Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

Abundance and texture – Books as ART Materials

altered books, artist book, book arts, collage, combined techniques / Linda Germain / March 7, 2022

I wanted to share with you why I love using books as ART Materials.

Old books are:

tactile
intimate
abundant and
often nearly free

The pages can be the foundation for printing, painting collage and origami.

But the parts that I love the most are:

the stuff that makes up the spine
the book cloth and
the book board

One old book can be the stimulus for many projects. If you thinks this sounds interesting, then gather some old, unwanted books and join us in the online class, Books as ART Materials. Get all the details and register on the workshop page.

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Slow down and do some meditative making

altered books, artist book, book arts / Linda Germain / February 24, 2022

Lately, I have been doing black out poems, and folding cranes and boxes from book pages.

I noticed how meditative the process can be. I don’t need a lot of space or tools, and I can do the process almost anywhere.

I even combined the two, a black out page and then folded it into a tiny box. I ran a thread through several cranes and now have them floating above my work table. The folded crane is a symbol of success and good fortune, in the Japanese culture. I think everyone could use a little of that!

I encourage you to try out one of these meditative practices. FREE origami box tutorial here.

If you find you like working with book pages and parts, then join us in the online class, Books as Art Materials. Read all the details on the workshop page.

It is fun to hunt for old books and then take it apart to make new works of art. I think I love the hunt and deconstruction even more than the new making.

This is from the lesson, book as photo subject. Then I used the photo to cover a handmade book.

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Deconstructing a book – discovery process

altered books, artist book, book arts, collage, combined techniques / Linda Germain / February 21, 2022

I am getting ready for the Book as ART Materials class, and realizing how much I enjoy the deconstruction and discovery process of take an old book apart.

And I suggest that for this process it is okay to judge a book by its cover.

When using books as art materials, I think the older books have more surprises to offer. And they are a lot easier to take apart.

The magical parts are in the spine and the covers. The spine often has glue, mesh and other supportive materials that are great for collage.

Pages can be used for so many applications. Basically you can use them for any project that calls for paper:

origami
printmaking
painting
collage and more

I encourage you to find an old but not precious book and dissect it! Then see what you can make with the parts. And join us in the online class, Books as ART Materials. Read the details on the workshop page.

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Things I tell myself

combined techniques, mark making / Linda Germain / February 5, 2022

Art making is often a solitary process. But there is still a lot of conversation during the process.

My self talk is always in the background:

What I am doing this for?
What if I fail?
What if I ruin it?
How do I know if it is right?
Is it good enough?

I try to get beyond those judgments and fears by thinking more about the process than the product. So I say things like:

I can trust in the process
I don’t need to know
The magic happens when I can let go of control
It is a one of a kind process
Keep what I like
Notice what I enjoy
Let go of the struggle
Less is more
Leave some empty space
Admire the print

I encourage my students to adopt some of these thoughts. In the class, Make Marks and Books we break the steps down into seemingly unrelated elements.

We work in a loose book form to give the process a final product.
We slowly build up layers of marks to create an intuitive book
It is about learning to make space and build connections
It is about layering simple marks to create a rich visual story

If you would like to embrace this mark making process, then join us in Make Marks and Books. Read all the details on the workshop page. Class starts soon.

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Build on skills you enjoy

mixed media printmaking / Linda Germain / February 3, 2022

Start with art making skills that you already have and enjoy. Then test out and add on new skills.

That is one way that I have been growing my drawing and printmaking skills. I think it is important to enjoy the process and build in success as often as possible.

How do I build in success?

- Know that not every project will be beautiful. This reduces pressure and expectation
- Know that mistakes and practice pieces inform future work
- Notice what I admire about each piece. Bring what I like into the next print.

Printmaking is a great process for building new skills. When printing without a press the feed back from your mark making is immediate. You can develop your design and composition skills in fun and fast ways.

In the Make Marks and Books class, we will print many layers in a loose book form with the goal of exploring how to create pleasing combination of a variety of printed marks.

Start with an expressive scribble
Layer textured gelatin print
Make some tools
Add stamped, stenciled and rubbing kinds of marks
Continue to a complete book of your own unique style of mark making

If this sounds interesting to you, then read all the details on the workshop page and join us.

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