Layers Upon Layers: Mixed Media Art

Wonderful art from the ABC_AlteredBookClub

by Cyndi on August 17th, 2007

I recently became aware of the wonderful work that was coming out of an online artist community known as the ABC_Alteredbookclub! My friend Elizabeth took the time to give us all an overview of what her group does, and has shared some of the beautiful art! The rest of this post are her words:

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When I was approached to write an article describing ABC_Alteredbookclub, I was both honored and contemplative. We just celebrated our fourth anniversary and I was amazed at everything we have accomplished in the altered arts world in such a short time. Writing this article forced me to realize how much we have learned and accomplished in the past four years, yet how much the artform has changed over time.

To celebrate our first anniversary, we created an ABC book that we donated to ISABA. We altered both upper and lower case letters and I glued them into a book. Sadly, it was only one book and we had nothing tangible to keep for our hard work.

Upper case S by Jackie Smith. Jackie incorporated the names of all the players over a photo of sisters. She added to the digital spread with a game tile and fancy ribbon.

Probably our most notable accomplishment was the tip-in book we sent to Carol Duvall. Started in 2002, it appeared on her show in 2004. Many ABC artists contributed tip-ins to this book that Carol actually wrote back in the mid-1970s. Here is a direct link to the page

Artwork by Michal Austin who paid Carol tribute ala Andy Warhol.

For our third anniversary, we decided we wanted a remembrance of the event, so we opted to make fat books. Although fat books were all the rage in 2006, it was the first fat book swap on ABC. The theme we used was the number 3 or ABC. We have such a creative group of artists and we received many wonderful entries from several countries. In the end, the book was truly “fat” when it was finished.

This completed book was bound by Kathy Turnquist.

Suzi Clough carved her own stamp to make her anniversary square.

This year was no different. We decided that 4 X 4s were the perfect way to celebrate our 4th anniversary. Our fat book, which is in the process of being swapped and distributed, also has many wonderful entries.

Dianne Carey was inspired by Lynne Perrella when she made this 4th year 4 X 4.

ABC has several daily and weekly events. TODs, or topics of discussion are posted to run Sunday through Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday. Wednesday Whack is to get your creative juices flowing with thought provoking, sometimes philosophical questions. Other times we simply discuss various organizational solutions.Other regular features include Sunday background lessons and our ART pARTy. Although this is not a new concept, we limit entries to whatever was created during that week. We leave the entries posted on the site for two weeks, so members can see our diverse art interests.

Speaking of diverse art interests, a feature we started in January was Materials Monthly. Each month we feature a different material which is intended to get you reacquainted with the supplies, tools, and materials you purchased for these projects, yet never put them to use. It is a great forum for sharing ideas about a given material that you may or may not know anything about, along with the supplies, tools, and techniques associated with it.

This first attempt at polymer clay and Lazartran was created by Elizabeth Kertz for the April Monthly Material (polymer clay) challenge.

ABC is a social club, and like every social club, needs lots of people to split the work. Our group is no exception. We have a fantastic group of moderators who keep ABC running like a well oiled machine. In alphabetical order, these mods include:Cindy McMath keeps our files and photo areas cleaned out. Cindy is probably our most “published” and well known moderator. Her work has appeared in Somerset, Cloth Paper Scissors, Stampers’ Sampler, and a number of special publications from Stampington & Co., including several of the Somerset Gallery series, the Anthology of ATCs, and Somerset Weddings. Her work also appeared in the Collage Cat Zine (no longer published) and Artitude Zine. She is also a featured artist for ARTchix.

These beauties from Cindy McMath show we have not forgotten that altered books are at the heart of our art.

Dawn Regelman is in charge of birthdays, the ABC deco RRs, and various other chores.

Dawn might be called the Queen of Zetti. She continues to develop her Zetti style, which we all love.

Elizabeth Kertz is in charge of TODs, approvals, and Sunday lessons. Her papermaking article has appeared in Beeksnees Zine (no longer published) and her Freebie articles have appeared in ISABA’s newsletter.Halle Gustafson is in charge of the Art Party, archiving TODs, and approving new members. She recently received word that an art piece she submitted will be published in an upcoming edition of Somerset.

Halle is well known for her puzzle pieces and for ARTing members with her unique mail art.

Jackie Smith is in charge of the ART group. ART is ABC’s acronym for Act of Random Thoughtfulness. Now doesn’t that sound a lot classier than RAK? Same thing, classier name.Theresa Pillow is in charge of changing the homepage art on our three sites and approving new members.

Theresa always uses many techniques and embellishments in her work.

If you are new to altered art, want to explore a new medium, want to share art techniques, or just enjoy the company of a bunch of caring, sharing collage, AB, assemblage minded members, please join us at ABC_alteredbookclub. And thanks again to Cyndi for showcasing our little altered book club.

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POSTED IN: Art Communities, Book Arts, Collage, Journals, Mixed Media, Other Art Sites, Paper, Reader's Tips