Making and Making Money Is it selfish to create?
by Grayson Yount
materials: plywood, aluminum wire, paper, modpodge, cardstock, yarn, led lights, velevt, cursed hot glue
My early conceptions of this book nook project included dividing this box in half and having two windows. I knew I wanted to show a dichotomy of what goes on in my head when I write, but I decided that cutting the project in half vertically would make for strange proportions.
While I was thinking about the right way to orient my project, I made a circular rug out of yarn from the makerspace and watercolor paint. The string was white when it went in, and it ended up spiraling in a gradient pattern which I like. I hung the string to dry it, which took a while. I glued the string to itself with hot glue.
I decided to show my book nook horizontally because it gave me more space to work with and made everything less cramped. Plus, I wanted writing on the walls and needed as much space as possible. I made some furniture mockups out of oragami paper. The cone represented what I thought was going to be a figurine of myself, but I didn't include it in the final design. I also made oragami books in different sizes.
I really liked this minimalist approach to the design, and this was when my idea evolved from personal to conceptual. I wanted to make this project about the broader system makers are part of, and that is capitalism. The two sides of my book nook would show the idealized way of the maker, and the reality of making money.
I had big plans for wood burning into the walls of my project, but quickly realized that the grain on the plywood was too rough. I had sandpaper, but the grit was not fine enough.
I found another way!
Feeling like this might be a bad idea, I meticulously recreated the panels in Adobe Illustrator with cm measurements. Without the woodburner, the only way to get my words onto the file was to use my trackpad.
RIP my wrist. Three hours later I finished the cursive. Even though the process was labor-intensive, I like the fact that I persevered and used my own handwriting. It feels personal, because it is. Writing is something I am very invested in, and I have a lot of complicated feelings about it, especially when it comes to selling my work and making a living. The full paragraph is in the last section of this page.
Oh, the floor. How fickle and temperamental. Basically I had no plan, which meant I tried a lot of things before something stuck. In my orginal drawing I wanted to make the floor out of clay tiles. I wanted something "corporate" or industrial. However when I got to the makerspace I discovered that the clay was all dried out. :(
Time to pivot and experiment. I liked the idea of using this silver tissue paper, but it was too flimsy to work with and wrinkled when I glued it down. I tried another way with index cards and abandonded it. I found some cardstock and tried to make hardwood planks, then realized that would take absolutely forever.
In the end I went with a paper weave of three different bland colors of cardstock. Thank you, paper cutter.
Floor done, it was time to replace those oragami desk and chair. My idea was to do some wirecrafting. If I were to make anything else out of wire, I strongly recommend something other than soldering wire, because it is very soft and twitchy. It's almost too easy to work with, but I got there in the end.
While the process was frustrating, it was also rewarding to see my design work and the words get cut out.
Half way point:
With the words laser cut, I was almost done with my project. All that was left was to make a dozen tiny books, glue the whole thing together, and cover it with fabric.
Friends, do not cut velvet on carpet. In fact, put down a tarp on your whole floor if you can. I purchased this fabric from an overstock website for pretty cheap and had more than I needed. I cut the fabric to size using my eyes and some scissors. I cleaned up the fibers with some tape. Even finished, the book nook still sheds, so if I were to make this again I would have chosen a different fabric. But what's done is done! Also it looks nice.
The Finished Project:
Paragraph full text: Making for me is a solitary invisible activity. I sit at my computer for hours, creating a thing you cannot see. It won't keep you warm, except maybe in your soul. It will not be beautiful, except maybe in your mind. Years of effort will be a few hours of escapism for you. I hope it's enjoyable. My making is invisible, so you'll have to trust me when I say I am writing a BOOK. (And I am still editing it.) Believe me, I am creating. I’ll get it right this time.
There are two sides of my brain—the one that wants to make, and the one that needs money. If I do not make money, I will not make things because the happy I need will be replaced by worry. My making has worth, but it is not the same currency as the stuff of CAPITALISM.
Is it selfish to make?
Turn the page of my manuscript and you’ll see how much work I’ve done, and how much I have left undone. Forgive me for taking years to write what will earn me one dollar a copy. I promise you’ll get something soon. Forgive me for wanting to live off what makes me happiest...
What if I become an author and come to hate writing? What if it. never happens to me? —Why not me?— What if I run out of ideas? Do I. even want to sell my work to others? They say you should always keep your day job.
Reflection
There are many things I like about this project, and many metaphorical conclusions I could draw from it. Overall, this project explores the tension between capitalism and a maker, myself. Writing is an industry, and books have to be sold to make money. Authors commonly do not make enough to support themselves from their work, and this is unfortunate. I'm honest when I say I would rather be a writer than an information scientist, but I'm also a realist. I need a day job, and I'm very thankful that I've found a degree that will help me get one. I only hope that whatever job I have in the future will also give me enough down time to pursure my creative making.
Whenever I am writing there is always a part of my mind that is thinking about the book's selling potential. I shy away from project that are harder to sell or slower to write, even as an un-agented author. I hate that money is always at the back of my mind, and yet it is my greatest desire to be a career author. My thoughts about writing are especially turbulent right now because I am about to query my first project. For the uninitiated to the publishing cult, because yes, it is a kind of cult, a writer needs an agent to sell their book to a publishing house. The query trench is a gauntlet of rejections and "not-for-me"s, so it's very likely that this project I am writing will not "make it" in the industry.
I won't pretend my project is unique in it angle. Here I am, another creative shouting into the void of capitalism, raging against the dying of the light. But my project is honest, and I hope you'll judge it fairly
My two makerspace craft techniques are laser cutting and paper crafts. I've brought in a third with writing, and a fourth with wire sculpting. Thank you for reading. <3