Altered books - waxing pages

The product I use is Dorland's Wax Medium. I spread it on with a cloth and then buff it until I like the feel and look of it. I have also just used sheets of wax paper to buff pages. It takes longer, but it is a pleasant way to occupy your hands while watching TV.

I bought some clear shoe polish I'm going to try sometime. Seems like it should work fine - but it might smell bad. Sometimes I use hot wax but do not have the knack for getting it on thin enough for just a light coating.

Why wax? The feel of the page. The look of the page. Protects the page. Helps solve sticking problems. It's fun.

Words, words, words...

Several people commented yesterday at the Book Jam, that one thing that set my work apart is the use of words and quotes. There are a lot of book artists who make amazing works of art from their books, and do not use words. But a book means words to me. So I use them. At times I will write a poem for a book or borrow text in collage form from magazines, etc.

Usually I turn to my faithful companion, The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations for help. I have it in several editions and it's one of my favorite books to read just for pleasure. Phrases are indexed by author and by subject. When I have a theme in mind, I look it up by that word, or by variations or associated words (keywords). In the index, part of the phrase is given, so I quickly read through them and take notes of the ones that sound like they might work. I put the page and phrase number in a list, in page order (sometimes I have really long lists). Then I go one by one, page by page from the list, and read each one. I scratch out the numbers on the list that are not appropriate. Some grab my attention immediately and I give them 5 stars. Others my rate 1 - 4 stars. If there is enough on the 5 star list, I dont' go back to the others. I then type the 5 star ones on the computer making sure I have the authors' names and the page numbers, just in case I need to go back and check something. When I'm ready, I print them

I have several other books I like to use. "the 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said" by Robert Byrne; "Hodge Podge, A commonplace book" by J. Bryan, III; Crown's Book of Political Quotations" by Michael Jackman; "Amo, Amas, Amat and More" by Eugene Ehrlich; and many others. This last one as well as several books on translating English into other languages are fun to use. It's fun to mix it up and sometimes something just looks or sounds better in Latin or French - or Japanese! Keep your mind open to using words..... verbum sat sapienti (a word is enough for a wise man)

Book Arts Jam - mission accomplished.

Welcome book jammers!!! It was nice meeting all of you at the book art jam. What a fabulous experience!!! So many interesting and engaged people to share ideas with. Awesome. Much to my surprise I was given two round tall tables instead of a 5 foot rectangle at dining height. Panic ensued! How will this work? Well, we artists can adapt. Right? Right. Actually the height worked well for altered books, it put them right at a good reading level. Only the short visitors had problems looking at them.

I had on display the books, What's Love Got to Do With It, Pleasure of Ruins, White Crosses, My Fair Lady, The Bookmakers (otherwise known as Doors and Windows), Headaches, and Surviving. Some of these were made a couple years ago, but I have never shown my books there before, so I wanted to show a variety - even though I had to leave just as many books home. I also tossed in a couple fabric books at the last minute and was pleasantly surprised how many people held and caressed them. Photos of these works can be found on my picture trail site www.picturetrail.com/artsngardens. The photo of me shows some of the books on the table. I made new little keepsake business cards for the show and I know they will now be living in studios around the area, like little muses to remind you how much fun you can have with your art.

Here are some photos of the day. This is only one room - I never got around to meet everyone or see the other tables or the other rooms. You will note in the photos how interactive a day it was. Everyone shared a common passion in one form or another, and having a venue where we could be together was brilliant. I didn't get to the presentations, I was kept pretty busy chatting and enjoying meeting other book artists who stopped by. If you were there as a visitor, you probably saw a lot more than I did. A photographer was documenting the event and took pictures all over the room. I am not sure what will become of them - but perhaps it will be on their website later. I hope so, because I missed a lot of what was going on. The colorful young man here is Eli from Monterey who was there taking a class that day. I just alter books, he has altered himself! Sorry the lighting and focus were so bad for this Eli!

The book rests worked perfectly. Many thanks to my friend Rosemary who sewed 5 of them using ribbons to tie the ends. Very nice!!! My friends Nancy and Sally were there too, their first time selling some of their new products. Some of our friends from California Art Girls were there and some from Mixed Media Artists of California came down from Sacramento for the day. It was a good day all around. Now, about next year....... hmmmmm.......

Book Supports - for exhibiting books

These are the book supports I made to cradle the books so they can be displayed open without putting much stress on the bindings. These are soft enough to bend - yet firm enough to be supportive. Anything much higher would let the books slide off. I found the dog toys at the Dollar Store and covered them. For some, I stenciled the words Book Art on strips of the fabric, for others I just freehand printed the word Altered on them in silver glitter. I left the handles exposed on those that came with them. If you have other ways of displaying your books, I'd like to hear about them. Please post a comment.

Book Arts Jam - update

I just found out the tables are only 5 feet long. Wow! So, I am editing back even more. I've got my books laid out on a table at home and am playing with the space to see what looks good next to what. I think it will be important to show different types of alterations to books - so that will be the determining factor. My good friend Jackie suggested switching the books during the day so more can be seen. I'll probably do that. But a couple big books will be shown all day because they are so unique. I'm really looking forward to that day.

In case it doesn't show on your screen, please read Diane's comment to this post. She has some great ideas!

Book Arts Jam

It's time to get ready to show my books and to see all the other amazing book arts at the Book Art Jam at Foothill College (Los Altos, California) on the 17th of October. You can follow the link for more information. If you are within driving distance I urge you to attend. It's free except for a minimal parking charge. A whole day of browsing and talking with book artists and printers. There are a few vendors there too, so you can pick up some amazing things - like special papers and supplies.

I will have an 8 foot table there to show my books (which are not for sale). My problem now is editing!!! I have so many I'd like to show - yet I don't want a crowded table. I like people to have time to sit and enjoy them page by page - if they are interested. I will have white cotton gloves for those shy about handling them - although I encourage people to pick them up and handle them - even if they fall apart. I can fix them again.

I want to show the Ruins book because it is very unique in the world of altering books. And Food Poisoning, Headaches, City of Bones, and The Economy because they are quirky and fun. My Fair Lady is such a beautiful book, it should be shown. White Crosses, What's Love Got To Do With It?, and Surviving are my deeper books, more thought provoking. They need to be shown. I wanted to show some fabric books and the Mushrooms, Kitchen Chairs, etc - but dont' want to give up the room. My plan is to show the books open, resting on a little pillow/cradle - to invite turning pages. Two rows - smaller books in front - and the larger ones behind them. I've been making Captions to print and place with each book, explaining a little about the technique or the inspiration. I am also commited to printing handouts with information including a link to this blog. Hmmmm....... I've got a lot to do. The black tablecloth is washed and ironed. I've yet to make the book pillows. I'll post pics later - I think they are very clever and handy.

Anyway, if you are nearby, come say hello and enjoy the day. You'll see so many awesome and different types of books you'll be dazed! You'll meet a lot of fascinating people and be able to talk to them about their work and their methods. It's a unique opportunity. Hope to see you there.

Tutorial - The magic of touch - practice book

The tactile senses are engaged when you handle an altered book. There is something very intimate and engaging when you not only see and read one - but when you touch it. It's like the difference between sitting curled up in a chair with a book to read, or having a Kindle. It adds a whole other dimension and I truly wish that it could be shared online - but it is the missing link.

I often back some pages with masking tape and paint over it. I dont' know why I like the feel of it so much. One of the places I use this technique is when I am altering pages consecutively to add strength. Occasionally I'll cover an entire page with clear contact paper. Usually it's to protect something fragile - but sometimes it is because I want it to be wonderfully smooth to the touch.

Different papers have unique feels to them. Smooth, grainy, linenlike, etc. Do you like to have the same "touch" all the way through a book, or do you like a variety? This is just another place where you can experiment. Sprinkle some glitter, or sand into some gel medium and you get a whole different experience than just the visual image. Folds in the paper, or using corregated paper are other examples. Do you have a collection of interesting papers with different touches? Can you duplicate them? If not, you can glue them in. Maybe cut into interesting shapes, or grids. Let's try some of these methods and techniques in your practice book. Devote a few pages to surface textures. Have some fun.

If you do something experimental that you think you might forget how you did it - just write down your formula on the back of the page - or leave a note attached in the book.

Later we will expand on this with other ways to add textures with fabrics, yarns, beads, threads, pine needles, leaves, etc. We'll also play around with raising images and coating with products like clear glazes.

The photo above is from an altered book on Nevada, my home state. The children on the left are my brother and myself. At the base of the deserted mine shaft on the right side, I sprinkled sand into gel medium. I did this a few years ago. Now, I find there are products available on the market to give the same effect. You might want to explore some of them too.