Several insights were gained during this 7 month project:
altering only a portion of a book in anticipation of those who will alter after you, imposes interesting limitations on how you'll alter.
having to alter based on previous alterations, can be either freeing or constricting, depending on your mood.
some of our group were rather shocked that others of our group were altering without reading the books.
people can get rather silly when there are no expectations put upon the creative output.
We made it to 6 alterations each. We shared each round and more than a few laughs. And, on round six, it was meekly suggested that maybe we could quit now. I seem to recall there was some pleading and begging. Someone suggested that perhaps we have a big bonfire and burn the whole lot of them with some form of ceremony and alcoholic beverage. Then it was decided that we would post some of the highlights and invite comments. It's important to note that these were never intended to be seen by anyone but our group.
Artists often find there's little opportunity to create just for the fun of it - usually there's a gallery owner or a client to impress (and often, the one we strive to impress the most is ourselves). The book alteration process was meant to be simply fun with no expectations placed on the outcome. And, in this I think we thoroughly succeeded. We hope you enjoy looking as much as we enjoyed altering.
Until next time,
Deborah
