Lately I've been looking
for scrapbooking books that present a different view of scrapping, one that's a
little fresher and more experimental. I loved "Scrap City : Scrapbooking
for Urban Divas and Small Town Rebels" not so much for the layouts, which
were swell, but for its presentation of books made by all sorts of people, burlesque
artists, tattooed folks, single moms, skater and goth kids, aspiring rock
stars, mermaids, men and women – it's all here.
I thought it was also a
hoot that the book was authored by a guy, Paul Gambino, who's involved in
filmmaking since my friend Wes is doing a documentary on scrapbooking too –
ohhhh, cosmic coincidence? Is the scrapbooking world about to get invaded by
hip guys? Are they among us already??? Anyway, Gambino's bio says that he was creative
director for the magazines Gener8 and Ultra, has spent endless nights in NYC’s
hottest clubs; years as a punk on London’s King’s Road; and college days with
Keith Haring and Jean Michael Basquiat. Now a father, he has a special
appreciation for time’s fleeting nature and how important it is to preserve
memories for yourself and others. It's a terrific and very different
scrapbooking book – well worth checking out.
The other book on my
current reading stack is Freestyle by Autumn Leaves. Not nearly as edgy as
Scrap City, but definitely an interesting departure from the more sedate layouts we so
often see. The intro for Freestyle reads "There's a new breed of
scrapbooker in the aisles at your local scrapbooking shop. They're not buying
ducky stickers or templates or the latest designer "rule" book…they
don't follow anyone's rules but their own. We call it Freestyle..."
Whatever they call it, it's fun.
