Pages 5/7/12

Detail of the right spread.

Detail of the left spread.

Here are a few altered book spreads I did over the weekend. Mixed media, painting and collage on an old yearbook. This book is BIG. I am a little overwhelmed working large and filling the space, but it's been fun. The scary baby one, yeah it's scary. lol. I was just really drawn to the weird image.

Pages 4/23/12

A couple more finished visual journal pages. Both for a round robin I am in. Not sure now, looking at the 'Secret' pages if I need to go back and do a bot more. Hmm. Some open spaces I think might need 'something'. I'll sit on it a night or two. ;-) The 'Secret Family Recipe' spread was inspired, believe it or not, by the label on a can of Bush's Baked Beans.

Pages 4/20/12

Been working on some round robin journal spreads this week. Top design is for the 'Malice in Wonderland' themed altered book. It's been fun messing around with a darker theme. Bottom is for an open themed journal. I've used those handy dandy carved lino stamps I did awhile ago and then painted the girl with a variety of acrylics, gel pen and pastels.

Pages 3/30/12

This is another altered book spread I've been working on for a 'Dark Art' round robin I am in. The book's theme is 'Malice in Wonderland' and it examines the word 'Malice'. I found a cool quote by the writer Taylor Caldwell, "I have been the victim of heartless malice".

I began by prepping the background with a variety of acrylic paints. and then scratched down to the undercoat layer. I went back in with other colors, and pens and gold paints. The illustration on the left is a hand colored lino stamp. If you look back on older posts you can see the original stamp. I collaged some french words around the image. Then I used my trusty dymo plastic label maker to punch out the words. I'll seal it before sending.

Pages 3/26/12

I wanted to share with you some of the things I've been doing with those linoleum block stamps I've been carving over the past couple of weeks. Once you carve and stamp one of these, the options are endless. I played around with portfolio pastels, craft paints, sakura pens, and sharpie poster paint pens.

In some samples (like the skull prints) I painted a background and then applied the stamp on top. I also used one of the stamps in an altered book spread. So many options, and I can use them over and over again.

Pages 3/20/12

Here are a couple journal pages I've been working on lately. These are actually within an altered book for a round robin I am in. What do you think? The theme of this altered book is Good Vs. Evil.

Pages 3/12/12

Altered book spread I did tonight. A bit spooky and still needs some text. But a good start.

Inspired by Leonard Cohen's "Who by Fire". I love this wonderful song. The imagery and creativity and thought put into the words. Illustration is a play on life and death and mirror reflection.

Paint, henna stencil and pencil drawing.

Left panel is stamped and images from the hipstamatic camera for iPhone were printed on canvas paper and altered. Song is inspired by the Counting Crows, "Round Here". "She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous."

Inspired by Peter Cincotti's, "Always Watching".

Inspired by the Tragically Hip's, "38 Years Old'. "Freezing slow time away from the world
He's 38 years old, never kissed a girl". Beautiful.

Well, I mailed out my book to Amy McDonald last week. I made alot of progress, but still didn't feel like I was done. I guess I can finish it when it finally comes back from the round robin. I received a book on Saturday from one of the artists in the round robin. It's a cool book with images of people who do undesirable jobs like, poop scooper, funeral home cosmetologist. Her theme is the taro, which is pretty interesting. I'll post an image as soon as one is complete. I am about 3/4 through the first spread. I tackled he death card, which works really well with my Day of the Dead artwork. It's Super Bowl Sunday, and a good day to get some art done since I hate football.

Pages 1/7/12

This is a sketch I did on a paper grocery bag. I'm adding it as a tip-in page into the altered book. I find tip-ins a good way to use the doodles I create while on the phone. Some of them can be pretty cool!

Page illustration. My book theme is 'Lyrica Obscura'. The words are 'What shape does the silence have?' This line is from the song, 'The Headphonist, by Kinky.

Altered book pages with collage bordering added.

I am slowly making progress on my altered book. I'm starting to add collage to the borders, and making some tip-ins to add some interesting papers and doodles. It kind of bulks up the book too since I have to have it ready to mail in a few weeks. I'm working on the cover next, trying to figure out a closure that will be adjustable enough to work if the book gets really bulky.

Pages 1/3/12

Preparing the Altered Book. Removing pages, gluing pages, and waiting for them to dry.

Back Cover. I sanded the cover, then painted the book with good acrylic paint and used metallic pens. This isn't done, I'm just getting started!

Interior Page. Working on laying in a strong base for collage. Acrylics, pens.

Interior Cover. The them is 'Lyrica Obscura'. Those gem lyrics that make you stop and think ... and play over and over.

Another Interior Page. Building up colors and layers with paint.

Well, yeah. It's been awhile since I blogged. Sorry. What can I say, my life has been a whirlwind since about October. I do so much on FaceBook these days that I keep forgetting to update the blog. If you're reading this, and you haven't added me on FaceBook, follow the links to the right and catch me there.

So, this is a new project I'm working on. It's an altered book for a Round Robin I am in. I'd kind of forgotten how much work it is to prep these bad boys. Finding the right book, removing pages, gluing pages together, painting the pages ... e-yikes. It's fun though. It def give me a break from ceramics for awhile and it's good to mix it up.

I thought I'd share the process. It's still in early stages, but you might be interested in what steps I'm taking. 

Lessons learned so far? Make sure you pick the right book to alter. Make sure the spine is sewn in, not glued. Take the book and crack the spine really wide. Do you see sewing? It's a good book to alter. Also, check the paper. What's it like? This one has a newsprint finish and it took foreverrrrr to dry. Make sure it has good paper. Test it before you put a ton of work into it. (I didn't. lol.) Anyway, I have it working now, I just had to make sure there were about 3-4 pages glued together for strength.