It’s that time of year where the cold weather keeps you in, providing the perfect opportunity to sit down with a good book. Here are a few titles to consider that are occupying our shelf.
This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community, and Connection
by Jen Hewett
“I believe art-making allows us to deepen connections to our existence and humanity.” -Loi Laing
As one of few women of color in the textile industry and a talented artist, Hewitt has a naturally high profile. However, she knew there were numerous other women of color in the craft world that were not as visible. In 2019 she wrote about her experiences on social media and asked her white followers to examine their craft communities and the diversity within them. The most meaningful responses to the post came from followers of color who shared experiences with racism and of exclusion from textile communities.This Long Thread is Hewitt’s exploration of these stories, a community collection by and about people of color who practice textile arts and crafts in North America. It contains a series of essays and conversations between Hewitt and her contributors.
It’s impossible to readThis Long Thread and not feel the pathos that run in each story. The stories and wisdom within quickly draw readers in and leave them better for it. While examining the relationship between textiles and their makers it sends out a rallying cry from creators who have long weaved and stitched together a body of work that has sustained the marginalized and now demands to be seen, heard, and valued.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
by Julia Cameron
“Creativity is the natural order of life. There is a creative energy that wants to express itself through you.”
The beginning of a new year is a great time to re-evaluate your creative process. As an aid,The Artist’s Wayhas been utilized by creatives of many modalities for over two decades to help them elevate their artistic process.
The Artist’s Way is a self-help book wrapped up in healing through creative expression.The principles in the book are taught as a multi-step movement over the course of 12 weeks. Each ‘week’ or chapter includes information on an aspect of life (sense of power, sense of compassion, sense of self-protection, etc) and how it impacts your creativity. There are tasks at the end of each chapter meant to help you work though and to be able to access a greater degree of creativity. Julia Cameron’s brainchild is the ‘morning pages,’ a creative activity meant to clear out the dross and stagnation to make room for productive creative energy. Consistent implementation of Cameron’s principles will open new pathways and help you overcome any creative rut you may have found yourself in. It is a deep and meaningful exploration of the power that lies within us, just waiting to come forward.
The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook: Step-by-Step Design Instruction and 8 Modern Projects
by Sylvia Schaefer
If you are a beginner when approaching negative space design, this book will be a great resource to help teach some of the core principles of negative space design.
The book clearly defines what negative space is and then describes the basic tenets of the principle. Each of the eight projects in the book addresses one of these tenets. There are multiple illustrations for each project that show different variations of how the quilt could be composed. One of the best things about the handbook is in addition to the directions on how to compose quilts in a specific way, Schaefer allows for flexibility and provides encouragement to make adjustments to your own project to create something unique. Another great resource in the book is the inclusion of a chart on how to calculate setting different sized quilt blocks at an angle.
By Brittany Bowen Burton
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To see more selections from our ‘Curated Library,’purchaseCurated Quilts today.