To Alter or Not to Alter

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Posted on 13th November 2013 by Sylvia Ames
Filed under Design Team

Hello everyone Sylvia here with a short post on  the one thing I am doing at the moment that raises a lot of eyebrows, my altered dictionary. The altered dictionary is a  fortnightly challenge,  a letter is given each fourtnight so you can pick which word you wish to depict from that section of the dictionary.   You can use whatever you like on your pages but the definition must be highlighted in some way. competition pics 604  competition pics 612 I started my Altered Dictionary with an old dictionary my mother was throwing away, but you can find old dictionaries for sale in most charity shops if you want to start altering one yourself.   This has been a marvelous experience and a way of trying out new techniques and using different mediums.  My first pages were simple stamped and coloured images but now I colour my backgrounds, add texture with stencils and texture pastes, add  embellishments and text, like an art journal the possibilities are endless.  Altering is very popular and you can find altered dictionary sites on the net, and there is even a Facebook page just for altered dictionaries. competition pics 381 competition pics 380 Many people think books should not be defaced in this manner, whereas others think to add artwork into a book which will ultimately be destroyed is giving the book a new lease of life. What are your thoughts?   Do you throw your hands up in despair at the thought of defacing a book or do you see the possibilities for some great artwork?  We would love to hear from you and get some discussion going.

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3 thoughts on “To Alter or Not to Alter”

Christine A. Davies

04th March 2018 at 10:46 p.m.

Hi there Sylvia, I have just found this in the archives - and LOVE this idea! I draw, stamp, colour and mark-make in my Bible (Bible journaling) so to do so in an old, or current, dictionary would cause no problems. Please could you bring this challenge back? Christine

#imbringingaltereddictionariesback

rena

14th November 2013 at 6:59 p.m.

I think I am missing the point: what is the whole idea of doing this??? To use old books or the pages of such as backgrounds for making cards/scrapbook pages, yes of course. But for what reason doing something like this?

Joanna Mackintosh

13th November 2013 at 2:01 p.m.

I'm smiling at your question - I do not mind 'altering' a book if it's going to be thrown away, our teacher at Stamp Club is horrified at the very thought of doing such :) I took in my Christmas Card Holder to show (http://www.craftyjo.org.uk/altered-art/greeting-card-holder/) and, although she loved the idea, there was no way she could it herself! Mind you, she then decided that buying a large-format diary when they're on sale late-on in the year would be OK! I guess it's the 'written word' which is sacred to some?

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