I always love the crafty events, and this one was no exception. It was very neat to make my very own little books. Going into the event, I didn’t know anything about zines, so this was a nice learning opportunity. I liked looking at the samples that they brought in. There was a lot more variety than I was expecting. It was surprising to see how creative that these little books to be. There were several unique styles and formats. They also provided us with a nice assortment of materials to work with when we were crafting our own books. I love collecting journals – even if I never fill them out all the way – so I’m happy that I can add two more to my bookshelf.

For this week’s seminar, Garden Door Press gave a demonstration on how to make a simple book and provided us with the materials to make our own as well. During freshman year, I had signed up with a freshman writing seminar through which I would’ve learned about the process of bookmaking and made my book, but ultimately did not end up taking the class due to scheduling problems. I was therefore pretty excited to attend this event instead and learn what I didn’t last year. I also thought it was really interesting how Kina and Marty spoke about how the actual story is taken into consideration when constructing the book’s design, and while the book covers are functional, they are part of the story as well. I don’t know what I’ll put into my books yet, but I’m looking forward to opening a new page and starting my own story.

For this week’s Rose Scholar Event, we learned about and engaged in bookmaking with the help of the creators of Garden Door Press. I really enjoyed the set up of this program — namely how the guest speakers balanced discussing their own work with the general history of bookmaking/zines, while making sure we all had an opportunity to make several books of our own. I was really impressed by the sheer diversity and beauty of many of the books/zines they passed around. I definitely got the sense of how special a handmade book feels, even with just a simple design the care and concern put into the book emphasizes the proximity of the author to their work. With just subtle variation in the weights of paper, the textures, colors, and mediums used, each book was felt incredibly personal. Even the simple books we made ourselves felt special in their relative simplicity. Overall, this event was a wonderful way of de-stressing and learning about a very fascinating medium.

I found the book-binding event really fun, because I was able to look at a lot of inspirational zines that they brought in before I started making my own booklet. I’m really glad that the Garden Door Press brought lots of different materials and taught us really simple binding methods.

Since writing was a big part of my childhood, I’ve always wanted to try starting a handwritten journal, but journaling always slipped from my mind because there’s never been a concrete catalyst to start it. I hope the small booklets I made are enough to convince me to start journaling!

I didn’t really know what to expect from this event, but I’m glad I got to walk away with a bunch of different sized notebooks and journals. I liked a lot of the zine examples that the people from the Garden Door Press brought in, especially the ones that were more minimalist and delicate. I thought it was really cool that the operation at the Garden Door Press is centered around hand-made zines that speak about one idea or subject.

I liked that they gave us options for customization, like the different papers we used, the size we wanted, and even provided us with ideas of how to use interesting types of papers to add more character to our books.

I thought that this workshop was very relaxing, and I would love to do more bookmaking and write and draw in the books I got to make!

This seminar was very interesting and provided a different way to be creative. I previously had no idea how to go about making books, and the steps were surprisingly straightforward and easy to follow. The results were cute little books that were open to personalization. I loved the examples that the people from Garden Door Press brought in, and each one was unique and creative. I was also very impressed that the small operation runs purely on hand-made books. The workshop was incredibly fun and relaxing, and it is something I would definitely like to try again.

I really loved this seminar because I got to see the process of binding a simple book and bind two for myself. They’re small and simple like the Muji notebooks I use to take notes with. I really appreciate events where I get to make something with my own two hands. It was a really relaxing break in the middle of a busy week. I haven’t decided what I want to use these books for but I can’t wait to fill them up.

After a long week, I really enjoyed this seminar since it allowed me to express my creativity through a new medium I had not done since I was little, bookmaking. The art of actually creating the book where pieces of stories or poetry could be found, is an interesting process. I see the design aspects being incorporated in respect to the content in the book to highlight the mood the content wants to portray. Every little detail, like what type of pages to use or color can have an effect on the way the book is perceived. We all try to not judge a book by its cover, but that is the first thing we notice, so it makes sense to make it look presentable to attract attention. Even though I have only had the chance to create my book, I hope that I can soon fill it in.

This seminar was great. I knew very little about Zines, but learned a lot. I learned how to put together a notebook with paper that is readily available in most stores. It is a skill I can use in the future. Soon after, I used one of my new notebooks to take notes in a interview. They are small, lightweight and easy to do. I love learning a new skill and learning about Ithaca as well. We were taught by a local Ithaca mini publisher and learned more about the world around the Cornell bubble. This was a great event that I thoroughly enjoyed and maybe I will make my own notebooks from now on.

This past event we created our own small books. They were pretty easy to make. All you need is some cardstock paper as your cover and then some plain white paper, which then can all be sewn together with wax thread. I hadn’t really thought of bookmaking as an art before. From the examples I saw some were very simple while others were elaborate. I never really thought of how different types of papers can create a whole new feeling for the book.

Based off of the examples I saw bookmaking is similar to user experience. Think about it. The way the book looks like is meant to convey something about the content inside of the book. Hence, if you were writing a thriller book you would probably want to use darker colors instead of having rainbows on the book.

We even talked about zines, which are small books that people mass produce. They are meant to inform people on a certain topic. Yet, I feel like in ways this art is dying out. I can’t recall if I have ever received something that could be classified as a zine. I feel like people of my generation would take to social media to inform people. This is because social media can reach a larger scale audience, it’s quickier to make, and it’s free. Plus, you can even interact with the people who you are trying to inform compared to the zine where the interaction is over once you hand the book to the person.

Sorry for just updating since I took quite a bit of days to refine the completed “book” of my own–it’s still a blank notebook though, with nothing but everything written on it.

Making “books” is quite different than making other art works in my mind, since it is a process that definitely leaves room for later recordings, i.e. the content of the book, thus leaving infinite possibilities in our minds the moment we gaze at the “book”, and thus letting us feel as if being a king of infinite space.

I was lucky enough to have the cover paper with my favorite pattern amongst those that are offered, and still not sure what I should put into the book yet–spring is in the air though, with all the beams of sun and glazing color of crocuses–maybe some poetry will take the blank “room for the future”:

“…Turn the rattling pages o’er, scatter the poems on the floor, turn the poet out of door!”

——Robert Frost, To the Thawing Wind

Before we made our books, we were given a bunch of “zines” to look at. Zines are the linguistic and physical diminutive of magaZINES. Sort of brochure- or program-sized like the books we made ourselves, but way different in content than what’s in the typical newsstand.

We passed around 30-something of them. If I remember, none with ads (which might explain their size), some with collages, some with sexual content, some poetic, some mixed content zines—one had recipes, poetry, and sex (oh my)… All very different from mainstream prints with a bit of a nineties feel. Reminiscent of diaries because they’re very intimate feeling but didn’t feel like they were for all eyes. So maybe they’re being circulated amongst friends or tight-knit communities?

I imagine they’re hard to find unless you’re part of the communities who make them, but if I ever come across one again I’d take a look. Thanks to our guests for showing us something new.

Last week, I got to experience a bookmaking workshop that offered valuable insight into the process of making and binding books by hand.

I thought that it was very admirable that Kina and Marty of Garden-Door Press operate essentially as a non-profit, making books entirely for their own enjoyment and to keep the process alive. I think that it’s really cool and really important that they don’t look at bookmaking as something that has some economic potential, but rather for their own well being.

I found the entire process very stress relieving, and it kind of felt like I was in an adult’s arts and crafts class, which I always enjoyed when I was younger. I really liked the cutting paper, the various choices that we were offered in the workshop, and the way the whole activity was very easy going and allowed for conversation and creative license. The samples that we were shown in the beginning of the workshop really gave us a chance to see what we liked and didn’t like, and then to apply that to our own projects. I made myself a little journal which I think is really cute, and the process was made to be so much easier than I thought!

Last week, I attended the bookmaking workshop. I was super excited about it because my favorite rose scholar events tend to be the ones centered around DIY ideas or arts and crafts. The two graduate students who make and sell handmade books were very nice. They gave an introduction in the beginning explaining the purpose of these creations. It is an affordable way for poets and writers to inexpensively display their work.

When we got the chance to make our own books, it was a surprisingly simple process. The instructors were great at giving instructions and guiding us through the process. My favorite part of making the book was the sewing aspect. We had to sew the pages together. My mom taught me how to sew so I really enjoyed this step. I hope that they come to visit rose again and possibly host another workshop.

I thought that the bookmaking seminar was very interesting. I really appreciate how accessible these smaller scale projects make publishing people’s creative works of arts. The creativity and the endless possibilities that this type of bookmaking allows are really impressive and I’m glad that I got a chance to try it out for myself. I also really like how the books themselves are pieces of art and contribute to their content since normal published books have a much more rigid format where the material is mostly focused on what the author says within the pages. It was very interesting to hear about zines and get to make some for myself.

Yesterday’s bookmaking event was perhaps one of my favorite Rose Scholar event that I have ever been to. I never knew zines existed and it was so cool to see the different zines that Garden-Door Press made. The event made me aware that many people have work that they want to share but that obviously not everyone can get their work published. I think zines are such a great and unique way to allow people to share their stories and ideas. The books themselves were relatively easy to make, especially if you were not trying to go for an intricate design. However, I also like that there are so many ways that you can decorate the books – I saw people using different printed paper, creating various shapes and sizes of the books, and more! I personally made two books and I will definitely be using them as journals to write my thoughts in!