Lesley Riley: Exploring Fabric Collage

Join popular workshop instructor and author Lesley Riley in the fun of altering books, an innovative art form using memorabilia you've had around the house for years!

Lesley demonstrates innovative ways to use ephemera, which materials work best, design and continuity do's and don'ts, her rationale for choosing particular fabrics, and how to avoid common mistakes. Learn a variety of ways to transfer images, and witness the resulting look achieved by each method. See how to tip-in pages, adhere mica, and age photos and fabric. Well delineated chapters allow you to jump to areas of special interest in her workshop.

In Exploring Fabric Collage, Lesley Riley reveals the perfect use for the fabric and knick-knacks you've collected over the years. Drag your favorite material, photos and emphemera out of the closet and follow Lesley as she creates a fabric-altered book.

In this workshop, a children's board book finds new life as the spine of a colorful, whimsical collage. Lesley shares her methods for finding and combining material as she covers pages with lively patterns. She concentrates on color and design instead of agonizing over measurements and clean edges. By ripping fabric and trusting her eye, Lesley achieves a playful, natural look that sets the tone for the entire project.

To fill the colorful pages, she transfers images to fabric using an inkjet printer, acrylic medium and plain water. Multiple transfer and tinting methods help Lesley establish a variety of looks and alter images to match their background fabrics. She adds highlights with pastel and colored pencil and ages images with wet coffee grounds and specialty ink.

Lesley creates a page-sized pocket that allows her to store loose photos and ephemera inside the book. The pocket and a flip-open notebook cover bring elements of interactivity and discovery to the project. She adds depth to the other pages with tiles, metal, mica chips and rubber balls and demonstrates reliable methods for affixing three-dimensional elements.

As she develops her design concepts, Lesley begins to tell a story. A careful selection of found elements and cohesive designs leads readers through the book and points back to the "school days" theme. Lesley fills in the details with personal touches like names, dates and even artwork from her own kindergarten class. She rubber stamps text and alters her handwriting to add authenticity and variety.

Lesley concludes the project by tinting shoelaces to wrap the book and writing her title with alphabet tiles and an antique gummed label. The finished piece feels lively and playful from beginning to end. To transform your favorite fabric and ephemera into a work of art, join Lesley Riley in Exploring Fabric Collage: A Fabric-Altered Book.