from cover to cover

{Please, take me with you... I don't come empty handed.}

I managed to catch, pick up, come down with, succumb to a cold of late, acquiring it just in the nick of time. Not normally one to have the need of a tissue in my pocket, I have been in the firm grip of a persistent cold. A very timely cold for it afforded me the happy chance to curl up on the couch and read Harry Potter virtually uninterrupted save for the repeated blowing of the nose and the need to consume hot honey, lemon and ginger drinks in numerous quantities. Louise also managed to be rounded up by the very same cold, and together we both read our copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pausing every once in a while to look up and gasp at various points of discovery.

I feel as though I virtually laid a trap for my cold (which I have since managed to shake off upon reaching page 607). A weekend cold enabled me to bury my nose even further in the pages of a book and to feel no need to do little else but explore Godric's Hollow and catch sight of a doe-shaped Patronus. I’m thankful to my timely snatching of a cold from a friend. I rather loved every minute of it, aside from the soggy tissues.

{Who knew he was actually a muskrat?}

{Do you think anyone will notice?}

Here is a little something I had wanted to share with you last week… from a recent visit to the State Library of Victoria, Louise and my smallest artists’ book to date as housed in the library. Behold the ingenious foam path they have cut for the beaded strand and tiny magnifying lens. Such a safe, archival, bookish home for our fourth artists’ book, I could not resist the urge to take these photos.

{An edition of The Kingdom of the Blue Poppy - As made for Sinclare, 2001, as housed in the collection at the SLV.}

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Two more important things before I go...

{Happy 64th Dad! Hooray! ♥}

AND

{ For One in ten, for Eireann, for her Mother.}

|| One in ten ||

Comments

[liz]

oh beautiful work, as always

i especially love your donation to one in ten

i'm glad you were able to enjoy your cold, but more glad that it's left you now!

[Eunice]

colds are generally awful, but that's the best excuse to have for reading harry potter :) glad you enjoyed it...i did too, though i was a little sad at the end that there wouldn't be another book or more stories of the characters.

just curious-and if it's personal, feel free to ignore it-- but what animal would your patronus take shape of? i know mine would take shape of a big furry bernese mountain dog that lived very briefly, but oh so fully and with so much joy.

congrats on having your book archived, btw. love the pictures of the process.

[simple me]

so sorry about you being sick ... but if it gave you the chance of spending your days cosily reading then it was not so bad :) I think it was the way your body had to tell you it needed that well deserved rest.

the kingdom of the blue poppy is from another world. I just love the idea of the tiny magnifying glass and everything else about it. it is a precious jewel.

xxx

[lisa s]

oh how i LOVE the archival case. yes indeed.

happy birthday to your pop and glad to hear you feel better!!

[eireann]

the storage for the book is so delicate and perfect.

and thank you so much, gracia.

xo.

[shari]

"i feel as though i virtually laid a trap for my cold..." love this. perhaps a cold is what i need too? for i haven't even opened my harry potter book yet! loved seeing yours and louise's artist book...and the tiny magnifying glass. wonderful! glad to hear you are feeling better. happy bday to your dad all the way from nc. xoxo

[kate]

The archival treatment your blue poppy book received is brilliant. I loved this ... the book is adorable ... it would be fun to read it. I was admiring your scribblers today and trying to decide on the patterns I'd like to get. They are gorgeous!

Having a cold never seems quite so bad with a good book in hand.

[jenny]

hope you feels better soon dears, being ill is no fun...but reading a new anticipated book, that is, :) hugs.

[comfies]

you know what?! i've been sick a lot too! seven times since january. my doctor diagnosed me with sinus infections that were tricky to fight off, i went through two rounds of antibiotics. the lingering colds are quite troublesome! i'm glad you're feeling better. sometimes rest is just needed. lots of it! xo d

p.s. as always, your work looks wonderful.

[risa]

oh!!!!!!!! i love the packaging for that little book. aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddd the muskrat! adorable.

[marsha]

love that packaging! what a treat to open the box and find your work so carefully tucked away inside!

hope you feel better soon!

So glad you saw the good side to falling ill, happy you are feeling better (LOL on 'shake off upon reaching page 607'). Absoloutely adore your artist book, so tiny and stunning in its packaging. Happy birthday to your dad!

[gracia]

Thanks, Liz. Too kind. You can glean a little more on my contribution to Eireann's One in Ten auction here:
http://www.ohbara.com/2007/07/gracia-haby-all-things-mended.html
... it takes place on the 19th and there are many beautiful and wonderful things created by others that I for one have my eyes on. It goes without saying that it is for a good cause.

Hi there Eunice,
Hmm, I've been giving this a great deal of thought all week long. Just what would my patronus be... hmm. My first thought was a giant sea otter for I love how they bind themselves in kelp at night to prevent them from drifting out to sea... such an ingenious, makeshift hammock. How they use their tummies and a small rock clasped in the paw to break open tasty sea morsels also rates a mention. If not a sea otter then perhaps a lone wolf... I'd greatly like one of those on my side. How about you? What do you imagine yours to be? Louise naturally went for the polar bear as hers.

No, not too bad at all, Paula. Not too bad at all. Reading in bed in the early hours when you know you ought to be rising... ah, is there any finer thing? It was in retrospect a wonderful rest having a cold.

Thanks, Lisa.S. The archival case is a pretty sweet, isn't it? I have such a soft spot for this particular book too. Meeting the optician who handmade these lenses for us, threading the small yellow beads onto the single thread that binds the whole book... many, many happy memories ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/gracia_louise/904362557/ ). Oh, and Birthday wishes have been passed on.

Not at all, Eireann. I'm just glad I am able to take part in this for you. More than happy to lend a hand... xo

Have not even opened your copy? Oh, dear. Shari, it certainly does sound like you are in need, in dire need, of trapping a little sniffle or cold to call your very own. Take to the couch, curl up and crack open that spine! And if you can mange to forfeit the cold all the better... just promise me you'll head to your cosiest reading spot at once. Please.

Quite right, Kate & Jenny. Where it not for the required use of countless tissues I might not have noticed I was with cold. It really was a joy to take to the floor, wrapped in a striped patchwork rug, and read the final H.P. I gave it a fitting, thorough read... cover to cover.

Oh, dear... seven times since January. That's no good at all, Danica. My three odd days of a red nose and snuffle pale in comparison. Here's hoping you've seen the last of your sinus infection.

Thanks, Risa, Marsha and a mysterious unnamed person at 7.53PM. We do too! If only the State Library would offer to archive all the artists' books in our home in such a neat and methodical manner.

take care,
grache
xo

[amisha]

so much to comment on here, so much to catch up on. the new cards, the one in ten piece-- both so lovely! i stopped in a little antique shop in amsterdam where the postcards caught my eye... i have a small stack of them coming your way soon. could you send me your address again as i seem to have misplaced it from your package?
and the library box for your artist's book is just perfection. that is the sort of thing that just makes me tingly :)
and harry potter... oh g... i spent one and a half days exactly, with a break for sleeping, reading at breakneck pace. exactly what this summer week called for!
xo

[maditi]

your posts are always packed with so many wonderful things!! that case is perfect for the precious book inside :)

[gracia]

Oh my! Thanks you so much, Amisha. Postcards found and handpicked by you in Amsterdam... thanks! I'll email you my address right away. I can't wait... thanks, again.

Thanks, Maditi, too. That archival library packaging is pretty impressive, ain't it?

see you, g xo