Search this blog

17 January 2015

Collage Journal

I will be using my edition of Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith,
for collage, using the prompts provided on each page.

I am aiming to be lateral, rather than literal, in my interpretation of the prompts.

All new & unspoilt

But to begin, inspired by the Start Here sign on the front cover
&
Crack the Spine
 &
Make a Sudden Destructive Unpredictable Movement with the Journal

Starting at the beginning

I ripped the cover off, then pulled the book apart.

The book had arrived in the morning, in perfect condition, without a mark, crease or imperfection on the cover.

I had smiled as my hands glided over the smooth surface of the cover
& as I flicked through the fresh clean pages.

Then I opened the front cover & pulled it off, then turned to the back & did the same.

In some weird & wonderful way, it felt good.

So now, what to do?

Cut Through several Layers

I cut the cover in two, right down the spine & pulled each page away from it's glued spine.

Now to start rebuilding, that which I had destroyed.

I backed the two pieces of the cover with cardboard.
Sanded around the edges, to add a distressed look.

Hole punched the new covers, along with the loose pages,
to create a new book, with the pages in the order I want them to be
& secured them with metal book rings.

The rough torn pages

I cut through the front cover to add a metal frame
(charity shop find from a few years ago).

The new front cover

Then continued to be destructive with more of the pages, including
Leave this page Blank
(I thought a page with a hole in the middle couldn't be blanker)
Lose this page
(With it's middle cut out, the page was lost)
Scratch, using a Sharp Object
(My craft knife was sharp enough)
Scrub this page
(All the dark pages were sanded around the edges & cuts)

The first few pages

Destruction on Purpose or with No purpose?

The pages I had cut through were place in the front of the book,
so that I could inset the metal frame
& see through to the Title Page.

The paper used to create this paperback is quite thin,
so I created hole reinforcements to strengthen the cut pages.

Phew, that was an interesting experience & as I had to use a hacksaw to cut off part of the metal frame & use a metal file to smooth the rough part down, it was really quite exhausting too!

Ready for the next phase

The next stages will hopefully be more creative, rather than destructive.