An inspirational and practical book on how to interpret and collaborate on different themes in textile art. With foreword by Marie-Therese Wisniowski, who runs Art Quill Studio. This stunning collection showcases the work produced by renowned textile artists Els van Baarle and Cherilyn Martin, and explores how – even when working from the same starting point – textile art can produce a myriad interpretations of shape, form, colour and technique. Els and Cherilyn have chosen six themes for their own starting point, each full of inspiration and artistic potential: Memory (both personal experiences and historical events); Graven (cemetery) images and idols; Books as objects; Pompeii and archaeological excavations; Walls; and Everyday items. For each of the themes the authors have provided a personal interpretation of the work and a description of the techniques they used, along with step-by-step instructions. In the chapter on memory, for example, Cherilyn demonstrates how old fabrics and textiles (which themselves have a unique history all of their own) can be recycled to incorporate your own stitched drawings. Alternatively, Els explores Procion Dye techniques to create colourful and striking fabrics that bear no resemblance to Els work on the same theme. The trend for collaborative textile art is increasing in popularity. This fascinating guide provides a rich seam of inspiration from two renowned artists, exploring how to get the most from your collaborations and produce beautiful and unique work.

An inspirational and practical book on how to interpret and collaborate on different themes in textile art. With foreword by Marie-Therese Wisniowski, who runs Art Quill Studio. This stunning collection showcases the work produced by renowned textile artists Els van Baarle and Cherilyn Martin, and explores how – even when working from the same starting point – textile art can produce a myriad interpretations of shape, form, colour and technique. Els and Cherilyn have chosen six themes for their own starting point, each full of inspiration and artistic potential: Memory (both personal experiences and historical events); Graven (cemetery) images and idols; Books as objects; Pompeii and archaeological excavations; Walls; and Everyday items. For each of the themes the authors have provided a personal interpretation of the work and a description of the techniques they used, along with step-by-step instructions. In the chapter on memory, for example, Cherilyn demonstrates how old fabrics and textiles (which themselves have a unique history all of their own) can be recycled to incorporate your own stitched drawings. Alternatively, Els explores Procion Dye techniques to create colourful and striking fabrics that bear no resemblance to Els work on the same theme. The trend for collaborative textile art is increasing in popularity. This fascinating guide provides a rich seam of inspiration from two renowned artists, exploring how to get the most from your collaborations and produce beautiful and unique work.

Introducing the hottest technique for textile artists today: collagraphy, or printing from collage Packed with hints, tips and exercises exploring how to harness this exciting technique in your own work Illustrated with stunning examples of collagraphy by some of the world's finest textile artists Learn the secrets of one of textile art's most popular techniques: collagraphy. This comprehensive guide from one of Europe's best-known textile artists and teachers contains everything you need to know about the exciting effects you can achieve using the almost endless permutations of collage, stitch and print, and how you can incorporate them into your own stitched-textile work. Includes invaluable information on making a collagraphy plate using embroidery, choosing suitable surfaces for print, combining paper and fabric, embroidering onto prints, and how to work in series. Illustrated throughout with the best examples of contemporary collagraphy in textile art, this book is a fascinating introduction to a technique that could become your latest textile-art passion.

Make decorative, simple do-it-yourself projects with this friendly guide to paper crafting. You and your family will love to spend hours making beautiful paper art, jewelry, and decorations with All Things Paper. This easy paper crafts book comes with simple-to-follow instructions and detailed photos that show you how to create colorful and impressive art objects to display at home--many of which have practical uses. It is a great book for experienced paper craft hobbyists looking for new ideas or for new folders who want to learn paper crafts from experts. Projects in this papercrafting book include: Candle Luminaries Citrus Slice Coasters Mysterious Stationery Box Everyday Tote Bag Silver Orb Pendant Fine Paper Yarn Necklace Wedding Cake Card Perfect Journey Journal And many more… All the projects in this book are designed by noted paper crafters like Benjamin John Coleman, Patricia Zapata, and Richela Fabian Morgan. They have all been creating amazing objects with paper for many years. Whether you're a beginner or have been paper crafting for many years, you're bound to find something you'll love in All Things Paper. Soon you will be on your way to creating your own designs and paper art.

Presents the artistic accomplishments of the American potter Karen Karnes, discussing her early works produced during communial living in North Carolina and New York, her mature work produced in Vermont, and her status as an international artist.

Harness the beauty of the natural world to create unique textile art pieces. Learn how to create beautiful textile art inspired by details in nature in this practical and inspirational guide. Acclaimed textile artist Marian Jazmik shows how to use unusual recycled and repurposed materials combined with traditional fabric and thread. Marian reveals the secrets of her lushly textured and sculptural embroidered pieces, from initial photograph to finished object. Exploring nature as a constant source of inspiration, she shows how to turn a chance spotting of lichen on a tree trunk or a scattering of autumn leaves into glorious textile or mixed-media art. Marian goes on to explore the myriad of techniques she uses in her work, including: How to begin with photography, homing in on details in nature. How to manipulate images to create microscopic and surprising detail. How to translate the images into 3-D work, using an eclectic mix of natural and man-made textiles, as well as unusual recycled materials otherwise be destined for landfill (packaging, plastics and household DIY products). Hand and machine embroidery. Dyeing, printing and painting. Using heat gun and soldering iron to create heavily textured surfaces. Packed with practical tips, inspiration and illustrated throughout with glorious examples of Marian’s work, this book will provide you with endless imaginative ideas for distilling the wonders of nature into your own textile art.

In 1974, women in a feminist consciousness-raising group in Eugene, Oregon, formed a mock organization called the Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society. Emblazoning its logo onto t-shirts, the group wryly envisioned female collective textile making as a practice that could upend conventions, threaten state structures, and wreak political havoc. Elaborating on this example as a prehistory to the more recent phenomenon of “craftivism”—the politics and social practices associated with handmaking—Fray explores textiles and their role at the forefront of debates about process, materiality, gender, and race in times of economic upheaval. Closely examining how amateurs and fine artists in the United States and Chile turned to sewing, braiding, knotting, and quilting amid the rise of global manufacturing, Julia Bryan-Wilson argues that textiles unravel the high/low divide and urges us to think flexibly about what the politics of textiles might be. Her case studies from the 1970s through the 1990s—including the improvised costumes of the theater troupe the Cockettes, the braided rag rugs of US artist Harmony Hammond, the thread-based sculptures of Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña, the small hand-sewn tapestries depicting Pinochet’s torture, and the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt—are often taken as evidence of the inherently progressive nature of handcrafted textiles. Fray, however, shows that such methods are recruited to often ambivalent ends, leaving textiles very much “in the fray” of debates about feminized labor, protest cultures, and queer identities; the malleability of cloth and fiber means that textiles can be activated, or stretched, in many ideological directions. The first contemporary art history book to discuss both fine art and amateur registers of handmaking at such an expansive scale, Fray unveils crucial insights into how textiles inhabit the broad space between artistic and political poles—high and low, untrained and highly skilled, conformist and disobedient, craft and art.

An inspiring step-by-step guide to creating contemporary textile artworks themed on nature. Stitched Textiles: The Natural World is the fourth title in this successful theme-based series. It contains an extensive section on techniques, featuring step-by-step guides to machine- and hand-stitching, attaching embellishments and found objects to your work; painting and printing on fabrics including cotton, silk and Khadi paper; and using objects found in nature, such as leaves, to make unique and iconic prints. The book includes four inspirational projects based on different facets of the natural world: Ocean, Rainforest, Botany, Birds and Animals. Stitched Textiles: The Natural World also features examples of the author, Steph Redfern's own intricate and detailed works based on nature, exploring the means by which the pieces have been created, and the wonderful stories behind Steph's journey as an artist. The wealth of information and visual stimuli in Stitched Textiles: The Natural World is intended to inspire the reader to create their own works inspired by nature, beginning by exploring the use of sketchbooks and study pages, progressing to picking out iconic elements from sketches and photographs, and eventually assembling a stunning, personal piece of stitched textile work on fabric or on cotton-blend Khadi paper, applying handstitch in metallic threads, or machine stitch in whimsical and beautiful patterns, and embellishing with natural beads or found objects.

In this pioneering book, Christopher Whitehead provides an overview and critique of art interpretation practices in museums and galleries. Covering the philosophy and sociology of art, traditions in art history and art display, the psychology of the aesthetic experience and ideas about learning and communication, Whitehead advances major theoretical frameworks for understanding interpretation from curators’ and visitors’ perspectives. Although not a manual, the book is deeply practical. It presents extensively researched European and North American case studies involving interviews with professionals engaged in significant cutting-edge interpretation projects. Finally, it sets out the ethical and political responsibilities of institutions and professionals engaged in art interpretation. Exploring the theoretical and practical dimensions of art interpretation in accessible language, this book covers: The construction of art by museums and galleries, in the form of collections, displays, exhibition and discourse; The historical and political dimensions of art interpretation; The functioning of narrative, categories and chronologies in art displays; Practices, discourses and problems surrounding the interpretation of historical and contemporary art; Visitor experiences and questions of authorship and accessibility; The role of exhibition texts, new interpretive technologies and live interpretation in art museum and gallery contexts. Thoroughly researched with immediately practical applications, Interpreting Art in Museums and Galleries will inform the practices of art curators and those studying the subject.