Cut/ Shaped Books
Overcoming Artists’ Block
Most of us have been trained from earliest childhood at our mothers’ knees to never, ever, EVER mark in, cut, fold, or in any other way, deface a book. Cutting a book into a shape gives new life to a worn out, old volume, and helps remove inhibitions about marking up a book, while also inspiring the artist to new heights!
What You Will Need:
a Book, hardback
a pattern or shape to use as a template
a cutting tool, I use a bandsaw, powerful and possibly dangerous, but a scroll or jigsaw could work, but a lot slooooooower. You could also use an Exacto knife to cut these shapes, and it would be tedious, and maybe even a little dangerous, but it could be done
Cat template taped to book before cutting with bandsaw.
What to Do:
Get trained in safe usage of your cutting tool!
Tape shape template to your book, aligning your uncut part of the design with the spine (so it holds together at the spine)
Follow the outline of shape until all that’s left is your beautiful shaped book
Decorate book to your heart’s content (Search “Altered Books”)! (Or Not! You can enjoy just having a book cut in the shape of a cat! Or a teapot!)
My husband taught me to use and respect the bandsaw, my FAVORITE power tool!
Cut/ Shaped Books cut by a bandsaw. Note the book safe in upper right, and the heart and butterfly which were cut as a half, so the full design would show when opened.