Deconstructing Truths

I'm trying to stay current, and it isn't easy.

The era of the love letter gave way to this: a tip not a throw...back
Anticipate the absence of show; a hidden timing that is not private
Turpid and Teflon, the language of intimacy is also a crime without reprehension.

Chandrasekhar's Addendum

A book I made for a craft fair, and forgot to mention.

Hand screen printed cloth cover. Artichoke Flower print, buttonhole bound, An assortment of papers, including vintage music sheets, and pockets for treasures. Cloth, hand screen printed end pages.

We Are Not Leaving This Land and We Will Begin to Become Native to it When We Recognize This Fact

I wish for community through craft.


To you, I want to be what I create. Identity is so much more identifiable when there's a product to exhibit. My and your sole consistent characteristics could be what we do, and people would sleep easier knowing this about us. All the comfort in social situations comes from familiarity.

My onl y real plan for making that happen involves a vague concept for personal momentum.

A Drawing A Day

I hoped to create a good habit, starting
with this book. It's made from an old
book, and uses the buttonhole stitch,
linen thread, and recycled papers, left
over from past books, projects, mail, etc.

Leather Bound: 1st ed.

To: Brandon Basino
nature and nostalgia

Errol: Custom Made

My nephew, Errol was born a little over a year ago now. My mom asked me to make her a book, so that she could record her version of his history for him. Right before she asked me to do it, I found a book at Goodwill. It had a cover which reminded me of Jay, Errol's father, who is tech and design savvy. The cover is a masculinely depicted machine, intricate, and strange. It seemed appropriate for a new boy. The book was titled, Lead, Kindly Light, and contained passages on Setting Forth, What is the Blessing?, The way of Action, The Appeal to Spirit, and so on.
I filled it with elementary school handwriting paper. The bind is a buttonhole stitch, and the recess was created with a utility knife. I used letter stamps to stamp Errol's name on the paper in the recess.

Analogies: Rules for Behavior

Analogies is a book I made while studying in France. The majority of the materials used to make this book came from Spain. I composited the images inside using Photoshop from an old elementary Spanish school book. Perhaps inspired by the Dalhi museum, it was an attempt to lead one through my process. I started with the images, and put them together as random associations, that complemented each other with little effort . Then came the writing. It's all random, until you realize that it's not and never will be again. The interpretation from different perspectives is all that matters after the process is once completed.


Technically, this book is button-hole stitched, and the inside is black and white printed on newsprint. I always want to do it myself, and my resources were considerably limited while in France. I did the printing on an inkjet printer, printing four pages to a sheet, and gluing the blank pages to make it a traditionally printed book. Hence, some distortion. The cover is probably some of my best craftsmanship, missing most of my shabby aesthetic. I like the preciousness of the size and structure, but I wish it was more meticulously, and seamlessly made.

A couple of pages from Analogies:

Manners: Rules for Behavior

Although a discussion on manners may seem an antiquated topic
You will find that it is the most progressive form of communication in its specificity to the individual
You parents will try to teach you
And hope you will try to learn
And at first you will extend great effort
After some time, it is completely up to
you:
Whether you practice or not
And how you do (or do not)

The majority of who we are is in the way we present ourselves
Manners are the intention behind this presentation, and the consideration of others in reference to our behaviors
They are the rules we set for these
considerations and for ourselves in order to mantain a consistency in reception
Let's say I hoped to be seen as a confident individual but did not want to be stereotypically categorized
I would amplify my personality in public, emphasizing my most unique or absurd characteristics
I would speak assuredly, but still listen
I would take an active stance on those things which I had read about and felt
confidence in
Or a stance on those things with which I most disagreed, but pretended not to
How I would shake the confidence of the opposition, knowing it as I know myself
My manners are te embodiment of those characteristics by which I hope to be represented
In this specific instance, my manners are:
unique or absurd personality traits
specific, convinced speech
and a little conflict for opposition's sake
These manners are used to achieve:
a personification of atypical confidence
Now you try.


This book is made of muslin, thread, yard, and printed fabric. The words inside were free-motion embroidered on a sewing machine, and the pages are bound in a buttonhole stitch. I wrote this in France, considering the cultural differences in social cues, and how they exist, but if you get down to it, everyone has their own social cues. There are some things which are socially acceptable, and are universal, but they can't be for everyone all the time.

Portraits

These books are made from the covers of old Reader's Digest story collections, vellum lace, vintage ornaments, paper, and ribbon. They are hand bound with various stitches, including (from top left, bottom left, then to the right in the second picture) buttonhole, accordion, buttonhole, coptic, coptic dos a dos, and coptic again. They are simply blank books, meant for precious thoughts. The materials and method for binding specific to the individual book were inspired by the charm it is portraying. These charms were mostly given me by someone I was close to and who knew my appreciation for the sweet and precious.

detail from my favorite

Everything is Appropriate(d) in Design

Posession is our only obstacle.

Octopus on the Playground: The Appropriation of Public Space is a concept book. It is bound in a traditional buttonhole stitch, and is made of hand-dyed and bleached, recycled newspaper. Aside from the title and the characterization of the title, the backgrounds are borrowed from contemporary album artwork.

the original collages: dyed newspaper, appropriated album imagery, gouache