Two new books landed on my doorstep yesterday, well, via the sorting office and a spell in the local post office, and I've been itching to be done with the world's dullest freelancing job (yes, I am supposed to be on two weeks' holidays from the day job but this extra-curricular was still hanging about) and break them out. Ok, calling the freelancing dull is unfair, especially as part of the frustration with it is simply with the fact that I have to do it at all. In fact, the books were timely - part of the point of this time off is to get some writing done and these books both have a strong sense of inspiration and achievement, of seizing a spark or a moment and turning it into something tangible, creative, and purposeful.
Part of the reason that I have to freelance is for extra cash, because it's either have a second job or rent out my spare room. My spare room is filled to the rafters with craft stuff and writing reference books and I like it that way. Crafting means lots of different things to me - it's a creative outlet, it's relaxing and it's a springboard to other things. It's social and sociable and I've met great friends through knitting and sewing and through this blog - and it all came from a conversation with a designer friend one day, on the tube home from work. She asked me if I'd heard of craft blogs (I hadn't) and a couple of years down the line, here we are. With one thing and another, my life is really quite different to where I started back in July '06.
It seems like something similarly synchronous both brought about and solidified A Year of Mornings by Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes [ISBN 978-1568987842] - I was really surprised to read that the authors had only actually met once when they embarked on the project. I admire their dedication in persevering in something which is ostensibly simple but demands commitment, taking a photo of their mornings each day and posting to their joint blog 3191 (the distance between their respective homes in Portland OR and Portland ME) which developed into this book. I remember the genesis of this project though I didn't follow it during the year and now I wish I had. I will tune into A Year of Evenings and not repeat that mistake. The commentary from the authors is delightful - one of the comments that struck me that the book is about the 'art of noticing'. It makes me want to grab my camera and start diarising though I've always been more inclined to do that with words than pictures. Princeton Architectural Press consistently impresses me with the quality of its publishing (there are a number of criteria in my incredibly idiosyncratic judgement system, including but not limited to cover, design, typography, setting, sizing, endpapers, titles) and one of my favourite things about this blook is the way they've used embossing so cleverly on the front cover. A nice touch for a cyber object made real. As much as I am indebted to the web for opening windows to other worlds, in my mind there will always be a legacy and legitimacy attached to the physical asset that is a book and this is a particularly attractive one.
"For me, sewing, playing music,making ark and films, and even writing this book are about having control over my life. I am making my own destiny with what I create, whether it is with the materials I pick, the colors I choose, or the words I write... our community is just beginning to grow into our roles of knitter, book binder, shoemaker, painter, seamstress, potter, etc. We appreciate the generations of makers who came before us and from whom we draw inspiration and support." That's a quote from Faythe Levine, the author of Handmade Nation, [ISBN 978-1568987873] and this book sits alongside her documentary of the same name, about the rise of crafting as part of a DIY ethos in the US. Levine wanted to capture the movement before it became too mainstream - I wonder whether the film will be screened or distributed in the UK. Some of the crafters she interviewed are familiar to me, like Heidi Kenny and Sarah Neuburger but there are tons that I hadn't discovered yet. You've probably already heard of this book as it's been buzzing around blogland - it's got similarities with The Crafter's Companion though this is a 'why-to' not a 'how-to' with interspersed essays. The article on the Church of Craft totally intrigued me as for some unfathomable reason I have been pondering the notion of faith recently and being slightly envious of that ability to believe. Don't we need one in London?
Add these to your wish lists. They're perfect gift books and yes, it's getting to that time of year again.
* quote from Andrew Wagner's essay in HN
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