Just an idea...

I was thinking of hand-making a limited number of books of my poetry, bound in leather to the best of my ability - I would like to take some classes to teach me to do it right. So it's a project a year or two off at least. But I was wondering who would be interested. They would be limited to something like 25 or 50 per book, with three books planned. All hand-bound, hand printed (I am practicing calligraphy at the moment, and plan some kind of ink illustration in a manner not yet determined). The idea is a hand-made illuminated manuscript of old. I don't know whether I'll have the talent to to produce anything worth owning, but my initial idea is some along the lines of $100 per copy, numbered and signed by me, with $25 going to a charitable cause, probably something to benefit endangered animals or fighting child abuse. The person ordering might even be able to choose.

It would obviously be an indulgence on the part of the purchaser, but perhaps not quite so much. After all, these could become valuable commodities if my mainstream work were to succeed commercially. But I get tired of thinking in those terms. I would rather produce something of outstanding quality and charge a premium for my work than to cut corners and pass the savings along. This isn't to say I won't keep offering free pictures and poetry via my blog, and reasonable priced material via more mainstream commercial means (all proceeding as I hope it will). It's just another level for those who want the best and most intimate, and would like to contribute to a good cause along the way. I'm not looking to profit per se from these editions; indeed the time and effort required will probably negate any financial gains I might see. But it's a way to keep the enterprise afloat, to keep a few dozen people happy and amazed, and a way for me to express myself completely unbridled and not go broke in the process. Sound interesting?

Sound off one way or another. Like I said, it's still some time off. I've already started writing and drawing the material, and I hope to add original paintings and photos as well. You can expect something of the strangeness of the 1980s mixed with the German expressionism of the 1920s and just possibly some French existentialism thrown in to keep things light. One thing people may not know about me is that for every poem or photo exhibited on my blog or featured in a PDF "publication," there may be 5 items never to see the light of day, and perhaps 1 or 2 of those are better than the revealed piece. I tend to cherry-pick my best work from any session, copy it into a special file, and not use it. So I've quite a backlog of interesting material. It is up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not it deserves such special status, but I'd hate to grow old and die without doing something with it. Thanks for your consideration and opinion.