Portfolios on Pages...Altered Books

DEFINTION: An altered book is an existing book that has been changed or altered .... "glued, painted, collaged, rubber stamped, cut, torn, or added to. It is an expression of one's self, a piece of art, an experiment or a conversation piece. Someone recently referred to the Altered Book List as the "rescue-a-book society". I read this definition at http:groups.yahoo.com/group/alteredbooks. It was definitely the best explanation that I came across for what an altered book is. Most of the things that I read encouraged artists to use books that they picked up at used book sales, thrift stores or garage sales. Being an avid reader the thought of defacing a book really was difficult for me to stomach, but the more I played the more hooked I became on this art form.

Altering books allows rubber stampers to use all the supplies at their finger tips from ink and stamps, to scissors, pens, radiant pearls, embossing powders, charms, ribbon, clay, beads, found objects and natural substances. Many pages encorporate the story in the book, with some people using a direct to paper technique with the ink and leaving visible a few key words on a page to sum up their particular feelings. Some artists cover the entire page with paint and use their stamps and decorative papers to create a mood to go with the story. Others design whole scenarios that they continue throughout the pages of the book.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this particular stamp art is the idea of doing a book as a Round Robin project, with several artists contributing to the art and style of the volume. One stamper is sending a book to members of her family. What an awesome legacy that will be for future generations.

Several sites are available where you can view more information or actual artwork for altered books. At www.ccwebster.net/studio3d/altbooks.htm and www.opdog.com/artspace/alteredbooks you can view artwork for these artists creations. Another site http:members.aol.com/annaelycm/annasplacepages/alt shows another style of art. While researching this article I came across an altered book artist who recommended the following site for templates www.bydonovan.com. Although the site contains book templates, it also had a plethora of envelopes, card styles and boxes that you could print and re-size on a copier to create many projects. Sometimes researching an article on one subject gives us these little gems we don't expect.

Altered books are a form of art that may not appeal to everyone, but it is a wonderful way to explore your creative muse on a canvas that speaks "volumes" to you even before you get started.

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