Here we are on the eve of the infamous Winter Solstice of 2012... yes, infamous.  For those of us with a mystical inclination, the mind strays again and again to what all these predictions and anticipation on the part of so many diverse people could mean to the collective unconscious.  No, I don't really expect anything earth shattering or calamitous to happen - but I do hope that the gathering collective expectations will at least produce a paradigm shift in consciousness.  Don't you think we need it?  I'm ready.... are you?

Meantime, I have creative endeavors to pursue.  I have a New Year's Resolution - to make 100 books by year end 2013.  The purpose of  this blog is to track my progress with this intent.

I have a little over a week while the year winds down to learn to use this blog format, so I'll post a few images and comments on the last book oriented resolution - the one made in 2011 to make a book a week.  

One of my favorites was a Cheese Grater Book.  Among my wanderings, I like to pick up this and that, as long as it is relatively flat - and even better, if I can find two alike.  When I saw these cheese graters - of course I had to make a book.

I began by cutting light bookboard covers to the same size as the graters, and covered them with thin papers I had decorated with acrylic and stencils.  I punched holes in front and back covers to line up with the larger grater holes.  I then sewed the graters to the covers with waxed linen thread, using a Japanese screw hole punch to make holes for the thread.  

 Using the same decorated paper, I made sleeves for sheets of plain paper, and folded them into twelve signatures.  I punched 9 holes in each signature and sewed the book together using a coptic stitch. 

Then the fun part came - to fill the book with something related to cheese graters.  I Googled "cheese grater" along with "images," "cartoons," "odes," "poems," etc. and found more than you could possibly imagine.  Check out how may items come up with you Google "ode to cheese grater."

I found more than enough to fill all the pages of this book.