(by 13 people)
Have you dreamed of making your own book from scratch? Are you intrigued by the world of altered books and artist journals? And what about those people that actually turn books into sculptures?
Here are some of my favorite links to get you started in exploring Book Arts!
Books are like comfort food
I'm going to bet that some of your earliest memories involve books ~ being read to, pouring over the pictures, maybe even trying to eat your board books!So why would anyone want to cut up a perfectly good book? Didn't we used to get in trouble for that? And why would anyone want to go to the effort of making a book? Aren't there plenty of them in the libraries and book stores?
Look at what these artists have done with books as their art form, and you'll begin to see things in a whole new light!
Altered books, handmade books, and artist journals
- Glitz-Oh!
- Corinne Stubson's fantastic work. There's enough inspiration here to dive in and drown!
- Outside the Margins
- Aileen Roberts has a bold, fun, and funky style. It's fabulous!
- Lisa Vollrath
- One of the most prolific artists in the field of altered books...and much more.
- Karen Michel
- Karen's altered books and journals feature her marvelous altered photos. You won't believe what you can do with old pictures...
- Kelly Kilmer
- Kelly takes old hardback books and guts them to create her stunning visual journals.
Assemblage and sculptural books
- This Into That
- Contemporary fine art furniture from...books!
- Susan Hensel
- Exquisite literary sculptures.
- The Creative Zone
- Judy and Michael Jacobs's inspiring site. My personal favorites!
- Sherrill Hunnibell
- Mixed media altered books as wall sculptures.
- Karen's Whimsy
- Book sculptures, for people "who like hanging out with books!"
- Core New Art Space
- The entries in a wonderful show entitled "Book + Art= ?"
What next?
Do you want more info on how to start doing these crazy things with books?Make sure you check out the archives and links sections of these groups as well as their stimulating on-line discussions!
Bookies who don't mind talking
- Yahoo Group: Altered Books
- This group exchanges information, ideas, tips, and techniques about altered books.
- Yahoo Group: Bookbinding
- Open to anyone with answers and questions about bookbinding, with an emphasis on hand bookbinding.
- Yahoo Group: Handmade Books
- For all artists interested in the creation of original, handmade books.
- Yahoo Group: Artist Journals
- A community for artists with an interest in art journals, visual journals, artist books and sketchbooks.
- Yahoo Group: Assemblage Artists
- Many of the mixed media artists in this group utilize books-as-sculpture and altered books.
Related Lenses
- Altered Books
- Cut, paste, and paint a new piece of art
- Mixed Media
- When you want to try all forms of art, all at the same time...
- Collage
- An endlessly fascinating art form
- Art Photography
- My favorite subjects
- Book Repair and Rebinding
- Don't throw away that broken book!
So what do I need?
Mostly things that you can get for free, or very inexpensively! If you want to make your own books from scratch, you may need to purchase some basic supplies and tools, especially if you want to make them from materials that will last. Some suppliers are listed below to help you get started.If you want to try altered books and you don't have a book at home that you care to sacrifice, try your local library where there may be shelves of books for sale ~ either donations or books that have been removed from the collection (big word for the day: that's called "deaccessioned"). Trust me when I say that there are so many books that end up in landfills, perfectly good books, that you are actually doing the world a favor by turning these books into artwork.
Paper and string ~ the stuff you'll need
- John Neal, Bookseller
- Bookbinding supplies, plus the know-how to do it.
- Hollander's
- Bookbinding supplies, decorative papers, and workshops.
- Volcano Arts
- Handmade book and bookbinding supplies, paper marbling, etc.
- Gaylord Brothers
- Archival library and bookbinding supplies.
- The Book Arts Web
- A site you can get lost in if you're serious about book arts in all forms! Be sure to download the free e-journal, "The Bonefolder", with lots of information on bookbinding and book arts.
- Talas
- Serious bookbinding supplies of professional quality.
- American Academy of Bookbinding
- For serious professional as well as amateur bookbinders.
Best books and magazines for the obsessed book artist
- Recommended Books
- The best of the best, broken down by subject matter, including altered books, and artist journals, and handmade books.
- Somerset Studio Magazine
- If you can only get one magazine, make it this one. This lush bi-monthly features paper arts, book arts, art stamping and the lettering arts. Includes how-to articles, an extensive paper-arts column, craft marketing tips, artist portfolios, artful journeys to exotic locales, and book reviews.
- Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine
- And this one is a very close second. A must for fabric lovers. The quarterly magazine covers types of fiber arts and collage work, including mixed media, assemblage, altered books, art dolls, visual art journals, rubber stamping, creative embroidery, and book arts.
- Fine Books and Collections Magazine
- A bi-monthly magazine offering literary history, author profiles, reviews, auction reports, and regular columns on the rare and collectible book market.
- Art in America
- Presents a wide range of information, criticism and analysis covering the entire field of the visual arts.
- American Style
- Covers the world of contemporary art.
Links to look at when your creativity has taken a vacation
- Creating Lens
- The more I create, the more I can create...
- Art Lenses
- Lenses which focus on various art forms! All lenses, all the time :-)
Guestbook ~ reader feedback
The place where you can share other resources that you think we all need to know about!
moonbeams
I love Altered Books and collage and making books. I love your lens Ive given it 5 stars. Would love you to vist my lens about cloth doll making. Click Here to go look
all the best Di
Posted November 08, 2007
Ms_Appleseed
What a great resource lens for this art I've just discovered. Yes, I've been living under a rock. I really enjoy the poetry and visual art of this medium. Thanks for sharing all this great info. You are cordially invited to visitmy small town lens.
Posted August 31, 2007
Andrea
Great lens! Thank you so much.
Posted April 20, 2007
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