any wax. I did have some already-been-brewed teabags drying in my kitchen, so today I got them out and played around with my watercolors. The thought of my watercolor chapbook from last year helped me decide that it would be nice to add some in to my haiku journal.

I painted flowers onto paper and also onto one of the tea bags. Then I attached the tea bag over the paper as the first page of my book. And so it begins.

Amid winter’s height,

housewife avoids dusting shelves,

grows flowers instead.

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Putting Frustration into Art - Making Mini Books

When life gives you . . . no, not lemons. I love lemons! When it gives you something that doesn't sit very well in your soul . . . make art.

For those of you who are my friends on Facebook, you know that "something" happened recently to make me take a break from the place. Thankfully I pretty much view every happening in my life as a learning opportunity, so rather than letting this event eat me up, I put myself into my art.

Other than writing a few poems, I have been playing around with book making. I wanted to re-use found products from around the house and I was so excited when I found the perfect item.

Every year at Christmas, I buy my sister a box of Botan rice candy for her stocking. This year, my husband wound up buying some for his family as well. I took one of the boxes and started envisioning what I could make from it. Yes, a book!

Since the cardboard is a little thin, I glued red cardstock to the inside of each cover. I decided to have the covers sitting in opposite directions, so when you flip the book over vertically, the opposite cover will be right side up (see the spine photo for clarification).

I made six signatures of five folded sheets, giving the book a total of 120 pages (fronts and backs).

After sewing the signatures together, I decided I did not want to stitch or glue the book to the cover; I tied it on instead. I'm very happy with the way the cord looks. I think it adds to the Asian style.  

Now I'm feeling inspired. What other trash can I use to make books out of?

Thanks for reading. I hope to be back to Facebook soon. In the meantime, have some lemonade and read a good book!

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• A great blog I've been drooling over: 365: Make a Book a Day

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