Words and Pictures

Just as a new altered page often begins with a blank background and no plan, so begins this entry. Each new page needs a source of inspiration before it can take shape—a color or a picture, or even a mood. When I sit with a book before me, I have within reach many things to stimulate my visual senses—paints, chalk, colorful patterned papers, pictures that I have collected because I found them pleasing. I can rummage in my boxes and feel soft feathers, tender dried leaves, lace, buttons and a myriad of other things that delight my fingers. Some combination of these elements ignites a spark and the page begins. It starts with a simple idea—rarely is the entire page conceived at one time. It is created layer by layer, detail by detail, a special embellishment, until the end result is satisfactory, or satisfaction ends the process. That is also how this entry began. A blank page. The colors and textures were replaced with my thoughts and words. It will be complete with an illustration, which is by nature only an embellishment of words.