Metamorphosis

As soon as someone mentioned altered books I became infatuated. What did it mean when one said altered? To change. To improve. To recreate in another form. Do I look at the book and get my inspiration from the initial book? Do I simply gesso the pages?

Are there poems to be found, pithy sayings to uncover-- simply by eliminating words?

What happens to the words that are thrown away? Do they reconstitute themselves and form new thoughts?

Do authors mourn the loss of their own words, or in some cases the dismissal of words. Why are some words saved and others consigned to oblivion?

This new paradigm is built on the pages of other words, different images. Do I recognize the previous author or has my creation so blotted out the original that no recognition is necessary??