Altered Book {Intern Edition}: Work in Progress Preview 1

Back in August while perusing 6 Degrees of Creativity (or one of their affiliates) and their creative antics I noticed the use of childrens books for altered books, and I was floored! WHY hadn't I thought of that! I hit-up a thrift store and sought out a childrens' book immediately. The next few posts will show the progress/process.

Since I am still working on it I do not have a title for this book yet. I do have a theme/topic I am pursuing. The book will be a compilation of advice and wise words for future interns. Something to inspire them to think outside the box (ie. the book will have various techniques)...and so on I'm sure more ideas will present themselves as I trudge onward...

Below are some basic considerations when starting your very own Altered Book using a sturdy children's book.

Book selection is not to be taken lightly! Choose a book, not just any book, pick one with nice thick pages...even if there are few of them. My book only has 12 pages.

Observe it closely. My book had very glossy pages which resisted being painted (I didn't think about sanding until it was all painted). It took 2-3 coats of gesso before it was workable. It may help to lightly sand the pages before the gesso to give the pages more grain for the paint to adhere to.

Think: LAYERS! Dyes, translucency, washes, etc... After the thick gesso layers dried I added washes of craft acrylics and while wet used a sponge to "stain" & "remove" the paint on all the pages. This took a while as each set of pages had to dry before moving onto the next. *Hint: Too much water will warp the pages.