The Apiarist part two, Vida

This is a companion my bee flag book. I had a pile of bees after finishing the first piece which inspired this book. I chose muted colors, I knew that once finished bright colors would make the piece garish and would distract from the intricate details. I think the colors I chose give it a sun washed feeling. One of the orange tones is carried through from the bee book.
The cover closes with a strap that isn't attached. I couldn't figure out how I wanted the buckle to sit and I didn't like the idea of gluing the ribbon.
The flags in this book have a variety of flowers and leaves on them. I wanted to create the idea of a field of flowers or a garden. There are bees tucked in among the flowers.
Like the last book, this one has a single word in it, again I spent a lot of time thinking of just the right word. Vida seemed most appropriate, it felt more elegant than simply life.

dung beetles

This is sort of an excerpt from a book that I made, the concept was advice you would get from insects. The moth was my favorite, I think it is possibly the most meaningful statement I came up with for the book.

altered book, the rest of it

Before you start cutting into the actual pages of the book, trace your template onto the first page you'll be cutting. Even if you're cutting a simple shape, you'll have better luck using a template because it will keep your lines straight and uniform through the entire thickness of the book.
Cut 5-10 pages at a time, it will keep your lines crisp and reduce the number of times you have to go back and cut away at those little corners that don't come out willingly. I have a small cutting mat that I can put inside the book to protect the pages underneath, it also adds stability when cutting. Finally, clamp your entire book together, it's important that the spine stay straight otherwise all of your cutting will end up askew. If your book is thin enough you can use binder clips, or like me, you can use spring clamps from the hardware store.

altered book, step two

Step two: get up the nerve to cut the book, this is pretty much the worst part. This book came from a thrift store so I can't just pick up another one if I do something wrong.

This book will have layers that you look through so the first cut I had to make was the hole in the cover. To do this I drew the shape in pencil and then cut through with an x-acto.