I came across this great How-To on Craftzine.com for turning an old book into wall storage. I don’t know how many of my readers are crafters, but this looks easy enough for just about anyone to try. The tutorial is from Pam from Gingerbread Snowflakes. I suggest looking for books that are damaged enough inside as to be un-readable because this project requires you to cut the pages out and just use the hardcover. I think they’re really cool and the possibilities for decorating them are endless. If you make this, leave me a comment. I’d love to see!
Tag Archives: book art
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Book Art: Nicholas Galanin
I never knew that “book art” was a real thing until coming across Kylie Stillman. Even then I though, Wow. This artist is doing this amazing thing that no one else has ever done. I admit, I was completely ignorant. After that I found Su Blackwell‘s work. Then in May, Boing Boing featured artist Nicholas Galanin’s book sculptures. It took me a little bit to formulate this post, but I’ve had this bookmarked waiting for you guys. His Flickr set alone is pretty amazing, but a quick look around his website and you’ll be amazed. He doesn’t work solely with books or even paper, either.
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Alphabetica
A couple weeks ago I saw a book on Cool Mom Picks that I had to share here. Alphabetica: Odes to the Alphabet is a collection of poems about the alphabet for children. Author Diana Spieker and illustrator Krista Skehan, Alphabetica really is a beautiful work of art. The poetry is described by Personify Press as, “challenging and playful.” I believe this book would be a great one for parents to enjoy with their children and the type of book you’ll hang onto even as your child grows beyond the alphabet years. Rita Arens at Cool Mom Picks said, “You could easily pull out any page and frame it.”
This is one book I will definitely be adding to my list of kid books to buy once this kid I’m cooking shows up. Also, you may remember me mentioning Cool Mom Picks here in the past. It’s basically a mom-oriented, product review blog with a number of fantastic blogger/contributors and editors. The site tends to review products from indie makers and mom-run companies. Founded by Kristen Chase and Liz Gumbinner, the site really is a great one to follow. Entries are short and sweet, products usually are tried and tested, and they don’t feature junky items, big box products, or whining about crummy products. It’s an easy one to flip through in your reader and you won’t be sorry for subscribing.
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More Book Art
Since I stumbled on Kylie Stillman’s book art, I’ve been wandering the internet to see what people are creating from books. That’s how I found Su Blackwell. Her book art is gorgeous. Her artist statement convinced me not to be a little saddened by book art. “Paper has been used for communication since its invention; either between humans or in an attempt to communicate with the spirit world. I employ this delicate, accessible medium and use irreversible, destructive processes to reflect on the precariousness of the world we inhabit and the fragility of our life, dreams and ambitions.”
I no longer hear my elementary school librarian talking about dog-eared book pages when looking at art like this. Her statement speaks to the creative in me by simply pointing out that paper, books, speak in more than one way. She is incredibly talented at making them say something new and different than they ever have before. How amazing is that? The rest of her statement is well worth reading.
Like Stillman, Blackwell’s work is mostly in books, but the similarities really end there. Blackwell creates intricate, engaging pieces that I can’t take my eyes off. The installations featured on her site are breathtaking. While You Were Sleeping is my favorite.
I also found these pieces particularly enchanting:
The Secret Garden,
Kylie Stillman Carves Books
As much as I shudder a little when I think about carving a book, I still fell in love Kylie Stillman’s art. I first heard of Stillman on Apartment Therapy back in August. The original post about her is here. She lives in Australia, so most of her exhibitions are there, but she has a lovely website where you can check out all of her work. She carves bonsai trees and birds into the sides of book stacks and it creates an amazing work of art. This is one of my favorites, a bonsai tree. This huge tree carving blew my mind. I’d love to see it in person.