Altered Art, Altered Books, Altered Lives

This lens introduces the wonderful world of altered art. Don't know what altered art is all about?  It's this way. We take an object and alter it!  Hopefully, we alter it in a creative, artistic way.

We turn old books, matchboxes, film cannisters, cigar boxes, mint tins, tin cans, photographs, gourds, lunch pails, CDs  and who knows what else -- into artistic creations great for gifts, showpieces or, for some of us, to sell.

Altered artists use a wide variety of techniques and incorporate an array of media into our projects. We use paints of all kinds, beads, flowers, polymer clay, wire, fibre, ribbon, decorative papers, rubber stamping, found items (ephemera) and anythiing else you can think of.

People ask us why we do it.

It's simple. Because we CAN

Want to get started?

 Try an altered book.  Here's what you do:

1. Find an old book, any old book. You're going to recycle it and save it from the garbage so no need to feel bad about altering it.

2. Pick a theme for your altered book. Any theme. Can't think of one? Use your last vacation as the theme.

3. Now open the book to show two pages. Any two pages.

 4. Glue decorative paper over the two pages. Let it dry.

 5. Write, draw, scribble, attach a decoration to it.

 6. That's a start. Now let your creative juices flow.

 Visit my web site for information about altered books, techniques,media, pictures and a bunch more:  www.altered-book.com

Oh, and why did I say "Altered Lives?" in the title?

It's because when we become involved in creative pursuits, our lives do alter. We have a sense of fulfilment. We enjoy expressing ourselves in a new way. We discover new friends among like minded people. And we have less time for household tasks because our muse leads us elsewhere!