Weekend Review: Points of View

 

Points of View / Valerie Hearder
Woodinville, WA: Martingale, c2007.
96 p.

Another art quilting book for today's pick - this one is from my local library, and despite it being an older book I'd never really noticed it before. It is a great find! 

The title makes the focus of this book clear; it is all about creating varied landscapes with fabric. But there are a variety of views and ideas here. The first section is all about technique - from choosing fabric to construction and pattern-making tips, paints & other ways to colour your fabric, embellishing it in various ways, and a clear and useful section about finishing and mounting/framing your work.

The second section includes 9 step-by-step, illustrated projects. Each one shows you exactly how to use a certain technique, so that you can get some practice with these ideas before you set out on your own. And the intention that you do go your own way is clear; section three is called "Beyond Patterns", in which there are design and collage guidelines and a gallery of other work. 

I found this book full of neat ideas and useful tips. I'm not much of a pattern follower when it comes to textile art, but I liked how each of the small projects in this book were created as an intentional teaching piece, with many of her design tips and guidelines from the first bit incorporated in each one. Great for learning the technique! 

And the first section is so full of great info. She mentions unusual things, like colouring with regular crayons on to paper and then ironing that as a transfer on to a ground fabric (which has to be synthetic for it to really work). It's a different way of creating a base design, and could be fun for those without huge stockpiles of more expensive paints and dyes. Aside from this kind of surface design there are tips on applique and embellishment which also appeal to me, and the parts about finishing and displaying your pieces are thorough and useful to add to the arsenal, too. 

Although I don't often make landscapes I may try a few samples to experiment with some of these techniques. They are laid out and explained in an easy to follow style, and could be attempted by a beginner. I had fun going through this book, and hope that some of my experiments will work!