My New Studio and an Altered Book Swap with Angie Ledbetter

Angie Ledbetter and I recently decided to do an altered book swap. I wrote previously on this blog about altered book projects:

• Altered Book from a Board Book
• Altered Book, Part 2 
• ATC (Artist Trading Card) Sketchbook from an Altered Book 
• Creative Ideas for Collage, ATCs, Altered Books, and Scrapbooking

A Collaboration, a Swap!


Angie, who lives in Louisiana, is a writer (co-author of Seeds of Faith: An Inspirational Almanac: Seasonal Essays, Recipes and Tips), editor (at Rose and Thorn Journal), and recipe dispenser (at the GumboWriter blog). She is also a wonderful "doodler" and shares her colorful sketches with friends on Facebook and also in a FB group for those who love to draw and doodle. And that's not all, Angie is also a thoughtful photographer who captures beautiful images and shares them with inspirational messages on Facebook. 


I am a writer, book designer, and illustrator by profession, and an amateur photographer. I also love making altered books and seeing the work of others as well and was happy to have the opportunity to do a trade with Angie. I love her postings on Facebook, her photographs, descriptions of delicious Louisiana cooking, and the wonderful Rose and Thorn Journal.


We agreed to create two altered books from children's board books. At first we considered each decorating every other page, then swapping, and finishing the books, then mailing them back. But, in the end we decided to simply each create a book for the other person. 

Angie has also posted a blog today on her altered book project for me! It is at angie-ledbetter.blogspot.com. So, be sure to stop by her site and see the photos of her project!

I like the fact that there are only a few pages in small board books, they are also sturdy and can stand on their own or on a plate stand (I like the simple wire stands available in hobby stores). They also come in interesting shapes. I like that they can be stored or shipped in hat boxes (also available at stores like Hobby Lobby at a very low price, the one I used to ship Angie's book cost $2).


Here is a photo of the three books I considered using for my project:

Back story...


My husband, Mark, and I moved to Harbor Springs, MI (from OH) in April and while my art room was set up, I hadn't really used it yet. So, Angie's book will forever be the first creative endeavor undertaken in my Harbor Springs studio!


Here are some photos of the space. I've needed to accommodate many of my interests, and was happy to have the use of two tables previously found in our kitchen in Athens. A kitchen island (made by the Amish and purchased online) and Mark's mother's beautiful card table. I wanted space for my scrap booking and altered book supplies; a table where I could work on "messy things" standing up; a place for my easel and my sewing machine; and a relatively clean area for working on clients' illustrations as well as the drawings I am doing for my work-in-progress, Finding Pletonia.

The making of my altered book for Angie...

I decided to use the book Funny Bones, which I'd picked up at the Goodwill store in Athens, Ohio, for 25 cents. I liked the shape of the book and also the two holes in the front cover. I knew I could do something with them.

During the time I worked on Angie's book there was a lot going on in my family and work, so having a place to set up the supplies and project and work on it, then walk away, then return and do something else, then go take care of responsibilities, then come back and check on the drying of varnish or glue or add an embellishment or two... well it was an easy process to meld into my workday. Here is the work in progress at the beginning. In fact, all I've done at this point is the cover. You can see the bookbinder's glue and the metallic paints as well as an old copy of Roget's Thesaurus which provided some background paper. A drawing of the elusive "poplyn" (an imaginary bird from my fantasy book in progress) is on the cork board I affixed to the wall. The cork board and the holders underneath containing my pens came from Lowes. You can also see my hole punch and electric pencil sharpener (one of my favorite things).

Here is a closeup of the Lumiere paints. They are wonderful! You can purchase them at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts.

Pages and Process...

I'll show, below, the various pages in the finished altered book and explain briefly the process. First up is the cover. I started out by gluing on pages from an old book. I added in the year, 2012, with press-on letters from my scrapbooking supplies. These particular letters were purchased at Walmart. 

The circular holes were already in the cover. I pasted a sheet of paper behind the holes, then painted Lumiere gold metallic paint in the circles. I also added other shades and then spiced it up with some flecks of real gold from a gold leaf kit.

I love to punch holes in paper, but the board of this book was too thick to punch, so I had to be content with pushing holes in the cover, along the top, with an awl. But then what? I found some brass paper fasteners and inserted them in the small holes. (I then covered the backs of the fasteners on the inside front cover with a piece of paper.) 

I took some pieces of foam and cut them into small rectangular shapes and glued them between the brass fasteners. I then painted Lumiere on the cover, in two shades of gold, and made sure I applied paint to the grass fasteners and foam rectangles as well. For a final touch, I glued rhinestones onto the cover in the circles. Glittery bits to catch the light. Also, I wrote "shelter ideal purposes" on the cover. This phrase is found inside the book as well...

The photographs at left and below show the inside front cover and first page. (At left you can see the original book's first page). For the inside front cover, I pasted paper from a set of papers about 4 x 6 inches, sold for scrapbooking. The paper is flocked and reminded me of New Orleans. Angie doesn't live in NOLA, but I've been there and so in my mind she lives "near New Orleans" a place I love very much.

A few small things were added to the inside front cover. Some labels I'd stained with tea, a note identifying the book, and a strip of thin, white paper (which provides the white swirls you see), and a picture of a bicycle.


On the facing page, I used more scrapbooking paper for the lower 2/3rds. I used the hole puncher to punch holes in the paper and black paper, glued underneath, shows through. I pasted a flower which I'd cut from Veranda magazine.

The page shown at left was created using a sheet of blue paper that was purchased in a set of such papers and said to be handmade. I don't think it really was handmade, but it looks like handmade paper, as it is rough. I took the paper and applied green and gold and other colors of paint and use these decorated sheets in various things. So, I glued it to the board book's page and then added in a picture of a window from a magazine, a picture of a sailboat, a statue, and some words from an old book. The writing says: "Wyatt nowadays was more silent than usual, being preoccupied with thoughts of Kate pregnant, alone, and all but penniless." Lastly, I added in some trees which I drew with a Micron .005 pen and a penny for Kate. On the facing page, I pasted some paper for the background and then glued a pretty ship in the center, for Wyatt, who was away on a ship, according to the page I'd cut the type from. I then added circular scribbles and the little pointing hand.

Below you can see another set of pages. They were simple to do. I glued black paper (punching holds in it beforehand) on the back of the left page and more flocked scrapbooking paper to the page on the right. I then affixed a flower arrangement cut from a magazine and a little photo of three dogs in a suitcase.  On the right-hand page, I used black and red markers to decorate the paper and also used metallic paints.

In the photo below, you can see another page with tree images. I cut strips of cardboard (some sort of waffled paper used in packing) and glued them like tree trunks, drawing lines on them with the Micron pen. I liked the baby with the leaf (from a magazine advertisement) and found the circular shape and the baby carriage amongst my scrapbooking images. 

On the facing page, I pasted an image of three dogs and a parrot.  Until January, Mark and I were the guardians of three dogs and a parrot. There is glare on the red flower I've pasted here. There is a different background paper on top than on the bottom and I have drawn in small flowers with red centers within each diamond shape on the top half.


On the next pair of facing pages, for the left side, I pasted another page from the same book (used on the cover and on the page with the ship). I have circled the words "shelter ideal purposes on this garden of an island." I've woven strips from a painting found in a magazine through the book pages.


On the facing page I glued a card I had with a dog on it; but I didn't know what to do then, so painted around it with blue, white, and black acrylic paint.

The last set of pages features a woman's face from a magazine and I have given her gold hair and surrounded her with the roles and titles of female persons, as well as a few lines from the thesaurus. 

The facing page was made by taking sheets of paper that I had treated long ago with something that caused images to transfer onto the paper, in a faded way. I cut triangular shapes from these papers and glued them like quilt pieces to the background, along with a small bit of that cardboard mentioned earlier and two paper tags I'd stained with tea. I chose three quotes:

"Life obliges me to do something, so I paint." - Rene Magritte

"I like the fact that in ancient Chinese art the great painters always included a deliberate flaw in their work: human creation is never perfect." - Madeleine L'Engle

"Create!" JPW

I also glued on an image of paints, taken from a magazine. (Note: the book is sitting on top of the $2 hat box I mentioned earlier.)

For the back cover, I pasted pieces of pages from the thesaurus and then on top of those pressed violets from our yard. I also sprinkled distress powder on the back cover. Each page was covered at least once with a clear, glossy coat of acrylic varnish. 

The spine was challenging as now the book was larger than previously and the original spine cover was glossy and the paint was not adhering to it well. I stripped it off and then glued a wide ribbon over the spine, then covered it with gold paint. As a last touch, I glued a piece of oriental-style faux ivory (or perhaps real, who knows!) to the front cover. This was from an old pin I'd had for many years from a second hand shop. The clasp had broken, but I'd saved the important part as I knew one day I would find the perfect place for it. And, the cover looks better with three large shapes rather than two. My mother taught me that when you arrange flowers, always have an odd number. I've found that rule works well in many situations.

I ran a pad of brown ink over the edges of the book's pages; they were too white. I let the book sit under the warmth of my desk lamp for a whole day, and then it was time to place the book into the hatbox and mail it to Angie! 


In the last photograph, you can see the altered book inside the hatbox. I put bubble wrap (we have tons left over from our move) between each set of pages, and then placed all inside a cardboard box. And off it went to Louisiana! I just love sending and receiving mail! 

It might sound like this project took a lot of time, but actually it did not. By doing a little bit here and there, it went quite quickly. If you want to try something similar, set up a table where you can leave your project and be comfortable with working on it in short bits of time. That way the glue and paint and varnish will have time to dry and, like a good book being read, the fun of creating will last for several days.


~Janice Phelps Williams

PS: Angie's altered book gift to me arrived just hours after I wrote this post on Friday. It is absolutely wonderful...a thoughtfully considered, artfully constructed treasure that means so much to me to have alongside the books I've made and the artist trading cards I've collected from around the country (and world). It was uncanny how many elements I incorporated into the book for Angie were also featured in her book to me! Read her post at the link below and you'll see what I mean. Thank you, Angie, for doing this fun and precious trade with me!

A Reminder: Angie has also posted a blog today on her altered book project for me! It is at angie-ledbetter.blogspot.com. So, be sure to stop by her site and see the photos of her project!

© 2012 by Janice Phelps Williams. All rights reserved.

New Orleans: People and Animals

Well, this brings me to my last post on our trip to New Orleans...sigh. Have you enjoyed seeing glimpses of it as much as I've enjoyed telling you about it? I hope so.

Here are the various posts on our trip:

1) Wonderful Food and Restaurants
2) The French Quarter and Street Bands
3) The Garden District
4) Shopping, Books, and Miscellaneous
5) People and Animals

I want to share with you a few photos of people and animals. I realized that while it is easier and I am more drawn to take photos of buildings and landscapes and beautiful trees that, as a writer, it would be good for me to spend more time looking at people. How they are dressed. How they hold themselves. How they interact with others. What does their body language say? This new travel camera Mark gave me has a "discreet" setting (no flash and no "click"). I found that in crowds no one is really paying attention to me; I can get some good photos.


In one case, where musicians were involved, I felt hesitant to draw close for the photo I wanted (and couldn't get at night using the zoom feature...I had to be close). But then I realized that musicians who play on sidewalks in tourist centers probably aren't worried about having their photo taken.

The photo at the top of this post was taken while we were sitting at Cafe Du Monde. A group of uniform-clad schoolkids was milling about and this young lady on the left and her posture were interesting to me. I wondered what sort of books she liked to read. Would she like Lucky Press's latest YA novel, My Beginning? (By Melissa Kline) She sat on the bench a while, then got up and these young men came in and sat down and I loved their posture.

Here is my guy at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse.


I loved the view from our table into the kitchen at Emeril's. Here is a waiter, waiting.



The photo below was another taken while we were sitting at Cafe Du Monde. It is the second photo I snapped of this scene. The first one was from my seat. Then I stood up so I could get their photographer in my picture. I call this "The Back of the Photo."


Here, below, is a couple I found interesting. I think of that saying about how people who are married a long time can start to look like each other. Something about these two says they have been together a while.



SWITCHING NOW TO ANIMALS . . .

The following photo was taken in the Garden District. I was walking along a fence looking for the perfect shot of the "house" beyond. The house is in quotation marks because it wasn't a home but a private girls' school. Then I noticed this little guy and thought of my son, Jesse, who loved these when he was a boy in Florida.


Having left our three dogs (Farley, Tyler, and Jackie) back in Ohio, we were happy to see many dogs during our trip to New Orleans. It seems a very dog-friendly city. Here are a few canine friends.







When our plane pulled into the gate in New Orleans, I snapped this photo of an airport employee waiting on the tarmac.



When we took a mule-drawn carriage ride around the French Quarter, I snapped our reflection in a shop window.



Not a photo of a person, actually but close enough, methinks, for this last photo from New Orleans. Thank you for joining me!

New Orleans: Shopping, Books, and Miscellaneous

This post continues our visit to New Orleans. Here are the posts related to our trip:

1) Wonderful Food and Restaurants
2) The French Quarter and Street Bands
3) The Garden District
4) Shopping, Books, and Miscellaneous
5) People and Animals

While in New Orleans, Mark and I visited three bookstores. If you've followed my earlier posts, I'm sure you are getting the sense that I really loved New Orleans. It surprised me in so many ways; and of course for me a perfect vacation always includes books. When I visit a new-to-me place, I must find the perfect books to enrich the traveling experience.

Crescent City Books (where I practically tripped and fell into the glass-windowed door): We didn't buy anything in this shop, but it's a nice store located in the French Quarter, not far from the Marriott where we were staying (see sign at left).

Beckham's Bookshop: Located at 228 Decatur Street, don't be put off by the unassuming storefront (see photo above). With not only a wonderful collection of new and used books, the proprietors entered into a discussion with us on Trotsky (when they learned Mark had written The Prophet of Sorrow.) In this wonderful shop, I purchased Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed Horne. Here's Beckham's Facebook page so you can like them too.

Garden District Bookshop is a well-organized shop located in The Rink in the Garden District on Prytania Street. I purchased New Orleans: A City Named Desire, by Todd and April Fell (I wanted a book with text and cool photos, like the "Eyewitness Books" series, and this filled the bill. Also in my shopping bag: Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen and The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story by Julia Reed.

I've nearly finished The House on First Street and was so happy to find that I'd taken a photo of what I believe may be Ms. Reed's home. I had noticed the beautiful flourishes at the top of the columns, Corinthian, Mark told me and I remembered the lesson on architecture from my Art History class. (I knew the house next to it had Doric columns, but couldn't remember the word "Corinthian," isn't that often the case in marriage, what one can't name, the other can?) Anyway, here's my photo:



New Orleans Marriott Gift Shop: I bought two books here: My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers edited by Rosemary James and a wonderful book in a "half-price basket," Mardis Gras Treasures: Invitations of the Golden Age by Henri Schindler.

SHOPPING:
New Orleans is a great place to shop for clothes, accessories, gifts, art and antiques. Here are places we loved:
Cajun Clothing Co. 600 Decatur St.—The day I met my husband he was wearing a purple and yellow long-sleeved shirt from Cajun Clothing Co. by Perils, so when we went into the store and saw a big table stacked with these same neatly folded shirts, I knew we were in the right place. Mark picked up a few more shirts and received a compliment on the shirt (I think by a guy in an elevator) the next day when he wore it. I bought a T-shirt that is that wonderful cotton that is just perfect, as well as a man's Hawaiian shirt that I couldn't pass up. Best of all, I bought a pair of Douglas Paquette flip-flops, which SAVED my aching feet the rest of the day.

There are many antique shops on Royal Street. We also bought pralines (my first and now I'm hooked...this is like the grown-up version of my fascination with maple-leaf candy sold at Shoney's).


At The Little Toy Shop, 900 Decatur St., I purchased 8 toy horses. Why? Because I am illustrating a children's book and the horses are stumping me... how do their legs go? Where are their muscles? These little equines inspire me.


We also found a lovely shop near the Louisiana State Museum that specialized in tabasco (I believe it was the Tabasco Country Store), and while Mark picked up some T-shirts, I chose a beautiful runner for our dining room table that would match my favorite botanical place mats that he'd given me a while ago.



This morning, back home in Ohio, I picked some lovely lilacs and their aroma is filling the house. Bryce has just been picked up by a transportation helper to return home after a fun time together and a trip to the audiologist. Good news: the hearing aid we thought was broken is not, and with a new ear mold his left ear (always "left" out of everything) should soon be hearing conversation again.



Mark's previous two visits to New Orleans and his great memory brought a smile to my face when he mentioned a yarn store he recalled passing on his visit in 2007 (see what I mean about a great memory; he didn't even go in the store). So, yes, The Quarter Stitch, was right where he remembered it off Jackson Square and I purchased 2 lovely skeins of lavender yarn to make, you guessed it, a scarf!

The yarn was lovingly wrapped in coordinating tissue paper, then placed in a plastic bag with handmade business cards, then the bag affixed with ribbon, then the ribbon curled with scissors. High wow factor!

Stay tuned for later in the year when I actually complete the project! And, let me just say the colors of this yarn are so beautiful... this store will definitely be a regular stop on my future New Orleans visits.


New Orleans was a wonderful place to shop with a variety of items in a variety of price ranges. Many of the stores are unique, others are, for lack of a better phrase, the best. In other words, the toy store was a wonderful, traditional toy store very much like the one Mark and I visited in Sarasota, Florida in December. The products stocked were very similar. The yarn store was stocked with the best yarn a knitter/crocheter can hope to find. The bookstores are great too. The quality of each store to have the best in its category was so high, and I can't imagine anyone who loves to shop being disappointed at the selection of stores and products in New Orleans.

MISCELLANEOUS:

There were several photos that don't fit into the categories I choose to blog about. So, I'm putting them here; though the one at left would fit under shopping, I suppose. It's of a storefront window and I was drawn in to so many of the beautiful shop windows on our trip.




Above, is a bathroom tile. Guess where it is from? Emeril's restaurant! Below is a photo of the dormer and chimney of Jean Lefitte's place.



Below, you can see three photos I took from the plane. The first is using the "fisheye" option in my new travel camera, a Cannon.



Here is a photo of the Mississippi River, from our hotel room.


The photo below shows the canopy of branches and leaves, the natural shade covering within the courtyard of The Court of Two Sisters. The restaurant has many umbrellas in the courtyard, but at the entry, these beautiful plants provide shade.



Below, you can see Ann Rice's house in the Garden District. I should have put it in the previous post, but wanted it in this, the book section.



These red chandeliers greeted me each morning in the lobby of the New Orleans Marriott on Canal St.



Lastly, here is a hopeful sign, I think. A new store for me to visit on our next trip, perhaps?