Meet the "Altered Ladies"

Back in August, I attended a class in altered book techniques where I was fortunate to meet several people who were new to Altered Books.  Their interest and enthusiasm were absolutely infectious!  It was no surprise when the group expressed interest in trying their hand at an altered book round robin.  Our group of 10 dubbed ourselves "The Altered Ladies." 

Having participated in a few AB RRs and various art swaps over the years, I was honored to serve as hostess for this inaugural AB RR of the Altered Ladies.  We gathered initially to go over the logistics of how the AB RR would work--especially with two of our members participating from the mainland.  We decided to take a month to select our books and themes.  We are scheduled to meet every third Saturday of the month to show our work and exchange our books.  We have an interesting variety of themes to explore in this round.  I am excited to see what everyone has done to kick off this AB RR.  We have even set up a blog where we can post photos of our work to share with our mainland players who are unable to attend our monthly meetings.  http://alteredladies.weebly.com/  I hope you will check back often to see our progress!

The book I chose for our Altered Ladies' AB RR is entitled Wind Sand & Stars by Antoine Saint-Exupery.  It is a story about flight, but it is also a story of adventure. The book explores the potential in people for greatness of individual creativity and spirit.  I loved this idea so, I decided to keep my theme open--to allow the Altered Ladies to explore and experiment with what they have learned--or are learning. The introduction to my book invites them to think of this first altered book round robin as embarking on an exciting journey. I tell them to be prepared to go where they have never ventured before. To discover their creative selves. To stretch themselves as artists. To let their imaginations run wild.   To feel free to express their unique voice or point of view.   To dare to experiment with new techniques and ideas. The sky is the limit. Do not be afraid to soar!

For my intial spread, I used the book's title for my inspiration.  I had never done a niche before, so now was the perfect opportunity!  My girlfriend had furnished me with a bunch of fashion watches (after purging her Mom's stash!) and I couldn't resist using them in this piece. 

The background for my "Sands of Time" spread was created with the Apparatus Artistcellar stencil and the pewter colored Inka-Gold (Thank you, Lisa!)  I embellished the background with gear die-cuts (a gift from Bea!) and Tim Holtz sprockets and spinners.

Of course, all of this manipulation caused the spine of this 1939 book to crack.  A special thanks to Lori who helped me repair the spine before it goes into the rotation.