the aroma of publication

After months of floating between ideas for various concepts for publications, I've committed to an idea for my first book. The book will be self-published through Blurb and sold independently through local coffee shops, word-of-mouth, and Etsy. The book will be about???.......sorry, not giving away everything!

I will say this...out of all my ideas for potential zines and books, this particular idea is one of my favorite. The concept creates an interesting connection between imagery and words while having a purely creative focus. Having said that, it isn't a book of fine art; about a third to half of the total content will be illustration, with writing filling up the remaining "space". I'm at the point where I'm creating content, which is a place I thought I'd never see any time soon. As I approach the editing/design phase, I'll post sneak preview photos of sample spreads.

Until then, check Twitter for updates on progress!

for readers and writers

I've been looking for a great site that caters to both writers and serious readers/book fans. Although EditRed is a great site for writers, it doesn't really approach books in the way that I wanted. After browsing through a handful of other websites that dealt with books and writing, I found a site that fulfills all of my literary requirements...http://www.goodreads.com/



I've been involved with quite a few sites that deal with various aspects of writing and books but this site is, without a doubt, the most fun and interesting. First, you have a bookshelf where you can display the books you're reading, the books you've read, and the books you want to read; the fun part is that you can create your own shelves, partitioning your books by genre, author, etc. You can also write reviews, comment on someone elses review, and even rate books using a five star scale. And when you find a book you like, you can choose from a variety of booksellers, both large and small. If you're an author, Goodreads has a special membership that allows you to display information on your published work. There are also a variety of groups you can join where you can engage in discussions on various literary topics...or start your own group if you don't find one that covers your topic.

What closed the deal for me was that your profile allows you to display your writing. Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for. You can display chapters or single pieces of work; either way, it creates a more well-rounded literary profile, if that is in fact what you prefer.

If you're a huge fan of books or a casual reader, this site is a great place to learn about new books, authors, etc without having to walk aimlessly through a bookstore or anxiously wait for your next email from Borders or Barnes and Noble. And if you're a writer, there's something here for you as well. Check it out, start a profile, and start browsing!

url: http://www.goodreads.com/

"I'm asking for the extra espresso shot because there's a lot to do and I just woke up."

Several months ago, I realized I didn't know what I was trying to accomplish as an artist.

Over the past several months, picking up a pen to draw or planning a few hours to shoot a hundred photos seemed like old habits that were on their way out. My writing continued. And I was reading...a lot; my home library became more interesting to me than my sketchbook and that's a hard thing to accept as a visual artist.

As I said, I'd increased my reading. Publications like "The New Yorker" and the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series by Lemony Snicket fascinated me and I started to realize I wanted my work to have more function, more utility. Although I didn't mind creating fine art, I wanted there to be an aspect of my work that provided an experience. I revisited my journal writing, the stuff I'd scribbled and scratched out over the last several months that pertained to my future in the arts. And this is when things started to click into place. Among my scribblings were comments on Kramer Books and Afterwords Cafe (a really cool local bookstore/cafe in Washington DC) and notes on various sketchbooks of very talented illustrators, along with references to art journals. That's when it hit me. I needed to make a change.

So I've decided that I'm taking my work and blog in a fresh direction...handmade books and art, and more of a bookstore/cafe approach to my blog. I guess it's not so much a new direction as a reallocation of my skills and creative focus.

Some sample work:

A table of contents page from a small writing zine

A sample spread



I'll post more images as projects near completion but look for writing and drawing previews as well!

above images and content © 2008 joe blend. All rights reserved.