Container Art Exhibit of Altered Books

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to visit an exhibit of Container Art at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. One exhibit, called Hidden Knowledge, was built around the concept of an altered book.  I wish I had thought to take a camera, but unfortunately I did not.

The artist, Rachel Asche, altered twenty-five  Funk and Wagnell encyclopedias, and mounted them, page ends outwards, on white wall boards.  Each of the end pages had an object from nature embedded in it. These objects included a hard boiled egg, bones, twigs, shells and more.

Rachel has a picture of the altered books posted on her blog. In her picture, the books are arranged in a circular fashion and displayed on a table.  One comment compares them to a rolodex of knowledge.

The artist wrote:

The inspiration behind this work is the idea that knowledge can

be lost or forgotten when people no longer value it.

The encyclopedias represent the sum of human knowledge

contained in written form, while the found objects

represent information about the natural world.

You can see the picture and the blog post here:

Forgotten Knowledge: The Completed Set

Book Garden with Live Mushrooms

This has to be the most interesting use of an altered book that I have ever seen.

A library's garden has an art installation using 40,000 unwanted books. Located in the Lower St. Lawrence area of Quebec, Canada, the installation represents a Garden of Knowledge, according to the artists who created it.  Even more interestingly, the book installation contains beds or live, growing mushrooms.

The web site says:

"Sandwiched within and between the reclaimed and decomposing books

are several edible species of mushrooms like oyster and winecap, an

intervention that highlights the living, ephemeral and cyclic character

of these artefacts. "

You can read the full story here:  Mushrooms + 40,000 Books = Garden of Knowledge

The article makes mention of electronic book readers such as the Kindle. Will books become a thing of the past one day?  That would be a shame on so many levels. Books are so much more than just a medium to hold text and pictures. Books are an experience.  I hope we never see the end of them.

Serendipitous Accident Enhanced This Altered Book

Sometimes when you're creating an altered book, something lovely or wonderful happens by accident. Undoubtedly this is true for any form of art.

Corinne Stubson of Oregon is a prominent and well respected altered book artist. Many of her books are like little miracles.

Today, Corinne published a blog post showing a picture of a page that started out without a plan but thanks to a serendipitous accident, it turned into something lovely.  Read about her accident here:

I Love Art Accidents

Most of us who have worked with altered books or other forms of art have had similar experiences.  There are times when you just throw things together willy nilly and hope for the best -- and you get the best. Sometimes you just try something for the heck of it to see what it will turn out like -- and it turns out great.

When this happens, we are delighted.

In interest of complete honesty, it is also true that some of these accidents or experiments are disasters and have to be trashed. 

Either way, its all part of the journey we enter into when we begin to create an altered book.

Is an Altered Book Art?

Every so often, I see a debate raging about whether or not an altered book is art.  To be honest, some people don't "get" altered books. They ask why?  The answer is "why not?"   Why make any form of creative project?  Why paint with oils?  Why compose a symphony?  Why write a poem?  Why design jewelry?   You do it because you can, and because it releases and gives physical form to your creative energies.

If you think of an altered book as being another art form -- with the book itself being the canvas and the various items used to decorate it being the media -- then  perhaps it will make more sense to you.

Then of course there is the debate about what is art and what is craft.  Does anyone really know the answer to that?  I like this quote by Marshall McLuhan:

"Art is anything you can get away with."­ Marshall McLuhan

I know many altered book artists who consider their work to be art. I know others who call their projects a craft.  Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Some one once said that art is something you create yourself and a craft is something in which you use a pattern created by someone else.  By that definition, an original oil painting is art. A paint by numbers is a craft.   However, that explanation doesn't seem to cover all the basis.

What about quality and skill?  Is a poorly done original project art but a beautifully done project made from a pattern a craft?

Does it matter? 

Whether you call an altered book an art or a craft is up to you.  Just enjoy the journey.

Water Color Paints not Recommended for Altered Books

When artists begin making an altered book, one of the first questions that comes to mind is usually what kind of materials to use. 

The truth is, you can use almost anything that your creative muse calls for. There is no right or wrong when it comes to book altering.

That having been said, some products do not lend themselves particularly well to this enterprise.  Water based glues and adhesives are the biggest offenders in this category.  Water will cause the pages to buckle in a most unattractive fashion.  Unless you are going for that particular look as called for by your creative design idea, you will want to avoid these products.

Water color paints are big on the list of things to avoid. They will cause buckling and wrinkling.  Instead, look for a coloring medium made without water.  Many of us like using fabric paints, because along with little or no water, they tend to be flexible when dry.  Luminiere paints by Jacquard seem to be a favorite. Where I live, you can buy them at Michaels in the fabric paint section.

As for adhesives, avoid water based products.  Gel mediums work well.  Many of the altered book artists I know use Golden's Matte Gel Medium, but I am sure any brand would work just as well.  Mediums are good because they are versatile and have many uses. You can use them as an adhesive, as a medium to mix with other acrylic paints or as a surface sealer and glaze.  These products are also sold at Michaels, in the section with the acrylic paints and such. You can get them at any artist supply store, or online.

Choosing the paint and adhesive for an altered book is always an adventure.

Altering a Children's Board Book

Early on when I became enamored with the concept of an altered book,  I wanted to create a gift for a little boy. I'd never worked with a board book before, but I figured it out as I went along. I'd also never made a video before, but I decided to try my hand at creating a home video showing how this altered book went together.

The video has much room for improvement, and the altered board book is not a work of art. However, it was a big hit with the young guy who received it for his birthday.

I put the video online in the hopes that it would encourage other people to start experimenting. You really can't do anything wrong because there is no right and wrong when it comes to altered book making. Just get a book and some supplies and go for it.

My altered book has a St.Patrick's Day theme.