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75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Reference Book, September 12, 2010
This review is from: Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric (Paperback)
As collector of an extensive reference library of books on surface design and as an artist fairly experienced in that art, I purchased this book. I own Complex Cloth by the same author, as well as her Complex Cloth dvd's, her book and dvd on screen printing, and the Visual Language book. So I have some background with the author's products. I purchased with the idea that Art Cloth would be a step beyond Complex Cloth, but I don't really see it that way after reading it. It's more like a half-step beyond. I found this book good, but not outstanding, as Complex Cloth is, or as Visual Language is. I think beginners will be better served by Complex Cloth or other books by various authors.
For the experienced artist, this book is fine, but not a lot new to most of us. It's a GOOD BOOK. Some of the photos are redundant or unnecessary: a step-by-step series of how to pour print paste into a cup, add a tsp of soda ash and a tsp or dye powder and stir - really? Is there someone who can't figure that out without 4 photos? I'm also not in high need of a half-dozen photos of a bead of product on a silkscreen, or a shot of scrubbing a stamp with a toothbrush. The disappointing part, for me, was that in some places there are pre-process or prep photos without follow-through on the finished product. I would also like to have seen a gallery of art cloth in the book, but there is none. Where shown, finished products are detail shots primarily, not providing scale or measurements. We have no idea if the photo is a shot of a 6" swatch, or a 3' section, so the connection to the directions is lost. It's probably a personal thing, and doesn't really affect the use of the book overall, but for me, is the difference between 3 stars and 5. I'm not sorry I bought it, because it's part of my collection now, but it definitely has needs that aren't addressed.
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65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Belongs on every fiber artists bookshelf!, July 16, 2010
This review is from: Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric (Paperback)
Few artists have had the far reaching and influential impact on the fiber art world as Jane Dunnewold. Her book "Complex Cloth" is considered the must have bible for fiber artists. Since the release of that book, the art of surface design has exploded with new products, techniques and fabrics to work with and combine to create what Jane calls "art cloth". Cloth with layers of color, texture, imagery rich with the imagination of the fiber artist who creates it.
The book opens with the fundamentals reviewing the work space, materials and an overview of the layer building process and then moves into the actual techniques and processes for creating a piece of art cloth. Techniques covered include starting with adding color and covers fiber-reactive dyes and textile paints which is followed by discharge methods. Learn how to create your own stamps and stencils, work with water based resists, methods for screenprinting and how to use foiling and leafing to add depth, brilliance and textural interest to your cloth. Novices to surface design will find it easy to achieve success with each technique with Jane's clearly written and easy to understand directions of each technique and process. Experienced fiber artists may not find anything new to them in this book but will surely benefit from being able to learn how a master surface designer uses them. This new book by Jane will most assuredly follow in the footsteps of Complex Cloth as the surface design bible for any artist working with cloth and belongs on every surface design artists and enthusiasts book shelf no matter what their experience level is.
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You Could Have Only One..., July 20, 2010
This review is from: Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric (Paperback)
If you were faced with the dreaded "only one" question for a comprehensive book on mastering the processes of making complex cloth, this would be IT.(See Su Bleiweiss' review for a description of what "art cloth" or "complex cloth" is.)
This is a truly marvelous book. It is gorgeous,of course, with just enough beautifully-done photos of Jane Dunnewold's and others' pieces of complex art fabric to inspire but not so many as to overwhelm or intimidate It is well-written, and extensive beyond anything else available. Each process (dyeing,discharging,stamping & stenciling,resists (both water-based and bound), and screenprinting - plus metallic foiling & leafing)) is laid out, in an extremely clearly-written text. It is written so that you could start at the beginning and work through all the processes in order - and if you did all that, I imagine you would end up very highly-skilled indeed!
Probably most fabric artists have some level of mastery of most of the processes in the new Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric, and have dozens of books covering the various techniques. I know I certainly do - and Jane Dunnewold's earlier book, Complex Cloth, has previously been my best guide. It looks to me that with the publication of this new book, Art Cloth is now THE book to have, if you could only have one - it's certainly the one I will keep closest at hand.
In addition to the various techniques, Jane talks about the process of creating meaningful layered cloth, and about the profound importance of "making" itself It's not just a "step 1, step 2" process (although the steps are all there, very clearly put forth), but a very personal & soulful journey. One of the things I love about Jane's work is the way she layers into her cloth words, phrases, and symbols that are meaningful to her - but these phrases are obscured, like the scenery in a deep fog: you may catch only a whisper or a hint of them, or maybe none at all beyond the impression of a letter or two, but the meaning is a deep part of the piece, the part that gives it life and soul. I think of these mostly-secret messages as prayers laid into each layer of the work. More importantly, though, it remains very clear that this book will be about YOUR work, YOUR journey, YOUR mastery and application of the outlined techniques - Jane's work is about Jane's vision, and YOUR work will be about your own.
If you haven't already ordered it, you should do so immediately (no affiliation, just a grateful learner!). Whether you are a total beginner or an advanced fiber artist, this book will inspire and support your journey of exploration. It would be worth the price even if you only wanted to look at the pictures - but there is so much more in these pages!
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