One of my essential books for textile and general creative inspiration continues to be "Celebrating the Stitch: Contemporary Embroidery of North America" by
Barbara Lee Smith, published by Taunton Press in 1991. It shows, in photographs and words, that "textile art is not limited by process", that it transcends the homely needle skills used for decorative purposes.
Its sections are imaginatively themed: Light and Shadow, Poems and Portraits, Mysterious Messages, Within and Without, Celebrating the Stitch. Each section contains 1-5 pages per artist, with 2-4 pictures and a text that includes many of the artist's own words. Also there are text boxes on specific techniques (stencilling a pattern on fabric; needleweaving; a few embroidery stitches; etc), or on more general subjects like the pleasures of machine embroidery or creating an artwork for the community.
At the end of each section are pages of short quotes from artists - for example, on "thinking about ... what materials and tools mean to an artist" or about their working processes: "trying out... tools and materials". Another example is "Thinking about ... getting unstuck" and "Trying out ... ways to stay unstuck". Also at the end of each section, a Gallery of works by other artists.
Yes, some of the work from 1991 and earlier looks a bit last-century (if only because you've already seen it elsewhere) -- and, haven't we learnt a lot more about "Using the copy machine and computer for design" since then - what fit into a half-page box in 1991 now fills volumes...
So much of this textile art, though, hasn't dated -- isn't that timelessness one of the things that makes it art?
And what an artist has to say about their work will be fresh and new no matter when you first read about it.
Its sections are imaginatively themed: Light and Shadow, Poems and Portraits, Mysterious Messages, Within and Without, Celebrating the Stitch. Each section contains 1-5 pages per artist, with 2-4 pictures and a text that includes many of the artist's own words. Also there are text boxes on specific techniques (stencilling a pattern on fabric; needleweaving; a few embroidery stitches; etc), or on more general subjects like the pleasures of machine embroidery or creating an artwork for the community.
At the end of each section are pages of short quotes from artists - for example, on "thinking about ... what materials and tools mean to an artist" or about their working processes: "trying out... tools and materials". Another example is "Thinking about ... getting unstuck" and "Trying out ... ways to stay unstuck". Also at the end of each section, a Gallery of works by other artists.
Yes, some of the work from 1991 and earlier looks a bit last-century (if only because you've already seen it elsewhere) -- and, haven't we learnt a lot more about "Using the copy machine and computer for design" since then - what fit into a half-page box in 1991 now fills volumes...
So much of this textile art, though, hasn't dated -- isn't that timelessness one of the things that makes it art?
And what an artist has to say about their work will be fresh and new no matter when you first read about it.
2 comments:
i shall be making a note of this book to look out for it, thank you!
Happy Christmas
I have that book! I'll have to take a look at it again, it's been eons!
Merry Christmas to you, Margaret!
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