Altered Book post 1

I am participating in an altered book collaboration with 5 other artists and our first exchange is coming up April 18. Each artist chooses a book to alter, sets the subject of the book, and completes 3 spreads before the first exchange. Each spread covers both the right and left hand pages when the book is opened. At each exchange we will come home with another artist's book and have a few weeks to complete 3 spreads in that book... and it goes on until each artist has done 3 spreads in each book. This is the first altered book for all of the artists involved. I'm excited to see all the work in all the books!

I chose a book by Claudia Bepko and JoAnne Krestan entitled Singing at the Top of Our Lungs which I found at my local Women In Need store for 50 cents. The authors studied the various ways women have created their own lives. The title is derived from one of their study participants who related that she loved to sing as a child but gave it up when she married. Why? Nobody made her do that but for some reason she stopped singing at the top of her lungs. She's singing again!

This is my first 2 page spread on my topic "Women & Creativity". To get the gist of the creativity part of this spread you need see the text on the bottom of the right-hand page. Here it is: "We hoped that we were creating the potential for a different story to emerge, one that could shed some light on the ways women struggle to define their own lives."

I have to agree with the book in many areas. Almost all women I know admit to having struggled to define their own life. It isn't [necessarily] because others are defining it for us but that we are so torn by so many good options (homemaking, mothering, working, hobbies, volunteering, grandparenting). Conflicted is the term I would use. It takes creativity to make choices and keep all these parts of our lives in proper balance. I hope my daughters and grand-daughters can make the very best choices for their lives and be happy with the life they define for themselves. I hope they sing at the top of their lungs!

I chose to use photos I took of Kiera and Kalista (2 of my 4 grand-daughters) at wonderful playground in Manitou Springs, Colorado. I was intrigued by the beautiful mosaic "pond" and the poem on it's wall. A group of people took the time to address the active needs of children in such a beautiful and creative way. The words of the poem remind me to slow down and admire the butterflies, dragonflies, lady bugs, and the other fun stuff of life that children see. I extended the images beyond the photo with water soluble crayons - such fun! I can't wait to see what my Neocolor II crayons do on art paper! Enjoy!