Altered Book - nooks and crannies

One of my favorite students is working on an altered book project.  She is going through a confirmation class at her church and is creating a book as her final project to express what her faith means to her.  This is the essence of what art should be.
 
She has tons of photos which show her "acting" out her faith through various service and missions trips, and tons of other tidbits, papers, quotes and the like,  which will add to the whole meaning of her book.  Yesterday we cut out a huge hole in the back portion of the book.

Nooks, crannies and holes are a great addition to any altered book.  They can be used to make a secret hiding place for a treasure.  Or they can be used as a shadow box area so that you can use 3D items to your page without added bulk.


The secret is to score (or use a pencil line) the shape you want to cut out.  Then use an exacto knife or box cutter to carefully cut through the pages.  It may be easier to just cut through a few at a time until the desired depth is achieved.  We made a square, but depending on how nifty you get with your knife, any shape would do.

Then you must glue the pages together.  I think Elmers white glue works best.  This is the most tedious part of the project.  It takes some time, and then you must weight the whole thing down to prevent bumpiness.

You can add a border or paint around the shape.  Remember, there are no rules with altered books, so the possibilities are endless.  This is a great way to make a hiding place for a flask, or money, as well, but then you probably wouldn't want to display it on your coffee table.

This particular nook will hold a rosary.  

Here is her completed page:

Visual Journals

On Saturday, I attended a Visual Journal workshop with the local Art Guild that I am a member of.  It was great.  Visual Journals can serve so many purposes, and can be created by anyone.  Following the same type of idea that I use with old recycled books, I began a journal with blank handmade paper from India.  I splurged on it because I fell in love with the leather embossed cover.  I felt it may help inspire me.

The Instructor, Leigh, is an awesome art teacher, who taught highschool art for years at a local private school.  When she taught high school, she encouraged her students to journal, sketch, and brainstorm ideas in altered books and visual journals.

To begin our journals, she encouraged us to use different painting techniques  to create interesting backgrounds.  She often creates a few backgrounds, and then brings the journal with her to sketch and write over the creative backgrounds.  After our backgrounds were dry, she showed us a few different transfer techniques, and we painted and collaged.  The handmade paper I used ended up drinking up the paint very nicely.

 The below method includes gesso, writing text (I chose some Narnia quotes) and smudging. The quotes are two of my favorite interactions from the Last Battle. On a funny note, my daughter asked me a while back, who my favorite fictional animal was, and without thinking I said "Jewel the Unicorn", yes, I really haven't changed much since 6th grade.
To finish the page, I added watercolor paint over it.  Highschool students love this creative activity.

 A background I created today, not sure what I will do to finish it. 

I have a student who is creating an art journal for her confirmation.  I am looking forward to sharing some of these new techniques with her.