Demonstration
The Story Survives

Transform a Story

In The Story Survives, you’ll transform a book page into a beautiful piece of art. By blacking around everything on the text except an outlined flower and a few choice phrases, you will tell a brand-new story without writing a word! This is a particularly fun project for wordsmiths and lovers of anagrams. If you like this project, you can really make a statement by photocopying the same book page and creating a series of different art pieces from it.

STEP 1: Prepare the Text

First, choose a page of text from an old book and either cut it out or photocopy it to fit your 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) support. Take some time to look for interesting words or phrases that might work as a “found story” or poem. Circle those words lightly in pencil.

STEP 2: Prepare the Support

Trim your book page to fit the 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) support. Apply a coat of acrylic gel medium to the wood panel with a 1" (25mm) flat.

STEP 3: Apply the Text to the Support

Lay the book page on top of the wood panel, cover it with a sheet of wax paper, and roll a brayer over it to seal it into place. Let the piece dry for at least two hours.

STEP 4: Coat with Gesso

Once it’s dry, apply a coat of clear gesso to the piece using a 1" (25mm) flat. Allow this to dry as well.

STEP 5: Draw on Tracing Paper

Lay a piece of tracing paper over the book page so you can see the words underneath, then draw an object that goes along with your found story. I drew a flower to go along with the words I circled: “like a flower in a storm…the story survives.”

STEP 6: Avoid Drawing Over Circled Words

As you draw your object, take care not to cover any of the words or phrases you circled. You’ll want these to remain visible in the final piece.

STEP 7: Retrace the Drawing on the Reverse Side

Once you’re happy with the drawing, turn it face down and pencil over the lines of the sketch using the reverse transfer method.

STEP 8: Transfer the Drawing

Center the drawing back on the book page and retrace over the drawing so that it transfers to the board.

STEP 9: Outline the Drawing

Outline the object with a black paint marker.

STEP 10: Black Out Small Spaces

Black out any small or intricate spaces with the black marker, being extra careful not to black out your circled word.

STEP 11: Tape Around the Border

Tape around the border of the book page with masking tape.

STEP 12: Paint the Background

With a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat, paint everything but the object and the circled words with Bone Black.

STEP 13: Remove the Border Tape

Remove the tape, and you’ll have a border around the blacked-out part of the piece.

STEP 14: Tape Over the Author and Title

Cut a new piece of tape and place it over the author and title of the book at the top of the page.

STEP 15: Paint Over the Border

To clean up your page border, use a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat to paint a layer of Titanium White around the blacked out part of the book page.

STEP 16: Remove the Remaining Tape

Remove the protective masking tape, and you’ll have a beautiful title and author heading at the top of your altered book page.

STEP 17: Add Red Details

Find a small part of the object to highlight with a red paint marker. As you do so, think about how this pop of red adds to your story.

STEP 18: Add Washi Tape Sides

Wrap the sides of the finished piece in colorful washi tape.

STEP 19: Add Washi Tape to the Top Edges

Wrap another color of washi tape around the top edges and over the face of the painting for a finished look.

Tell the Story

What story does your blackout page tell? What words did you preserve? How do they relate to the object you’ve drawn? Is it a direct illustration of the words or is it ironic? Do the red accents add to the story? What do they suggest? How does the poem’s original title relate to the story?