When I started selling on Etsy, there were few bookbinders and even fewer artist’s books listed. Four years later, there are a lot more, including many sculptural bookworks and poetry chapbooks.
One shop I came across the other day features what the artist, Lisa Occhipinti, calls bookmobiles. She makes mobiles from old books, like the one on the left, called Aviatrix and using a copy of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “Listen! The Wind.”
You can see all her work here, it includes lots of works made from old books.
Occhipinti also has a book coming out this spring called The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life. According to the publisher the projects “repurpose orphaned and outdated books from flea markets and library sales and turns them into new art objects and practical items for the home. Her creations range from artfully constructed mobiles, wreaths, and vases, to functional items like shelves, storage boxes, and even a Kindle ‘keeper’ for those who want to replicate the sensation of holding a ‘real’ book while reading from an e-reader.”