Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking (Paperback)

by Holly Harrison (Author) "Finally, altering a book provides the opportunity to develop a body of work..." (more)
Key Phrases: collaged pages, altered books, paper ephemera, Other Funky Tomes, Sarah Fishburn, Technique Highlight (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Today more than ever, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Why? Because two of the hottest new trends in bookmaking are pushing the boundaries of what it means to write, read, and experience a book.

This exciting guide explores the creative processes behind altered books when artists make their own distinctive mark on an already published workand collaborative journals in which many artists come together to create a unique single work.

Readers will learn how to alter treasured books through collage, paint, layering, sewing and more. And they’ll learn how communities of artists can come together to select a topic, set up a project, and ultimately publish or show their finished collaborative work.

Filled with easy, how-to projects and beautiful gallery photos, this book will help artists of any ability to create books that tell unique and personal stories.

About the Author
Holly Harrison is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Collage for the Soul: Expressing Hopes and Dreams through Art and Angel Crafts: Graceful Gifts, Inspired Designs. She has also contributed to numerous magazines, including Metropolitan Home. She and her husband live in Concord, MA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564969959
• ISBN-13: 978-1564969958
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,500 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Book Making & Binding
  #32 in	Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Books
  #58 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Mixed Media

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading blurb, but a beautiful book about artist's books, July 6, 2004

By	carolineliza (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

Only 4 stars because if you buy this book for what it's supposed to offer you'd be disappointed. This is not a book about the HOW to alter books.. but more of a journey at looking at other people who have.

* This book is a showcase of books.

* This book will not help someone who has never got into book-making before

* This will provide you with inspirations to do something, it doesn't treat you as a pre-schooler saying 'cut here.. paste this' etc. It is all about setting your own creative spirit free.

* Combine this book with a more basic 'how to' if you really need it, but for someone who is willing to experiment this book will get you going.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some books are for more than reading..., November 9, 2003

By	Julie Lovisa (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the art of altering books has been around for awhile, it is just now becoming a creative trend, and deservedly so. This is an art where you can release your innermost creative desires to express whatever you feel onto the pages of a book.

ALTERED BOOKS, COLLABORATIVE JOURNALS, AND OTHER ADVENTURES IN BOOKMAKING will help to make your journey a little easier if you are beginning and give you inspiration if you're more advanced. The full-color photographs are beautiful and give you a little taste of the variety of things that you can do with this medium.

Chapters include ideas for type of books to work with, things you can do in your book (collages, niches, transfers, ink, etc.), and goes on to more involved projects like rebinding your own books and joining round robins.

All in all, you will gean a wealth of information from this book from both it's gorgeous pictures and fantastic ideas.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and informative paper arts book., March 17, 2004

By	velma "bipolar artist" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

I've read a LOT of craft and art how-to books, and many of them are geared towards beginners or focus on techniques like rubber stamping, which is pretty self-explanatory.

I liked this book because it shows examples of altered books by artists working in the medium and has an accompanying section called "Technique Highlights" that tells you how to do things like gelatin prints, image transfers and bookbinding.

For those already familiar (as I am) with some of these techniques, it was a pleasant surprise to find alternative methods of accomplishing these methods.

Finally, it's always inspirational to see what other artists are doing with the medium. It helps you look at your own work and supplies in new ways.

I'd definitely recommend this one.