"The Flapper Rests"

This altered book spread was done with an altered photo done by Paintshop Pro 9 with an added image from a magazine cover from the 1920s. I also did silver embellishments which don't show up very well.

Photo used in altered book spread above, "The Flapper Rests." Photo was altered using PaintShop Pro 9. 

Vilnius, St. Anne 

Warsaw palace, altered photo 

Outside Minsk, old collective farm village, greatly altered photo 

Vilnius, old church 

Minsk, processional at cathedral, on Monday after Orthodox Easter, altered 

Viilnius old town, below the castle 

Minsk Cathdral, another view, altered 

Warsaw old town, altered 

Minsk Cathedral, altered photo 

Igor Barkhatkov and Helena Barkhatkova, artists of Minsk 

"Baba Marie", portion of an oil painting by Igor Barkhatkov, 2005, Minsk, Belarus 

Another altered photo, Vilnius, May 2005 

Vilniius, altered photo 

Digitally altered photo of old city wall in Warsaw, Poland, May 2005 

This is a digitally altered photo of the Church of Mary Magdalene in Minsk, Belarus. May 2005 

This Is a Fine Mess You Have Gotten Yourself into, Sandalswithsox!

Gluesticks get into my laundry, hardback books shy away from me in fear, and I race to get the mail so that I can rip open the bills. "Hmmm, the inside of this envelope has real possibilities!" My husband complains that I am sending away for other people's trash and spending good money for it. I stay up too late so that I can get my gluebook prompt at 12:01 am. I hide in the post office until the grumpy clerk is tied up. How has it come to this? Sometime last summer I purchased a book, Altered Art by Design Originals, and I was hooked. "Altererd Mail? You mean you can send that by mail?" "Altered Books? Tear out pages? Glue pages together? Color in my books!" And then I aspired to become a '"gluemonkey", and doing my page-a-day gluebook became the highlight of the day."

What makes us take such drastic turns? I never was interested in crafts before, why now? Those into type development would say that I have entered in that wonderful time of life when the inferior function is deployed appropriately and meaningfully.

Those closer to me think I am nearing the edge! One night the six yearold grandson watched me glue pages of a book together.

Grandson: Why are you doing that, Grandma?
Me: (frustrated by my ineptness) Because I am an artist.
Grandson: Does my mom know that?
Me: You can tell her.
Grandson: But you're still a minister, too?

Later that night....
Grandson: Mom, did you know Grandma's an artist now?
Daughter (42): Well, how about that? (with eyeroll)
Me (to myself): Years ago I would have sent you to your room for that look!

Still later....
Grandson: Mom, Grandma just thinks she's an artist.
Daughter: What makes you think that?
Grandson: Well, real artists get their stuff hung in the gymn or in the mall. I don't know how they'd hang that book.

Next day.....
Me: So someone in my alteredbooks group suggested....
Daughter: You mean other people do this stuff?
Me: Yes, does that bother you?
Daughter: No! It's a relief!