It was great fun to create three brand new altered books for the new show starting at The Artists Gallery on Friday (2/5). And I thought it might be fun to share a little bit about the process of one of them. This piece is based on the concept of a music box dancer.
First, the dancer. Using light-weight modeling clay, I made the dancer’s form including a wire support. Then, I covered the form with strips of paper that were cut from the book pages. The first layer of paper had only text on it.
My source book was Introduction to Contemporary Music. It followed movements in music and correlated them with movements in the art world, so there were many images of artwork that I could use. I cut them out and used them to make her bodice and the tutu. Sometimes propping her up so that the glue could dry was interesting! I also cut out the passages of music that were included throughout the book.
Next I drilled a small hole through all the book pages and fed the support wire through. A flat spiral at the bottom of the wire helps her remain standing. Again, finding a way to prop up the 3-D piece to work on the bottom of the wire was a challenge. Thank goodness for a collection of vases nearby.
Since the book was full of musical excerpts, I cut those and used them to create a cloud of music for her to dance on and within. The book may have been just fine without this added touch, but I’m pleased with how it was transformed. It seems to give a sense of motion to the scene. I’d love to hear what you think!
