Welp, the cigar boxes I bought for the new Artist’s book aren’t going to work. They are slightly too shallow for the items that go in with the book. What a fucking bummer. Good thing I didn’t cut any paper!

But I had to go back on eBay and Etsy. Practically back to the drawing board. I searched for new ones, and then I accidentally bought ones that were too big for all the paper I had–paper I paid for already. It was cheaper to just waste my money on those five boxes (and the five before) than to buy new paper big enough to make books that would fit the larger boxes. 

At last, I found the perfect cigar boxes on eBay, and now they are on their way. The book will have a different layout now, which is better because the feet will hang down from the bottom. It’s how I wanted the book to be from the onset, so it was worth the money in the long run.

It looks like I have everything to start, but I can’t until I have those new boxes in hand. I can’t figure out exact measurements until I have them.

In the meantime, I could paint the tops of the black first aid tins and carve the bow drills (I need to go hunting for the perfect branches), but I have the rest of the wood parts to cut, however.

I could even start working on the linocut prints, but I’ve been a bit lazy about all of these tasks. I’ve been working on layouts on the computer and a “to-do” list for the entire project instead, like designing the fold-out map that will go inside the book (I’m going to be hand-painting them, not printing them).

I plan on making three linocuts though. One will be on the cover of the box as a sticker label. The other two will be printed on Rives BFK paper in the book. It took a little while to know what I’ll be drawing on the blocks, but I have it figured out now.

The cover on the box will be an abstracted hiker going up a hill with simple, curvy lines. The two in the book will be a campfire and a landscape. Soon there will be pictures once I do these things. Plus, I have a new camera on the way. I got that Pentax but didn’t like it. I returned it for a mirrorless Canon EOS M50 Mark II. 

These are the new cigar boxes coming (excuse the bad eBay picture):

They will be spray painted matte black.

This thing might take me a year to complete since I plan on making paintings in between. 

Needless to say, this project is already overwhelming me, and I’ve hardly gotten started. 

Oh…I almost forgot (how could I?!) I went to the Living Desert Zoo/Gardens yesterday and hand-fed a giraffe some lettuce. That was one of the best days of my life!