Altered Books, continued

I haven't had much luck in drawing in my journal lately...
But I have been making art in an altered book.
I started a new one last week.

An altered book is a regular used book that you tear pages out of, paste pages into, write in, paint on etc. to make a new work of art.

Last year, I took an art class on making altered books, at Catalyst in Westminster, by artist Jacki Long.

I had already been making collages in my sketchbook, so I came to the class prepared with some papers and pictures. One of them was a picture of a famous scientist.

When I got to the class, there were only two books left to choose from.
I picked a small red book called "The Christmas Box" because it was small.
I pasted my scientist on the cover.

The story seemed to be about a mysterious widow.

After a while I started reading some of the book.
It was kind of like one of those warm and fuzzy Hallmark movies that they play on the holidays.
It was about a family who goes to live with a mysterious old widow.

I included a lot of medical imagery, because last summer my father was treated for cancer, and in August I lost an uncle my family had cared for.

 

As I read the story, it seemed appropriate...
I won't tell you the widow's mystery, but the end of the story, she dies of a brain tumor!

The book's not quite finished yet, but I'm working on it, along with the new one.