COVER STORY

Book of Quakers by Stephen Livingstone. See Stephen's website here.

"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found" - James Russell Lowell

When I first started googling, not quite 4 years ago, I had never heard of an altered book. I was staggered when I realized this was an artform. Now I am discovering the most intriguing book cover artworks and deconstructions.

Another piece by Stephen Livingstone. See website here.

"i use natural and found materials. paints made from pulverised rocks, sludge and dust, the results of rusting and burning. i collect rusted objects and reform them, give them new life. i recycle books, save them from incineration and give them new meaning." - Stephen Livingstone

Mixed media piece using book cover by Jo Horswill. See Jo's blog here.

Two of the most exciting pieces (in my opinion) are those of Jo Horswill, an artist and blogger from Australia. I love the fact that she has incorporated bits of her own etchings and prints into these pieces. Jo has written a wonderful post about book art on her blog, My Story. Well worth a visit!

Another piece by Jo Horswill. My favourite! See Jo's blog here.

Stain by Pat Swanson. Discarded book parts and graphite on wood backing. See more here.

Scraps I by Pat Swanson. See more of Pat's work here.

You may recognize Brigitte Riesebrodt's work from an earlier post. See more here.

John Fraser, another familiar artist featured on Art Propelled. See here.

All that Remains by Gillian Robinson. Blog post on Drumcroon - Art Education Centre, here.

Reliquiae - All that Remains by Gillian Robinson. See more here.

"Books have a powerful symbolism, communicating ideas, knowledge, wisdom, history, experience. ‘All That Remains’ seems to capture that sense of power, combined with great vulnerability" - Words by Kevin on the Drumcroon blog.

A detail from one of Jason Twiggy Lotts intriguing pieces. Jason's website here.

Jonathan Callen's work always stops me in my tracks. See more here.

"Don't worry about your originality. You couldn't get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do." - Robert Henri

OLD BOOKS TRANSFORMED INTO ART

Trawling (detail). Installation by Steve McPherson. See Website here.

Old books with yellowing pages, tattered covers and exposed spines, rescued and reinvented, transformed into art. Whoever would have thought that an artform would arise from a pile of discarded books ..... but then nothing should surprise me when it comes to the ingenuity of artists.

Rediscovery by Joseph Hammer. See more of Joseph's work here.

"I’m a lover of books, and I wonder: will there be books as we now know them in the future? I’m partial to using old, discarded hardback books in collages and am inspired by the varieties of colors and textures on their covers, by how they can be used, like paint, to provoke feelings and emotions, to explore things such as line, color saturation and tension. As a lover of history, I pay tribute to these threadbare, tattered tomes. They provide a look back at the bookbinder’s craft and the careful, sometimes elaborate designs, marbling and gold leaf, of long ago. Deterioration does not diminish their beauty but adds a patina of use, of human “hand prints.” - Joseph Hammer

Collected Letters by Joseph Hammer. See more here.

Cartographic No 1. by Steve McPherson. See website here.

"In my bookworks I use empty old second hand photo albums or scrap books, which I collage and montage straight into with mostly my own images and found objects."

"Taking two to three months to complete each work, the works undergo many changes. Time is spent moving and testing objects, images and text without a single item being fixed permanently in its place. Through editing, re-editing, chance and play, meaningful relationships gradually form between the elements and the layers" - Steve McPherson

"Milieu 4" by Brigitte Riesebrodt. See more of Brigette's work here.

"Milieu 2" by Brigitte Reisebrodt

"Langenscheidt 4" by Brigitte Riesebrodt. See more here.

Jody Alexander "likes to rescue books in distress and give them new life as rebound books, scrolls and sculptural pieces."

Exposed Spines by Jody Alexander. See website here.

Bars (Grey) by John Fraser. See more of John's work here.

"The book is just one component; once it becomes a part of the picture plane I negotiate that plane. Nuance, subtlety, and beauty and all things I think are worth looking at, those all matter to me." - John Fraser

Relief with Rule by John Fraser.

Mixed media using book parts by Roberta Lee Woods. See more of Roberta's work here.

Book sculpture by Jacqueline Rush Lee. See Jacqueline's website here.