altered book - kubla builds his dream dome

First spread, wherein Kubla decrees his will.....

I did this spread with a completely different background and ended up ripping out both pages and starting over. I saved a few elements and re-used them and this was the result. I had been trying to duplicate a cool background I saw in one of my art books and it flopped horribly. I really wish I could attend some workshops on altered books and/or collage. I found a class listed for this past spring at the Dallas Craft Guild and am crossing my fingers that it will be offered again in the fall. I get the feeling Dallas isn't really into this type of craft although I think it's one of the major scrapbooking markets.

It's still raining. I don't know where all this water is coming from. This is Texas, for cryin' out loud; it's supposed to be hot and sunny. I think the polar ice caps are falling on us.

altered book beginnings

Sometimes it pays to get lost. You think you're somewhere and then you think you're not. Then you know you're not. It can make you nuts, you know? Or it can make you change the way you look at things. That's what happened when I took a wrong turn yesterday.

I started work on my first "real" altered book a few weeks ago but have been hesitant to post anything for fear I'd put myself under so much pressure I would run out of ideas. So I've procrastinated with the few ideas I have and have found that NOT proceeding with them is worse than proceeding and failing. I've already ripped out one page and started over on it with no real damage done.

Anyway, the book is inspired by the poem "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge was addicted to laudanum, a form of opium, and he said he imagined the poem during an opium reverie. The poem is a lovely collection of uneven meter, mismatched rhyme and confusion; and I expect my book will be the same. It should be a fun trip.

my zoological alter ego kicks in

It's got a stinky name, but this pretty little bug is a good guy to have in your garden....maybe almost as good as ladybugs. I saw a tiny spot of red (less than 1/8 inch) moving among decomposing leaves and clods of mud and was able to get a few shots before I lost it. It's called Euthyrhynchus floridanus, or Florida Predatory Stink Bug, and it's one stink bug that feeds on plant pests rather than the plants. This is the nymph phase; the adults are metallic blue with orange spots. I'll have to be on the lookout for them.

It was 88 degrees when I got off work at 10pm last night. One good thing about living 30 miles north of Dallas is that it's just a tiny bit cooler; it was 83 when I got home. Now I know summer's here. I'll be shifting to my summer work schedule next week; 3pm to 1am until at least Sept. 1. I'm hoping my co-worker who usually takes the graveyard shift will do so again this year, as we used to take nightly walks to spy on the local wildlife, and to take advantage of slightly cooler temperatures for exercising. My face feels sunburned when I take my morning walks, now, even though I wear a brimmed hat. I'll probably be talking about the heat all summer; it seems to be a "hot" topic of conversation for everyone.

I'm also finally starting to work on an altered book project. I bought this book almost two years ago and never knew what to do with it. I've recently been inspired, but I'm not going to destroy it the way I originally planned.