Bay Area artist specializes in 'sculpting' books

Ted Wray is an artist who specializes in "sculpting" books.

GULFPORT, Fla. - Ted Wray’s work shines a light on the phrase "to an artist, anything can be a canvas."

What they're saying:

"It reveals itself to me as I'm working, so I can see what the book wants to become," Wray said.

Yes, books are the canvas. Wray is the sculptor.

"I put a blade to books. I rescue them and give them a second life, and I turn them into art," he explained.

Pictured: Ted Wray.

Wray’s work is hard to explain with words. It’s best if they are seen. The former long-time musician cuts one page at a time, a process that can take anywhere from 8-80 hours to complete. Many of the cuts form a similar shape, which then creates a somewhat layered effect.

"Generally, what I do is I cut the cover, and that becomes the frame, and then each page becomes the frame for each subsequent page," Wray said. "As I'm working, a new color or image may reveal itself to me that I didn't expect, and I sort of go out of my way to capture that."

Ted Wray cuts into books to create works of art that can take 8-80 hours to complete.

Dig deeper:

Wray doesn’t add any color to his pieces. The vibrant colorful patterns are created using existing colors within the books he selects. For example, he sculpted a book titled "The Beauty of Color", by supermodel Iman.

"A lot of the geometric shapes were the shapes of the makeup boxes, and a lot the imagery, the lips, the eyes, et cetera, are all images that were already in the book," he explained.

Ted Wray cuts into books to create works of art that can take 8-80 hours to complete.

After completing all the page cuts, Wray uses a technique to bend the pages to create a three-dimensional look.

"For me, it's a very meticulous process. I enjoy detail. I enjoy colors. I enjoy craftsmanship," Wray said.

Ted Wray cuts into books to create works of art that can take 8-80 hours to complete.

Wray has loved books all his life. The books he uses are always older, many times discarded books.

"The relationship with books has really changed, you know, you're delving into these corners that you wouldn't observe from a different perspective," Wray said. "Books have shaped culture. Books have shaped me, and now I'm shaping them. My main hope is that people say wow, I never knew a book could look like that."