Dear Everyone ~
Bookful of Wordy Stories, my 14th Bookful collaboration with Cat Bennett, begins Saturday, September 21—a soupçon less than a fortnight hence! Last week, whilst Cat & I were discussing our inspirations for the upcoming Bookful, she told me a wordy story that she was really excited about. I won’t be a spoiler sport, and Cat will be sharing it with everyone in the workshop, but I will hint that it took place in her teens. We’ve decided to show one of the illustrations that will accompany her story. Voilà! (Cat's knack for extracting Cambridge tidbits always delights me.)
I find Cat’s creative process both inspiring and a bit mysterious. She is always exploring new techniques and ways of illustrating a story whether visual or verbal. Her teachings help students discover their own personal style in a gently encouraging fashion. Even if you don’t plan to join us for Bookful of Wordy Stories, I think you’ll find Cat’s words about her creative process well worth your while. First, a bit of suspense...
In this Bookful, we will make a trio of charming booklets, each one to hold its own wordy story. The book structure is a French-link stitch booklet measuring 7½ x 5¾ x ⅜ with two 4-page signatures (16 serendipitous sides). We will make one together in the first workshop session, and students will make the other two booklets on their own with the live recording for guidance, and even, I like to think, for company.
Listening to Cat got me thinking about the multitude of wordy stories we each have in our library of memories, to record, illustrate, and share. Telling our personal stories in our own personal style elevates an anecdote or a reminiscence into a story you delight in re-reading from time to time, again and again. These books can be private, just for yourself, giving joie de journaling a wonderful form. They can be a very special personal gift to a lucky recipient, or installments in a family history, or you tell me....
Last week, Ruby & I did our ‘kit assembly dance’ for the upcoming Bookful: measuring & winding & counting, and mixing & matching the threads, the papers, and the vintage wallpapers. This week, I will begin wrapping & packing & dispatching the parcels from coast to coast, in between, across the pond, and beyond.
Here is some food for creative thought from Cat: “I often begin writing projects with a visual ‘mind map’ starting with words. This allows my mind to roam without attaching too soon to any one idea. One thing leads to another and, in this free state, things pop up I hadn’t dreamed of before. Sometimes I do one with loose thumbnail drawings to dive even deeper. Drawing and free association opens the cabinet of imagination in my mind. With the map, I can step back a bit and see possibilities I might not have considered before. Some ideas spark great excitement and curiosity and those are the ones I home in on. In this Bookful, we’ll explore making these creative maps as springboards to creating our short wordy stories. And then we’ll see how adding drawings, photographs and collage items gives them zing.”
Everyone has heard the saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ For your Wordy Stories, just a few of your words will make your pictures so much richer, so much more of a story.
If you are considering joining us, we still have time to ship your kit(s). As always, Cat & I like to emphasize–especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that truly no drawing, painting, collaging or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace is serene and the camaraderie is harmonious. (Plus you will have complete videos to watch and rewatch—all 12 hours-ful!)
Earlier this summer, to celebrate our 13th—a binder’s dozen!—Bookful, we decided to make our full-length live recordings of workshops Nos. 1–12 available all summer, which you can read about in enticing detail here. It’s officially summer until Friday, September 20, which is both the autumnal equinox, and the eve of our 14th Bookful. Our Bookful page (irresistible pun), will remain on the website until 10pm Chicago time on Friday, September 20, for your perusal and purchase. Once purchased, the recordings are yours to watch and rewatch for as long as your heart desires.
Bookful of Wordy Stories
Bookfuls
Looking Bookfully towards autumn, Bari