Book Review: The Book Book: Bringing Book Arts to Scrapbooking

Book Design: Crystal Folgmann
Writer: Erin Trimble

48 pages
Softcover
ISBN #: 0-9714913-4-8
C. 2004

Contributors:
Carol Wingert
Debbie Crouse
Janelle Smith
Tena Springer
Renee Camacho
Sarah Fishburn
Ruth Giauque

"In The Book Book, you'll find a collection of the freshest ideas in circulation - ideas that marry the world of book arts with the world of scrap booking. Our talented artists have bridged the gap by combining their passion for photos and memories with the adventure of creating their own books. Our goal is to inspire you and share the adventure.

Inside these pages you will find books incorporated into clever scrapbook layouts. Layouts that will change the way you think about scrap booking forever.

You'll also find that creating mini layouts in books of your own making is a totally liberating experience. Gone are the 'rules' of scrap booking in the larger format of a traditionally bound album. You make the binding, so you make the rules. Join us as we begin the adventure." -- From the WELCOME page.

Contents of the book:

1: Books, Incorporated
2: No Matter How You Fold It
3: The Extremes
4: Unexpected Elements
5: Books For Self Expression
6: Books to Share With Others
7: The Cover Story
8: Books for Gifting
9: Before You Throw it Away
Credits
Bios

About The Book Book: My take on this publication

Have you ever wandered through a bookstore and had a cover catch the corner of your eye? Not just any cover, but one that really speaks to your interests? That's what this book (this book book?) did for me on many levels. I've always loved scrap booking and I equally love book arts. Finding such a visual marriage of the two was certainly a treat.

Every page of this book contains photography and commentary about each of the contributor's work. You won't find a dry or boring exploration of their work, but rather the most intriguing and "out the box" approaches to projects, presentations and creating creative memories. Because every page spoke to me so loudly and placed such an impact on my own work, it's difficult to pin-point just one project as my favorite.

Don't be fooled by how slender this book is - it doesn't contain a lot of pages, but it does contain a lot of content. Each of these projects, which range from creating unusual books to using unusual items to create your projects, is very unique, is heavily manipulated with multiple forms of media and shows a bit of how to guidelines.

What I wish this book had more of was step-by-step instructions for reproducing this work in your own creative spaces. Even though there are a lot of different angles photographed and some of the materials used are presented, it would be easier to see a how-to, rather than try to use the photograph to "pick the project apart." I imagine this was done for a reason, but none that I could find.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book to those who are visual artists, scrap bookers and those who are enthusiasts of both forms of art. I'm constantly in search for publications that will continue to inspire me and prevent creative blocks from ruining my life and this publication is a perfect addition to my collection of "tools" and "remedies."