Chunky Full of Hearts
Heart Art Chunky Book

I have been obsessed with heart themed art for a very long time. There's just something about it--from the anatomical representation of the heart to the traditional paper valentine heart, we love them. No pun intended.

I want to create a book of various takes on the heart--what it means, how it's shaped, and the variety of layers here. All hearts aren't pink and fuzzy and about candy and cherubs. But then again, maybe some are! Make some pages about the heart, what it means to you, or invent the heart of a character and do a series of pages on that. Be dark, be light, be funny, be morbid. Create.

Be as wicked or as witty as you like! The object here is to have FUN and make some cool art incorporating hearts. El corazon, baby!

When all the pages are in and this book is bound, each person who participated will receive a book of artworks from everyone! You should receive a book full of 16 unique artwork pages (if everyone signs up and sends) plus covers made by me (I will also be doing an interior page!). You will receive back a copy of this lovely book, bound with a hard comb binding (see the first link under inspirations called 'visual Diary' to see a sample of the binding, scroll down to the square journals). Collaborative artists books are so yummy! Just google 'skinny fat books' or 'chunky books' and see what cool stuff comes up!

You will receive back a copy of this lovely book, bound with a hard comb binding (see the link below to 'visual diary' to see a sample of the binding). art will be from various participants! anyone else addicted to chunky books? YUM. mmmm.

Size & Guidelines: Please make 18 copies of your pages, either 18 one of a kind pieces or an edition of 18. Your edition can be similar and differ slightly. It's really up to you! Your pages should measure 4x4 inches. Binding will be on the left side. You will need to leave 1 inch free of hard, thick embellishments. Please decorate the whole page, front and back.

When you send in your pages, please include $5 for shipping costs and binding costs. Please include a neatly hand written or typed address label so there are no mistakes in mailing. I will try to reuse the envelopes you send in. If your pages are particularly heavy, please add $1 extra or so. If you are overseas, please add $2 extra (total $7). You can either mail well concealed cash or paypal to ikeepmyshoes(at)gmail dot com.

mail to:
nicci mechler (attn: heart chunky book)
post office box 531233
cincinnati, ohio 45253-1233
united states of america

Participants: I will accept 16 artists for this swap!
1. paintgyrl | received
2. jengagne received
3. Beth from E-C (pumpkin12pm@gmail) | received
4. andreananda | received
5. altermyworld nicci received
6. an_su | received
7. aimee from E-C (aimmer_452@yahoo) | received
8. cheryl (chaosatlanta) | received
9. zenheart (cellisimo) | received
10. pattibdesign | received
11. ilovelillies | received
12. sewsudchick tisjewel | received
13. micasadearte quiet_light received
14. faeriebluebell | received
15. missfish from embellished_circus | received
16. nicci | received
+2 = 18 pages to make.

Postmark Deadline: The postmark deadline is January 25, 2006. Pages must arrive by February 5, 2006 at the latest. Pages not in my mailbox by 5 Feb 2006 will not be included in the book. I will do my best to get the pages collated and returned to you within 2 weeks of receipt of all the pages.

For inspiration please see:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/visualdiary/
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/skinnybk.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joleensartisticendeavors/sets/755835/show/
http://tracyroos.typepad.com/photos/chunkybook/front_cover_thankutracy.html

Notes:
+ all artwork must be of your original creation. please do not use a bunch of prefab elements (such as die cut stickers).
+ please do not use tape as sealant, glitter, puffy paint, staples, items that will stick to others' pages, or magazine cutouts.
+ art work will be displayed when the project is complete: http://www.evematrix.com/mailart/
+ it is possible that, at some point, this work will be included in a group show. submitting to this project is an agreement that that is okay with you. i will let everyone know if the book gets into a show!

FAQ:
Q. Should they be one of a kind or what?
A. You can either make all of your pages different, one at a time, by hand, or you can have them color copied on cardstock and then embellish them. However you do it, you should embellish all of your pieces. If you decide to do them digitally, please be sure that you have your file at at least 240 ppi, and you turn off high speed printing.

Q. What should I avoid overlapping into the one inch binding area?
A. Please do not use in the 1 inch of binding area: sticky tapes, contact papers, hard, thick embellishment, sewing (can't punch through thread), fabric.

Q. Should I decorate the backs of my pages?
A. Yes! Absolutely! Please decorate BOTH sides of your pages. Don't forget to include your contact information such as: (any of the following) name, alias, address, email, url.

Q. What kind of paper should I use?
A. Generally you want to use something of cardstock thickness. Be sure it can hold up to being bound with a comb, and wont rip with turning of the pages! Also you will want to use paper that will hold up to what you are doing. Please don't use construction paper, cos that stuff is full of acid and deteriorates quickly.

Q. What kind of adhesive should I use?
A. Just use something that isn't going to wrinkle your pages all up! It depends on what you like. Gluesticks tend to break down after a month or three and things start falling off of pages! EeK! Please do not use anything that remains tacky like tape or adhesive squares or contact paper on the pages where they will be bound. Adhesive gums up the binding hole puncher!

Q. How much embellishment is too much?
A. Generally there is no such thing as too much! However, if your pages are going to be really thick, you might consider dangling your thick embellishment off the side so the book doesn't sit really funny... when I say thick I mean like an embellishment that sits 1/4 inch or more off the page.

Q. What is going to happen with the extra books?
A. Well, that depends on how many people complete their pages once they sign up, and who signs up! I keep 2 because I am both contributing and doing the covers, so that is sort of like participating twice. The extra one is going to be either auctioned or sold. The proceeds will be split between a charity/non profit (i like SOS Cats -- www.soscats.com) and upkeep of my webspace where this work will be displayed in my mail art section! Hello resume line (for you!).

Q. I am having trouble with ______. What should I do?
A. Please don't hesitate to contact the host (anongrrl/nicci!) if you are having troubles with anything related to this swap. You can reach her via her website http://www.evematrix.com, her livejournal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/anongrrl/ or email: ikeepmyshoes(at)gmail.com.

Q. What is the perfect recipe for chocolate chip cookies?
A. If it has chocolate in it, it's hard to get better than that.

Courtesy:
+ Please do not smoke around your entries or store them in a smoke heavy space.
+ Please do not use organic matter such as leaves, seeds, or feathers. (Postal regulations of some countries forbid this sort of thing.)
+ Please do not send anything stinky (adhesives, elements, funky smelly rubbers or silicons).
+ If your contributions to a project are particularly heavy or bulky, please include extra return postage to defray costs of mailing.
+ Please be sure your contributions are not going to stick to those of others. If you seal your pages, be very careful about acrylic mediums and varnishes. They can tend to become tacky with humidity, even after dry.
+ Please do your best work.
+ Please do not apologize for your work. If you are proud of it, send it. If you feel you have to apologize for it, revise it until you are proud of it.
+ Please follow the guidelines/theme of the swap.
+ Please communicate, in all things, if you are going to be late, or if you just have a question. Don't be shy!

returns: were bound and packed up today (Monday June 12, 2006). you should be receiving them within 7-14 days depending on your location on the globe! xox.