RESOURCES FOR ALTERED BOOKS web Su Blackwell, UK artist who often uses books www.sublackwell.co.uk/ Image Transfer Methods www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/transimg.php One sheet folded mini book instructions www.stamphenge.wordpress.com/minibooks/one-sheet-folded-minibook/ Mini Book Template (pdf) www.lakewoodthecomic.com/templates/minicomic/minicomic.pdf 100 ideas by keri smith (pdf) www.kerismith.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/100ideas.pdf 100 ideas by keri smith (web) www.kerismith.com/popular-posts/100-ideas/ Kate Bingaman Burt: Obsessive Consumption www.katebingamanburt.com Austin Kleon: Newspaper Blackout www.austinkleon.com Postsecret www.postsecret.com 1000 Journals www.1000journals.com 1001 Journals www.1001journals.com The Sketchbook Project www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject Texture King: Images of downloadable textures www.textureking.com Curled Up With a Book: ‘altered books’ blog section www.curledupwithabook.com/?cat=24 Examples of Art in Moleskin Journals www.moleskineus.com/moleskine-stories.html Maya Lin’s Topographic Landscapes www.pbs.org/art21 Brain Dettmer: Book Autopsies bwww.briandettmer.com/ Cai Lun: Paper and bookmaking blog www.cailun.info/ Slash: 2009 show at M.A.D www.collections.madmuseum.org/html/exhibitions/485.html Other uses for books http://www.offbeatearth.com/dont-like-reading-other-uses-for-books/ Lisa Vollrath: projects and printables www.lisavollrath.com Advice on cutting niches in books http://gomakesomething.com/ht/ab/cutting-niches/ UK artist Yvette Hawkins (book bursts) www.yvettehawkins.com Jen Khoshbin www.jenkhoshbin.com Lauren Denitzio www.laurendenitzio.com Slideshow of book sculptures by Isaac Salazar www.flickr.com//photos/bookofart/sets/72157622606117273/show/
books Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book By Jason Thompson Masters, Book Arts- Lark Crafts Surface Treatment Workshop, Mixed Media Techniques By Mcelroy and Wilson Image Transfer Workshop By Mcelroy and Wilson The Rest is Up to You: A Collaboration between 118 Artists and a boy named Cohen Morano Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking By Holly Harrison How to be an Explorer of the World By Keri Smith You Are Here: Personal Geographies By Katherine Harmon The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon An Illustrated Life By Danny Gregory Artists’ Journals & Sketchbooks By Lynne Perrella The Handmade Book By Angela James Cover to Cover By Shereen LaPlantz Books Unbound By Michael Jacobs This is for you By Rob Ryan (papercuts) The Repurposed Library By Lisa Occhipiatti
more altered book artists... Margaret Couch Cogswell Karen Kunc Adele Outteridge Jody Alexander Julie Leonard Li Kim Goh Jen Stark Will Ashford Juliana Coles Kylie Stillman Cara Barer Doug Beube Casey Curran Georgia Russell Guy Laramie Jaqueline Rush Lee Lisa Kokin Nicholas Jones
“Books are more than pages, board, glue and thread- they are artifacts of the human spirit and hand.” -Jason Thompson
Image Transfer Methods Source: http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/transimg.php#ImageTransferMethods Transferring images can be done with photocopies, some magazine images, inkjet or laser prints. There are essentially two ways to transfer images: 1. Apply the acrylic gel or paint to the surface receiving the image. While it is still wet, place the image face down into the wet medium and allow to dry thoroughly. When the application is completely dry, dampen the paper with a wet sponge. Give it a few minutes to allow the water to penetrate the paper pulp. Begin rubbing carefully to remove the paper but leave the image intact in the acrylic application. Use a nylon scouring pad or soft cloth to remove the paper. You will probably have to dampen the paper a few times for a clean transfer. When the water evaporates, you will be able to see the areas that you missed. Please see this link for a few visual examples of various GOLDEN Gel Mediums: http://www.goldenpaints.com/artist/directransfer.php 2. Find a level work surface and cover with 4 mil plastic sheeting. Lay out the images face up and either pour or brush apply the acrylic medium of choice and allow to dry. When thoroughly dry, use a lukewarm water bath for soaking the coated image, as this will speed the process. The longer the image sits in the water, the easier it is to remove the paper from the back of the image. Take the image out of the water if you see any blanching (fogging) of the image. Three or four minutes are all that is typically required. DO NOT soak longer than 15 minutes. Remove the coated image from the water. Begin rubbing off the paper backing and continue rubbing until all paper is removed. Let the image drip dry until it becomes physically dry. It is common that the acrylic used will become milky again. This is because of the water being reintroduced back into the film. When the film becomes clear again, you are ready to use the transfer in artwork.
How to Cut Niches in Altered Books By Lisa Vollrath , Source: http://gomakesomething.com/ht/ab/cutting-niches/ Materials: A book, a cutting surface (such as scrap plywood), a metal or metal-edged ruler, sturdy utility knife, sharp blades for your knife, a pencil, tacky glue, weights or heavy books, plastic wrap or plastic sheeting, masking tape, a rough idea of what’s going into the niche How to do it: (See website for step-by step images) Open your book to the page where your niche will go. Cut a piece of plastic wrap or sheeting that will cover and protect the pages prior to the niche. Wrap those pages with the plastic and wrap the plastic with tape to hold it in place. (Don’t tape the pages of your book!)
Decide how many pages you will use for the niche, and open your book to the last page you will use. If you want to use a couple of pages to back your niche, don’t forget to figure these in and include them in the pages that will remain uncut. As you did with the front of the book, wrap all the pages behind your niche in plastic, and tape the plastic to hold. You should now have a protected front and back of your book, and a bunch of pages free that you’re going to do bad things to. Run a bead of tacky glue around the outside edge of your free pages. Just hold them in a loose clump and squeeze the bottle right onto the page edges. Then take your finger and rub the glue along the edges, covering them completely. Don’t worry if they don’t seem to be sticking to each other yet.
Close your book and place it on a flat surface. Weight it with whatever you’ve got—I use two big dictionaries. Leave your book to dry over night. When your book is dry, open it gently. You may have to work a bit at getting your pages free of the plastic. Once the pages are free, you’ll have a protected front and back of your book, and one solid block of pages waiting for you to cut them. If you have an object you’d like to place in your niche, place it on the book and choose a position. In this case, my niche is getting a lovely plastic snake, which will require an oddly shaped niche. I just placed the snake on the book and drew around it, then cleaned up my lines with a ruler.
Slide your cutting surface into your book to protect those pages you don’t want to cut. Using a metal ruler and a utility knife with sharp blades, cut your niche. Do several swipes along a single line, going deeper each time. I usually do one light cut to establish my line, a second one, and then remove the ruler and do all the rest of the cuts along that line. When you think you’re down deep enough, move to the next line and repeat, working your way around the niche. On the last cut, it’s helpful if your ruler is being pressed onto the niche to hold the pieces in place. Remove the interior pieces gently. If they’re not cut far enough, don’t tear them—just use your knife to cut again until they come loose. Keep clearing away layers until you have a nice neat hole.
Place your object in the niche one more time to be sure it’s the right size. Remove the object and run a bead of tacky glue around the cut page edges on the inside of your niche. Smear the glue with your finger just like you did along the outer edge of the book. Close the book and weight it. Let it dry over night.
This is how my finished book page looked. Since each page is unique, what I did to finish this out may vary from what you have in mind. Here’s what I did: First, I painted the interior edges of the niche with a dark acrylic paint. When that was dry, I glued an old map behind the niche, and then glued my niche pages down to the finished pages behind them. I toned the map and sides with some colored glaze. When all that was dry, I glued my snake in place.
Want your niche to hold something loose like herbs or petals? Leave the top page of the niche loose from the rest, or cut a decorative paper the same size as your page, with a hole where your niche is. Fill your niche, then cover it with nylon tulle (that’s bridal netting, available at most fabric stores and Wal-Mart). I seal my edges with a wide bead of tacky glue so none of the stuff in the niche leaks out. Cover the tulle with your loose page or decorative paper.
Ideas for Your Altered Book Drawings from life/ direct observation….i.e. real objects/ real people Circle words on the page that you like Cover everything on the page but certain words Paint or draw from photographs Draw from memories or dreams Glue in black and white photo copies of photos you have. Paint or draw over them Cut out parts of the pages Glue or sew some pages together Glue in maps, receipts, hall passes, old tests or quizzes or homework Draw a caricature Draw what you hate Make a drawing with ball point pen, then use watercolor crayons over it Make designs and patterns Punch out holes Glue in an envelope...put drawings or photos inside of the envelope Glue in a piece of paper folded into an accordion…draw on the accordion Draw on tracing paper and glue it into the book so you can see the text through it Completely cover the whole book page so you can’t see any words Cut out words from one page and then glue them onto another page Glue in old stamps or a coin from a foreign country Layer lots of art materials Use stencils Make a design with masking tape Get something random from the recycling bin and use it to design a page Illustrate a word or phrase from a page of your book Weave strips of paper or photos into the page(s) of your book Make a page of your book a tribute to a famous artist Doodle! Write the lyrics to your favorite song Glue in a dollar bill and change it with art Make a page based on your family heritage Make a pattern with plain label stickers Use a newspaper article or current event for inspiration Write your message to the world Glue in your fortune from a fortune cookie then add art to the page Draw a self portrait Draw all of your best friends or family members Make a page based on words in a foreign language Use poetry as inspiration Write your daily schedule Draw the corner of your closet/ bedroom/ classroom Draw your art supplies Use a famous quote Nature Your favorite food What do you hate? Use something you are learning about in another class right now What else can you think of? The possibilities are endless….