Book Arts Mania: Simple Folded-paper Books

 "Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important." Michael L. Goodman

I taught a book arts class for the Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan in May. Eighteen people signed up for the class, but only nine showed up to participate. It was a free class, so there was no financial commitment to attend except for curiosity and a desire to learn something new. It was a Friday evening after all. Those who did come had a good time learning to fold paper into simple books, and I enjoyed teaching again. We had a creative discussion about ways to use the books while we committed acts of art folding "pants" books, hidden-page books, "T-fold" books, and book covers.

I showed a few examples of how I used these "origami" books when teaching middle school art students. This is a simple "pants" fold book using one sheet of paper. It is 4 1/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches with a folded-paper cover.

Title page.

Pages one and two.

I made some collage "hidden" books with images and quotes from various artists I admire. I laminated each book so the students could handle them without weakening the folds and wearing the books out. Even so, someone thought to improve Lautrec's work with a red line on page four. These two books are 5 1/2 inches by 4 inches.

The cover of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec book.

Pages one and two.

Pages three and four.

Pages five and six.

The hidden image inside the book. (15 3/4 inches by 10 3/4 inches)

The cover of the Georgia O'Keeffe book.

Pages one and two.

Pages three and four.

Pages five and six.

The hidden image inside the book. (15 3/4 inches by 10 3/4 inches.)