3 More Recycled Book Art Journals

Bad Hugh has a pretty woman wearing a straw hat with pink flowers.






















Around the World in St Paul is another local book destined for the trash that I upscaled.






















Farm Ballads has a pretty rural scene inset on the cover.

The Not So Happy Couple Magazine Collage

I was recently assigned to create a collage with symbols, food, and comic images cut from magazines.

I think the closest I ever came to making a collage was cutting paper dolls from Grandma's Sears catalog so this was interesting. During critique, one of the students called out "That's what I'm talking about! That's f&*@#ing great!" so I guess it turned out OK. Several of the students had elaborate stories about what was going on so it was an easy critique for me, they did all the talking.

The man on the left has a cupcake hat and 2 birds are flying towards the blueberry. The woman is wearing a diamond ring hat and she's watching a man wearing a Hermes (Mercury) winged hat on a ladder cut a heart in half. Her body is an ivy covered wedding cake. The man has a TV set in his chest playing I Love Lucy, her TV set is showing Madonna. She looks rather hip while he has more traditional values.

There is a vase spilling out Cheeze-It which are being sprinkled with additional salt; salt is rich in meaning and taste. The bottom has a dog, can of blue paint, and various analagous shades of tape. I'll spare you the symbolism of the piece but I did go a little crazy; those Humanities classes I took several years ago came into play.

Found Object Value Scale

I should have taken this photo a bit sooner since some of the objects changed color with exposure to air.

The objects in the value scale from dark to light are: coffee, jute, sand, cardboard, sliced cork (changed a little), the inside of birch bark (changed a lot), oatmeal, sugar.

Some other examples of objects I saw to make similar value scales included a smorgasbord of Trader Joes cookies, and a subtle selection of grains and pastas.

3 More Recycled Book Art Journals

Me and My Flying Machine






















Caravan of Fun with the Walrus and the Carpenter on the cover.






















Digging Down To China

Art Journals Made From Movie VHS Box

I scavenged the boxes for Twister, Mrs Doubtfire, The Fugitive, and True Lies and made them into art journals. Each book is acid free and contains 65 pound drawing paper. I have more journals, the library received some movies, and I cleared some more unused items from my home; it's a total win.

Upcycled Video Box Book Made From The Rock

I've been making journals with vintage books using the covers and some of the interior pages but today I repurposed some old VHS boxes. I used the cardboard sleeve from the VHS copy of the movie, The Rock.

The cover would have made the pages so skinny they would be impractical for use so I included the spine and backed the cover on acid free cardboard. The cardboard reinforces the VHS seam and makes the flimsy cover more stable. You can find acid free cardboard at comic book stores, it's sold as backing board to protect comic books. I keep art journals in my purse and that's a challenging environment for a thin cover.

The paper inside is 65 pound, acid free sketching paper that I cut to size with a paper cutter.

Business Card Holder Made From A Cereal Box

I took the cardboard from cereal and cookie boxes and folded it to make these glue free business card holders. The flap is secured by a slit in the cardboard and they are folded so that the interior space is about an 1/8th of an inch thick. The thicker interior space is made by a double crease.

3 More Recycled Book Art Journals

Milton's Mulberry Tree

























Blondie and Dagwood Adventure in Magic

Golden Embers Abstract Acrylic Painting

This painting is heavily textured and painted with reds, oranges and metallic gold.

Travel Art Journal Page Leaving On A Jet Plane

I recently took a trip to Sanibel Island in Florida (these drawings are from the first 24 hours) and this sketch was done at the airport. My husband kept singing "leaving on a jet plane". The bags are my carry on suitcase, camera bag, and a large zippered bag I bought in Hawaii. We got to the airport at 6:00 am for a 7 o'clock flight.

























Never say at the airport "at least I never had to sit near the rest rooms", it's not wise to tempt the seating gods. The good news was we were as far away as possible from the crying baby and the seat between us was empty.

























It was so nice to hear the surf and see palm trees again; I missed it. It was particularly sweet when the temperature was -23 in Minneapolis (without wind chill). Fort Meyers Beach was a nice way to start the vacation but we preferred the more quiet beaches that Florida has to offer.

























Dunkin Donuts has left Minnesota but we remembered it fondly and had to stop for a dozen.

























The sea gulls spotted me taking a bagel out of my bag and swooped down; I was really impressed since it was wrapped in a paper napkin. I should have brought the rest of the donuts.

























Sanibel Island and Captiva are home to over 250 varieties of shells. The pristine beaches are a joy to walk along. The airport screener wasn't happy when he opened our suitcases and had to go through the shells we brought home. The suitcases are still airing in the garage.

Duck Camp T-Shirt Design

 I was asked to make a t-shirt design for the guests and owners of a Palisade, Minnesota duck camp.

I drew a mallard drinking long neck beer while sitting in front of a camo print pup tent. The client thought that 3 beers weren't enough so I added a couple more.

Kleenex Box Book

I look the cardboard from a box of Kleenex, backed it with acid free comic book backing board for comic books, then bound it into a art journal.

Cabbage, The Vegetable of Mystery

I had done this previously as an art journal page but decided to try painting it with lots of transparent acrylic washes. It was similar to watercolor but a lot more work. It would have been easier to paint on resist and do a water color.

Extreme Close Up Of A Pine Tree Abstract Painting

I enjoy puzzles where the item has such an extreme close up it becomes difficult to determine what the image is.

These abstract acrylic paintings show pine bark, a pine cone, and the tip of a pine branch.

Handmade Art Journal From The Book The Winged Horse

Found this lovely vintage book, The Winged Horse, and turned it into a new art journal. The end papers are green toned mythical scenes. It's nice to find a use for some of the art tablets have sitting around. 50 pound paper would not be a first choice for a serious drawing but it works well for a journal.

Acrylic Portrait of A Young Man

I liked attitude of Sandro Botticelli's Portrait of a Young Man 1482-83 so I reinterpreted him with a more modern twist. He has a backwards cap, purple t-shirt and was painted in acrylic black, white and the complementary colors purple and yellow.

What caught my eye the most from Botticelli's original was the way he held his hand, the gesture had a hip hop attitude.

Abstract Acrylic Portrait of Marilyn

Blue is Marilyn's color.

3 More Recycled Book Art Journals

I debated turning this old book into a journal but I loved the gold paw print despite the ring mark on the cover.

























They couldn't sell this old Gregg Shorthand Book since it had so many ripped out pages and the numerous notes written inside. It's nice to find a use for misfit books.

























The Red Badge Detective has a wonderful graphic that speaks to the designer in me; the funny part is is the name is red badge but the color is actually purple.

Carved Angel Folk Art Whistle

This cherub is demurely dressed in blue and she's blowing a golden horn. The carved, wooden whistle actually works.

Recycled Art Journal With A Sailboat Cover

This book was written by Minnesotan who wanted to sail across the Atlantic now it sails across my shelf. The book had lovely endpapers that add a lot to my new art journal. I filled it with recycled vacation themed printed paper that is also acid free.

Rootin Tootin Art Journal

What can I say, I'm on a journal making roll. My father is always reading a Western so I thought I'd give him one he doesn't have.

Hand Carved Flying Santa With Horn

Santa is flying along while blowing a golden horn. I was in a whittling mood and I only had pine; basswood work much better.

Manga Art Journals

Alethea developed journal envy when she ran across these hard cover Oh My Goddess books from Japan. She selected several original pages from the books and we included them along with the drawing paper. It's interesting that the order is reversed and the cover is on the back; they would be perfect for a left handed person.

Alethea designs jewelry and these will be fun for keeping her drawings and records in.

The Frogs Zine

This frog visited our yard 2 years ago and he was so huge he merited B movie monster treatment. My husband was a little horrified when I did a version where the dogs were being chased by a giant frog so I stuck with 1970's style creature feature shots.

The pages are laid out in a signature and the finished zine is 4" x 5"

Snowman Kit

I like putting quirky (nondestructive) things around town such as fake lost posters, hanging paintings from bushes along a walking path and this was today's. I filled a basket with snow, added a carrot and scarf. The sign says Snowman, some assembly required.

The snow is truly this white today.

Portrait of Nissa Dressed As Link

My daughter Nissa, enjoys cosplay and this is her Link costume. The pop art style painting was done with acrylics and took considerably less time than it did to make the ensemble.

We made her shield from foam core, the sword is carved foam, the scabbard rests on her back. She has an orcarina on her belt along with a fairy in a bottle and a pouch for essentials. The gloves and boots were made from faux leather and the boots were hot glued over an old pair of tennis shoes. She found the elf ears online which was wonderful since I had no good ideas for making believable ears.

She attended the Chicago Comic Con and won Fan Girl of the month by winning all the challenges.

Handmade Art Journal

I complete a sketch book about every 2 months and have recently started making my own. Miss Pickerall On The Moon was a vintage book that my daughter Nissa spotted at Half Price Books. I cut the spine off and bound it with a spiral binder. The paper inside was cut from drawing tablets that were bundled in a back to school selection at Blick.

An old book was upcycled, a neglected tablet found a purpose, and I have a fun new art journal. It's a total win.

Dragon's Breath