on my desk monday

I've been trying to return to rituals in my work. Since I've had Rain Dragon, I've let a lot of things become rather slap-dash which is okay in some things (I've accepted it when it comes to, say, the state of the living room floor) but I think, for me, the act of writing and illustrating needs ritual--if only to cement in my mind that this is something of importance, that I must be considerate of.

One of the rituals I want to do with my writing, which I began with Starry River of the Sky is to print out the version-of-last-approval (basically the absolutely last time I can make changes), take a morning and read the entire thing out loud. Anyplace that I stumble or feels awkward, I mark and reconsider and, usually, change. 

And it's almost time for me to do this for When the Sea Turned to Silver.  To prepare, I decided to adapt my illustration tradition of making paper folders to this. I decided to make a custom decorate three-ring binder to hold my manuscript:

the decorative paper, the glue and a cardboard 3-ring binder (bought pre-made)

I'm kind of envisioning the colors of the cover of the book to be like the paper I chose for the binder:

beautiful japanese paper with a wave motif! All glued and clipped together to dry smoothly! 

Now it's all ready to go:

I hope some of the beauty of the paper infuses into my writing! Wish me luck!!!

return to rituals

The art for the fourth Ling and Ting book is finished (have you read the third one? hope you liked it)!

the board in now empty, as compared to before!

Before Rain Dragon made her appearance, I used to make a special art folder every time I began a book. I love pretty paper and it was an excuse to buy and use it; but it also became kind of a ritual--a way to focus before starting work. 

I haven't made an art folder for a couple of years now because I just didn't have the time. But with the art for this Ling and Ting book finished, my plate is finally cleared to plunge into the novel completely without any other work distractions. And I am a little nervous!

So, to procrastinate to clear my mind, I decided to make an art folder:

the outside is rainbow colors!

the inside is rainbow balloons! 

I think it turned out well! Hope it's a good sign for my next project....

how to

Back in August, I promised to show instructions on how I make my folders. I'm not very good at writing directions, but hopefully with the images you can figure it out:


1. Make your folder with corrugated cardboard: two large pieces the same size and a spine. Bind them together with artist tape. The tape should be flexible so the folder can bend.

2. Choose your paper. You will need two sheets of paper that are wider than the height of your folder and one very large sheet of paper appr. double the size of your folder.




3. Glue your smaller sheets of paper onto right and left hand pieces of your folder. They should cover 1/2- to 1/3 of the cardboard with a generous overhang. The over hand is very important, there should be at least an inch of paper overhanging the cardboard.








4. Flip your folder over. You should see the underside of that overhung paper. At each corner, cut a notch. The notch should line up with the edge of the cardboard.










5. Fold the corners of the notch into the triangular shape seen in the photo. Glue the triangles down. Repeat for all 4 corners.










6. Fold the flaps (with the glued down corners) over the pieces of cardboard. Glue flaps down.











6. Repeat on other side. So far, your folder should look like this.











7. Flip your folder over. Take your large sheet of paper and cut it to a size that covers all the exposed cardboard with at least an inch of overhang on each side. You want it to overlap the other paper.









8. Glue paper down. The paper should overlap the already glued paper and overhang off the boards.











9. Flip folder over. Fold over hanging paper over and glue. It should look like this.











10. Take the remaining paper and cut it so it is about 1/2 smaller on all sides than your folder. It should be large enough to cover all exposed cardboard and overlap the glued paper--but it should NOT overhang.









11. Glue the paper down, so it looks like this. While the glue is still moist, fold up the sides of the folder so that the spine does not get stiff in the wrong position.











12. Ta-Dah! You have a folder. Now make some art to go in it.

rituals

Recently, the Blue Rose Girls asked, "What outside influences do you use to keep you focused?"

One of the thing I’ve always done is make a folder for my work (I posted a photo of a couple of them to the left). I have a penchant for beautiful paper, making folder portfolios gives me an excuse to buy and use it (though I have a lot more paper than my folders need!). Usually I make the folder at the start of a project—as an incentive to fill it! The folder is a visual reminder for me to keep focused.






Here is my most recent folder made for the art of Lissy's Friends! I just had to post it because I love that bunny paper.