⚡ January 1, 2018
A Bright New Year! ✨
A light dusting of snow to erase last year’s missteps and make everything all right again. Yes, we had to remove a big beautiful tulip poplar because our insurance company made us do it. Yes, the bridge is bowing a bit, but still the path is both pure and suggestive. Happy newest year! 2018 seems to be a serious number, and anyone who lived through 1968 will always be wary of years that end in 8. Still, a clean slate arrives today and more minds than ever before are communicating on the internet, so there’s just no telling what’s next. That’s a good thing.
The Craft of Junke
Pictured above are the beginnings of six of the eight books I made this year for presents. The task turned Herculean about a week before Christmas, in an Augean Stables sort of way. I’ve often misjudged a deadline before, much to my surprise each time. And, if you’re trying something new, calculating your time frame is like trying to measure a jellyfish skittering across the floor. The first time I did a magazine layout. The first time I published a book. The Christmas presents this year. What a disaster of ill-planning, exalted expectations, and glue. Oh, the glue. So much glue.
The reason I haven’t written for three full weeks and 21 straight days is because I was trying to make new books from whole cloth, literally. I have finished them, but barely. Some are nicer than others and each one is bristling with flaws, but I have to say that I had a great time when I wasn’t wrapped in the Iron Blanket of panic. I neglected all other tasks, including cooking and sleeping, and I still ran out of time because who knew this would be so hard? I didn’t. I was naïve. Again. 🐔