A birthday book I made in 2004

We've started this wonderful thread on ABC about being afraid to start or make art. For me, another fear is showing my art, putting it out there if you will, for all the world to see.

Right now I am working on a major project which is consuming my art time. I won't publish anything until it is finished, so I'm stuck with nothing to show on my blog. So, for the next few days, I'll post photos of this book I made for a dear friend in 2004 for his birthday. I was very happy with the book, which took nearly nine months to complete. It was a combination birthday and graduation book. Below is the outside of the book.
Front, back, and spine.
This is a closeup of the spine and the 3-dimensionality of the cover. For the spine I used silver HVAC tape and made the screws out of cardboard circles that I wrapped with the tape. I stamped into the tape using a metal stamp set that Jackie gifted me with. These photos were taken with my camera and saved at very low res. I hope they will enlarge so you can see some of the details of the book.
This is the front, and it's all about symbolism. The picture in the background was taken by George's wife on a trip to Hawaii. The black tunnel was cut from a commencement program. The gold at the bottom was also part of that program.

The car, taken from a 1960's whiskey bottle, represents George's collection of old and antique cars, and, after retiring TWICE (20 years in the Air Force, and 20 years at the USPS), he bought a liquor store and ran it for several years.
After I carefully cut the black "tunnel," I tried to draw lines on it. At the time, I didn't know how to draw perspective lines and messed it up horribly. Thus, the tunnel is bland, but acceptable.
The back is a hodge podge of collage. The symbolism from the upper left begins with a photo of George wearing his Shriner's hat. The commencement square is cut from another actual commencement program. The stress card actually works. You place your thumb on the black square and read your stress level. I think it works like a mood ring. Although George got a degree in Criminal Justice, his minor was in art. He is a great nude and portrait artist, represented by the strip in the middle. I'm not sure where I got the graduation hat, maybe when I graduated. But I knew when I found it in my stash that it had to go somewhere in George's book. Since it was so large and the book so thin, it became the focal point of the back cover. Finally, there is a photo of George in his cap and gown, graduating at Wichita State.
This is another view of the back, which also shows some of the ephemera spilling out the top.
You can see that the back was all about the "many hats" George has worn over the years. Of course, the symbolism continues inside. The ironic thing is, I'm not sure I've grown (art wise) that much since 2004. Or maybe it's just that I'm still using found objects, which makes everything seem similar.

Tomorrow I'll begin posting the inside of the book, and continue to do so until my major project is finished and I have something new to share.