I love books! Since I first learned to read in first grade, I have not stopped reading. I was the odd little girl that did not play with dolls but instead read one book after another, devouring them like candies. I remember how I waited my mother to return from work each day so I could rush and tell her that I finished three books that day and needed more for the next. My Sweetheart, she always opened her bag and had yet another treasure for me. Together with my husband (and now my son seems to have catched the bug) we have a huge collection of books. And really there is no place your eye can fall in my house that you won't find a book lying in there somewhere.
It's no big surprise that I am fascinated in turning them into art and I bet you have seen some of the things I do with old book pages. Book pages always carry stories, the written stories and the stories of the people that read them. That gives them an atmosphere, an aura, that I find most intriguing and an authentic vintage look with irresistible charm to my eyes. Not to mention the relief it brings to the ocd part of me which hates letting a book go to waste. Every story deserves respect. And I learned that the hard way, when nobody was willing to listen to mine. Breathing new life into old forgotten book pages is such a rewarding art.
Thus, I have a huge stash of vintage books for my own art adventures. And I am thrilled to introduce you to my new line of products called BOOK PAPERS. I mean, I already cut my own, why not prepare some for you as well and save you from all the tedious work? Currently the line includes square 12x12cm origami sheets, a Kusudama Flower Ball Kit that includes all square papers needed to make one of your own and quilling strips of 6mm and 10mm width. I use old books, especially encyclopedias and dictionaries, carefully chosen for their appropriate weight, feel and dimensions and then hand cut them personally.
I hope you enjoy BOOK PAPERS and I look forward to seeing what you create with them!
But that's not all.
I told you I love books. Which really means I love stories. Fictional, philosophical, personal, the written word has such fascinating power. Destructive Or Constructive. The more we close our ears to our stories, the more they define us. Detachment is not a solution but part of the problem and so to rise above a story, to be non attached and genuinely waterproof, you first need to own it. Hear it, read it, accept it with an open heart and compassion. However hard, painful, distorted even, a story deserves full attention and respect and the expanse to take it all in. Transformation is a fine art, even if a pain in the butt at times.
I love stories, mine and yours. Being a lover of stories, a listener and a quiller, I am happy to introduce a new column in my blog called Stories And PaperSpirals, where I will be honoring a story that moved me into quilling about it. All stories are welcome, so long as they spark something creative in me. Some will be in English, some will be in Greek. All will have something to say. Hope you enjoy this marriage of Stories And PaperSpirals and ride along with us in this journey. First one coming up soon, so stay tuned!