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- Altered Books for Journaling - July 19, 5:30-7:30pm
Altered Books for Journaling - July 19, 5:30-7:30pm
What’s an altered book? An altered book is made from an already existing book that is changed to make it your own. The style of altered book we will be learning is sometimes called an altered journal or art journal. Basically, we will be altering individual pages of the books to make them our own. We will use gesso, paint, paper, found objects, and text to cover the pages, and will learn how to incorporate elements of the original book into our own work.
Do I have to bring my own book? Nope! We will have enough books for you to choose from. However, you are welcome to bring your own, and if you have any other books you want to get rid of, you can bring them to add to our stack for people to choose from. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your book.
Make sure you aren’t using a book you might later be upset about having lost, or that will be difficult to replace should you decide to reread it.
Hardcover books with sturdy pages work the best, but any type will work. Novels, non-fiction books, poetry books, small textbooks, and even music books all make great altered books.
Large, thick books can sometimes be overwhelming, especially for a first altered book. However, some people look forward to a long project, and there are a number of ways to lessen the load of a large book. Personally, I tend to stick to average-sized novels or smaller.
What else should I bring? Anything flat that would be a good addition to your book! You can also bring extra things that you’re not sure you want to use, but would consider adding. You’re welcome to share anything you bring, but you are by no means required to do so. Listed below are a few examples, but if you find something else, bring it! Also keep in mind that if you don’t find anything to bring, or if you have no idea what to look for, we will have plenty of paper, ribbon, stamps, markers, pens, and other supplies for you to use.
Scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, tissue paper - really any pretty paper that would make a good background or decoration.
Any art materials, like paint, ink, markers, scissors, exacto knives, or pens.
Photographs, postcards, ticket stubs, stamps, sheet music, or other paper memorabilia.
Quotes, poems, or other text you may want to use.
You can also bring small found objects like old jewelry. To put these in the book, we will have to cut some of the pages to make room. This can be a very interesting addition to otherwise flat pages.
Anything else I need to think about? You should think about a few things before coming to the class, but keep in mind that no decisions really have to be made until you start working on your book, and that some people don’t set any boundaries for their work, but instead just include whatever they want to as they go.
Theme - you may want to use this as a family scrapbook, a travel journal, a personal journal, or as a place to keep your favorite poetry. If you enjoy writing, you may decide that you want to write stories or poems that all have to do with a single theme.
Color scheme - if you have a theme, make sure the color scheme suites it. For example, if you want to include quotes, poems, and images about nature, you should probably include green in your color scheme.
Title - I like to use the original title of the book as my own title, but it’s also great to make up your own. Although the title, cover, and table of contents are the last things I add to my books, some people like to start with them.
Also, if you’re anything like me, you often get paint on your hands and sometimes on your clothes. So, don’t wear anything that you’ll be upset to get a few drops of paint on!
How old do I have to be? Because we will be using supplies like permanent paint and blades to cut pages, this class is best suited for people high school aged and older. Please contact us if you would like to sign up anyone younger than 14.