I truly love my altered book group. We share our art and push each other to grow and experiment and try new things. So often a new person feels shy about starting because they say the feel inadequate. It isn't inadequacy, it's lack of experience. I love to receive work from new members or beginning artists because I then get to see their growth and their new-found confidence in their work. What a rush that is!
 Two recent books I've worked in are good examples of how we push each other to go in new directions or even to recover old ones.
One of our members chose "My Secret Garden" as her theme. I had recently dreamed about a woodland garden I visited in my long-ago youth, and then saw a picture of a similar scene.  The dream was not at all like a snapshot, so I turned to my watercolours and made this sketch for her book. I haven't painted in a very long time, but this has inspired me to start a watercolour sketch journal again. Thanks, Mitzi!!

Woodland Garden

Another friend created an Artist's ABC for us to work in. The rules were as follows

Choose one two-page spread with consecutive letters of the alphabet

Use a fancy/decorative version of the letter on the page

Use colours that start with the chosen letter

Include a definition of a word starting with the letter and a sentence using words that start with the chosen letter

Use illustrations or other art material that makes use the letter.

An Artist's ABC for Roxanna

I chose the AB combination. On the A page I used Dianne Reavely's new Dylusions Ink line from Ranger Inks and her companion images from Stamper's Anonymous and some graphics images  to create a collage. The background is done with the Dylusions inks sprayed on Deli paper and then painted in with additional colour and layred onto the page so that the printing shows through.  The collage includes the Birth of Venus image. I wanted to use some sand and tiny sea shells, but the page would have been bulky and bottom heavy.
I defined Aphrodite , the Greek version of Venus, and created a quote of my own, "Amorous Aphrodite Arose from Azure Seas Atop an Abalone Shell.". Yes, I know it's a scallop shell, but what is artistic license for, anyway?

On the B page I watercoloured the background and collaged on some pictures of Bobcat kittens at play. The colour is brown, and the quote reads "Baby Bobcats Bound Boisterously in the Brown Brush .What fun this was!!!!