How To Apply Makeup by Rita Sparks Meoli

I decided on an instruction manual for single, working class women who travel at least twice a week on how to apply makeup.  One of the reasons is that I would like women on the subway to know certain, minor tips about applying makeup correctly.  Maybe my contribution to single, working class women would reduce the possibility of women walking in the subway looking like “Lady of the Night.”  Also, I wanted to make a book that is fun to use when reading.  I chose to put examples of women attempting to apply makeup on the bottom left side of every page to show how applying makeup can go a long way.  My motto for this book is “a little can go a long way,” and what I mean to say is that a little makeup is sufficient to highlight your natural beauty, rather than covering it.  A lot of women I see on the subway use a lot of makeup to achieve a certain look when in fact, the look they are trying to achieve is not the one that highlights their natural beauty.

The five adjectives I used for my book in the middle of the semester is fun, instruction manual, simple, elegant and interactive.  I decided on using examples to add to the interactive portion of my book.  After that, I decided on a simple design to make the book easy to read and easy to sift through whether or not women read the book.  I designed my book for mass production by making it cost efficient and saddle stitched (with the staples).  My book is not driven towards sales because my intention is to make a contribution to the beautification of women in New York.  After all the hard work, I am more than satisfied with the result of my book and I plan on making a collection of books based on the beautification of women in New York.

I am very excited about my final book.  Originally I intended to make the book an instruction manual about makeup but I decided at the last minute to include visual aids of what not to do.  When I made the choice, I achieved the fun element I had hoped for.  Luckily, my mom agreed to be the test subject.  I repaid my mom with a piece of cheesecake.  However, she told me there is no need for that because she loves me no matter what.  (awww!)  Even though I am using her as the bad examples, it is evident that applying makeup can go wrong at any given moment.  A word of advice to those who apply makeup every day or almost every day:  Less is more.  I say that less is more because makeup should be utilized to enhance your natural beauty, not cover it and create a new form of artificial beauty.

The primary reason I chose to make an instruction manual is because I see women in the subway station who have not even heard of “apply makeup at your own risk.”  Women in the train station do not understand how hard it is to pull off a look that utilizes too much makeup or too many layers of eyeshadow, for example.  If you have noticed, I do not use examples of models walking down the runway because the makeup they have applied are to create an illusion or entice a person’s imagination.  With my How To Apply Makeup book, I do not want to create that element.  But rather, I want to make applying makeup more realistic and feasible for single working class women who travel at least twice a week.  The book is for mass production and has a blank page at the end for those who want to put the book in a slipcover.  When I upload the book onto Mag Cloud, I will try to find options for slipcovers.  For the presentation tomorrow, I will make up a mock slipcover to show what I mean.  Of course, it is optional for the customer to choose a slipcover, but I find it essential for the customer to have that option.  Although the book is cost-efficient and produced for mass production, I want the customer to feel as though they can carry the book with them everywhere they go by having the choice of buying a slipcover or using a slipcover they already have at home.

Here is the link to my book:  https://acrobat.com/#d=mhrq1gNNVYfHDz6p8oVPeA

My message:

I hope my book is fun and instructional as I intended.  Please take your time with the book and try to apply makeup with the instructions I gave.  This book is my contribution to the world.  This book is also a gift to those who do not know how to apply makeup and have a willingness to learn.

I went onto acrobat.com to make a profile and to also share a document of my progress so far with my how to apply makeup book.  If you go to https://acrobat.com/#d=cM2mlr85c3ESQvqHRSMhlg you will find my work posted online for anyone with the link to access my work.  Also, to view my book in book mode,  the icon is on the left side where it has three icons next to each other.  Click on the icon that has two pages right next to each other.

There is a story I want to share:  I am a lab monitor on Wednesdays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and because Thanksgiving is the tomorrow, quite a few colleagues of mine showed up to do some last minute changes on their art work.  Of course, I love to see colleagues of mine come with a huge smile on their faces.  However, I utilized the opportunity to ask Jennifer from ART 3041 and Elise from ART 3058 whether they would like to be in my book.  I told them they would be in the section where I give examples of women who know how to apply makeup without looking like a clown.  I find that women who want to present themselves without exaggerating their features apply makeup flawlessly.  Jennifer and Elise are two women who represent how women can apply makeup without compromising their natural beauty.  I am not trying to be nice, but what I am doing is being honest about who I feel is beautiful. lol.

Please enjoy the progress I have made with my book and of course, I appreciate any form of feedback you have to offer.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!

I posted some of the pictures that are going in my book.  I will touch up some of the pictures to make them more designed and fun to look at.  Stay Tuned….

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when I was walking towards X Initiative to complete my assignment.  I smelled the beautiful almost-autumn air when I discovered that it was almost lunch time.  I thought to myself that I must get the assignment done and do a complete job of it.  So, as I was walking towards X Initiative I thought about how much I love art and how I would love to use different book styles to express my individual design concept, which is still in progress.  I entered the book store and saw how small it was and how empty it was.  I became very intrigued by the nostalgia that was in the room.  I was unable to have some alone time this weekend because of the constant needs of my family that needed to be met.  However, I found this assignment to be very relaxing but rewarding because it allowed me to calm down and enjoy a beautiful day with nature on a Sunday afternoon.  After I left X Initiative I was enjoying the fresh air and when I remembered I forgot to take pictures, I ran into Jennifer Moy and was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful she looked. lol.  I did not take pictures because I had my class at church at 3 pm and was not going to jeopardize being late.  Then, I stopped off to get lunch and was blessed by the conversation I had with the man at the counter at the convenience store.  I suggested for him to take a walk during his break.  His reaction was “I’m stuck here the entire day.”  Then he laughed and wished for me to have a good day.

When I entered the book store I was attracted to one specific book entitled “Everything But the Coffee Learning About America from Starbucks”  because I did not have a cup of coffee for three days.  I had a craving for coffee and when I saw this book, I thought to myself “damn, I want coffee. lol.”  The place was so small and quiet that I could hear people talking from the other side of the building.  There was an ambiance about the place that I became attracted to the color schemes of the books and could not help but pick up almost every book.  The exhibit was the best part of my day.  I felt as though I could live there because of the variety of books there was to chose from.  After taking notes of all 6 publications that interested me, a man approached me and told me that he has published many books that were sold at Printed Matter in his kitchen.  The conversation was very short because I wanted to make sure I did not go over time while browsing through all the books.

Six publications that interested me:

1. Everything But the Coffee Learning About America from Starbucks written by Bryant Simon.  Published by the University of California Press.  The cover has a coffee stain which gave the impression of a very rustic but unique style to the book.  The use of brown on the front and back cover was very well thought out and a style I would like to incorporate in my design of the final book.  When I opened the book, it felt very novel-esque because of the use of language.  What really interested me, though, was when I put down the book and no one else was there to pick it up after me.  I love my space and it was refreshing that no one wanted to rush me into putting the book down.
2. Loveless by Mike McGonigal. Copyright 2007.  The cover was beautiful.  It consisted of magenta and black and blended very nicely.  There was only one book left and I felt very special to have the last book in my hand.  The book, I am assuming, is very popular if there is only one book left.  In the top right corner, there was a faded out guitar that went completely with the color scheme of the cover of the book.
3. Time and Place:  Rio De Janeiro 1956-1964 by Paulo Venancio Filho and Annika Gunnaisson.  Of course the cover attracted me because of the different shades of green.  Green is my favorite color right before purple.  I looked at the table of  contents and found that the book had biographies and personal stories which gave me the impression that the book is very personalized and somewhat of an autobiography of the author.  As I read through the book, I felt as though I was a character in the book and because of my reaction, this was one of my favorites from the exhibit.  The black and white photographs also added to the feel of the book and gave me the impression of looking at a photo album.
4. Siteless 1001 Building Forms by Francois Blanciah.  The cover was folded in and of a thicker paper which probably was coated paper, I believe.  This book was one of the least popular because there were many books of this publication left.  However, it was my second favorite because of the use of color.  It attracted me because when I sketch, I think in terms of black and white and for the editor to think in terms of color is one quality I admire in an artist.  The shapes on the cover were very geometrical and reminded me of the Matrix movie when I went to go see it in the movie theater.
5. Double Game by Sophie Calle.  The book had a hard cover with no title.  I opened the book to find the title.  What interested me most was the ribbon that was glued to the spine and was used to close the book.  The book did not open all the way but still interested me.  The book reminded me of a diary I had when I was little.  The diary I had was yellow and was 6 1/2 inches by 5 inches.  The cover has a woman in a blue and white dress with butterflies and she has a Siamese cat on her shoulder.
6. A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit.  The title at first attracted me because of my Christian background.  The title has an earthy feel because of the mix of gold, black, orange and tan colors.  The spine of the book had the most interesting mix of these colors because of the hierarchy of colors.  It started at the bottom:  first there was black which took up 10% of the spine, then orange, gold and mixed very elegantly with tan.  I did not get the chance to open it but I still consider it in my top three favorite books from the exhibit.

First assignment: Go to a Print shop or Kinko’s and find the answer to these questions:

1. What is the cost of 11″ by 17″ double-sided color print on regular copy paper? $4.31 for color, $0.22 for black and white.
2. How much does it cost to trim? $1.00 per trim
3. Do they charge to fold something? What is the cost of the fold? Yes. $0.09 per fold.
4. What is the cost of binding saddle-stitch (staple bound) and coil bound of 11 inches length book? $5.49 plus tax ($5.78) for coil bound and $5.49 plus tax ($5.78) for saddle-stitch.
5. Is it available for perfect bound (glue bound) or tape bound? Yes. $2.45 plus tax ($2.67)
6. Post picture of the store (and possibly the staff)

Creative Assignment: Create a dummy for your final project book. Include the number of pages you plan for the book. It should have the binding structure you are planning.

My idea is to make a how-to book on applying makeup.  I would like to put a variety of colors in the back pages to get women started on matching eye shadow colors and lip stick colors.  The purpose of the book is to allow women to develop their own style of applying make up instead of saying exactly how to do it, even though I will provide that in the first half of the book.  I hope this book comes out successfully.  Also, I was thinking of making the book 8″ by 8″ saddle stitch.

Hey guys, I’m very excited to present my second japanese style stitch book to you.  I am not “big” on making covers for a book because I do not want others to judge my book by its cover.  The expression goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and I am playing on that concept by writing on the cover what I feel is a good cover.  Really, the title page is inside the cover but I needed to do the japanese style stitch.  I also used part of the poster we were using a couple of weeks ago to make a sleeve for it.  I hope to see all of you guys in class today.  

This is the title page, which is inside the cover of the book. It says "Rita is my name And Taking Pictures is the Game."

I chose for the cover to be sketched (by me) because I am trying to start a trend of hand-made books that are not perfect in any way.  I purposefully make my books a little off the edge and unusual to illustrate that no one is perfect.  Also, I try to show with my book that you can take anything from your house and your mind and conceptualize what the book is going to look like.  I try to make my books unique, simple and interesting at the same time because we are in a time at our lives where we need books to be fresh, exciting and new.  My books are exciting and new, however, they are not perfectly made.

My Book is not done yet. LOL.

Description of the Fair in general:

It was very busy and loud when I walked in.  Visitors were asking a lot of questions of the publishers and the books they published for the Book Fair today.  Some of the books, I will admit, were very fun in their use of color.  However, some books were very raunchy in their use of adult images and I felt as though they crossed the line.  Some of these books were also “too” adult-rated and unpleasant to look at; the images were a little demeaning of men in the positions they were in on the covers of these books.  I do not agree with some of the artists’ styles especially the adult-rated books.

Publications I found interesting:

1. Lucha Libre by Kate Glicksberg.  When I spoke to Kate, she was very enthusiastic about my interest in one of her books.  She informed me that Lucha Libre was a compilation of the photos she shot in 1997.  After that, she told me she did not make the book until 1998 and it was the first book she ever made.  How exciting!  The photos she shot were of wrestlers about to get into action (i.e. wrestling) and that she shot them wrestling during one or two matches.  There was an element of realism to the photos in which I appreciated from Kate.  The photos were also very close up and wonderfully shot from a unique angle I would like to use when I take photos from now on.  Kate has a great eye for photography and she staple-stitched the spine.
2. Menthol Wars by Richard Prince, 1980 copyright, Published by Printed Matter, Edition 2000.  The cover is comprised of a black and white sketched-effect of a woman in profile.  Each section of the book is a chapter based on a different person/s life story.  The book was very raw, simple, elegant and definitely not overdone.  I appreciated the use of only black and white in order for the reader to avoid any distractions when reading.
3. And by Peter Downsbrough 1977, Printed by Century Printing Company NYC.  And has a red cover which stood out beautifully amidst all the others.  The first half of And is a flipbook of pictures and other half is a flipbook of words.  The book tells a story that is powerful.  It is fun to browse through and reminds me of the books I used to read as a kid.
4. For The People of Philmont, no. 478, The Traveller’s Companion Series August 2009, Printed for Sutton Lane, Paris, Printed in Philmont.  The book is staple-stitched and simple to handle.  The left side of page, once I opened it, had text in which you read and the right side has photos to illustrate what the story the left side of the page is telling.  What attracted me to the book was its green cover.  Green is my favorite color.
5. Julie Lequin’s Book the ice skating tree opera director’s cuts as a book Tome #1, 2nd Cannons Publication.  The book looks like something I would design.  The cover is hand painted red and brown like a kid would paint.  The content was also very interesting because it gave details about director’s cuts and what to look for when directing a play.
6. Fifteen people present their Favorite Book (After Kosuth) by Matthew Higgs, Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, 2009.  The right side has a picture of the person’s favorite book.  The left side has the person’s name of who said their favorite book is.  The cover is a book shelf showing the books that are named inside.