"The richly illustrated and expertly designed publication accompanying the exhibition "Woven Beauty -- The Art of West African Textiles" at the Museum der Kulturen Basel offers an impressive overview of West African textile culture, highlighting Mali, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Editor Bernhard Gardi was a member of the Boser-Gardi expedition that travelled across West Africa thirty-five years ago. The publication focuses on the collection assembled in the course of this journey. Well-informed contributions by renowned anthropologists provide valuable insight into an important but often neglected aspect of African art history."--Publisher's website.

For over 150 years, Tlingit women artists have beaded colorful, intricately beautiful designs on moccasins, dolls, octopus bags, tunics, and other garments. Painful Beauty suggests that at a time when Indigenous cultural practices were actively being repressed, beading supported cultural continuity, demonstrating Tlingit women’s resilience, strength, and power. Beadwork served many uses, from the ceremonial to the economic, as women created beaded pieces for community use and to sell to tourists. Like other Tlingit art, beadwork reflects rich artistic visions with deep connections to the environment, clan histories, and Tlingit worldviews. Contemporary Tlingit artists Alison Bremner, Chloe French, Shgen Doo Tan George, Lily Hudson Hope, Tanis S’eiltin, and Larry McNeil foreground the significance of historical beading practices in their diverse, boundary-pushing artworks. Working with museum collection materials, photographs, archives, and interviews with artists and elders, Megan Smetzer reframes this often overlooked artform as a site of historical negotiations and contemporary inspirations. She shows how beading gave Tlingit women the freedom to innovate aesthetically, assert their clan crests and identities, support tribal sovereignty, and pass on cultural knowledge. Painful Beauty is the first dedicated study of Tlingit beadwork and contributes to the expanding literature addressing women’s artistic expressions on the Northwest Coast.

I hear a deep voice through uneasy dreaming, A deep, soft, tender, soul-beguiling voice; A lulling voice that bids the dreams remain, That calms my restlessness and dulls my pain, That thrills and fills and holds me till in seeming There is no other sound on earth-no choice. "Home!" says the deep voice, "Home!" and softly singing Brings me a sense of safety unsurpassed; So old! so old! The piles above the wave- The shelter of the stone-blocked, shadowy cave- Security of sun-kissed treetops swinging- Safety and Home at last! "Home" says the sweet voice, and warm Comfort rises, Holding my soul with velvet-fingered hands; Comfort of leafy lair and lapping fur, Soft couches, cushions, curtains, and the stir Of easy pleasures that the body prizes, Of soft, swift feet to serve the least commands. I shrink-half rise-and then it murmurs "Duty!" Again the past rolls out-a scroll unfurled; Allegiance and long labor due my lord- Allegiance in an idleness abhorred- I am the squaw-the slave-the harem beauty- I serve and serve, the handmaid of the world.

Told from three diverse points of view, this story of life and love after loss is one Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, believes "will stay with you long after you put it down." We've lost everything...and found ourselves. Loss pulled Autumn, Shay, and Logan apart. Will music bring them back together? Autumn always knew exactly who she was: a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect. But when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Now Logan is a guy who can't stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. Shay is a music blogger who's struggling to keep it together. And Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered. Despite the odds, one band's music will reunite them and prove that after grief, beauty thrives in the people left behind. "Woodfolk's debut cuts deeply and then wipes your tears away. Wrenching, heartfelt, and vividly human." --Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda "Haunting, heart-wrenching, and powerful...a tearjerker must-read for teens!" --Dhonielle Clayton, author of the Belles series and coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things series "This books hurts so good. With three distinct narrators and lyrical prose, Ashley Woodfolk stakes her claim as a fresh new voice to follow in the world of young adult literature."--Julie Murphy, author of Ramona Blue and Dumplin'

A 2022 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist, What Beauty There Is is Cory Anderson's stunning novel about brutality and beauty, and about broken people trying to survive—"Intense, brutal, and searingly honest," perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, Laura Ruby, and Meg Rosoff. To understand the truth, you have to start at the beginning. Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years, Ava’s father, a merciless man, has controlled her fate. He’s taught her to love no one. But then she meets Jack. Living in poverty, Jack Dahl is holding his breath. He and his younger brother have nothing—except each other. With their parents gone, Jack faces a stark choice: lose his brother to foster care or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money. Suddenly, Jack’s and Ava’s fates become intimately—and dangerously—linked as Ava’s father hunts for the same money as Jack. When he picks up on Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or speak and fight for Jack’s survival. Choices. They come at a price.

"With the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship, I traveled to archives and museums in the U.S. and England photographing undergarments, armor, and the museum forms that populate the storerooms-- breastplates, helmets, corsets, bustles, mannequins and dress forms. I portray these garments and suits of armor as sculptures of the body, carapaces that have outlasted their wearers. Where they once adorned, constricted and protected their wearers, they are now archived as artifacts, the shells of those who once inhabited them." -- Artist's website

New and experienced weavers alike are always on the lookout for new weave-structure patterns. The Weaver's Idea Book presents a wide variety of patterns for the simple rigid-heddle loom, accompanied by harness drafts for multishaft looms. The techniques include leno, Brooks bouquet, soumak, and embroidery on fabric. Each chapter contains weaving patterns along with swatches illustrating the techniques, accompanied by step-by-step photography. The book is arranged by structure or type of weave, from variations on plain weave to doubleweave. With traditional patterns from around the world, bands, and fabrics woven on two double heddles, The Weaver's Idea Book brings together a variety of ways to create exquisite cloth. Weaving tips and tricks help weavers at all levels achieve their textile dreams. In addition to pattern drafts, Jane offers project ideas that guide the reader through creating functional woven projects, from wearables to home decor. Weaving, especially on rigid-heddle looms, is enjoying a resurgence, and contemporary weavers are in need of a book to bridge the divide between basic books and complex text designed for advanced weavers with sophisticated tools. Celebrating the immense potential for creativity possible with the simplest of tools, The Weaver's Idea Book eBook opens new avenues for exploration on both the rigid-heddle and multishaft looms.