This is the ‘thank you’ page from the final book. A nice note, to leave this blog on, I think. Please enjoy and feel free to e-mail me with questions.
CFS/M.E. A Ghostly Illness.
All content, unless otherwise specified, is made by Kim Smith.
PLEASE KEEP SCROLLING!!!!!! It is automatic scrolling so just keep going down until the 19th of March! THANK YOU!
• about.
a ghostly illness
All content, unless otherwise specified, is made by Kim Smith.
PLEASE KEEP SCROLLING!!!!!! It is automatic scrolling so just keep going down until the 19th of March! THANK YOU!
• about.
a ghostly illness
so- the last couple of days were a bit insane but I did manage to get the quilt sewn together (with a little help from my mum) and the book is done! I even had a great chat with my flatmate about what he thought (as an outsider to the illness and illustration) and it was very positive (he is very good and picky so that was comforting)- see sketchbook for notes on that.
I started by laying everything out of a big worksheet so I could see what I was working with.
After spending what felt like an eternity on layout and photoshop tweaking and last minute page-making, I did some test prints, printed it all out, cut it, folded it and bound it. 
it is a little long for a zine (about 100 pages) and i really liked how they looked sitting on my desk before they were bound, so I’m torn between sending it off to a publishers or producing it in small zines and releasing one every month or so?? perhaps i could make a condensed version…
I didn’t get time to make more postcard packs or anything really, but we’ll see how much I can get done by the Final Show!!! I’ve got everything there, I just needed some more time. Still- with A Quilt, A 100 page Book, Badges and Plush Toy I don’t think my corner of the exhibition will be empty. [:
I guess the last question, that needs to be asked is:
Which one would you rather read?
:D
(To be fair, the right hand book is incredibly helpful, just a LOT of words and not very ‘easy’ on the eyes or mind).
crap.
i’m having a can’t-sleep-at-night, sleep-all-morning, fuzzy-headed, dizzy-feeling, sick-like-in-my-throat, pain-shooting-all-through-my-legs day.
CRAP.
it’s crunch time and i need my body to work properly today.
the badge problem & solution
In my 2nd sketchbook, you’ll see i was worried that these badges were too much like something I’d seen online- here is the site that I was referring to: 
That are called Red Velvet Art and I’ve been following the owner/designer Elsie for years online. It’s no wonder I would make something so similar. Anyway, I was really annoyed by this so I was thinking of ways to make it different and more ME- so I went to my good, trusty 60’s/70’s craft books for inspiration, and started designing my own doilies. (something, I’ve never done before, but with the basic crochet skills it wasn’t too hard. I’m pretty bad at reading patterns, so I just used the pictures for inspiration and made it up as I went along)
I am SO GLAD I went back and re-designed these badges, because they look a lot more ‘special’ and the scalloped edges are perfect for the manes. (see the box with all the badges in them!!!) Each one is so different and personalized which is exactly what I was going for.
ohhhhh.
& i have this really horrible feeling that i don’t have enough time. there is still SO MUCH i want to get done and do and things to make. i will be carrying on with this after the deadline, as I think it’s actually helping real life people out there. i want to get involved with the clinics or start a group for crafting & chatting, i want to distribute the lion badges, make pretty downloadable calendars/worksheets, go to clinics and distribute small versions of my book (like leaflets).
this all sounds very adventurous, but it’s what i’m thinking about. it doesn’t all have to happen, but it would be awfully nice if i could change or integrate something pretty into the very boring format- which is helpful- but more like ‘hard work’ than anything else.
maybe co-write a book with someone who has studied all about it- a medical professional. wouldn’t that be the coolest, then it would be super informative & nice to look at (connecting on both levels! visual, and cognitive).
just thoughts, but wouldn’t it be nice to turn them into actions?
today, i’ve been going through all of my work so far (again, this blog is way behind) and printing out teeny tiny versions, so i can easily work out a good layout for the book.
i’ve been thinking really hard about how i want it to look/what i want it to say etc and it’s coming along. i will take pictures as i layout these teeny tiny photos so you can see my thought process and so i can go back and see what worked & change things easily.
it looks like it might end up being quite a thick book, hah, if those are just some of the pages, granted they are on photo paper, and the book will probably be printed on ‘graphics paper’ which is a little thinner. but still. tonight & tomorrow will be organizing/editing- then tomorrow(tues) is finalizing & adding text etc a-la keri smith style.
just thought i would blog this little bit of madness.
some thoughts on the book:
-use lots of different photos of me, so attract a more broad audience of girls (so they can identify with one or parts of them)
-perhaps include the text JUST in the postcards?
-write/stick/typewrite onto the photos, lots of good background material.
- sketchbook pages. show the edges or no? (perhaps in the book, yes, but postcards, no)
-balance between arty and girly. don’t overdo either one!
-poetry. i know i haven’t addressed it directly through this project, but indirectly all the lyrics, words and thoughts have turned into little poems, which go really nicely next to all the photographs and illustrations. i’m very pleased with how it’s coming together.
-a massive mix of colours
-think about including the actual screen printed papers in the book? or digitally printed versions?
-binding? french fold?
-:D
i screen printed a whole bunch of little lions to make badges with. [: (see sketchbook for more details)
I’ve got a lot of these types of photographs, but I don’t want to give too much away online (I’m planning a nice big update of my shop after the Final Show.)
Towards the end, i was doing a lot of screen printing and I took a lot of photos for the blog :]
You can see more here and here.
Please see A4 screen printing book for some notes & tests from then. [:
And here is the plush lion I made. [: I really wanted to move on my drawings and experiment- plus (you’ll see plans in my 2nd sketchbook) that I was thinking of creating a little army of lions. i’d NEVER made a plush toy before, and I was very pleased with the results. you can see more over here *there are TONS of photos*. but here is an overview of what he looks like;
I’ve been working really hard at blogging every day on my daily life blog to keep my traffic up and also pay my readers for being so loyal. I did a post on the making of my 3D lion, so rather than post it twice, you can see more HERE.
