I am continuing with the whole “old is new” trend, utilizing items that I have amassed over the years. Now, I am using a couple of boxes of Southworth resume paper to create art journals.
I had made passport-sized inserts with this paper previously. At the time, I knew I was pushing it with thirteen sheets of thirty-two pound paper folded and stapled, but I proceeded anyway. Of course, I was less than thrilled with the result, but it was not a loss since the paper can be easily disassembled and bound in another way.
Although I have plenty of heavier watercolor paper, I really wanted to use up the Southworth papers, which handle water media exceptionally well. For this journal, I wound up with fifteen signatures, each consisting of three sheets of paper for a total of one hundred eighty pages. I used the kettle stitch and glue to bind everything with a bit of craft tape added to the spine. The final step was to trim down the edges.
I always struggle with this part, but in preparation I carefully watched videos from Sea Lemon and Jose Naranja where they neatly trimmed edges with a utility knife. It started off well but then quickly went awry. Typical! It was not a pretty scene, and I eventually gave up the blade in favor of sandpaper.
Since I managed to hack away enough of the paper, leaving an unsightly unevenness, I placed the text block into my book press and began sanding. As I choked after inhaling the dust, I longed for a heavy duty paper trimmer that would do the job in one pass of the blade, but then I asked myself, “Would I make enough journals to justify the expense?” I continued sanding and thought that there must be some merit in taking the slow approach.
In wanting something done with expediency and an absurd notion of perfection, I was not appreciating the process. I was more focused on the future and the end result. Once I brought my attention back to sanding, I was in that moment. I was present. A stillness seeped through me. It took a fair amount of time, but I finally got those coveted clean edges.
I absolutely think it was worth going to Staples to have the Miquelrius notebooks cut down, especially since I had tried to do it myself, culminating in disaster, but this journal was made nearly from scratch (with mass-produced items). It’s unique, and the next one I make will be very similar with a bit of variance. The bookbinding process is a call for patience… and learning. I think I know what I need to do differently for a smoother experience. So, yeah, these activities that require time and diligence are a nice counterbalance to the overall fast pace of life that many are accustomed to.
Passing time caring for critters.
Creating while they nap.
