Book Binding and Book Arts

I attended the 3 day Southeast Association for Book Arts 2009 conference at the University of South Carolina this summer. I have always known about book arts but I was never aware of the growing community and the varying and extensive binding and decorating techniques that existed.

The workshops included basic book making by Kathy Strother, origami and tunnel books by Andrea Dezso, Wooden Covers and Mica Pages by Daniel Essig, and some printmaking workshops. Interestingly, none of the artists seemed quite possessive of their talents and were very willing to share it with everyone, which made the experience pleasant and wonderful!

I was very glad to take Essig's workshop and learned a technique called the Ethiopian style coptic binding. It included doing finishing work, painting, polishing, drilling, and carving wooden covers on our own for the books. It was a tremendous experience and if you are interested and ever get a chance to work with him, grab that opportunity!

Pictures along with this post are the books that I made during the workshop!

18 Year Olds Must Travel Alone...

...and ignore all the advice from friends that goes against the idea.

I always wished to travel and explore a city and its people all alone. The idea of seeing it with only my perspective gave me the highest thrills. So my last day in CA, I took the VTA Light Rail from Dowtown Mountain View and reached San Jose Conventional City Center in an hour.
This was finally the moment I had been living for. This was it, the beginning of an adventure.
As soon as the train passed and I faced the city, it dawned on me that I was a terribly meak and little creature to be alone in that enormous city.
Regardless, I mustered up some courage and starting walking towards the sign that said "Tech Museum round the corner." I thought that this would be the start of it. So I reached the museum, got in, decided that it wasn't worth seeing even before I saw any of it, and got out. Across the street was a little park and fountain. I thought that it was a nice place to ask for directions from people. I found out that the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum was about 3 mules away but the Art Museum was just around the corner.

Did I mention that I was on foot? Also, never go to the San Jose Art Museum on a Monday-it is closed.

Then I started the hunt for a bus that would take me to the Egyptian museum. The drivers who drove the downtown shuttle had no clue. It toom me half an hour to figure out that I could probably call the number on the bus stop and inquire. FYI bus # 81 takes you to the corner of Naglee and Park Avenue where the museum is and it takes about half an hour if you are standing on the intersection of Almaden Ave. and San something street.
It was already 4:15 and I was starving. So, I decided to look for some place to eat. On the way, I saw the Guadalupe River Park and decided to go there even though my body was dead from walking in the sun. Once there, I realized that it demanded a lot more time than I had. So once again I kept on asking random strangers if they knoew of any food joints nearby. No one did.
After another 20 minutes or so, McDonald's came around the corner to save the day. So I finished my lunch and saved the cookies to munch on along the way because I was terrified.
I finally caught the train back to Mountain View before daybreak because once there, I had to walk a considerable amount of distance to catch the bus back home and I didn't want to do that in the night.
I had a 100 epiphanies and learned a 1000 lessons:

• Get a map! I thought I'd be able to find a gas station and a map from there; obviously that wasn't what happened.


• PLAN the "adventure". It sounds really cool and fun to be spontaneous and go with energy but it completely fails.


• Get a companion! So that if you give yourself false encouragements, he/she can knock the facts at your face before it's too late. Also, their brain can work when yours is scared and panicked and hungry.


• Take a cycle? perhaps?


• It would also be better to be in touch with someone who knows their way around the city.

Anyway, it was quite ironic that every who tried to dissuade me from doing such a thing in the first place had to listen to my rants of how I am almost 19, have a brain and common sense, and can talk in English!

None of that actually worked. So I hope, fellow travellers, that you see the moral of the story.

Although, I'd like to add that I was glad I did something that took me straight out of my comfort zone and forced me to put myself into situation that challenged my abilities. Also, I got to do such an incredibly stupid thing at the age of 18 and not at 48...

Stalked in San Francisco

After a long day of shopping, the family and I left for SF. It was quite cold compared to mountain view and also, we realized that we wouldn't have enough time to get back to home in time. So, we walked two blocks towards downtown and walked back the two blocks away from it and in good time we found that we were being stalked!

MV Arts and Wine Festival

Cuban jazz fusion band at one end and beautiful photography skills from the Czech Republic at the other, the Arts and Wine Festival in Downtown Mountain View just had me amazed.

I want to publish this post as a tribute to the awesome "artsy/musical" skills of my friends back in Columbia-Rachels A C K, Amy, and Walid- just because all the time I was there, i couldn't help but think how much they would have enjoyed it!

So it started with food stalls and the smell of steak was overwhelming me. I was about to throw up and ran a bit only to find some girls doing the Hula dance at the "Win a Free Trip to the Polynesian Islands" stall. And then as we moved along, every single stall started to catch my attention by fascination.

The Czech photographer was the first one. She clicked amazing pictures in cities around the world and they were just stunning pieces of 3D work...they were mostly taken in Prague, CR and Jaipur, India.
Then there were these shi metal scuptures made a little far south from San Diego in California.
And I could probably go on and on about every single experience of unique art I had today but Ill just let the pictures talk.

Foothill and Mountain View Downtown

Yet another beautiful and sunny day with nice winds :)
Mountain View gives me the impression of Charleston streets (a historically significant city in South Carolina), a coastal area with palm trees and the constant humidity, except for the fact that there are other trees too and it looks better than Charleston!
It's very refreshing to be here (and outside of Columbia). The colorful houses here make the city resemble a city one would find in Latin America or Spain. The city is also surrounded by "Los Altos" hills, which make being outside very pleasant!

My Secret Pleasure...(Playing Around with handmade Paper)

This semester has managed to make me quite miserable. I have never been without a smile on my face in a long long time...
So while the spring break was going on, I decided to take out my anguish and burden by taking up two more painting projects.

My charcoal painting is my version of Waterhouse's Boreas and my second piece for this style :)
I have been trying to find the time and piece of mind for her dress and face since last summer. I still haven't mustered up the courage to give her life (and features). So maybe, by the end of this weekend, I might have her all done, and ready to be up here.

This other one is a traditional style of painting called "Madhubani" which origins from a town of the same name in the eastern state of Bihar, India. Since the artists are simple people with little or no tools and paints to work with, they usually use natural inks made from leaves, flowers, and pretty much anything they can find. The outlines are made with wooden sticks and the color is filled in with these sticks snipped, shaved, and peeled apart at the end to give it the texture of a paintbrush. Often times though, cotton is used too.

My modern-day substitute?
Black ball point ink pen and markers.
This one has become quite special because my mom(my teacher) has grown quite fond of it; It'll hang wherever she takes it along with her =)

Blissful in Ignorance or Miserable in Wisdom?

Which way would you rather chose to live?

Persepolis

Persepolis is, perhaps, the best story ever told. Marjane Satrapi has a very simple yet enchanting way of taking people through the life of a nine year old girl who grows in revolutionary Iran, (later taken over by fundamental Islamists) and moves to Vienna all vulnerable. It is the story of this enduring girl who struggles between being a true Iranian at heart and fighting the tyranny that now governs the society.

To me, this movie was a great example of the experiences that come along with cultural chages and the perspectives one is exposed, and involuntarily given, while going through such drastic events in their lives.

Even though the writer only portrayed Iran as the "deeper and more complexed culture" as opposed to the modern day view of fundamentalism, fanatacism, and terrorism, clearly, this viewpoint applies to all the people suffering under these generally held misconceptions and prejudices.
And so, I highly recommend watching it to get a real glimpse of the worlds beyond our world.

BANAA- Building Sudan

All across the United States , students in a few universities are trying to bring atleast one student BANAA scholar from Sudan and fund their four year education.

Why Sudan? Why Scholarships?

In its 52 years of independence, Sudan has spent 40 years struggling between conflicts due to vast differences in income, inrastructure, education, and poilitical power. For this very reason, the Sudan Educational Empowerment Network has come up with this amazing program-"BANAA"- which will provide selected talented young Sudanese with "a four-year US undergraduate education, apprenticeships with global NGO leaders, and jobs in conflict resolution and sustainable development back in Sudan", thereby, helping the Sudanese bring peace to their nation.

The initiative of educating young people for building their countries is definitely a smart way to help make peace in the world today.The first BANAA scholar is scheduled to arrive at the George Washington University the coming fall and the Tufts, Mills College, and University of Florida are on their way trying to get a scholar by 2009. At the University of South Carolina, we are at the initial stages of signing a petition and sending it our President to get these scholarships going in action. If you want to do the same, the steps are easy. Visit the official website www.banaa.org which gives stepwise instructions for starting the process and bringing your efforts to a great headstart. There is also a link to the global facebook group regarding the same.

Incredible India

This post is for all of my friends who have always wanted to visit India or even know about it...
And all I can ever find to say is that they HAVE to visit it to know and get a glimpse of it!

Anyhow, here's a short documentary, and one of the best ever, issued by the Tourism ministry.

All I can say is that video is quite just in balancing the act of providing a window to many different sides of this country.

So cheers to Incredible India!