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:

Altered Art Paintings - (Art Teacher Files)

As a private art instructor, my latest "project" with my students has been an altered art painting with text.  The original idea was to use sticker letters on a shiny paper, such as a map, and paint over the whole paper white, dry, then lift off the letters to reveal the map or print.  It was basically what is called a "masking technique".  However, I decided to change it.  I didn't have the letters, but I have a lot of stencils and letter stamps.  I wanted to use what I had.

We began during our first session by using acrylic paints, and the students altered and painted the backgrounds using various texture and painting techniques.  They particularly enjoyed laying bubble wrap and textured paper towel in the wet paint.  

The first painting below, was completed by using letter stamps with black acrylic paint.

The second student used stencils, sharpies and vintage music paper to create the letters.

 The Boyfriend refers to a popular song, so the sheet music worked well.  Although, I am not a Justin Bieber fan, allowing the students to bring some element of what they love, and then transform it into art, brings students into a deeper experience with the process.  It helps them "connect".
Any words, phrases, lyrics, quotes could be used in a project like this.  The letters could be made out of wrapping paper, maps, sheet music, old cookbook paper, the possibilities are endless.   The letters were glued on with acrylic matte medium and sealed with matte varnish.
Both of the students were very happy with their pieces and are going to hang them in their room.