Some altered book ideas to consider when making your own book…..

Above:  Hard covered books to alter…. 

The ingredients for choosing a book to alter include the following:

-the cover needs to be hard covered and intact with the spine

-sometimes I choose a book based on a theme of interest

-also consider the feel of the book …for instance is it thick enough for a niche or drawers

- the font, the size, the colour of the cover, any graphics that might be in the book can enhance the altered book

-If the cover or spine is ornate or embellished in anyway, it might be used as part of the design

-Sometimes the content of the book might inform the theme for your altered book or it might unfold as a part of a process carried over a few weeks, months etc. 

-pages need to be able to withstand paint, collage - heavier porous papers are best vs. shiny thin papers

Above:  Spines for altered books should be intact and strong, the best spine from this photo is the green book, the second from the bottom.  The book on the top has a spine that looks a bit too slanted to one side/direction, and this may cause the book to not sit flat…but that can be an interesting look to the overall design too depending on your vision and preference

Above:  An example of an altered book cover, the theme of this book is "Art, Nature and the Soul"…..It is an old manual on teaching art…..

Above:  Layers of pages with collage, paint techniques etc. 

Above:  A prepared niche

Enjoy choosing your books and exploring ideas, a theme for your project.   I will continue to post here some other tidbits in completing an altered book & collage process.

"Creativity Needs Space to Present Itself…"

Above: A section of a collage in my art journal…..This collage explores the things that inspire my heart.

Recently I heard Robin Sharma, say in a video he shared on the benefits of journalling, "Creativity needs space to present itself."….This is so true, it resonated with my experience of journalling anyway.  Anytime I have taken the time to journal my thoughts, feelings, ideas, to do lists, it empties my brain, to make space for the creativity to flow…It truly worked like that.  

Another example of this is, when you might have had a hard time sleeping, or your mind is working a mile a minute and you are tossing and turning, for what seems like HOURS....  I have found if I just get up and write a "to do list" or journal all the things I am thinking, feeling, ruminating about…My brain empties and allows me to let go, relax and finally fall asleep.  I do this because I am tossing and turning anyway, so why not give it a try.

I am so excited about facilitating and teaching the upcoming Four-Week Gratitude Altered Books with Collage & Mixed Media program in June.  It is almost full - only a few spots are left.   Together we will be exploring gratitude, in our journals and working with a hard covered book, creating collages, acrylics and mixed media within the pages.

It has been my experience that when we express gratitude in journalling and art making we begin to see the things we didn't notice before - Or that we see things in a new light and enjoy our everyday, the more mundane aspects of life much more intensely and richly.

So here's to that lovely cup of coffee in the morning, or the feeling of warm water from the shower on our skin.  The smell of rain on the grass, or the sweet buds of violets growing all around us…The list can be endless in how we can see the beauty in our to day to day lives.   I am grateful to those who take the time to read these posts and choose to share or comment on it.  Or simply take the time to reflect privately on your own about the thoughts shared here.  Nameste!

A New 4-Week Altered Book Program Exploring Gratitude using Collage and Mixed Media Techniques

Starting Wednesday June 4th to Wednesday June 25th, 7-9:30 pm in Elora

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder 

In this new 4-week altered book art program, we will explore the theme of gratitude, using reflection exercises, which will then inform the art collages, using mixed media and various collage techniques to alter a hardcover book.  

It has been my experience that when we are in a space of gratitude, we are happier, more grounded and balanced. We begin to really see things as they are and embrace the here and now more.  This grounded space is a very liberating one to be in, and provides room for ourselves to hear and feel peace with what is.  Gratitude attracts good energy, good experiences, wonderful like minded people and new opportunities.

Offering a new altered book, collage & mixed media 4-week art program. 

Starts Wednesday June 4 to 25th, from 7-9:30pm in Elora, ON. 

Together we will explore the theme of gratitude in our lives, while altering a hardcover book with numerous collage and mixed media techniques. 

Cost: $80 for instruction, $60 for supplies, Total: $140.  No experience needed. 

To register: supria@supriakarmakar.com

Benefits of Gratitude Thinking & Living…..

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures" 

~ Thornton Wilder

"Writing a new HeART story", Encaustic Mixed Media, 2013

Feeling and being grateful for all the things that show up in our lives, really does make a difference in moving through the ebbs and flow of daily living.  Gratitude has proven to enhance well-being.  In an article by Robert A. Emmons and Anjali Mishra, "Why Gratitude Enhances Well-Being: What We Know, What We Need to Know", they share the following ways in which being grateful enhances our lives:

1. Gratitude facilitates coping with stress
2. Gratitude reduces toxic emotions resulting from self and social comparisons
3. Gratitude reduces materialistic strivings
4. Gratitude improves self-esteem
5. Gratitude enhances accessibility to positive memories
6. Gratitude builds social resources
7. Gratitude motivates moral behaviour
8. Grateful people are spiritually minded
9. Gratitude facilitates goal attainment
10. Gratitude promotes physical health

For more wonderful readings on gratitude and the benefits of it on our health, wellness and life, visit:  Dr. Robert Emmons Lab.  As sited from this link:  

"Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress.  The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions.  Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life."  (http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/Labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm?Section=5)

Above:  A Gratitude Vision Board created by Supria Karmakar

Some everyday things I am grateful for …..

Your Turn:  Take a look around and find three things you are grateful for in your everyday life.

On March 22nd, for the Spring Equinox 2014, Jill Davey of RiverSound Retreat and I, Supria Karmakar will be offering another daylong retreat exploring the topic of gratitude, opening to what is, vs. holding on or letting go, using meditation, yoga and vision board creation.  Come join us exploring gratitude and doing a day long retreat by the river in the beauty of the trees.   To register:  Jill@RiverSoundRetreat.com or call/text 519-993-7480