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This is a very creative and imaginative book, Janet Edmonds takes the work of great artists and recreates them in her own style of stitching. Taking each artist in turn she looks for design elements, themes and processes, and then applies this to her own projects, she also creates some beautiful stitch samplers. A wonderfully inspiring book.
Crochet Addict UK
This book is a showcase for the techniques and talents of innovative textile artists. It takes you through the process of finding an inspiration to making the amazing pieces of art. The beginning of the book takes you through the amazing array of materials that can be used to create amazing pieces of art. Each section is dedicated to a different artist and the amazing way they use different materials and methods to create their art. The break down of how the artist uses inspiration and makes them into their pieces. Each of the artists use the most amazing pieces of inspiration to break it down and make it into their own interpretation. It can be anything from another pieces of art to a photo to an everyday object. They either replicate it as they see it, using stitches and colour or they take the design and make it into a unique piece of art. I love the fact that not only are stitches used they also use other too items to make the items sing. This book is a real inspiration. If you want to take your art to a new level then you'll be very interested in this book. You can also use this book as a brilliant read that explains the artist and their methods to you. Each artist is so unique. Each piece takes its own personality on.
Karen Platt- yarnsandfabrics.co.uk
Part of the Textile Artist series of books, this volume in full colour explores the inspiration of well-known artists and how Janet Edmonds interprets their work to influence and create her textiles. You can clearly see the development of ideas through to the finished pieces in full colour. This book is like an art course or workshop providing inspiration far beyond what you will see in its pages. The book concentrates on finding inspiration in the work of seven well-known artists Chuck Close, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Hundertwasser, Morandi, John Piper and Matisse. You could apply similar techniques used in the book and find inspiration in the work of any artist. The key to this process is observation. Looking at what makes a piece of art work surface, colour, technique, composition. There is a brief introduction to each artist and where to see their work. The processes and techniques used to create the textile pieces as well as the development. There is a great deal of detail in this book. In each case the finished pieces a purse, landscape, embroidered boxes, moulded vessels, samplers and stitched panels are a joy. I say this about each of the books in this series, but this is the best yet. It is full of interest. Highly recommended.
Workshop on the Web
The latest instalment of The Textile Artist, a series from Search Press, comes hot on the heels of Wendy Dolans, reviewed in the last issue. In this book, Janet Edmonds uses the inspiration of great artists from Van Gogh, Kandinsky to Chuck Close, to create her own textile pieces. This differs from some of the previous Textile Artist books in that this volume is predominantly a show and tell and doesnt contain many step-by-step tutorials from
projects. Instead, each artist is explored in terms of a notable aspect of his work which is then used as a springboard for Janet Edmonds to create her own interpretation. For Chuck Close, his creation of portraits from pixelated squares is examined and then translated into stitch in a variety of ways. Van Goghs use of colour is a very strong chapter which captures the vibrancy of his work through mark-making on paper and the creation of texture with fabric, stitch and beading.
From collage, three-dimensional design (with the weird and wonderful Kandinksy-inspired constructions) and boxes and book covers, a huge amount of work is produced in a very individual way. Particularly interesting are the 'stitch samples' which range from several series of brightly coloured stitched tags (for the more colourful of the artists) to some samples exploring a neutral colour palette of Giorgio Morandi. I think the book would have
benefited from the inclusion of actual reproductions of the artists' work being used to inspire but Janet Edmonds does provide her own versions of some of these, so you do get a feeling for the way the work will be interpreted. This is a useful book for those wanting to find a way to use inspiration from other artists work whilst maintaining your own individual style. There are a great many samples of stitch, drawing and colour providing a framework to get you started.
East Kent Embroiderers Guild
Experienced embroiderer, designer and tutor Janet, presents this latest title in the Textile Artist series. Exploring the work of seven well known, but very different artists, she examines how their work can both inspire and influence our designs and by demonstrating her design techniques we begin to understand how it is possible to create our own unique work. Not a conventional project book, but more an exploration of the different approaches the reader can adopt, and perfect for the intermediate embroiderer wishing to take her work to the next level. Highly recommended.
