Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World: Profiles of Major Artists, Galleries of Inspiring Works [Paperback]

Martha Sielman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012 | Series: Art Quilt Portfolio

This lavish collection of art quilts, all focused on the natural world, inaugurates a gorgeous new series on one of the most popular topics in needlework. Written by Martha Sielman, the executive director of the world's largest art quilt organization, each entry celebrates one of the themes that quilters love best. Every book will feature profiles of the top artists who specialize in that subject, along with nearly 90 amazing gallery images.

 

With the explosion of art quilt exhibits, the blockbuster success of previous books on the subject, and the author's growing renown, quilters will find this inspirational compilation a must-have.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“National Geographic, take note: the first installment in the anticipated Art Quilt Portfolio series, The Natural World by Martha Sielman, may just steal some of your readers away. With the overarching theme of nature, this book profiles 19 of the world's most respected contemporary fiber artists and the influence that the natural world has on their work. Each artist's thoughts, techniques, and processes are explained eloquently, and their work creates a cohesive gallery of exquisite quilts. Work from an additional 77 artists is also included in this volume, expanding on the themes explored by the profile artists. Quilts of flowers, insects, animals, and more are beautifully presented in these galleries. The techniques used by these artists represent the full range of textile art today-dyeing, painting, embroidery, machine quilting, collaging, and more. If there is one criticism, it would be that some of the pictures are too small. The quilts cry out for a closer look, or even a traveling exhibit. However, the quantity and quality of the photographs in the book are impressive and, perhaps, an acceptable trade-off. Make a space in your library for this one and, if future volumes in the series are as good, you just might need to dedicate a whole shelf in anticipation.” --Quilting Arts, Kristine Lundbald

 

“This volume includes work inspired by flowers, trees, water, leaves, animals, insects and birds. Several artists--including my friend Nancy G. Cook--are spotlighted in sections that include several examples of their work. I really enjoyed reading these profiles, as they include information about the artists' inspiration, techniques, and influences.” --Susan Brubaker Knapp

 

“The artist interviews were revealing and one of my favorite parts. The artists chosen have explored the natural world in depth, often as metaphors for their own lives and circumstances. This book would be a great gift to a nature lover who perhaps is not familiar with the art quilt. The images are arresting, interesting, and varied. There is very little use of abstraction in the artworks showcased so the volume can be enjoyed by those who just like to look at nature in all its glory.” --Virginia Spiegel

 

“Overall, it's a lovely book with a wide range of work and much of it not seen before, a great addition to one's art quilt library--I look forward to further editions in this series.” --Elizabeth Barton

About the Author

Martha Sielman is the author of Masters: Art Quilts, Volumes 1 and 2 and the Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA). She has been a professional artist, author, lecturer, curator, juror, and arts administrator for over 20 years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Lark Crafts (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600599281
• ISBN-13: 978-1600599286
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martha Sielman is the Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing art quilting as a fine art medium. As SAQA's Executive Director, Martha has witnessed the explosive growth of art quilting, as well as growing interest in art quilts as a legitimate and collectible fine art medium. Over the past nine years of Sielman's leadership, SAQA's membership has grown to over 3,100 members in 32 countries.

Sielman is the author of "Masters: Art Quilts, Volumes 1 and 2" (Lark Books, 2008; 2011), "Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World" and "Art Quilt Portfolio: People and Portraits" (Lark 2012; 2013). She has served as a juror for the 2012 Swarovski Crystal "Create Your Style art quilt competition," the 2009 Niche Awards, and she was the founder of "Fiber Revolution," a northeast art quilt exhibition group. Sielman lectures frequently on art quilts.

Sielman earned a bachelor's degree at Swarthmore College and a master's degree at Bank Street School of Education. She lives in Storrs, Connecticut with her husband, their five children and two cats.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book with great insights into Textile Art April 3, 2012

By Lisa B. Quintana

Format:Paperback

The book is divided into 9 sections by topic: Flowers, Birds, Water, Animals, Leaves, insects, Flowers II, Trees and Textures. Each section begins with an in-depth introduction to two or three artists, then goes into a gallery where many artists works are shown, just as if it were in an exhibition with labels identifying artist, title, date, size and method. The book is well indexed with the table of contents guiding you to the featured artists and the subject matter, as well as a featured artist index and gallery artist index at the back of the book.

Martha's introduction is a must read as it gives you insights into the book as well as includes some information on the artists not repeated elsewhere.

Each of the featured artists described their method of work and were asked questions. Everyone was asked "Why fiber?" and the responses were quite telling. Asking ourselves this, I think is an important activity. Why DO we work in fiber or textiles? Why don't we stop at taking a photograph, rendering a drawing, or whatever. Reading each of the featured artist's answers was illuminating as well as one which pleased me as I think it is important for us as artists to consider as well as enabling the general public to understand where fiber/textile artists are coming from. In addition, Martha queried them on technique when she thought that that was important.
When I first came to Ohio from Connecticut in 2005, I hadn't been exposed to large doses of textile art. I had been to a few shows which had some art quilts in them (The Odyssey show) and the Shoreline Quilter's Guild and Clamshell Quilters (one of which Barbara Barrick McKie belonged to), but I hadn't been exposed to work by many art quilters. Moving to Ohio opened my eyes. I will never forget visiting the Fitton Art Center in Hamilton, Ohio and seeing Katherine K. Allen's work. I was enamored. I haven't been able to see a lot of her pieces, but she was one of the featured artists, along with Dominie Nash....and to top it off, many artists whose work I had seen either at the Aullwood Nature Center show in Englewood, Ohio or online with the groups I belong to--such as Melani Kane Brewer, Ginny Eckley and Nancy Cook are also among the featured artists.

Martha once again laid out the book as if it were an exhibition. The images flow nicely with each other and leave you inspired and wanting to return again and again to look more closely at the images. I read the book from cover to cover in a matter of three hours, and will probably re-read it. I did laugh at myself... Nancy Erickson's "Easter Cougar" made me wonder if there had been a typographical error...I enjoy Nancy's work which bears resemblance to cave art, and I suspected that this particular piece, one of a series of "cut out" works she's been doing was named as a joke ("Easter" rather than "Eastern") as the colors were bright and included some dashes of blue, aqua as well as yellow ochre and red. Just to make sure, I contacted Nancy and she verified that she did indeed name "Easter Cougar" that because of the colors. Nancy did say that the image came out much darker than the actual piece is.

In addition to the featured artists and the general gallery, Martha included the Fiber Artist's Coalition (FAC) themed exhibition "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." I hadn't heard of this group, but was interested to see how they handled the common theme.

I can see myself turning to this book again and again for insight, inspiration as well as to share with other quilters and explain the world of art quilts based on nature. Definitely, this book is a keeper.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful art book April 3, 2012

By Clairan Ferrono

Format:Paperback

This is a beautifully produced art book full of large, sharp images of fantastic art. All the works are art quilts, but this is not a book just for quilters -- it is for everyone who enjoys fine art. Several top artists are introduced in depth, and the galleries contain fine work by many others. This book rewards the careful and diligent peruser as well as the more casual reader. A real joy for the art lover.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World April 26, 2012

By REM

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

An amazing collection of art quilts. Puts quilts firmly into the art world sphere. A must have not only for quilters and art lovers as it also makes a lovely coffee table book.