Altered Book Journal - Art of the Word Online Class Oct 21 & 28

Altered Book – The Art of the Word Online Class
Two Saturdays: Oct 21 & 28, 1-4pm Mountain Time
Instructor: Angela Nickerson
Limit: 15 students. Includes class kit + shipping
To receive your kit in time for the class, register by Oct 14. All participants must be 15 years or older.

Class Details

Give an old book a new calling by transforming it into an altered book! The paper in older hardbacks is perfect for art, and an old book can become a treasured place for sketching, painting, writing, and collage. An altered book is also fantastic for journaling on the go – easy to take traveling or to tuck in a bag for moments of inspiration. 

Angela K. Nickerson, a writer and inveterate journaler, enjoys using an altered book for her art. She introduces you to the work of art journalers she admires and shares remarkable examples from other creatives. Whether you’re new to art journaling or do it regularly, their examples can infuse your practice with inspiration and new ideas.

In the first meeting of this two-session class, Angela shows how to prepare and transform a vintage book. Use her simple method to cut out, paste, and mark up the pages. She’ll also introduce you to a number of techniques, one of which is layering cutouts through several pages to build up a scene. By the end of the session you’ll have christened your altered book with an exercise or two. 

The intervening week provides time for you to personalize the cover and work more on the pages inside. Everyone shares what they’ve done in the final session, then Angela demonstrates some more techniques to expand your repertoire. We’re particularly drawn to the way she uses words and phases on the page. She is a writer, after all!

This online class will be recorded and made available to class participants for 10 days after the class.

Class Materials

Please bring the following materials:

• Scissors
• Your favorite pens and pencils
• Newspaper or other covering to protect your work surface
• Box cutter or X-acto knife
• Cutting mat or safe surface for cutting
• Paper clips and other clips to separate pages while they dry
• 1 printed photograph for session 2
• Optional, but useful for homework and/or second class session. (Angela will discuss these materials and their use in the first session so you can choose what to get.) 
• Watercolors and/or acrylic paints
• Brushes and water for cleaning them
• Colored pens and pencils
• Super-77 spray glue
• Glue: PVA (strongly recommended) or Alene's Tacky Glue plus brush 
• ModPodge and a brush
• Bone folder
• Papers, images, and ephemera you’d like to use
• Anything else you enjoy using for art or journaling

Class Kit Includes:

• Handouts/info & printed daily check-in cards
• Vintage book
• Paper pack, ephemera, library card/sleeve, elastic, envelope, ribbon, etc
• White & black pens
• Gesso, acrylic paint & paint brush
• Glue stick
• Ribbon & elastic

We ship class kits approximately 2 weeks before the class via USPS Priority Mail. You will receive a tracking number email from USPS (check your spam folder) once your kit ships. Kits can only be shipped within the USA. If you’re outside the USA and would like to take the class, please contact us for information.

Zoom Info

Be sure to look for an email with class details sent out the Monday before the class. Classes with homework may receive pre-class info earlier. The email includes a Zoom link to login, the class agenda, a materials list, and information on any pre-class prep. Please be prepared to RSVP to the info email so we know you are set for class. If you don’t see the class email from us check your spam folder. No email? Double check the email address you entered when you registered. It's on your order confirmation. If there's still an issue, contact twohandsclasses@gmail.com.

Class Refund/Cancellation Policy

For cancellation made 3 weeks before class we can either issue a refund or apply the funds to another class. We deduct the price of the class kit plus shipping if we’ve already shipped the kit, and we retain a $10 processing fee for EACH class cancelled. If you cancel fewer than 3 weeks before the class there is no refund or credit. If Two Hands Paperie cancels a class, we’ll contact you by email and refund the FULL class fee.

Instructor Bio

Angela Nickerson is photographer, traveler, published author, avid gardener, inveterate journaler, and an all around creative with a capital “C”. Once upon a time she jetted off to Europe every few months, writing about her jaunts and escorting small groups of travelers through the bustling streets and glorious museums of Europe’s best destinations. Then Motherhood happened and the far-flung travels became less frequent.

Angela later landed in Colorado and started her business Mid Modern Mama as a creative space with a wide scope. She still writes about travel, but she and her husband are now focused on dragging their newly-purchased, 1958 Atomic Ranch home into the 21st century. She says the 80’s threw up all over this mid-modern gem, but they’re determined to restore its original charm and character while always remembering that theirs is a family home, not a museum piece.

In 2019, feeling a bit buried in the business and technical side of her life, Angela jumped at the chance to participate in The 100 Day Project, a free, global art project where people commit to 100 days of exploring their creativity. Her project? Exploring the intersection between words and images in mixed media by art journaling. She finds communal challenges like this great for setting her creative spark aflame. She also finds that working in a different medium – visual art rather than words – stretches her and forces her to think differently. “I am fundamentally a writer, but creativity is not siloed. I have to do other things – the #OneRoomChallenge, art journaling, learning to watercolor, gardening … The more I’m working outside of words, the more easily the words flow when it’s time to sit down and write.”