What I'll be sending out into the world

The last few weeks I've been really busy getting my art journal ready for a Round Robin (or circle journal) I'm participating in. I found myself getting distracted a lot and doing a lot of procrastinating, because actually I'm a bit scared about doing this.

A bit scared, as I've never done anything like this before and very exited, because I think it'll be AWESOME. So I finally finished it and I think it's ready to send on it's journey out into the world.

The round Robin is hosted by Tracy Woodsford (Sojourner) and there are 7 of us making this journey. Tracy asked us to make a journal with room for 15 spreads. Each participant would then do 2 spreads and one would be for the sign in. Obviously I deviated from that, because I'm a rebel.

Haha, no just because I wanted a certain approach to the book  that wasn't going to work with the 15 spreads.

The theme I choose for the book is: "What lies within..." and it has a subtitle, a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within us out into the world, miracles happen.”

In keeping with that theme, I felt the TARDIS* to be a great metaphor for this. I used the River Song book as an example. I also wanted the signatures to be removable, so it would be easy for each participant to work on.

* Time And Relative Dimensions In Space

I took a few progress shot, but mostly forgot to take them. Still, here they are together with some detail shots and a short show and tell video.

The book was made from cardboard and a paper towel roll.

I sketched the covers and cut the cardboard pieces to match the sketch. I then glued them to the cover pieces.

I made a hollow spine with the paper towel roll , so I could later put elastic bands through the spine, without them being visible from the outside.

As you can see here.

I covered the entire outside cover with some faux leather I had lying around for costume making.

I then painted this with 4 different kinds of blue, white, black and ochre, to make it look like a very old River Song book.

I made the signatures by folding and glueing some black papers I had in to 2 spreads per signature, with pockets and then gathered some painted papers. Cut some strips from a sheet of 8-8" paper and printed these Da Vinci ladies, to represent each participant.

Stamped and distressed it all and glued them to the outside of the signatures.

The part with the strip of paper is the backside of the signature and can be used to put the sign in tag (or letter if they so prefer).

Here is the book finished.

And with signatures.

With pockets.

And folds.

Here you can see how the signatures are slipped underneath the elastic bands.

And this is what it looks like on the outside.

You can't really see them.

I do think it has a River Song book feel to it =).

I like how it turned out and now I have to make myself set it free out into the world. So a miracle can come back to me in the end. =)

I hope you like my little experiment and I'll keep you posted on the progress of the Round Robin.

I wish you all a wonderful week.

Linking this to:

• Creative Every Day
• Artists in Blogland, show and tell saterday
• Art Journal Journey, She Art. As there's going to be a lot of she art going on in this book, with all participants being female =), hence the Da Vinci ladies.
• Artists In Blogland. Scavenger Hunt, Doors and Windows, as this book is a door (TARDIS) to what lies within.