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Story by
mtraub
Published on September 11, 2009 in This Handmade Life |
Photo by |
I have always been fanatical about narratives, but I hadn't really contemplated the possibilities of the book as an object until working at Special Collections in college. From 19th century miniatures to hand-printed Yolla Bolly aquatint etchings, books came to be portable sculptures, records, decor, specimens, shrines. As any fellow library-lover knows, the marginalia is often far more engaging than the original text.
In the spirit of reinventing our relationship with these ubiquitous artifacts, this post shares a few pages from Keri Smith's This Is Not a Book. With projects for personal contemplation and public experimentation, Keri's creation is meant to be vandalized with inspiration.
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Keri provides some context for this unusual book with these encouraging words:
"As with all of my books, I wanted to create something that was a direct experience (as opposed to a passive one). You cannot sit and do nothing with it or it means nothing. I am interested in what is called an "open work," a work that is created by me but the final output is a result of the reader/user's experience of the world. Every person who comes to This Is Not a Book will have a different response to it. This is what I find beautiful about social mediums, seeing what other people come up with that I would never have thought of. I am also interested in pushing the imagination to a place it's never been before. Adults especially are not encouraged to use the imagination for fear of being thought of as crazy. I aim to change this the world over. The world would be a much better place if we could all dream more and challenge ourselves to be ridiculous."
How do you transform your everyday objects? Share in the comments below, and I'll pick a commenter at random to win a free copy of the book from Penguin Publishing. Or you can pick up a copy for yourself here.
Have you checked out Etsy's Books and Zines category lately?
You can find handmade publishing for style, satire, and poetry.
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By justmadbooks, $2. |
By behappynow, $15.99. |
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By theinkling, $6. |
By thejuzzard, $4.50. |
For many, Etsy serves not just as a marketplace of goods, but also as a marketplace of ideas. To find sellers working with each other producing craft-hybrids like the ones below, try searching "collaboration."
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SALE Bracelet Etsy Collaboration By TheBrokenPlate and pinkkiss, $40. |
Lifecycle - Collaborative Giclee Print By JenMcCleary and alisonalison, $40. |
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By madebymavis and mudpuppy, $36. |
3 collaborative coloring books By yaelfran and over 60 Etsy artists, $33. |
Objects that take on a life of their own rely on the elusive medium of motion. These Etsy items capture movement in time and space. Inject some flux into your home with handmade mobiles.
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By zseike, $25. |
By MiniCyn, $39. |
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By MetalMedia, $75. |
By TheGlassCrafter, $115. |
The creations in the Sculpture category cannot be contained by two dimensions. These eruptions of material make me feel sorry for any bare surface in sight.
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The singing lady ceramic sculpture By peanutbutterandyelly, $15. |
By illuminarysculpture, $600. |
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By tompkikr, $900. |
Explosion - Wood with String Ball By makalewakan, $380. |
How do you transform your everyday objects? Share in the comments below, and I'll pick a commenter at random to get a free copy of the book from Penguin Publishing!
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100 comments Login to add your own!
blackbirdtees
lovelygifts
spacejam
lilworkerb
moop
girlwithbighair
I like how her work encourages you to look at everything in life differently. I can see the potential for things I had not before! Great ideas...
4TheSparrowsNest
I appreciate the focus on books and 'zines...it's often an overlooked artform. Nice article about challenging the way we view and define art.
workingforpeanuts
Michelle! Thanks for sending my imagination beyond rainy Brooklyn and my messy studio. Awesome variety!
2ndcoming
moonovermaize
I love the collaborative pieces! So much creativity and beauty here on Etsy.
foamywader
worksandfinds
beachhouseblues
ElenaMary
Wonderful..love that books are featured! make sure to check out the "books with content" area where all the unique OOAK artists books are:
SmallEarthVintage
I *definitely* need to spend more time in the Etsy books and zines category--thanks for the reminder! I loved zines when I was a teenager/young adult 20 odd years ago.
EJPcreations
Oh my god the pencil dress!!!! It's so amazing!!!!!I love it!
OffTheHooks
I like the idea of making cozies for everyday objects. for everything.
thebestvintage
theeye
what an interesting read. kudos.
p.s. that spoon clock kicks ass!
BeadinBabe
Fairyfolk
SusanFaye
Transforming everyday objects is how a creative, restless mind deals with monotony and repetition--thanks for sharing all of these transformational ideas and artists!!
undertheroot
thank you for shining a spotlight on what i consider genius.
zaperoco
nightowlcraftworks
louloudo
hannasusj
I think of my fridge door as a clean slate to be curated. How could anyone ever want this wide-open surface to stay free of...stuff? I love that things accumulate over time, become not so relevant, or sidle up against more recent, significant pieces of ephemera--a dr's appt card shares space with a sauce-splattered picture of me and my mom, circa 1998...Etc etc. It's always changing! I'm not saying it's always, um, lovely...but I figure it's at least interesting, and no doubt a curious hint of the lives me & my family of 3 lead. Would love to see Keri's book and perhaps share it with my students!
ByTheBy
We definitely need people to remind us to stop and rethink what we are looking at, how can it be used differently, what can we do to make it our own, how can we incorporate a part of this idea into what we do. Great inspiration!
pandawithcookie
VixVintage
1AEON
HoneysuckleLane
emilyhickman
Tattedlace
As if books didn't offer enough wonder already, the prospect of an author taking ones hand only to show you what imaginative gems you poses in your own mind is truly remarkable.
demcdonough
How do I repurpose? PAINT! and right now, I'm contemplating boxes from old books. Figuring out the dynamics of doing this is taking a little time. I'm one of those people who visualize every step first, even thought most projects seem to take a turn...lol...
theLostEarring
I agree wholeheartedly about adults using the imagination less. It's unfortunate and oh so true. I wonder if the imagination atrophies after all that time and must be exercised to get back in to shape so-to-speak, or if it simply lies dormant waiting to be awakened as it was during childhood. Either way, this sounds like a wonderful book! Thanks for sharing :)
ooty
sean11
TheCottageCheese
What a cool book! When I'm the designated driver and need something to do with my hands (versus holding a beer), I tear napkins to make paper dolls.
That pencil dress is amazing! The "collaborations" are so cool.
mullishmuse
lovely indeed. i make mini-windsocks for my garden out of empty toliet papter rolls.
curlyfrysc
yaelfran
Michelle!!! gREAT article, thanks so much for featuring the collaborative books!!!!
prendasbyenid
MelissaSue
interesting! Justin Madison / Breathers / justmadbooks is fantastic, i'm a fan.
Morado
I want me a zine! :o)
http://twitter.com/MoradoShop
http://www.facebook.com/MoradoShop
cbeatty23
This so reminds me of Demetri Martin (this is a sketch...yes it is). Although I'm probably the only one who has ever seen his show. I work in corrugated, so everyday I'm mentally thinking about how to use the material to make something cool or unexpected. Awesome post!
SunsetSurf
love love love her. i am thinking of taking some old scrap paper and junk mail, painting it, wadding it up, and some how making a tree out of it. we'll see!lol. at least it will be fun!
RageoftheAge
I have had to take a step back from blogs due to systems overload...and now find myself journaling (via cursive written word!) and searching yard sales for the kind of brain food you hold in your hands and sit under a shady tree with...so I'm loving this!
MyMoms
frenchtown
Just 2 days ago I accidentally discovered Keri's blog. Now here she is on Etsy. I'm going to get her book one way or another!
StudioCherie
I can hardly look at a chair, footstool, or sofa without planning to transform it by either upholstering or slip covering. Also every scrap of paper that gets within 3 feet of me gets doodled on. My daughter and I do team doodling.
Excellent article!
modhuman
imadeyouabeard
sudsbysarah
Wow, your diagram up there with the factory photo reminds me of the days I used to work for a printer. We did mock-ups of small books and yearbooks exactly the same way and then translated those into press plates for printing. I bet this is an interesting book! :)
madetogether
i *love* the idea of a book that teaches you how to use your imagination! let the creative juices flow!
wristielove
theaconda
absolutely love that pencil dress and the spoon clock. amazing.
cassidycay
thewhimsytrove
My favorite transformation of everyday items comes when I take discarded pages from the manuscript I'm writing and turn them into papier mache. Seeing it torn up and randomly appearing all over three dimensions, utterly out of context, seems to help me with my writing somehow. And not in a Wm. S. Burroughs kinda way.
girltuesdayjewelry
This sounds like such a cool book! I have to check it out next time I'm at Barnes which is every weekend because I'm nerdy.
ChloesRuffleButt
Very interesting article. I like to puff paint everything. My dresser has a mural on each drawer.
mellie
Furiousdreams
Interesting post and love the light sculpture. Great that you promoted some of the more esoteric objets d'art here.
ColeAndJosephine
bhangtiez
pinkytoeclothing
Wow! It is always so inspiring to see the amount of creativity here!
revelry
This is an amazingly eclectic selection. Very unique. Great finds!
samsstuff
Ever since childhood (collages, montages...), I have liked, no loved, to take disparate elements, lost, found, old & new & give them a new & different life together. I've taken a rock, naturally heart shaped, & made it into a bracelet. I've taken a slightly squashed cross, found in a parking lot & made it into a necklace. I've made a 'cross knife,' found on the ground & made it into a necklace. I've taken a part of a hubcap & made it into a pin. I could continue, but I'll just say this is my favorite thing to do!
Thanks for the interesting post & awesome finds!
MiniatureRhino
this post made my heart beat a little faster. so well written and thought out- thanks for sharing some greatness. i love, love, love books- as objects and art....
CassiasKitchen
oh my gosh. i was on future girl craft
blog last night and commented to win this.
i don't usually do this but could not resist.
mullishmuse
i wrote a book today because of this here non-blog :) thanks for the inspiration.
OneClayBead
"How do you transform your everyday objects? Share in the comments below,"
First of all, I loves this article! Functional pottery (my media) is all about everyday objects. The Industrial Revolution degraded our ceramic tableware into purely utilitarian, insipidly bland, matchy- matchy objects. My purpose as a potter is to offer an older, more enriching experience of using sacred objects in serving food and home decor. By sacred objects I mean pieces that are alive with individuality, infused with the same aesthetics as the natural world.
ZenAgainYoga
I love book art, especially old embossed leather bindings! I must confess that I enjoy dismantling my old Reader's Digest hardcovers to use as fabric-covered purses!
fastsoftpress
great thoughts on book art and collaboration. Am involved in several collaborations now-for the first time since grad school and am loving it!
RevolutionIsSexy
Has anyone read/experienced the book "Learning to Love You More" by Miranda July? This reminds me of that project! When I first opened it and looked through it, I cried it was so beautiful and inspiring! There's also a website for those of you who can't get a copy of the book!
UglyBaby
I transform everyday objects by adding stories to them to increase their value. The project I run is called bARTer Sauce and I trade for art and odd objects. Whatever I get, I trade for something else and everyone who trades with me has to tell me a story. I document it all on http://www.bartersauce.com. I've found throughout the years that even some of the items I never thought anyone would trade for - went quickly if they had a great story attached to them.
norakaren
patspottery
RedBracelet
snappingtwig
fantastic....been loving keri smith for some time now..... she truly has opened my eyes
with new ways to get moving in my creative thinking and the
collaborative movement here on etsy is so inspiring.
great article.
FoodForHands
thebeadedlily
I add beads and vintage lace to clothing, cover my walls with taped up inspirational notes and pictures and read with pen in hand so I can underline and make notes. Looks like a great book!
poppyswickedgarden
deetsy
What a fantastic post!, and thanks for including my "red" sculpture. I have been falling in love with my weekly trips to reuse stores and garage sales in search of all sorts of bits and "junk" to inspire and incorporate into new figures. I will remind myself more often that this is not a sculpture.
DalkullanJewelry
The pencil dress is very unique, actually made of pencils! What an interesting concept, I'll never think of my pencil skirts the same again.
Love2BInspired
AmongTheZinnias
I love Keri Smith...I have her "Wreck The Journal" book and I looove it!
BibbysRocket
OwlandMouse
saintesmariesjewelry
mrYen
I love books, altered books and kerri smith's work. The perfect read!
thinkoflaura
smilingbluedog
What a concept!
Awesome! I love the ideas.
I like to transform a lifeless, colorless, lump of grey "dirt" into colorful, fun figurines.
theninestories
Great post. This also fits into your narrative: Our new handmade secret hiding place in an old unassuming hardcover book. This is not a book: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?...
kmcgiveron
BlueCanvasDesigns
check out tompkikr' bubble wrap from the past... wish I thought of that one...
Great article that has my wheels turning. Thanks!
mtraub
Comments from UglyBaby and samsstuff were randomly selected; copies of This is Not a Book are off in the mail to these lucky recipients!
Keep up the comments, everyone. I love reading what you have to contribute!
MarchiMadeIt
I am looking forward to seeing the book and playing with it. great feature!!
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