Palimpsest

Palimpsest. n. a manuscript or piece of writing on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.

I just read this definition on Diana Trouts blog, and had to use it! A group of local artists (and wonderful friends) are participating in a palimsest (aka altered book) exchange.

We met and exchanged our books this past Sunday...

Don't they look like they'll be fun to work in? The smallest one is mine.

Here is a close up of my getting-the-book-ready to exchange:

Book cover was painted with Lumiere paints. Spine is textured suede cloth (with the help of a supportive artist friend who lent me her Cuttlebug... and oh dear, I may need one too!)

 Inside end papers use fun decorator paper from BasicGrey.

 Theme/Title pages with guidelines... Oh, I went with Pathways as my theme (yes, the same as the Sketchbook Challenge theme this month - happy coincidence)

Peekaboo window with found poetry - one of my pathways is learning more about gardening in harmony with nature. Especially taking care to lessen my impact on the birds and bees and critters that share this place on the earth. I have more to add to this page... 

The page in full view with a reverse peekaboo... much more to add here too!

Another nature themed start to a spread...

And a tag section. This is a technique I adapted from my friend Sherri Angie's Visual Journaling course I took years ago.

And of course, signature pages... or tags in this case.

I have much more work to do on all "my" spreads... and have made notes so I won't forget what I intended. Although sometimes the intention changes by the time you get your book back. :)

I'll share more on this "Palimpsest" project as we go along.