I so enjoyed making a junk journal last month that I signed up for an online course to learn more about collaging with scrap paper. The photo at the top shows one I made. The course was with Catherine Rains. It consisted of 5 video classes over 10 days showing how to turn scraps of paper into material suitable for a work of art, then how to put them together into pictures.
The paper includes things you might have around the house like magazines, tissue paper, and regular white paper, but also old books. I admit to having a twinge of conscience over using that last thing as part of the project. Going through my shelves I found a very tatty book of psalms and common prayers from my school days. It was decades old and falling apart, I have no personal attachment to it as I've never been a member of the Church of England and I'm now Pagan.
But, despite all that and the fact that the book isn't rare and no charity shop would want it, it still felt sacrilegious to destroy any book, let alone one connected to any spiritial path. I got over my qualms and tore out pages, painted them, ripped them up, and glued patches as part of the collage.
What do you think? Should I have tried to find a different book? Is it wrong to destroy any book just for the sake of art?
Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
Other previous related posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/07/upcycling-crafts-pretty-paper-hand-fan.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/03/upcycling-crafts-paper-flowers-from.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/04/craft-slow-stitch-scraps-and-scents-egg.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/rounding-year-time-to-start-new-journal.html
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