For the last few months I've been working on an altered book project for the annual Novel Art fundraiser held by the public library in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The idea is to take a used book—often destined for the landfill—and turn it into a work of art that can be auctioned off to raise money for the library. I learned about this event from Andrew Thornton who owns the Allegory Gallery that sells some of my jewelry.
About the Book
I bought my used book at my local library's used book sale earlier this year. I chose this slim hardcover primarily because of its smaller size. It's volume 2 of Kalevala, which is a Finnish epic poem. This particular volume was an English translation. I checked online and used copies of this edition sold in the $1-3 range. (I've watched too many episode of Antiques Roadshow to start cutting into an old object without doing a little research first!)
Creating the Jewelry Box and Necklace
Cover and Spine
For the front cover, I embossed individual letters on brass to spell out the word "adventure" and attached them to a piece of copper that I'd hammered. I wire wrapped a metal bow and arrow to the center, after I had removed some of the finish to show the copper highlights. I cut the darkened brass to create a little handle to make it easier to open the book. On the spine, I made a hand stamped metal tag with my name and date.
Inside, On Right
I used a sharp blade to carve an oval out of the pages on the right to hold the jewelry. That took quite awhile; it's difficult to carve more than a page or two at a time. The back of the oval is covered with a linen paper that has a subtle texture. I decoupaged several layers of words from the book to give the page more visual interest. (As a poem, the text was mainly in the center of the page that I had cut out.) To add a little color and texture, I affixed a handmade red leather bookmark, complete with fringe.
Inside, On Left
On the left, I painted the inside cover ivory and hand lettered a favorite quote by Anna Quindlen: "Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey." I added a metal compass disc in the center of the page and copper tape around the edge of the page.
The Necklace
Of course, I had to fill the jewelry box with a handmade book necklace! This one has a copper cover with several copper arrows to mimic the arrow on the book.(The brass back cover has embossed alphabet letters.) The necklace is hung on brass chain and closes with a lobster clasp. The inside pages are ones cut from the original book.
The Auction
Keep an eye on the Novel Art project to see how others have altered their books. The auction will be May 1, 2015. If you live in the Lignoier, Pennsylvania area, you can stop by the library and see the altered books on display April 23-30.
I enjoyed this project immensely. It's unusual for me to work on a single project over weeks or months, but I found I liked popping down to the workshop for a few minutes to add another coat of paint or lay out of a few possibilities for the cover. I also learned a few new things. (Who knew that paper was so messy to carve? I looked like I'd been sitting in a snowstorm after carving that oval shape!) I have a feeling this won't be my last altered book project.