Art Actually (Katie Leporte)

Make It Monday: Page-Turner Art

Written on November 16, 2009 at 6:05 am, by Art Actually (Katie Leporte)

No worries. I didn’t cut up my collector’s edition of Lord of the Rings. But that book I bought in haste at the airport five years ago? Not the page-turner I’d hoped for, so I turned it into art.

Hated a book? Hang onto it. Tear out a few pages, set aside. Better you destroy it than let someone else read it.
Plexiglas. Way more affordable than buying picture frames. I found five pre-cut Plexiglas pieces at the hardware store (8 x 10 inches). Or, you could buy a larger sheet of Plexi, measure equal sections to your desired size, score repeatedly with a utility knife, and snap.
Magnets. Get those tiny round ones in a package, found at the crafts store. You’ll want 36 small magnets for five Plexiglas sheets. See layering instructions below.

Make layers. (See diagram below for layering.) Position four magnets in the four corners on top of the first sheet of Plexi; adhere with tiny dots of strong adhesive glue (or glue that dries clear). Place four more magnets on top each of those. Add a dot of glue only to the tops of these.
Layer another Plexi sheet on top of the double-stacked magnets, making sure the sheet is perfectly matched and adhered in position to the sheet below. Add four dots of glue in the corners on top of this second Plexi layer, then add magnets. Stack another layer of magnets, add glue dots to the tops, layer Plexi. Repeat until you have the desired thickness/layers. The more layers, the more dimension your art will take on. Along with book pages, I used scraps of colored vellum, printed acetate, and photographs to layer in between the Plexi.

TIP: Using a black fine-point Sharpie, number the layers, top to bottom. A small number in a corner won’t be noticeable. If the layers get mixed up, some of the magnets will actually repell each other and not lay properly.

Total? Less than $20. Plexiglas: $12. Magnets: $3. Glue: $2. Picture hanger: $2 (adhere to the back of the bottom Plexi sheet with glue).

Photos: Marty Baldwin. Projects: Katie Leporte.

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Make It Monday: Freewheelin’ Wall Art

Written on October 5, 2009 at 8:15 am, by Art Actually (Katie Leporte)

“Freewheelin’”. One of my fave albums of all time. Also a good word for what I do at home and as art director on the mag—play around with everyday, budget-friendly materials to create art. Get out your scissors and glue, this month it’s all about paper!

Okay, so I don’t scrapbook, but I absolutely adore some of the patterned papers out there right now (check out basicgrey.com.). And you can’t beat the price tag—about a $1 per sheet.

1. Check out your local crafts store for scrapbook paper varieties (I like the double-sided option). I chose three different patterns within a similar color palette. Two identical scrapbook papers makes one art “wheel”. I picked up 14 sheets for less than $20 to make seven.

2. On a cutting mat, lay out your papers, cutting off the brand end tag with a scissors or crafts knife using a ruler edge to guide you. Make your first 1″-wide fold on a sheet (step shot, left). It doesn’t matter which side you start on because the paper should be square. Fold the paper back and forth, accordion-style.

3. Fold the finished accordion strip in half (step shot, middle), and glue two sides together. Compress under a pile of old books for about 20 minutes.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the same patterned scrapbook paper. Once the glue has dried, pull apart the accordion to make two fans. Glue the two fans together, securing for an hour with clothespins (step shot, right).

*If you want tiny wheels to mix with the larger ones like I did, cut your accordion folded strips in half or smaller.

Create a kaleidescope of color on your wall, grouping the wheels together or arranging them at random. You can also hang them at various heights from a light fixture as a centerpiece party decoration or on a tree as holiday ornaments. To hang from nails, attach a small looped ribbon on the backs of the wheels, or cheat like I do and use adhesive, like UGlu strips.

So. Turn some music on and start foldin’.

Art Actually, Katie Leporte; photos by Cameron Sadeghpour, Jason Donnelly

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