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Teacher’s Name (please print):Linda W. Kieling
School Name: Rosemont Ridge Middle School
School Principal: Thayne Balzer
School Address: 20001 Salamo Road, West Linn, OR 97068
Contact information: phone 503.673.7591
Grade(s) Taught: 6th – 8th Subject(s) Taught: Art
e-mail KielingL@wlwv.k12.or.us
1) What is the major objective or goal for the student learner? To transform a discarded book into a creative art work of art that
encompasses a theme and utilizes a variety of media and techniques.
2) What are the criteria for the artwork? See rubric (attached) can be adapted for use K-12 with as few or as
many resources available
3) What Arts standard(s) and/or benchmark(s) does the lesson support? How?
Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes-the lesson requires students to select and use a variety
of media and techniques to accomplish the goal of creating the themed book
Content Standard: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas-students must develop and apply an assortment
of symbols and ideas to represent the chosen theme
Content Standard: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others –students will
compare and contrast works using the Venn diagram as well as critiques and self assessment including a reflective statement
Content Standard: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
AND Content Standard: Understanding the visual
arts in relation to history and cultures – these two standards can be met if the theme, for example, is based on particular culture or cultural
comparison or a unit on poetry, environments or other content area
4) What other curriculum content areas does the lesson support? How? connections include: language arts, history, social
studies, science and math. Theme can be based on particular time period, culture, person, place, event, or concept (e.g. Ancient Rome,
solar system, poetry, etc)
5) What was your inspiration for this lesson plan? I was looking for an alternative art form for students to experience that could
incorporate a variety of media and techniques into one successful project. The school was in the process of discarding old math
textbooks this summer which got me thinking……………
6) What assessment strategies do you use to assess student learning? informal critiques, rubric (attached), compare/contrast works using
Venn Diagram (attached)
Your teaching? brainstorming, incremental introduction of techniques and media, presentation of other artist’s work in this style,
demonstration
An outline follows with the step by step process of the art lesson and please include a list of materials and resources needed to teach the lesson.
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Steps to AMAZING Altered Books (geared for Middle School but adaptable for all grade
levels and subjects as well as for a wide range of available resources)
vocabulary: form, function, sculpture, three-dimensional, mixed media altered, theme, others related to specific
content areas that might be used as themes
1. Introduce the students to the art form using images, background/history and information from the resource
section of this handout including form versus function.
2. Using the Venn diagram have students compare and contrast two of the works to help them discriminate and
graph their findings.
3. Make a media chart (see materials list) to use as reference.
4. Have students select discarded books based on size, title or form.
5. To ease students into the process, have them trace their hand on the inside cover of their book. It may extend
into the title page of the book (tip from art teacher Michael Austin).
6. Fill the traced hand with patterns.
7. The remaining portion of the page is painted with tempera paint.
8. Demonstrate the tape transfer technique (see below). Students should transfer their name using this technique
and add it to the painted page.
9. Have students decide on a theme. This can be done by
 students writing ideas on slips of paper (places, events, objects, etc) and then randomly drawing one to use
 based on particular unit of study (Ancient civilizations, poetry, ecology, constitution, etc)
 using one of the traits of character education (tolerance, commitment, responsibility, respect, etc)
 exploring a social issue such as poverty, homelessness, free speech, clear cutting, etc
 visually tell the story in the book
 visually tell a story that they create
 other means
10. Students should block (glue) individual pages together into four groups (size is determined by the number of
pages in the individual book). If the book is thick enough, a section can be glued to the back cover to create a
place to cut a niche. Other sections may be done this way also.
11. Introduce the idea that one of the sections (two open facing pages) should be done using collage techniques
including the concepts of contrast and positive/negative space.
12. Brainstorm how this could be accomplished
 Magazine collage of images of the object or subject
 Cut paper collaged to illustrate the object or subject
 Collage of magazine images of the object or subject in the shape of the object or subject
13. Introduce the second section to be completed to be completed in watercolor crayon. Demonstrate techniques
including masking out text (see below).
14. After these sections have been finished as a class, brainstorm and introduce other ideas to be included (see list
below). Provide examples and demonstrations.
15. Give the students a list of general possibilities. From these they must choose 3 to include in their book.
16. Every opportunity should be taken to reinforce the idea of exploring the theme rather than just
illustrating it. For example: a student using the them of “coffee” could do a watercolor of a woman in a
housecoat drinking an early morning coffee with the paper or on the run of a hectic morning or a
crowded scene at the coffee shop……not just a painting of a coffee cup!
17. Informal critiques should take place throughout the process as well as small group and individual
demonstrations, reteaching and brainstorming.
18. Final class critique when the project is completed.
19. Students should decide how to best display their Altered Book and include a label with pertinent information
including the “Artist’s Statement”.
20. Rubric (attached) is used for scoring which also includes self scoring, teacher scoring and an opportunity for
students to write a personal, reflective “Artist’s Statement”.
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SOME SUGGESTED SUPPLIES
Books! Various shapes, sizes and titles
hole punches
stamps and stamp pads
gloss medium
scissors, craft knives
glue and glue sticks
assorted papers – handmade, vellum
repositionable glue
snaps, hooks, wire, screws, brads
crayons
stickers, contact paper
oil pastels
wallpaper scraps
watercolors
fabric pieces
markers
ribbon, lace
Pearl Ex powder
collage items – dog tags, charms, game pieces, buttons
Xeroxed copies of images for transfers
colorless blender pens or Citrasolv for transfers
*use one of the pages for samples/test media - make a media chart: glue page to black card
stock, make lines vertically and horizontally down the page, label each and use for reference
Here is a brief history of Altered Books courtesy of ISABA:
Altered books is an art form in which existing books are reworked into works of art, often manifests
in a variety of ways. The existing book becomes the canvas for the new ideas and images. Sometimes
words or images from the book are retained as a part of the altering. At other times it is the books is
entirely obscured to become a new idea totally.
Altered books are actually an old way of recycling. In the 11th Century Italian monks recycled old
manuscripts written on vellum by scraping off the ink and adding new text and illustrations on top of
the old. This was known as "Palimpsest."
In the late 19th century people used old books as a sort of scrapbook, pasting on its pages the
ephemera from their society including magazine images, personal recipes, and family pictures. This
is "Grangerism", a Victorian practice of illustrating a particular book with engravings torn from other
books.
Today artists are exploring the form of the book along with its substance. Existing images and text
become something entirely new. Tom Phillips' Humament is one of the first contemporary examples
of this art. By covering, cutting, and changing the structure, altered books run the gamut from books
that have become shrines to books that are transformed into colorful images totally unrelated to their
origins. Source: Michael Austin, K-12 Kansas Art Teacher
SOME FORMATS
Round Robin - books are passed to different individuals, each alters a section; choose a theme (i.e. Cats, landscapes),
let artists be inspired by text, or just transform as they desire
Book as Theme – develop the book to reflect the theme of the book or create artworks throughout the book that
reflects the storyline
Tell a Story – create images through the book to tell a new story
Book as Art – use the book as the form/base for individual art not related to the book
Word(s) Inspired – block out word(s) from selected text to highlight visually in single or multiple sections
Found Poetry – use words on the page to make up a poem
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SOME IDEAS

Rub linseed oil over a copy of an image or pattern (like small dotted wrapping paper). Glue w/acrylic medium over
another colored image. Great translucent play on images/patterns.
 Take tissue paper and coat it twice with matte medium. Let dry. paint dried tissue with transparent paints or inks.
Let dry and resulting paper looks like stained glass.
 Make silk paper with silk fibers meshed between two screens (like the type for windows) and then coat with
wallpaper paste on both sides. Hang to dry on clothesline still between the mesh.
 Encase an image or object in tissue or rice paper and use in window (like glass).
 Glue down a strong image or print pattern -like a block print. Crumble rice paper and spot acrylic medium on back
and place glue side down over image. Dry. Paint a light acrylic wash over rice paper and the medium acts like a
resist so the result is a staining. Dry. Wash second color over parts of rice paper.
 Wash acrylic glaze (acrylic paint + matte medium) color over semi-transparent tracing paper. Dry. Glue paper over
an image or part of an image. You can still see a hazy image through the color. Like looking through the world in
rose or green or canary yellow glasses.
 Layer coat one side of tissue paper with acrylic medium. Lay over images. Coat top with medium. Tissue is very
transparent.
 Crumple tissue paper. Drip dye-based inks or watercolors onto papers and shift papers so ink runs in crevasses. Dry
them coat then coat with gloss or matte medium.
 After you lay images down, coat papers with three to five different colored acrylic washes. (acrylic paint plus
medium) Use your color sense as you lay the washes down. This isn't a huge film laid over the whole picture. Let
dry between washes. When finished seal color with matte or gloss varnish. Light plays with the glazes and art
seems to glow.
 Use gold leaf or gold oil crayons on work. Seal with acrylic medium, then proceed with washes and paint. Scratch
through washes and glazes with sharp object and the shine form the leaf will come through.
 Take a colored copy or regular Xerox copy and coat five times with gloss medium. Let dry between coats. Let
whole thing dry overnight. Next morning gently rub paper off back of image and you have a film of your picture or
image. You can glue this down, you can transfer this image to your picture by applying matte medium over back
(paper-side) of image and let set up, then peel (looks like a photo transfer) or you can do this on fabric by coating
image five times then gluing the last image to the fabric with the medium. Next day rub paper off back of image
that is glued on fabric and seal.
Source for above http://www.littlebit.com/ab/abtodo.html site has other hints and tips
 Tape Transfer - Choose a picture or letters from a magazine. Carefully place the image on clear packing tape, image
facing the sticky side. Wet thoroughly, allowing water to saturate the paper. Carefully rub away the paper, leaving
only the ink on the tape. The tape will remain sticky and can be placed directly on your project.
 Cut letters from scrap paper. Coat letter backs with repositionable glue, place on page. Paint page, let dry.
Carefully removes masks.
 Mask some words from the text, use correction tape or removable masking tape. Decorate as desired with paint,
glaze, ink and then remove the tape
 Marble or monoprint pages
 Glue thick sections of pages together. Use craft knife to cut windows or niche.
 Fold, cut and tear pages
 Cut images and glue down to pages mosaic style
 Use envelopes or make pockets for things in the book
 Burn the edges of the pages
 Punch holes and paint behind them or glue vellum or colored tissue over them
 Use paper clay on a page and stamp a design into it for a 3-D effect
 Make slits on the page and create a weaving with paper or ribbon
 And the list goes on and on and on!!!!
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RESOURCES
Examples of my students work http://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/rosemont/KielingL/Artindex.htm
Navigate to 8th grade, then Altered Books
International Society of Altered Book Artists
http://www.alteredbookartists.com/
http://www.d-originals.com/ has the following books as well as others:
Altered Books 101 by Beth Cote & Cindy Pestka
Altered Book Special Effects by Laurie Goodson & Betsy McLoughlin
Altered Book Material Guide by Laurie Goodson, Betsy McLoughlin &
Susan Pickering Rothamel
Getting Started in Altered Style by Suzanne McNeill
Middle school student examples http://www.geocities.com/theartkids/
Article by Suzanne Hill http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7131/91378
Artists
Tom Phillips
http://www.rosacordis.com/humument/index2.html
http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/humss/art317/humument.htm
Richard Minsky
http://www.minsky.com/index.html
Karen Michel
http://www.karenmichel.com/
Jenny Taliadoros
http://www.jennysartspace.com/
various
http://www.artchixstudio.com/galtered.htm
Kerrie Carberry
http://www.turtlearts.com/kerrie.html
OTHER SITES
http://www.rubberstampsclub.com/tips/book-making.html
http://www.rubberart.com/classes/class62_accordion-books.htm
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/r/drv1913/0204.html
http://www.yasutomo.com/project/June99.htm
http://members.optushome.com.au/j9/techniques/book.html
http://www.sdmart.org/education-plans.html
http://www.smc.edu/smc/departments/art/ArtGallery/BookArt/SPerry.htm
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Images from:
http://www.minsky.com/index.html
The Geography of Hunger
by Josue de Castro. New York, 1952
Bound by Minsky 1988
9" x 7" x 3"
"Friendly Plastic," acrylic, endpapers of food and dog food labels.
The Hamptons
by Susan P. Meisel and Ellen Harris
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2000
Bound by Minsky 2000
Acrylic, sand and shells from the Hamptons
Above: The book installed on its base. 11" x 15" x 11"
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Images from
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/alteredbook.html
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Individuals can't be mass-produced
fear
at mass-production prices
C J Silverio, 1996
Mixed media: crayon and marker on printed page.
23cm x 15.4cm
Page from Toad Head Project
http://www.spies.com/ToadHead/
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ALTERED BOOK PROJECTOverall
Score____________
Name __________________________ Period ___________
CRITERIA that MUST be INCLUDED
1st page: hand with design, tape transfer
one section: collage of theme
one section: watercolor crayons
OPTIONAL forms (must include at least three)
cut holes or niches
stamping –traditional or bleach
specialty papers
wire embellishments
beadwork
tags or envelopes
paint, with or without masking text
other drawing media (colored pencil, crayons, etc)
tags or envelopes
found objects
sculpty or papier mache clay items
wire, brads, staples or other ways to secure pages
decoratively cut pages or page edges
folded or torn pages or edges
**student circle each area accomplished in pencil/teacher circle in pen**
NOT YET MEETS
CRITERIA
CREATIVITY
required elements are not
evident
few or no attempts to use
original ideas is apparent
THEME
the theme is unclear or
not evident
CRAFTSMANSHIP
the book is sloppy, messy,
torn or otherwise not well
taken care of
Artist’s Statement:
MEETS
EXPECTATIONS
only the required elements
are present
some efforts to use new ideas
is shown but not developed
fully
the theme is thoughtful and
understandable through most
of the book
the book is basically well
crafted with a few areas that
are distracting
EXCEEDS
EXPECTATIONS
the required elements and
additional elements are used
numerous experiments striving
to be creative are present
the theme is thoughtful and
obvious throughout the entire
book
the book is extremely well
crafted and has no areas of
distraction