altered books

BEWARE: your altered book project can suck up hours upon hours of 'free' time...
it's VERY addictive!

want something creative to do that won't take up too much space (everything can be kept in a shoebox) and can be as neat or as messy as you want? alter a book!

supplies:
1. hardcover book to alter (old ones work best; stronger bindings)

2. whatever art media you can find: colored pencils, sharpies, ball point pens, ink, acrylic paint, crayons, chalk, charcoal, pastels, watercolors, etc. also glue (high quality glue stix), 'best test' paper/rubber cement, stapler, safety pins, brass fasteners, needle and thread, masking tape, packing tape, scotch tape... i'm sure there's much more i'm forgetting...

3. "other" media: make-up, nail polish, food coloring, white out (one of my faves), spices (art can explore ALL your senses- but avoid sugar... so the ants don't come a callin'), uncooked pasta/couscous/beans/rice... anything that can add color or texture to your piece.

4. stuff to collage with: ticket stubs, magazine cut-outs, old love notes, used gift cards and expired credit cards, scraps of your favorite t-shirt that's so worn out it's unwearable, old receipts, candy/food wrappers, hotel key cards, clothing labels and tags, keys that have misplaced their locks, dog hair, photo misprints, extra buttons... again, that is just a start- you can use ANYTHING!

you can have a theme for a two page spread, ie. song lyrics, an old photograph, or simply a color or sometimes the actual words on the page of the book will inspire you (my book was macbeth- lots of inspiration there!) sometimes the supplies you have on hand are your inspiration (joan miro once created an entire painting around the stain left by a fallen dollop of blackberry jam!)

don't feel limited by supplies- this project need not cost a fortune. a whole spread can be created with a single sharpie or ball point pen or... a regular ol' #2 pencil.

experiment! create! enjoy!

=)


here are some of the 'spreads' from my first altered book. let me know if you'd like to see more... and if anyone decides to take on this artistic challenge... i'd love to see what you come up with!

man! blogging is hard! how do people do it all the time? i have a difficult time thinking up interesting tweets a couple times a week, never mind whole creative sentences and *gasp* paragraphs! i haven't been here in almost seven months! yikes. to the one or three people that may have been waiting for a new blog... so sorry.

originally i created this to get my artwork 'out there' and get some of it off my walls and out of my studio. i have ridden myself of a few pieces, but mostly by giving it to friends. i mean, how do you charge a friend for art? something you loved creating, something you NEEDED to create. i wish visual art was like musical art... then i would have a record company to do all this for me. yeah! that's the ticket! will you be my record company?

return to sender

30 x 40. mixed media and found objects on gallery canvas

calico

12 x 12. acrylic paint on gallery canvas

lorax garden

18 x 48 acrylic paint on framed canvas

flower blocks
16 x 20. acrylic paint on gallery canvas

sun moon stars rain
16 x 20. acrylic paint on gallery canvas

dominion
18 x 48. mixed media on framed canvas

pathways
30 x 30. acrylic paint on gallery canvas

salutations!

this is my artwork...
let me know what you think, and if you really like it... let me know where to send it! =)