Customer Reviews

Celtic Borders & Decoration

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Courtney Davis' illustrations are beautiful and inspiring. The pantheon of traditional motifs - including zoomorphic, spirals in addition to strictly knotwork - make turning each page an intriguing adventure. Many of the images are from commercial illustrations (book covers, posters, textiles), but that doesn't detract from their inherent artistry. If you enjoy picture books of intricate Celtic design, this tome is for you. However, I was disappointed because the copyright prohibits the use of any images in craft or publication. I publish newsletters for a non-profit organization that re-creates the Middle Ages to educate people about history. I also use clip art images for pyrography (wood burning). For these purposes, the book is useless. I assumed (since it wasn't printed in the on-line description) that the images could be used because the title came up on a search engine under "Celtic clip art" (this did NOT happen at Amazon.com - it was another web site). By definition, clip art books allow re-production of the images. Despite my dismay about not being able to use the images for the reason I purchased the book, I have kept it in my library as a source of inspiration for my own knotwork designs. Following the intricate knotwork lines can be a relaxing meditation. The drawings are really quite lovely.

Courtney Davis is probably the most profilic illustrater of Celtic tshirts, sold at fairs across the lands. Any celtic art book of hers is worth buying, even sight unseen.

I actually bought the book hoping for borders for clothing design, but it is more set for paper/book type borders. I'm giving it five stars anyway, because for what it is meant for it is not only fantastic, but the only book of its sort I've seen available, after years of scrounging at Celtic fairs.

As usuall with Courtney's work, the designs are beautiful and well chosen giving a well rounded variety of possible designs to choose from.