Getting Started on an Altered Book

Now for the second spread. I want to capture the moment she was born. The color scheme will be bright yellow for my bright hopes for her. I will also capture the red of the tulips that bloomed not long after we brought her home. I look for gift cards and photos from that day. I write on scraps of light-colored paper my remembrances and hopes for my daughter. I glue the pieces down in a simply-arranged layout.

I begin planning the third double-page spread. I want a snapshot of my daughter today, a working college student living in her own place. Next time I visit, I will pick up bits of junk from around her place such as scraps of paper off the floor, doodles torn from her class notes, a receipt from her favorite music store, a box top from food in her kitchen, pieces of the magazines she's reading, a beaded bracelet fallen out of use. Too bad if she misses these things, they are going to be used for a higher good! When I get the items home, I will begin designing the book's next artistic arrangement.

Now I have a great start on my altered book, Reflections. I am excited about my newest creation in this art form that powerfully combines books, words, and thoughts with visual art. How cool to have created an intensely personal art object from this formerly-disused book!

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