noticings... "being known"

when you live in a world full of such interesting things "noticing" can sometimes seem to take on a life of its own, with each day laying any number of such things in front of you for to be seen

as the curious mind collects these noticings, they are sometimes enjoyed for a few fleeting moments or, if recorded in some manner,  they can be transformed from simply being noticed to a state of being known

I have carried pocket notebooks on trips that over time become laden with written noticings,  observations I have made on anything from menu items, signs, behaviours, scenery - things people have said and small details I have seen

flipping through it will take me back to an exact moment and place in time a way more fulfilling than looking at a photograph ever could be

several months ago I wanted to make a small book for a friend who shares the same love of observation and recording but I wanted something that was more for a drawing or fragment than only the written word

and so the idea for a "noticings book" was born

in the end I made two books, one for each of us, knowing we will enjoy observing our different approaches to using a book such as this

to continue that similar yet different approach I made the covers for both books from a single piece of ink-painted paper

to further enhance that which has been noticed I wanted to create a design space on each page that would act as a kind of frame

as I am still quite new to print-making this took a bit of thinking and planning

along with more than a few trial runs

in the end I got what I was after

a diminutive concertina book with a small square blind embossed indentation on each page, the perfect place to isolate a small yet important noticing of some kind

first drawn out on graph paper, then a model made with a lightweight interfacing with small squares of sturdy cardboard glued in place

all the measurements for fold lines and page joins worked out

the only challenge was that toward of the printing the required number of pages for the two books (plus a few spares for good measure), the cardboard corners were starting to soften and fray, the embossing becoming slightly less distinct 

I'm keen to make more books like this but am thinking I'll see about getting some small copper or brass plates for etching and using those for my templates rather than heavy-weight card

but that's a thing for another day and time

for now, there is world of wonderful things waiting to be made known to me