I found it more fun to fold from the front and back and work my way to the center of the book. I also discovered that as your sculptures get more complex, there is a reason for starting in the middle.
The only tradition for Thanksgiving in my family is that there is no tradition. Emma says she hates it, Samuel doesn’t like for his routine to be broken. Katherine is three-thousand miles away, playing in the snow. What is, at its heart, my favorite holiday, sits like stale pumpkin pie shoved into the back of my pantry.
Unnoticed and definitely unappreciated, plus it is perpetually non-activated.
Emma and I have started planning for next year: we will finally host a Sunday before Thanksgiving feast with friends (who are like family) and do a turkey, a ham – all the fixings and actually celebrate traditionally. If I get my way, the word “Gratitude” will even get thrown about and I may gather everyone to do some Kum Bay Ya style bonding.
It is long overdue. Well, in my opinion it is long overdue.
For now, though, it is another Thanksgiving watching Hallmark Christmas movies and though we have yet to eat dinner, the kids are pushing for Denny’s since it is what we did last year and if we can’t have a conventional Thanksgiving, let’s go as weird as possible.
In the meanwhile, I have been folding books.
I have seen folded books and I have started – and never finished – folding other books.
I saw an idea for folded book mobiles on the Re_Creative blog last night and that was all I needed to go from a complete lump in front of the television set – yes, more Hallmark channel – to a paperback novel folding lump in front of the television set.
I made two different styles of mobile - both very simple: a tube and what I swear looks like a dreidel!
Here is the beginning of the result.
I also sprayed the almost-mobiles with ink and spray paint.
When preparing to spray them, I decided to use an upcycled thrift store canvas I am collaging on as a “protective tray” so now it has some paint and some dye layered on its whiteness as well. I really like how it is looking, too, and perhaps in tomorrow’s edition of Art Every Day Month you will see it more clearly.
For now, enjoy my work in progress almost-mobiles and now that your tummies have consumed lots of turkey, etc, I think I’ll go get my more than once annually Grand Slam at Denny’s. I might even go crazy and “Slam it up!”
Oh, one more thing.
As for the title of this post, when Emma was little we were sitting around telling knock-knock jokes. This is an actual Jordan Family "whenever we rarely got together in the past" tradition. She didn't want to be left out, so she joined in with the hilarious joke,
"Knock-Knock" followed by a curious "Who's there?" from the adults and older kids assembled.
Young, bright eyed Emma said with all the four-year-old-not-quite-knowing-how-to-craft-humor-yet said, "Pizza on thanksgiving!" so it has become a family legend which will undoubtedly be told at family events which I plan to host and/or attend on a regular basis.
Cheers!
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While it is late to join Art Every Day Month - Leah Piken Kolidas has been inspiring many of us for years! Check it out - the website is awesome and has a Creative Every Day Year Long Challenge I am sure you will enjoy!
Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at First Friday each month in Downtown Bakersfield. Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.
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