Altered States:
A Scrapbook Artist Learns to Break the Rules
by Carol Wingert Gilbert, Arizona
Featured in Legacy - Autumn '03
Before
making this altered book, I primarily focused my artwork on scrapbooking
and stamping. Scrapbook layouts tend to be a little more rigid than
altered book pages, and scrapbookers generally operate with some "rules"
relating to color, graphics and layouts. Creating the altered book was
a real exercise in freedom for me—there were no rules!
I
began working with heritage-type colors and some subdued metallics and
later began playing with some color, depending on the mood of the photo.
Creating
a fictional story line for each page was fun; my imagination ran a little
wild at times.
I
thought often about the women of that time period (1920s) and wondered
if they were content.
As
I progressed, my style didn’t change as much as my willingness
to try new methods and materials.
My
greatest challenge was in creating the cover. Contrary to the old adage,
"Never judge a book by its cover," I have found myself doing
just that...The leaf finding was a favorite of mine and just the perfect
accent.
Interestingly
enough, my scrapbooking style has become less rigid since I completed
the altered book.
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