Altared, Altered Books: A Compassion Practicum 

Saint Mary's College of California Library

January 28 - February 28

This exhibit is an outgrowth of the January Term course “Altared, Altered Books: A Compassion Practicum,” that I taught at St. Mary’s last month.  The course was based on the recent publication, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, by religious historian Karen Armstrong.  As indicated by the title, in this book Armstrong proposes a program of twelve concrete steps as a means for developing a more compassionate life.  She encourages that the reading of her book and the practicing of the steps take place in a reading circle, in community.  She also recommends that the group focus on one step a month, over the course of a year.

Although this course introduced the text in its entirety, in order to encourage students to commit themselves to a lifetime of learning and practicing of compassion, and out of respect for the incremental process of transforming our “hearts and minds,” the class focused on the first step: “Learn About Compassion.”  Actions for this step include: studying religious or secular traditions, others’ as well as our own; and, keeping a journal.

The journals in this class were creative, non-linear, and tactile: each student created a personal altar using discarded books and other reclaimed, recycled, upcycled, and everyday items; natural and found objects; photos, keepsakes, ephemera; and, various creative techniques for book arts / altered books.