"R" altered book-mixed media

When I was away at my conference I took an altered book workshop. I saw how it was used with troubled teens. These are students who are normally closed off and suspicious of any thing a teacher would ask them to do. Through creating this very personal and intimate journal of ideas, these students opened up and confronted many of their demons head on.

I have done altered books before, and I have seen the amazing thought processes to alter and change an object into something new and personal. I decided to try this with a group of my students today. This is what I came up with. The students jumped on the assignment. Even those who normally are not inclined to jump on in.