carpe diem on blurb...

 remember when I said I'd made a little book?

(a little blurb book)

gosh it seems such a looooooong time ago

it was just a few days before everything turned upside down here at the creek

so after that unexpected delay

here 'tis on the blurb site for ya'll to peruse etc.

'carpe diem'

a year of book/art gestures

carpe diem by rhonda ayliffe | Make Your Own Book

ps - shortly I will have another blurby offering

but more about that in the fullness of time

....  

I made a book...

a little blurb book...

 

and very soon I hope to make it available to the world

yay!

....

not seen...

I just realised that although I've packed up my show and moved out

I haven't shown everyone one of the most substantial pieces
of my 'codex' project

(even though it was the smallest piece in exhibition - 

it was one of the largest in terms of time, process, concept and content)

allow me to present for your delectation

a few page spreads from the artist's book 

carpe diem

(the final version)

 

 

 no you're not going crazy - you've actually spied different version of this

emerging over the past year

including

two red bookcloth artists proof mini versions

the BAO edition version

and

the three variations on a theme 

(one ended up a finalist in the Libris Awards,
one ended up a finalist in the National Book Art Prize,
and one is still rattling around on my supervisors desk!)

all of them are a little (or a lot) different

all stem from my weekly art gestures of 2012

all rely on QR codes and smart devices,

all are hand bound

and all of my trials were leading up to this beastie (bestie?)

....

carpe diem - an AP*

*AP = Artists Proof - but of course you knew that

what you probably don't know is that before my BAO edition of 12 'carpe diem's

I created 2 (slightly bigger, slightly different) APs of the title...

with delicious red bookcloth covers

title page - gouache with ruling pen

'carpe diem'

archival digital prints, gouache, ink

on TH Saunders

190mm x 200mm

I must admit - I prefer the slightly bigger, red bookcloth versions of the title BUT material and time constraints were against me (ie - I didn't have enough bookcloth to cover the 12 smaller books!) soooooo... we do what we must yes?.... ps - One of the 'carpe diem' APs has just returned home from its long stint in Bega Valley Regional Gallery where it was a finalist for the BV Art Award  (which this year focused on print media and craft... yay!). 

'carpe diem' --- a book

'Carpe Diem'

 for BAO Edition four - group 11

a small case bound book - unveiled page by page....

 

'Carpe Diem'

archival digital print
hand date stamped, colour pencil lettered title page

various papers - including what I believe is momigami paper for the covers
(I spied the paper languishing in the corner of an art supply shop -
the owner had 'forgotten' what the paper was!) 

140mm x 150mm (closed)

edition of 12

The title - 'Carpe Diem' came from a selection of 100 short stories titles 

penned by Sarah Bodman in 'An Exercise for Kurt Johannessen'

(this is one of three titles/editions I have put my hand up to undertake.... yes madness)

I mentioned to all the BAO peeps who received this handmade book as part of the BAO exchange - my book requires a smart device with a QR reader app installed in order to view the information - which is understandably frustrating for many people --- I suspect that even when we first-world inhabitants have access to and familiarity with current technology, its just a tad annoying to be forced to use a specific piece of technology... I wonder how many of my BAO recipients shrugged their shoulders and proclaimed it all 'a bit too hard'? (and mumbled curses including my name...). This book is dependent on a privileged (and what I suspect will be a rapidly defunct) technology  - which of course is central to the work. I, perversely perhaps, like imagining that sooner rather than later QR codes and current smart device technologies will be no more - and the website addresses that each code in my book links to will likewise bite the dust -- gone into the interwebs ether.... and yet what will remain is a quirky little tome that forever then hides its contents....

Yes, this idea has occupied me for some years - and this was just a small expression of my thoughts about the future of books...


indeedy I so enjoyed creating 'carpe diem' that I made a wee zine (an abridged version of sorts of the title) that I've already shared with many friends...

 

I will be posting this little zine to all the BAO edition 4 participants 

(in the fullness of time)

.....

books...

I've been making books for BookArtObject edition 4

 

I've stupidly put my hand up to complete 3 small editions 

as part of the latest BAO major project

so I thought I really SHOULD 'seize the day'
and get started with my edition 'carpe diem' ....

'carpe diem' is an edition of 12
with 2APs (which are slightly larger and slightly different)  

 the artist proofs have been completed 

 and tomorrow I'm hoping to case-in the 12 little books in the edition 

that will be posted out to BAO group 11 peeps

and after they have all been received I'll do the big reveal

oooo I hope everyone enjoys the small book
(its had a loooooong gestation period)

.....

bookmaking...

This week my island-nation stopped for the running of the Melbourne Cup 

-- it seems everyone's thoughts were on bookmaking

I bet my efforts have yielded a better dividend than most punters

(welllll at least I've still got a smile on my face!)

 I have made a very big start on one of my promised BAO editions

This week I've printed, penned, collated and bound 

12 small books and 2 larger artists proofs for 

'Carpe Diem'...

 

The 12 little volumes still need to be cased in...

...but I'm on the home straight now!

I've got a few more things to do after the books are completed

 before this puppy is ready to post out to fellow BAO folk

so you'll all have to be patient before the final reveal

ahhhhhh its nice to be making some books again....

...