Things like jewelry, iPhones, and Nintendo Wii systems may be popular gift ideas for this holiday season, but if you’re stuck on giving someone special a unique, heartfelt gift, taking an old-fashioned route could be the best option — and doing so may not take you farther than inside your own home.##M:[more]##
According to Plainsboro resident Maria Pisano, making a personalized book could be a wonderful idea. Pisano, who runs her own book-making business, is holding a workshop on Saturday, December 13, specifically to help participants create personalized holiday gifts.
The idea is to create a blank journal where the giver puts his or her own sentiments on paper, which then allows the recipient to add his or her own response. This way, the conversation never stops.
“Making a book is such a personal thing,” Pisano says. “We put our intimate thoughts into a book. We allow ourselves to really express ourselves. And it’s easy to have this personal little package that goes with us wherever we go. It contains our hopes, thoughts, and dreams. It can be private, between two people, or public if we choose to share.”
Still stuck on where to begin? Pisano suggests looking at poetry, especially haikus — a Japanese form of poetry with three short lines containing five, seven, and five syllables each — because they are a “wonderful, condensed way of expressing something.” She also suggests writing something that comes off the top of one’s head.
As for designing and putting the book together, one idea for the cover is to use photographs, or stencils. For children, cutting snowflakes is another easy, yet creative, way to go. While Pisano sews her books in the traditional way, she says books can be made using paper from around the house and using staples, or materials can be purchased at a local craft store. For this reason, this gift idea is also economical for those who may be feeling the pinch in a season marred by financially challenging times.
Those who are interested in receiving help from Pisano, who has been making books for nearly three decades and runs periodic workshops, can do so on Saturday, December 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the workshop, participants will have a chance to create a haiku accordion book, in which they would bring at least five or six haikus to create the accordion book, along with a box with an origami crane inside. “This creates a little package, and a beautiful gift,” says Pisano.
Another project is the “flexagon” — a popup book that expands and contracts. Participants could use flowers or personal photos. For this reason, participants will also be asked to bring their own personal photos. The projects will also involve binding the books and using stencils to create images.
There will be at least five to six projects featured during the workshop, says Pisano, who was born in Italy and moved to New York when she was 14. She earned her first master’s degree from Brooklyn College in printmaking. She moved to Plainsboro in 1984 because of the school system’s reputation, and her two children, both adults now, graduated from district schools. She started out as a paper maker, making books from prints, and fell in love with the actual process of book making. This prompted her to go back to school and earn a second master’s degree at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Pisano has exhibited widely, including the Brooklyn Museum, Harvard, Standford, Yale, and Princeton universities, and her work is in collections including the Smithsonian Institution, Princeton University, and the Newark Public Library. As director of MGP Studio Arts in Plainsboro, she publishes her artist’s books under the Memory Press imprint and teaches workshops and classes on all aspects of book art in numerous venues.
“I keep on making these wonderful books, and I like to share my love with others.”
The cost of the workshop is $85. Contact Pisano at mgpstudio@aol.com, or by calling 609-799-3941.
Creative Pop-Ups and Gifts for the Holidays, MGP Studio Arts, Plainsboro. Saturday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Materials included. Register. $85.. 609-799-3941.
