Saturday, January 17, 2009

Decorating With Altered Books

Just imagine a shelf in your home with this unique altered book displayed on it! Julie Kim’s 'Book Marks' is a mixed media piece featuring a vintage book folded to create a unique paper sculpture. Embellished with silver thread, copper wire, glass beads and retro images this altered book would look fabulous in any decor.

Or this sculptural mobile hanging from the corner of a room in your home would continually uplift spirits as well as being a great talking point. Mixed media artist Lisa Occhipinti creates these mobiles and sell them through The Shop House.


Some artists alter a book to make a statement about the original work. Laura Prentice has converted an old medical textbook ‘Radiographic Positioning and Related Anatomy’ into ‘Attack of the Octopus’ which she describes as ‘nonsensical, sci-fi alterations pertaining to octopuses, aliens and the exploration of human anatomy’. Laura also sells on etsy. Check out her original Chicago Houses Series for original works at extremely low prices.



If you displayed an altered book such as Andrew Sty’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ you could flip a page daily to have an ever changing stimulating environment.


Short of cash? No problem! These artists provide inspiration to us to make our own altered books. For further inspiration maybe download a free copy of Art Trader Magazine a web based publication focused on altered books, artist trading cards and art journals. And don’t forget to become a follower of this blog to be in the running to win one of Susan Ure’s publications on altering books.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Your posts always amaze - this one is no exception!

Anonymous said...

Altered books can be amazing! I have one that a friend make. She painted a double page spread green, and sprinkled it with the faux grass powder that architects use. It looks fantastic, and really makes my book shelf something special.

Bird Bath said...

plenty of inspiration...something I would like to have a closer look into.
thanks for the links.

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

I've been looking for some art journalling resources. Thanks for this great post. Totally inspiring.

June said...

Thanks this is fantastic
Hugs June x

Jen Crossley said...

This is amazing thanks for sharing
Jen

Hey Harriet said...

Love that second piece best. There are a few altered book artists that I really like, but I'll be darned if I can think of their names right at this moment. Thanks for the intro to these ones. I hadn't heard of them before.

Jill said...

I absolutely love the first two pieces, great find! Thanks for posting this, I haven't seen anything like this yet!

Jenny Sue Jewelry said...

that would be a cool way to make a scrapbook!

Kenna Elizabeth said...

I have a friend that would LOVE this! What a creative idea-- never would have thought of that. Great creative blog too! :)

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of altered books before reading this. Very fascinating, I would love to learn more about it.

Dolce Baci said...

Wow! Very creative! Thanks for visiting our blog and best of luck to you in our drawing!

Charli Henley said...

Hi - I found your blog through Linda's Psyche Connections.

This post is AWESOME! I make a lot of altered books. I LOVE them. They are so special and beautiful. I have not made on is a few months - this makes me want to start again!

Thanks for the inspiration!

Ro Bruhn said...

These books are certainly inspiring, I especially like the first one, thanks for the links.

Rose said...

Altered books are something that "I never got". But after seeing the ones here I'm thinking "this is something I have to try". They are great!

Ezekiel Barzillai Smythe said...

Very cool! I have always liked the look of altered books, and the way of putting a new take on what already exists in them. Thanks for visiting my blog, by the way. Always nice to have a new visitor!

Blanche said...

These books are amazing, Never seen this before...I lead a sheltered life. hee hee

Night Owl Designs said...

Hi Chrisy, Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I really appreciate you taking the time to say hello :-) Sephi

Susan Tuttle said...

amazing journals! Thank you so much for stopping by.

Susan

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by my little blog! What amazing journals! I'm totally inspired now to go and rip up crazy old books! Thanks so much for sharing, just fabulous.
Sophie x

Victoria Thorne said...

magnificent book art...thank you!