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66 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beginners goldmine, May 3, 2006
This review is from: Pockets, Pull-outs, and Hiding Places: Interactive Elements for Altered Books, Memory Art, and Collage (Paperback)
Buy this book if you are new to altered forms, pockets and pull-outs; the instructions and examples are all clear and explicit. There's 20+ techniques/models, so you'll get your money's worth. The examples are very mommy-track and scrapbooky, which is all good, but not the same as leading-edge altered art. (Hence the battle-of-reviewers found here. Sheesh.)
If you're looking for something edgier or with greater range in style and substance, consider the books and websites of Teesha Moore, Sarah Fishburn, Lesley Riley, Claudine Hellmuth, Lynne Perella, Jan Bode-Smiley, Sas Colby, Karen Michel and others in this class.
I gave this a 3-of-5 because of un-truth in advertising; the title, *Pockets, Pull-outs, and Hiding Places: Interactive Elements for Altered Books, Memory Art, and Collage*, is a misnomer.
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180 of 202 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Deceptive Description--Not for Artists or Collagists, April 30, 2005
This review is from: Pockets, Pull-outs, and Hiding Places: Interactive Elements for Altered Books, Memory Art, and Collage (Paperback)
This is described as being for artists interested in altered books, memory art, and collage. This is a misleading description. I was looking for ideas for the handmade books and greeting cards that I make. Most of what's in here is for scrapbookers, not for artists interested in book arts and collage. There's nothing wrong with scrapbooking, but I wish this had been more accurately described. I wouldn't have bought it if I'd actually gotten to see it first. There is little in here that I would think of as art--mostly it's tacky-looking scrapbook pages of the author's and contributors' kids and families. If this had actually had some original ideas in it that could be used in other contexts, I could forgive this, but these examples aren't all that original or interesting, and don't inspire me to try anything new. There's nothing new in here that I can use in my work. Most of these ideas have been done and seen before in other places, and many are of little interest to anyone who is not a scrapbooker. It feels like another book jumping on the scrapbooking bandwagon that's designed to encourage you to buy products to support the scrapbooking industry, not necessarily to teach you new art techniques. If you're a scrapbooker, you might like this. If you are one of the "artists" the blurb describes who is looking for inspiration to add another dimension to your altered books and artwork, you might find this insulting and disappointing. They are marketing this to the wrong audience.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good for Inspiration, May 26, 2006
This review is from: Pockets, Pull-outs, and Hiding Places: Interactive Elements for Altered Books, Memory Art, and Collage (Paperback)
I bought the book because I liked the ideas it gave me for my own altered book projects. I do wish there were more pictures explaining the processes, but the verbal instructions are very detailed. Not really good for those who learn by "seeing".
I like the numerous ideas they give in the book, making it the main reason I purchased it. It gives a great variety of layout concepts and designs.
Geared more for the scrapbooker, an altered book artist can glean a bit from the book. The templates in the back are very useful, making this a great resource! However, if you are looking for an altered book publication, there are better ones out there.
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