Patriotic Altered Book

I have so many ideas in my head that when I finally settle on a theme for my next altered book it’s not a matter of where to start but when to stop.

I started out with a wonderful garden book with an interesting binding system holding the pages together. Unfortunately with about half the book completed a prospective student handled the book as if it were just another book instead of the work of art it was on its way to becoming.

Well this not only took the wind out of my sails it ripped my sails to pieces. There was no way to repair the pages and reinsert them into the book they came out of. Sleepless nights tossing and turning left me tired and totally lost. On the third or fourth night as I finally drifted off to sleep I remembered a five ring binder book that just might work to repair this art piece.

Sleepless in WA no longer I rummaged in my boxes of books looking for a new life for my art and found what I was looking for. I removed all the inserts from the new book and then used one of the pages as a guide to individually punch five holes in each page of all the work I had completed and all the unfinished pages that were primed with gesso and ready to work on. Now I really could go back to creating. I love finding the right ephemera, clip art, ribbons, trims, and papers so much so that I just want to use them all-- so I keep going.

I currently have one nephew in the Army, one who just retired from the Navy and a step son-in-law in the Army. I wanted to make a book about the USA, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and all things American. There is nowhere else I would rather live than in the “good ole’ USA”. “We” the USA make mistakes, but who doesn’t? Just look how many other countries want what we have and try to emulate us.

Twenty-eight pages, plus the inside front and back covers, the front and back covers and three months of on again, off again, time spent working on my patriotic altered book. I also wrote eight original pieces of poetry for this altered book all pertaining to the patriotic theme.

When I am in my studio
I seem to have another life
The right brain reigns
It’s in control
Another me inside of me
Too many ideas
Too many thoughts
Not enough time
Where do I start?
When is it finished?
When I can walk out?
Can I walk out?
I look around
All alone on the table
It’s finished
A piece of me