Customer Reviews

Journey of an Art Quilter: Creative Strategies and Techniques

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Was literally a personal journey, very inspirational and passionate, sharing her own inspirations and techniques, beautiful color photos and details, absolutely amazing from the heart and soul, especially since I am not a quilter myself but a painter always looking for creative design, color, pattern, composition, etc. in other medias. Thought I would pass on to my sister who is a quilter but a keeper for my art library and ordered another copy for my sister who loved as said dreams of taking her seminars! Very magical, would especially recommend to quilt artists as very contemporary and she wonderfully shares her techniques and ideas.

In trying to separate a rating for the book itself as opposed to the content/context of it, initially I can say this book is not really a how-to as much as a "how I discovered the artist within." Except, of course, for the brilliant description of the angled spirals that so often find their way to Barbara Olson's quilts. That said, there is good information on construction here but it is not for the beginner or the faint of heart. The book is more an example of what's ultimately possible when we quit hampering our creative muse and give full rein to the medium in which we work.

Olson's quilted art is not the homely homespun blanket you'd cuddle under by a fire. These pieces are a fire unto themselves. The book is worth owning just to have a glimpse of her work. As a beginning quilter, the photos and close up construction information stir my own creative needs to aspire to step outsite the box. (Also makes me long for a high-tech quilting machine, but that's another story.)

Thhis book is incredibly inspiring. I have no art background . (I was a Science teacher) but I find that I can proceed quite easily. THe writing style is easy and well organized. Most importantly, it is easy to follow AND go off on your own adventure and feel comfortable with it

This is not your ordinary show and tell book. The projects are sophisticated and inspiring. Instructions are comprehensive and easy to follow even for a beginner, but an advanced quilter would be impressed and could learn a thing or two.

Barbara Olson shares a lot of her knowledge and encourages each and everyone of us to become the artist we were meant to be. I would say that this is not a beginning quilter book but an intermediate to advanced intermediate quilt book. Barbara is sharing and inspiring. Illustrations and directions are clear and this is a very readable book.

The book starts at the beginning, and you can travel with Barbara as she discovers and develops her own inner creativity and as a busy and practical Mom with several kids, made a great studio in her home, and shows how she turned Art Quilts into a self-sustaining career.
It lightly brushes over how she also uses it in some Interior Designs for her husband's Architectural firm (but alas, no pictures...), which I wish she elaborated on a bit more.[I would love to see how she incorporates her bold style of Textile Arts into homes and offices- but maybe that is being saved for another book?]
Art Quilting has brought out the creative side of herself and has totally changed her life around. She shows you how she did it, and almost step-by-step (short of smokin' a lot of weed-LOL) how artistic exercises, certain tapes and books helped develop her abilities from ho-hum to WOW! with extremely original and bold creative work. There are also a lot of advanced quilting techniques that are not covered anywhere else, such as multi-colored spirals.
For anyone getting into the Textile Arts, the book is worth buying just for the excellent creativity exercises. It is truly inspiring!

Love the book.. but need to advise that it is for an advanced quilter.. not for a beginner...personally, I loved it...

This book is really two books. First Barbara gives a history
of her journey into quilting, leading up to the moment she
found her own inimitable style. That is interesting, but of course
you are only going to read it once. The second, and major, part
of the book is a detailed look at the design and construction of
her particular flamboyant quilts. She uses a mass of colourful
petal or wave like pieces to make an abstract but organic shape.
Then she adds geometric elements in black and white, like checks
or spirals. The effect is an explosion of energy. Not for every
home!

There are details of the construction, using drawings on freezer
paper or Totally Stable, and then templates. She illustrates in
meticulous detail how to construct both geometric and organic
spirals. It's unlikely that anyone would try to imitate her quilts
as they look like a life's worth of work in each. The quilting
itself is amazing, and I should think she must have access to a lot
of batiks and jewel shades of fabric. I don't know why, but the
images in her quilts say 'acid trip', 'Woodstock' and similar!

It's a very clearly laid out book, with a lot of excellent colour
photos.

I'll just say it. I always thought quilting was a LOT of work for something that was pretty ho-hum when you finished. But this book is simply dazzling in the approach to quilting. Her works are innovative and beautifully executed, and her methods are clearly explained. I bought the book Art Quilts a Celebration (might have the title slightly off - but it is a collection of hundreds of art quilts from the 80's to present day. PBS offered it as a "thank you" in a membership drive) THIS book was far more inspiring to me. I am now ready to dip into the world of quilts, and I believe I'm going to love it, thanks to Ms. Olson.

She does a great job of showing and explaining things for those of us wanting to express ourselves in an artistic way with fabric. Go for it and try some new things.