You should get gesso in big jars, because if you want to cover a text page you might need to paint it two or three times, but of course it’s equally awesome to let the text peek through, a layer of mystery from the original book. Sometimes (often) it is good to give a few pages a coat of gesso (that white canvas paint that gives the pages a bit of tooth and texture). If your book has cool illustrations you should keep them and work around them with your paints, integrate them in your world view or give them new meaning. There are a whole slew of fun things to do to text book pages! You can play with the text and highlight words, draw on top of other illustrations or alter the illustrations for example. When you’ve thinned out the book it’s time to start using it and make your marks on the pages. A whole lot better than if you use new sketchbook paper or if a text book like this stays in the thrift store to collect dust until someone throws it in the bin! I also save the pages torn out and I’ve used them to make envelopes, new journals, background papers or cut out the illustrations for collages! Of course when you use a book in this way some people will call it book abuse, but to me it’s recycling and very environmentally friendly. It will ensure that the book will keep looking like a book a few months from now. I add lots of layers of paper collage and paint, and sometimes items like brads, paper clips and cardboard bits etc that adds to the book, so don’t be afraid to tear out a lot of the pages. No matter how many pages I’ve taken out mine always ends up bulkier than it was in the beginning anyway. The first step is actually to start tearing pages out of your new book.įind the middle of each signature and tear out about half of the papers in each signature, making it a lot thinner than it originally was. On this illustrated page you can see the thread.Ī sewn binding is much sturdier than a glue binding, and if it is a quality book it will keep together even when you “abuse” the book by tearing pages out, painting and playing in your altered book! In the middle of each signature you should be able to locate the thread. Look for a book that has a rounded back and that is divided into signatures. You want a book with a sewn binding, not a glue binding where the pages will fall out very quickly. Tutorial on Altering a Book into an Art Journalīefore you buy the book check the spine. I prefer the thicker papers if I can find a book that has that (books from the 1970’s often has non-glossy & sturdy paper). If the papers are to thin for wet media you can glue several pages together to make them sturdier, but to me that is too tedious and still does not give the best ground to work on. Personally I prefer coffee table sized books with thick matte paper, but you can use any style of book that you like. I get used books at flea markets or thrift stores. When the book itself is sturdy but cheap it’s easy to use it for “what ever” and experiment in it with collage, charcoals, crayons, acrylic paint splattering and painting layer upon layer.Īn art journal that has non-precious papers is kind of made to mess up, and I will not hesitate to fill it with everything I want, even junk mail collages etc. I need to feel that I can use it without worrying. I love cheap because the art journals is an important tool for me and one of the biggest reasons I’ve developed as an artist. I use altered books for several reasons, the most prominent reason though is that they are very cheap in comparison to artist sketchbook or beautiful handmade books found on Etsy! Most of my Art Journals have been altered books throughout the years. It’s time for a tutorial on how to alter a vintage book and make it into your very own, personalized art journal! Altering books is easy and super fun, so let’s give it a try together.
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