Altered book

Altered book.

An altered book is a form of mixed media where the subject (e.g a book) is altered either by appearance or meaning. This alters it original form. 

Methods: 

• Preparing the book- First you take a used or second hand book. You've first got to separate the book in half to prepare your niche. Take the back half of the book and layer the edges in PVA glue using a piece of cardboard. This is a quicker method then sticking each individual pages. Leave to dry. 
• - Once its dry or while its drying you next have to filter out the pages in the book. Do this by tearing out every 2 pages. By doing this you want to end with about 30 pages left. Next you want to make the pages bigger by sticking 3 pages together to produce 10 thicker pages. To stick the pages together use PVA glue. Leave to dry. 
• Illustrations- To do the illustration, first pick a page and pick a word from the text and draw a image either relating to the word or literally what the word is. Another way to pick what kind of illustration is to choose a theme for the whole book and draw from that. For my altered book I chose an illustration of a wolf, as my theme was more fairy tales. To do my wolf I first drew the outline on a blank page right before my niche and then filled it in with a graphic liner pen.  
• Adding text- Adding text is similar to illustrations. Either pick a word from the text and add a phrase relating to it. Ways of adding text is isolate certain words from the text by using white acrylic or black to block out the words and create a phrase within the text. Or you can cut out the words in the pages using a craft knife. I chose to use stamps to add text, I used it on the same page as my illustration choosing the phrase 'lone wolf'. By using stamps I had no need to block out text with paint. 
• Tags- For the tags you take a template of the shape and size template you desire, trace that then cut it. Alternatively you can cut it out freehand. Next is to decide what goes on your tag. For me I chose a word from my text and used that to create a welcome tag. For my tag I used the technique of sgraffito, so when i wrote my welcome sign the coloured paint would come through. I kept the top layer of the tag earthy brown to fit into the forestry style. On the back I add some more text. To tie in the tag i used a simple wire string and stuck it down with masking tape. To make the tag fit in i also painted a forest wash background with watercolour.
• Pop ups- To achieve a pop up effect, you cut out a square of paper and fold it over. Then on the creased edge of the folded page you make two identical slits with scissors near the centre. You then pop that out and push it through so it pops up against the fold. Then you have to decide what you want to be your pop up. I picked the words deer and forest from my text, After drawing them out I stuck them onto the pushed out section of the flap. You then have to stick them in the centre of the book, where the pages meet. This creates a pop up effect when you open the book. 
• Niche- This is the final development of the altered book. You first need to cut out your niche so draw a square or rectangle and using a cutting board and craft knife, take a layer away at a time. Once you've cut through the paper you can glue the inside edges of the niche to make them smoother. You then need to decide what you'd like to place in your niche. For my niche I developed a 3D effect by painting in a woodland back drop, and adding in paper layered trees to give off the idea of depth. To stick the trees down I used double sided sticky tape on the flap at the bottom and on top,  
• Cover of book- You can do this if you'd like to change the cover of your book. For mine i just stuck down ripped pieces of text and covered the front and back of my book. You can cover your book in all different ways from painting, collage or using already ripped out text.

Health & safety

• Be careful when using the craft knife, always cut away from you and be careful where you place your fingers. 
• When gluing the outer edges of the niche use cardboard to avoid paper cuts. 
• Don't run with scissors in your hands. 
• Clean up your area once you've finished.