Recycling LP Albums Into Art by Darcy Altaville

    I seem to be in an "altered" state of mind lately.  And no, it has nothing to do with any kind of mind altering drugs. Instead I attribute it to the whole "Altered Arts" movement that is currently all the rage.

 It seems that artists are taking everything  and anything and "altering" it it to suit their artistic vision and presto! it is now "altered art". And for those of you who are wondering - is it junk or is it truly a piece of art - check out my column at the Museum of  Paper, "BlueJude In An Altered World"

http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/museumofpaper/

    But back to the matter at hand, which is those old LP Album covers that Eric L. speaks of in The Joy of Album Covers, right here at gather.com  It brought to the forefront of my mind a thought that I had weeks ago about altering old album covers.  Not the good ones, of course which stand out as a classic piece of art, all on their own. But what about those that don't hold much aesthetic or sentimental value? What to do with those?

I say join the Altered Arts movement and create your own work of art! No drawing skills required, I promise. All it takes is a little imagination and a sense of humor (unless of course, you're very serious about all of this!) and some simple supplies that you probably have around the house.  A little gesso or light spackle to work as a sort of primer and to add texture. Some paint, crayons, pastels, collage papers, found objects and some glue.  And if you're really happy with your creation you might want to seal it with some Modge Podge or other arts and crafts sealer.

    So, it may not be something for the Metropolitan Museum - but I bet if you hang it on your wall it will be a real conversation starter at your next dinner party!

    Or maybe scrapbooking is your thing. Well just think of the possibilities that the Beatles "Abbey Road" has to offer you. Why should they be the only ones to walk Abbey Road? Why, that could be you and your family! Just cut out their little heads (your family that is) and glue them on and do a bit of embellishing. Maybe give someone a hat (or is it a mac?) and change their clothes a bit. And by all means, get rid of that white car on the left hand side! I never did like it there.

    And you will also want to slice open the top and bottom of the cover, leaving the spine on the left side. Though if you're a perfectionist, you might want to do this step first and take care of any jagged edges. Once it's cut open, simply glue or sew scrapbook pages to the inside and you're set to go!

    Another idea is mail art.  Bring back the lost art of postcards. Just cut up those album covers to postcard size, do a little altering and send them to your friends. I suggest you send them to the ones who e-mail you way to many forwards. Use your postcard to tell them to please stop! Postcards are just the right size for this sort of thing.

    Perhaps you're a holiday crafter. Well, what about Bing Crosby and his white Christmas? Cut him out, laminate him and surround him with some of that trendy, textured novelty yarn in white and he's ready for a white Christmas on your Dad's tree. And think of Nat King Cole with his chestnuts roasting on an open fire...and what you could do with that! No, better yet,  let's not go there...it is one of my holiday favorites.

I think these old album covers hold quite a few artistic possibilities. As for the album itself, well, that's for another article. Any ideas?