I am always looking for new book crafts, and recently I've been finding a lot of these book-altering projects.
I always feel conflicted about them: what if someone wanted to read those books? What if you have some grand plan to do something awesome with the pages torn from a book but then it turns out terribly and the book was destroyed for no reason? These are things that worry me every time I take a book apart for my own creative projects. Generally I try to use books that are going to be thrown away or are in very poor condition so I don't feel bad about taking them apart for my own purposes.
However, a few days ago my aunt Debra sent me a link to an article about these beautiful and anonymous book sculptures in Scotland gifted to various libraries and book centers around the country. All the books were left with notes that were addressed to the twitter accounts of these organizations, which I thought was an interesting and sort of insightful choice: it's a great joining of new and old technology (yes, books can be considered technology).
Here are a few of my favorite sculptures:
Aren't they beautiful? Seeing these made me want to go out and make a book into a beautiful work of art myself. Possibly my favorite thing about the whole thing is that the books were anonymous. The article ends by saying "The Edinburgh Evening News claims to have discovered the identity of the sculptor. The general view is that We Don't Want To Know..."
I think I'd have to agree. I like the books being secret, beautiful gifts: I don't want cold hard facts to ruin the lovely fairy-tale-ness of it all.
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| Carved out book via Lean-In's Life. |
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| Book turned picture frame via Delightful Distractions. |
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| Book succulent garden via The Book Brook. |
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| Book page cupcake toppers via Apple In My Heart. |
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| Printing on a book page via Classy Little Lady. |
However, a few days ago my aunt Debra sent me a link to an article about these beautiful and anonymous book sculptures in Scotland gifted to various libraries and book centers around the country. All the books were left with notes that were addressed to the twitter accounts of these organizations, which I thought was an interesting and sort of insightful choice: it's a great joining of new and old technology (yes, books can be considered technology).
Here are a few of my favorite sculptures:
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| Left at the Scottish Poetry Library. I like that it's a tree. The note says: It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree.… We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books… a book is so much more than pages full of words.… This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas….. a gesture (poetic maybe?) |
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| Left at the National Library of Scotland. I love the variety of shapes of this one. The gramophone and coffin were sculpted from a copy of Ian Rankin's Exit Music. The tag read: For @natlibscot - A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas..... (& against their exit) |
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| Scottish Storytelling Center received this one. I LOVE the great color of the egg and general nest-iness of it. The tag says: For @scotstorycenter - A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas..... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story..... |
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| This one appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. I love the tree silhouettes that are carved out of the cover! It's tag was addressed to the UNESCO City of Literature. To @edincityoflit 'A gift' LOST (albeit in a good book) This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas.... "No infant has the power of deciding..... by what circumstances (they) shall be surrounded.. Robert Owen |
I think I'd have to agree. I like the books being secret, beautiful gifts: I don't want cold hard facts to ruin the lovely fairy-tale-ness of it all.
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