Altered 'books'.....

When you're an art major all your life, you always have to be doing something. Creating. All the time, whether it's in your head or reality. It's a curse sometimes.

The thing you're creating has to be something different, clever, innovative, creative or......maybe.....sorta stupid. (Wasn't stupid at the time. In fact, it was the smartest thing in the world, to me.)

When I was in high school, when  high school was first invented, I used to take my father's TV Guides, the day they arrived, and sorta, well, improved them. The height of creativity.

What I did had to happen  before Dad got home so that the new and improved version would end up in the 'mail of the day' pile. Like it was supposed to be there.

The first few were quick alterations, without too much thought. Slowly, they got more complex. Some even had moving parts.

Oh, I was something. Really something.

See for yourself.......

The knife was cut out of some catalog, the blood painted with acrylics, my paint of choice.

Cigar and hat cut out of another magazine

Jimmy Durante's face cut out and glued on, hair painted (on the top person).

Cut out and glued on.....

Bullet holes burnt into the cover with a rod of incense.

Mia Farrow's eyes were erased and repainted....(a pencil eraser would totally erase the color from the TV Guide cover. It was that kind of paper. Lucky for me.)

This one is hard to see. There's an arm coming out of the bears mouth, like he just ate someone.

And, of course, lots of blood. (I was truly gross.)

Now, this is the first of the moveable covers. Notice the 'pull' tab at the bottom. If you gently pulled on it, the mouth opened.....see below....
"arrghhh!"

Big teeth drawn, cut out and glued to Johnny Carson.

All the details painted on with acrylics.

No comment.

This is one of my favorites, I think.  (how the news is really made.)

Babs lighting up...cut and paint.

Second in my moveable series. Pull up and down gently on the pull tab at the bottom and Columbo is readjusting his tie, up and down, up and down....see below.....

Hand painted her middle finger on with acrylics. ( I worked sooo hard to match the skin color.)

Painted the fish in her mouth.

Cut outs and painted blood. 

There were more, but these were the only ones I saved.

I always heard chuckles as I hid around the corner while Dad was checking the mail. But he never, ever said anything.

I think he was used to this sort of thing.

What a guy.