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‘Book Art and Other Oddities’ transforms pages from damaged books into works of art

By Barry Wong
Updated  February 5, 2025 4:25pm EST
Made in Tampa Bay
FOX 13 News

‘Book Art and Other Oddities’ transforms pages from damaged books into works of art

For the past year, artist Lisa Bryant has been transforming pages from damaged books into works of art.

The Brief

    • A Bay Area artist is transforming pages from damaged books into works of art through "Book Art and Other Oddities."
    • The artist began making flowers, which are the bestsellers at The Book Rescuers in Largo.
    • She now makes all kinds of pieces, including stars, Christmas trees, origami animals and other decorative pieces.

LARGO, Fla. - For the past year, artist Lisa Bryant has been transforming pages from damaged books into works of art. 

"I love the tattered and torn books that are falling apart," Bryant said. "I'd love to make them beautiful again." 

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The backstory:

Like many artists with a creative idea, "Book Art and Other Oddities" started with a random desire on a random day. 

"I wanted red roses, and I could not find any that I liked, so I figured I'd make them," Bryant said. "I love books, so I figured, make some out of books."

The flowers, which consist of five pages, are the bestsellers at The Book Rescuers, a local business with the goal of keeping old books out of landfills. 

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"I first dropped off 20 roses at the old bookstore with George [co-owner of The Book Rescuers]. I guess people loved him so much. Later on that day, he called me, he's like, you might want to make some more because all 20 have already sold out," Bryant said. "So, now when I bring them, I bring close to 100 every time."

Dig deeper:

Along with flowers, Bryant creates stars, Christmas trees, which can have 30-80 pages, origami animals and other decorative pieces. She dyes and hand-dries the pages individually, a time-consuming process. She says one of her favorite parts is when the books have old writing and notes on them. She leaves those notes on her new pieces. 

One of her largest creations hangs on the wall of the store, a colorful pink and yellow display of flowers that spell out TBR.

"This place is my happy place and knowing that what they're doing, they're saving all these books, and I can be a part of that too. They let me sell my art here, and I could save some too, and in my way, it just means the world to me," Bryant said. 

What you can do:

For more information, visit Book Art and Other Oddities' Facebook page. 

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