Concertina books
First, I Scored lines using the guides on my printed template. Then, I cut the template in half. I then folded each part that I scored and glued the two tabs together to make it one book. For this book, I stuck both sides on each side on to the cover by mistake instead of only sticking one side on. I made my first cover using three book scrap covers that I found from an old vintage book. I made sure that the spine of the book had a 1cm gap.
To improve, I will stick the book on one side of the cover instead of both. I think that this book turned out quite messy for my first draft, but I will refine this the more that I make them. I would also like to make a different cover and add some sort of title and way that the book will tie together.
I like the order I decided for my first book, I think that the colours throughout tie the piece together really well. The only thing I didn't really like was the printing quality and the fact that the last photo doesn't show up very well on print. I think there's a good mixture between places and more nature centred images. I think this obscures the meaning a bit more than just having nature images and creates the impression that there's some sort of narrative about a place. I named the book "Second home" to give the impression that this piece is about a place. I like this title because it links to both atmospheres in the images.
Concertina book 2
For this book, I wanted to refine elements of my previous book. so this time I stuck it just on the left side of the cover instead of both sides. I kept the images the same and in the same order because I liked how the previous order turned out. I kept the title of this book blank and used some blank brown paper for the cover.
I like the way this try turned out. I think that the brown paper compliments the feel of the book well and keeps things simplistic without distracting you from the photos. This book is significantly more neat than the previous book, but there are some slight imperfections in this book too such as glue stains and creases in the wrong place. Next time, I would like to stick the book on the right side of the cover instead of the left so I can possibly experiment with elements to tying the nook together instead of it being constantly open.
Concertina book 3
For my last attempt at a concertina book, I stuck the book on the right side of the cover and refined anything I didn't like in the last book. I think that sticking the book on the right side of the cover is preferred to the left side. I changed the images slightly in this book because there were quite a few images from my shoots that turned out successful as well as the original images. I added the title "You could at least pretend" for this book and added some lyrics from one of my favourite artist's songs "When". The song reflects on time and how it is passing and the person feels like they are doing nothing with their life but waiting for it to happen. This song is very personal and means a lot to me. It shows this lack that humans feel in terms of a temporary sense of completeness, which is something I wanted to shoe through my photographs in the book. The recurring themes of rainbows and light in my book show the times that we're longing for, but they always seem to be unreachable almost. I feel this song was a perfect element to add in to my work, as I was reflecting on time with Haven intertwined.
I think this was the most successful book. I have refined my concertina book making skills further and the book is less messy and more correct than the first book I ever made. I also like the title and the quote the most. I think they obscure the meaning of my work without giving anything away completely. I think that printing the quotes directly on to the cover would've complimented the book more aesthetically, but I like the raw and tactile feel that this gives the book and it has made it more personal to me. I made an attempt to make a slot to keep the book closed, but I didn't complete this as I didn't have the time or equipment to do this at the time.
