Image above from ISABA
What is an Altered Book?
by Altered Book Artist: Suzanne
Cannon
www.quietfiredesign.com
An altered book begins with a book that is on its way to the dump.
It's unwanted, unloved. But, in reality, this book is waiting for
you to breathe new life into it.
An
altered book is an existing book that is awaiting your hands to
glued, paint, collage, rubber stamp, cut and tear.
I love altering. It
is “relaxed” art. You
don’t need to be an expert at any aspect of art to create pages
that you’ll love.
A hardcover book
is best and books with crumbling pages are not going to hold up
well. Books with glossy pages can be sanded to accept paint
better, but are probably not a good choice for a first book.
There
are no limits to what you can do with a book you are altering.
Once you overcome the fear of “defacing” a book, start by
adding paint to the pages. Choose colours that you love and spread
them over the page to create a backgound. Use wax paper under
these pages so the rest of the book isn’t affected.
Once dry, glue down a copy of an old photo that you love.
Then you can glue 3 or 4 buttons randomly on the page.
If you have some lace or pretty ribbon or trim, add that
along the edge of the page. Viola! You’ve created your first altered page! It doesn’t have to be complicated!
If
you’re a rubber stamper, cover your pages with stamped images.
If you’re a collage artist, collage to your heart’s
content! If you’re
a photographer, use your photographs in your altered book.
The
more 3-D elements you add to your pages, the more your finished
book is going to “yawn”.
But, to me, that’s what makes the book fascinating.
Who can resist opening a book like that?!
You want to touch and savour every page of this visual
treat.
Altering
books is just a beginning. Why
not alter pieces of clothing or shoes – or purses!
Create
without Limits!
Suzanne
Cannon suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
www.quietfiredesign.com
Article
written for save-on-crafts.com by Suzanne Cannon 01/05
Pages
below by Suzanne Cannon
