Life Chapters: Altered Book as Visual Journal
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2004
Time: 9am – 4:30pm
Instructor: Juliana Coles
Cost: $125

In this Workshop we will use the Altered book format as an introduction to Juliana's Expressive Visual Journaling Techniques. We will begin with an old library book, text book, record album set, or any other all ready existing book form that can be altered to become our Visual Journal. The morning will be spent more on technique and preparing our books by making more space to protect the spine, learning creative ways to add new pages and secret envelopes, as well as setting up “life chapters' or sections using tabs. (as in all my classes- we work very quickly so as not to invite our critic.) We will then be guided to design life chapters based on chronology, life experience, travel, children, or any other transitional and life changing events. We will incorporate some of Juliana's unique self dialogue techniques in order to begin our chapters by coming up with a theme. You will not finish this project in class, but rather have begun the process of visual journaling. BUT you WILL have your book fully prepared, you WILL complete a few assignments to be well on your way of telling your story in an Altered book, and you WILL discover ways to finish your chapters at home by coming up with your own assignments. If you have time, you can begin preparing your book at home- instructions will be sent in your registration packets. All participants will receive a Me & Pete Visual Journaling Instructional booklet in class! No art or writing experience necessary- for all levels.

Life Chapters; Book Set up & Homework

•  Making room for collaged pages, inserted pages, and cardboard inserts:  Please tear out every other signature - begin with the first, then remove the  last- then go back to the front and remove  every other signature from there (if it is not even, if two signatures are together or two torn out side by side- that's fine).

•  What is a signature? close the book and look at the spine- you should be able to see the folds of paper- a signature is each folded section that is then sewn into the spine. Don't try to tear it out at once - the best way is to open the book to the center of the signature (or that fold) - it helps to look along the spine - then take a metal ruler, line it up into the center of the book and tear the right page out - and take out all remaining pages in the same way- all the right side - to the end of the signature. Remove the ruler and the left halves should easily come out.

•  Page Set up: try some experimenting.  This is just background texture so no need to be too thoughtful about it.  Gesso some pages.  (Gesso is a white chalky paint like ground - white paint is not the same thing.  For working in our books, the quality of the gesso is not important- and you won't need a lot.)  Create a collage texture on others (in one of my classes at an after school program for gifted middle schoolers, one of  the girls was blind. When I talked about the assignments or people's work, she would always say, let me see - and then we would pass her the book so she could feel it). So I want you to create collage as texture so that you can feel it. Or what about collage, with gesso over that? Do some experimentation - at least four pages.

•  Please do not "finish" the whole book.  Remember- BACKGROUND- I may, in class, ask you to paint over the whole thing - so no perfection or finished products please.

•  Meanwhile, don't forget to be gathering things for our tabs or section dividers. Think of cool ways to attach things: wire, ribbon, eyelets, sticks, string, thread, hole punches, found objects (I even have a plastic firecracker - complete with wick attached to one of my pages) - if you think it may be cool, even though you don't know what to do with it or how to apply it, just bring it - we'll do brainstorming in class!

•  And If you feel like it, start brainstorming about ideas for your life chapters- maybe some significant events in your life, decades, children, and we'll do a quick assignment in class to really get us focused. It helps to at least be thinking about it - to create intention - and letting it take shape in dreams.

Happy Preparations! Juliana Coles

P.S.- if you have no time for the set up - no worries- you'll do it in class. But if you have time, it's great to be able to begin a relationship with your book beforehand. In either event - DO NOT STRESS - not about having time/not about not having time/doing it right/what if you do it wrong/didn't understand/took out too many pages/aren't cool enough/everyone is better/it will all work out in class no matter what you do or don't do.

*** Suggested supply list : (if you have it, you may want to bring 4-8 fluid ounces jar of gesso-but it is not necessary.) Please bring your favorite supplies as well as collage items (use copies of things that are precious to you) and one or two magazines. Bring different kinds of things in your favorite colors. I like to use Black and White acrylic, (its always good to have at least one light color and at least one dark color) cheap craft paints in light blue and butter cream, brush markers in orange and hot pink, yellow black and red permanent markers, some colored pencils, a regular pencil, a sharpener, all kinds of tape, even a little stapler, India ink and walnut ink, red watercolor, a few water color crayons, my rubber stamp letters, poetry books to cut up, my Staz-on stamp pads in black and red, and I never travel without masking tape .... remember this is just a suggested list but just make sure you have a few wet items, and some dry items.

Please email me if you have any concerns or questions: meandpete@msn.com.

©2003-2004, ART Unraveled. All rights reserved. No content may be reproduced from this website without written permission.