By Jessie Raynor, Akron Area Arts Alliance Director

The Altered Book Project, on display at Summit Artspace Gallery from June 17 through July 30, showcases the creativity of 17 top Akron artists.  Altered books can be defined as books that have been recycled and repurposed creating works of art by gluing, painting, collaging, rubber stamping, cutting, tearing or embellishing.  They represent expressions of self, experiments in creativity and personal journals.

Claudia Berlinski, a senior lecturer at The University of Akron’s Myers School of Art and guest curator of the exhibit, said that she first learned about altered books when researching collage techniques for a workshop.  “Not only did I want to recycle a book, I wanted to see if I could find one with content that could play a part in the concept of the artwork,” she said. Berlinski recognized that many people have intimate relationships with books, whether it’s with the story, the look, the smell of an old edition or even the weight in their hands.  Because of this she knew that numerous artists would be anxious to create a special piece from a special book.

Events during the exhibition include a meet-the-artists opening reception on Friday, June 17 and free Saturday workshops on creating altered books.  Designed for adults and older teens, the workshops are for both beginners and professional artists.

A growing downtown art center, Summit Artspace is a project of the Akron Area Arts Alliance (AAAA) in cooperation with Summit County government.  Its gallery is dedicated to displaying the talents of local artists.