I just put the journal below up onto eBay. It has an integrated penslip. I like how it came out and I’ve figured out how it can be done without adding a whole addition strip of leather, I could simply turn over the leather and add some eyelets. Trial and error. I went with my gut on this one and I think it turned out well. It perfectly holds a pencil or two. It’s pretty sweet! 200 pages of Southworth linen textured paper in light gray. I used brht red linen to sew it up and cut a rough jagged edged red strap from a deer hide. Pretty good if I do say so myself.





I used this book as a way to experiment with a few things for a couple of custom orders I’ve got in the works. I’m pretty happy with both of the things I’m playing with here.

This journal details my experience volunteering at a festival. It was a headache and a weird experience. I won’t go more into it here, but I would suggest that if you get a chance to volunteer at a festival make sure that everything is well planned in advance. Make sure you get a firm commmitment from the people in charge of everything that they intend to provide, if they don’t’ you’ll be up a creek without a paddle.

I had to stay late at the DayJob, while it’s a consternation it’s a necessary evil for the time being. I really can’t wait for the holidays to be over. Not to be a scrooge but it’s a hard time of year to work in retail. I’m pretty exhausted.

I’ve been working on a few projects, one very cool project which includes adding secret compartments to a journal, I’m having fun with it, but I hit a major snag when it came to gluing up the journal. The glue I normally use fouled up a pocket, so I have to rethink what I’m going to use for the pockets….I’m getting lines printed at a local print shop, though, each time I have time to stop by they aren’t open!!! So hopefully Tuesday I’ll be able to get the lines printed.

I noticed this several days ago, but I thought that I would point it out before anyone else did that my user name on youtube was intended to be ComfortableShoesStudio. What I didn’t realize that e I hit enter my user name was 2 letters too long and thus YOuTube automatically cut off 2 letters, the last 2 letters.

So my user name ComfortableShoesStud. I’m hanging my head in shame that I didn’t notice this before I finalized everything. But this also explains why I’ve gotten several messages from users who have “invited” me to view the close up videos of their Brazilian wax job. Which seems like a horrifying prospect to me. So yeah, head over to YouTube and checkout ComfortableShoesStud, it’s not some hot oiled down hunk of manly muscle it’s just me, kind of soft and pudgy Leslie. I swear there will be no “studly” videos!

Another You Tube post

Not quite as personal as the last but it’s one of my first leather covered journals. I think I made it in 2002. I last wrote in it in 2005. It’s survived a lot- my backpack for 2 years, camping and many moves.

Since I’ve been working retail, and don’t get weekends off, its still a little weird for me in comparison to when I was teaching and when I did other things. I almost always had weekends off then. So, I’m still not used to having random days off int eh middle of the week, it still feels weird. So today I was off from the DayJob and I’m feeling wheezy d tired, so I took a long nap. Upon waking was still wheezy and tired. That being said I didn’t get much done in the studio. I’m prepared to press on through it for the evening. I have several projects going, the red edge journal, the secret compartment journal and several 400 page 6×9 journals.

What I did get done was listing these 2 journals on etsy:

The details are as follows: 200 pages of Southworth 24lb 25% cotton paper in a aid texture and an ivory color. On is a linked long stitch in black Irish linen thread and the other is an alternating long stitch in red Irish linen thread. Either one is $27.99 pus shipping on my etsy shop here:
ComfortableShoesStudio

At this point I’ve decided to try to create these videos in roughly chronological order. The moleskines I first uploaded are recent. This journal was created after the Maine vacation journal, started while I was in transition to Maine, moving my belongings to my new place after I spent several very difficult months with my life in complete transition. This is essentially my last month in Mass in 2001, probably February March.

I think that while the art in this journal is not my best, it has the most feeling.

Technically-wise this is one of my first multiple signature books and is mechanically terrible. It’sbound with a double thickness of dental floss, on a covered cardboard that’s covered with a metallic gift bag. The cord is a heavy cotton cord stripped from a pair of shorts. The paper is canson mein tents in bone or a similar color. I used mainly ink, watercolor crayons and collage. Shortly after making this journal I learned to make structurally sound books

This journal was made by me and it was the first multi signature journal that I made. It is a truly horrible structure and I’m surprised that it survives and has survived my former evil dog and the may moves since it was created and used.

IT chronicals the best vacaton that I’ve ever taken, the most relaxing vacation ever and thonly vacation C and I have ever taken that we still talk about. 7 days in Maine, on a lake, with no running water or electricity.

This sketchbook was created over the course of 2 years while working at a day program. It’s cheap paper- standard 20lb printer paper drawn on with crayon, pen, watercolor and ink. Mostly crayon. Have I mentioned that I really love crayon? It has a certain feel that I love for drawing, plus one can lay on layer after layer of color.

Anyway, many of the people pictured are dead. Sad but true. I’ve also lost touch with many of them. Also sad but true. THis is a sketchbook that makes me sad when I look at it. One of the guys I sketched had all of the money that his very rich father left him stole from him from his able bodied siblings and lawyers. Another was in Fernald State. I won’t talk about the atrocities that occurred there, but it’s sad. While the art contained in this sketchbook varies from bad to wonderful I feel that more than in any other body of work, these little sketches truly capture these people and the terribly difficult lives they endured.

I made hundreds of these drawings over the course of 2 years. I know that several of the residences had them framed and several pinned them to bedroom walls. So:

So my head is spinning with all of the things I worked on in the studio last night and as such i had a a hard time heading for bed last night! I wanted to keep on working in the studio and keep that artistic mindedness going. With that being said one of the most exciting things I worked on was imprinting my moleskine with my 20pt century Gothic type, oh it’s cool very very cool.

The moleskine in the picture above was imprinted with type and hammer blows. I figured if I could put it into the vise I could use it as a sort of press and get even slow pressure, which seems to be important when pressing items like this. It’s also a tone more controllable than hammer blows- I tighten the screw and so I can put exactly the right amount of pressure on the type as I want.

Needless to say I played around with my 2 finished moles that are in the videos below and really came up with a way to make it work. SO now my next objective is to make a type holder.

Here is the second video on you tube of my moleskine.