Books Become Art!

Do you like scrapbooking? But are you yearning to move to a more creative level of book-making? Take a look at these fabulous artists and their book-inspired creations:

ALA's e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, had an interesting link this week to http://thisintothat.com/ the website of Berkleley book-artist Jim Rosenau. He builds bookcases and bookshelves out of actual books. He says that "No books that could change the course of world events are harmed in the production." Here's an example of one of his whimsical creations.

This reminded me of another creative person I'd seen who creates purses out of books. You can commission Caitlin at Rebound Designs (http://www.rebound-designs.com/) to make a fabulous handbag out of your favorite hardcover book. Just what the fashionista-librarian needs! Here's the lovely Jane Eyre model:

Scottish artist Georgia Russell works with a scalpel to transform

books like this Journal into mixed-media creations under acrylic:

Photographers Abelardo Morrell and Cara Barer exhibit haunting black-and-white and color images of contorted and mezmerizing books in odd poses and positions:

Robert The does "book installations" and sculptures like this one called Desert Rose:

Takeshi Ishiguro solves the problem of a book light to read by. Here's his pop-up book that comes with an actual working lamp inside it!

And Danish artist Olafur Eliasson laser cut 454 slices out of this book in a rendering of his house on an 85:1 scale:

If you're inspired by these superb examples of book art, it's just another reason to come to the library's booksale in late October. While others are picking out good things to read, you can be picking up your art supplies!