Student Altered Books

Photos to inspire you! These are from students' altered books made in the Art of Life group.

Register Now for Altered Book Workshop

Artful Alchemy

Spin straw into gold! Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! You get the idea...

Transform an old boring book into a fascinating work of art! Learn how to prepare your book as well as artistic techniques to make it uniquely your own. We’ll meet from 10-4 on Sunday, March 11 for this mind and book altering workshop. Tuition:90.

Bring an older book with a sewn binding and a brown bag lunch. All other materials are provided,along with morning snacks and beverages. Class size limited to 6.

Email me at info@artofyourlife.com

Unlikely Inspiration cont.

New encaustics: "The Approach" and "Last Resort."

Unlikely Inspiration

Bloom

Attachment Issues

Signs of Aging

Sometimes when we feel like creating, we aren't sure where to look for inspiration. It helps to be open to looking at usual objects in a different way or looking in unlikely places for colors or shapes that attract us. I'm working on a series of 8" square encaustic* paintngs. They are pretty abstract which is new for me. What inspired these paintings were photos in a book on the restoration of paintings. Each problem in restoration was illustrated with closeups of the problem area. I thought these closeups were absolutely beautiful and I wanted to create paintings inspired by these photos of problem areas. I thought encaustic would give me a lot of freedom to explore more abstract shapes. As I worked on the first three paintings, my "psychological mind" kicked in and I started relating the restoration problems to human issues. My paintings look different from the original closeups but the inspiration got me trying something new and exciting.

*encaustic involves painting, in this case on wood, with liquid beeswax. Different colored pigments are added to the melted beeswax and clear beeswax is also used. Each layer of beeswax is fused to the previous one with heat. (I use a heat gun, propane torch, or sealing iron.)