Altered Book Collage (Hardcover)

by Barbara Matthiessen (Author), Inc. Prolific Impressions (Producer)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Matthiessen—a crafter, designer and author—isn't suggesting anything untoward when she speaks of altering books. Rather, she advocates recycling and reusing old books (and the elements crafters can use to decorate them) in the pursuit of creativity, self-expression and enjoyment. Wannabe artists uncertain of their qualifications can relax: "You do not need to be able to draw, paint, or even cut a straight line to alter a book." The art form, also known as "palimpsest," dates back to the 11th century and draws largely on traditional collage techniques. The book offers plenty of large, colorful photos that take readers step-by-step through priming and sealing a page, or perhaps embellishing a domino or glass microscope slide; lists of recommended supplies and tools aid in preparation. A gallery of creations comprises the second half of the book, and a chapter entitled "101 Ways to Alter a Book" provides further inspiration. Avid scrapbookers should have a smooth transition to this crafting arena, as will those who already have a collection of found objects and curios at the ready. Generally speaking, the artwork in the book has a shabby chic sensibility, though punk crafters could easily substitute tiny skull-and-crossbones for butterflies and fishnet for lace. (May)
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Product Description

Here's a fresh take on a hot, creative craft: turning old books into new art.

Give a favorite book new life as a beautiful collage. Just take the old volume, pull out or color photocopy the pages, cut them up, and then arrange the pieces in a fresh new design. That's an altered book collage, and it's a great way for paper crafters and scrapbookers to create a wonderfully personalized objet d'art. Get in on the fun of this super-popular craft with this guide to putting together that very first altered book, and beyond. The entire enjoyable process receives detailed attention. Find out how to choose a theme, the mechanics involved, and a variety of crafting techniques to use, from painting to stitching, from beading to stenciling. Hundreds of sample pages will inspire you to start designing immediately.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402714106
• ISBN-13: 978-1402714108
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #730,080 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hoping for a little more, October 20, 2005

By	Bron Mitchell "bronm" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

Altered art, in all its different guises, has certainly taken the art & craft world by storm over the last couple of years. There are now dozens of books (not to mention hundreds of websites, blogs, and Yahoo groups) which cater for all those interested in altered art, and altered books probably still remain the most popular out of the many things that can be turned into art. If this is not your first foray into altering, then chances are you already own some of these books, have been to the websites (such as ISABA), and are a member of some of the many online groups. If you fit this category, then to be perfectly honest, you probably won't find much that is new in Barbara Matthiessen's book.

For a book that is coming a good two years behind some of the well-known ones in the 'altered book canon' (for example, titles by Holly Harrison, Bev Brazelton, Beth Cote and the Design Originals series to name but a few), I had hoped for something that pushed the boundaries a little more, rather than just including the same tips and techniques that can now be found pretty much anywhere. Matthiessen will give you the standard run down on the history of ABs (to use the art world lingo), how to choose a book to alter and get started, materials and tools you can use, and things you might do to the book. This includes things like stamping and embossing, cutting windows or niches, transfers, and adding embellishments, all of which are now pretty standard in the file section of online groups, or that can easily be found elsewhere on the web. Of course, it's always nice to have things in book form rather than amassing piles of loose idea pages, but this seems like much more of a beginners book than for someone who's been altering for a while.

Of course, if you are a beginner, then chances are you'll find most of what she has to say quite useful, and if it's step-by-step instructions you like, then Matthiessen includes them for almost every page presented. But again, they really seem tailored to the inexperienced alterer - I'm sure most people would find instructions like 'tear paper, adhere to page, allow to dry' somewhat redundant.

To be fair, I thought the artwork itself in this book was as beautiful as what I've seen in many other books about altered art. If inspiration is what you're after, I'm sure you will find it in Mattheissen's pages, as well as those by other wonderful contributors toward the end of the book. I especially liked the altered board book 'Nature's Miracles' and the collaborative 'Art of the World' book.

There is plenty here to inspire the new artist to pick up a book and start altering, and I'm sure there are many die-hard AB artists who will want to add this to their collection anyway. But otherwise I would give this one a miss, or at least borrow before you buy to avoid disappointment.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for a beginning altered art enthusiast, November 15, 2005

By	A. Janney "Jewelry chic" (Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am new to altered art, although I've been crafting and making jewelry for years. I've bought a few books about altered art and this is by far my favorite. Barbara goes through all the basics, what to use to glue with, to color with, whether to seal the pages or not. Some of the other books I've gotten just tell you to color the page and then go into cutting windows and doors. With the other books, I've questioned what supplies I should be using and how they got certain effects. With this book, my questions were answered and the projects are inspiring.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Me!, February 10, 2007

By	Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Altered Book Collage (Paperback)

I've read 3 or 4 books already on altered books, but just couldn't seem to get started. This one gave me the details and confidence to actually get going.
It discusses the process, history, altered book groups, and collage.
It gives ideas for displaying the results or giving them as gifts.
It talks about building a page by choosing a theme or concept, considering the mechanics, design, backgrounds, layers and mistakes.
The next section helps you choose a book, and covers adhesives and attachers, coloring for pages, decorating supplies, papers and embellishing tools.
It clarified for me how to prepare the book, gluing, cutting windows/doors/niches and listed 101 ways to alter a book.
Other techniques explained are:
Rubber Stamping
Decoupage
Coloring
Polymer & Air Dry Clay Embellishments
Transferring
Embossed Metallic Embellishments
Microscope Slide Embellishing
Stamped Spackle Embellishments
Crackled Stones (Dominos)
Burnt Edged Papers
Sealing & Protecting
Watercolor Batik
Beaded Edging
Torn Window Collage
Leather-Bound Memorabilia Book
Cheesecloth Masking
Tags & Envelopes
Bleached Stamped Pages
Fabric Pages
Needlework Pages
Woven & Folded Pages
The needed tools and supplies are listed in a box next to the inspiring photos of altered books where that technique was used. I practiced some of the techniques on old greeting cards that had piled up. The results impressed me and I even sent some off to family and friends.