The postcard exchange group that I am proudly a member of is about to host a fiber book exchange/collaborative project.
If you are interested please sign up for free at the yahoo group postcardpizzazz
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/postcardpizzazz/
We estimate the project to run for approximately a year maybe longer since sometimes the muse does not come running just because we call her....
The exchange will be a fun yet simple one- Each month we will have a theme- if you are interested in the theme and or just want a full book of pages (sometime my best work has come from a theme that I was NOT interested in because it really stretched me) you sign up in the database for the swap. Each person who signs up will make (1) ONE page that will then be mailed to someone in the group and someone will mail one to you.
Each page will be the same format 51/2" by 61/2" so that they will be uniform in size and will fit into a small manila envelope to keep shipping costs lower.
This is going to be a great opportunity to share your art, try new techniques and work on a collaborative project and in the end have a wonderful fiber book to look at for years.
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More Details- these are posted in the FILES section of the yahoo group Postcard Pizzazz
2009 Fiber Book Exchange
- a collaborative effort Starting in June 2009 ending in June/July 2010 any postcard pizzazz member who would like to participate in the exchange is welcome to sign up in the database and make pages according to the theme that month. If you have artist friends that might be interested, please tell them about the exchange and ask them to sign up with our yahoo group to participate. The more the merrier!
Each month we will post the exchange database and theme, if interested sign up to participate. I decided to set it up monthly instead of a year long commitment because some months you may just not have the time to make a page. This will be a one-to-one exchange. Each month that you sign up to make a page, you will receive a page. I will try to keep a list of who each person has mailed to and received from so we can get someone new each time if possible. This will make everyone book fun as it will come from different artists all over the world.
If you participate for the whole exchange you will have 12 pages in the end for your book. Everyone’s pages should be the same size so we can each "bind" our books and they will fit together well. You can bind you book in the end any way that you choose, but I have seen them bound with rings that have fibers tied onto them and it looks just amazing.
RULES:
Hate to have them but gotta do it...
SIZE
Each page should be 5 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" tall. You might want to start with the page larger when you are working on it because if using batting it shrinks up and or you might want to have the option to cut it down to size later before mailing it.
CONSTRUCTION
*You can use batting,fast2fuse, timtex or anything that you would like that is semi stiff to support your page.
*The pages should be fabric on both sides-remember what ever you do to construct the "top" of you page may show on the backside depending on when you add the back fabric. Just something to keep in mind when you are constructing the page.
*Leave approx 3/4" un-embellished on the left side so the book can be bound easily. You design can run into that area but try not to have large beads or items that may have to be unsewn to be bound.
*Do not make the holes or button holes for your pages. We will send all of our pages out without them so each artist can decide how they would like to bind their book.
*Finishing edges of pages-Finish the edges in what way works with your page. You want to be sure to secure it somehow to keep the "fabric sandwich" together. Keeping in mind that the left side of the page needs to be bound in some way. Suggestions but not mandatory-zig zag stitch, decorative stitch, yarn or fiber couching, straight stitch, very thin binding
*On the back of each page you make please include the following to make the end books more personal. It does not need to be in the format just include as much of the info as possible:
1. Your name
2. City, State and Country if you are an artist living outside of the United States.
3. Include a brief story about your page- why you made what you did, what inspired you, techniques you used.
***Optional things to add to the back of the page
*Email address or full address added to line 2 (in case someone might want to contact you later-way to keep in touch)
*A photo of yourself
Please join us
Allison Ray
