Art and Altered Books

The last few days have been a whirlwind of all things art. Hours have been spent painting with the sun brightening up both my studio and my mood. I find the frigid temperature is bearable as long as the sun is bright. Aside from painting new works for my galleries and up coming show, I've been busy finishing off an application to a juried show (more on that later), re-vamping my C.V. and biography, putting the final touches on a new postcard design, and waiting patiently for the next altered book to reach me. The altered book round robin with Inner Works is in full swing. I posted my book last week and it arrived safely at it's destination. Jill Zaheer will be the next artist that works on my book "Gift from the Sea". I'll be receiving Roxanne's book next and am anxiously waiting to see the wonderful work she's done. You can see it here. The above photos are of my book cover. I've used a lot of different media and materials for the front and back cover. I've attached some found treasures from my last trip to the ocean. A beautiful piece of drift wood with a hole provided by nature, just in the right spot. Some twine and sea shells complete the decoration and I've glued it securely onto the book. Working on the altered books is a nice change from the larger paintings that I've been focusing on and working on all the different projects I've got going keeps things interesting.