Customer Reviews

The Quilted Garden: Design and Make Nature Inspired Quilts

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book fully aware that Jane's graphic style is completely different from my tendency to favor realistic applique or gentle color washes. I wanted to expand my vision, and this incredible book is everything I hoped for. Unlike some quilt books that focus on a technique and others that focus on the development of a quilt artist over time, this book tackles both.
Jane shares her background, introduction to quilting as an artistic medium, her struggles along the way, and the progression of her style, presented both in words and in pictures of her quilts over the years.
The last 40% of the book shows you how find your inpirational material, say a dandelion leaf or iris flower, and work with it to identify its signature characteristics.
Using two quilts, Jane shows her two approaches, providing plenty of detail. I'm working with the image of a Christmas cactus (I bought this book during the holiday season). I can tell that it's going to take a while before I get the design to the point where it pleases me enough to start buying fabric and sewing, but it's an enjoyable challenge. I look forward to producing something completely different from anything I've ever done or thought of doing.
Even if someone never intended to make a quilt like Jane's, reading this book and studying the pictures is an incredible education. The intense power that leaps from her designs is a challenge to every artist to put more life into every work of art. This is a book I will read many times, marveling at what this woman has created.

Here are some excerpts from my review of this book. You can see the complete review on the Quilter's Review website.

"A better name for this book would be 'Jane Sassaman: the Artist, the Quilter, the Designer, and the Teacher' because it shows how all these different sides of Jane come together to make a talented and inspiring quilter....

"Jane's work is uniquely her own. You will be amazed at the detail in each quilt. You will be captivated by the exuberance of her design. And you will be fascinated by the boldness of her colors....

"To teach you how to see, Jane takes you on a virtual garden tour, showing beautiful photographs of nature along with her drawings of nature's outstanding characteristics. She boils the design down to the essence of each plant, then exaggerates that essence....

"Unlike other teachers, she doesn't seem to want you to produce her work, obvious in this book by the lack of patterns. She does however, show you how to do the techniques. But you must find your own way to your own art....

"The inspiration Jane supplies in every photo, every quilt, every word, has me designing quilts in my mind like I've never designed before. This great book awakens the artist within."

Wow! Jane Sassaman is a fiber artist in the zone. The color plates of her quilts are both awesome and inspiring. Her designs are inspired from nature and from historical designs. I particularly like the way she has taken the tree of life design and gone wild with it in "Willow" and several smaller studies.
There are some practical chapters in this book which should inspire and help quilters that are intrigued by the art quilt, but are not sure how to get started. (How to gather ideas and keep a sketch book, how to simplify designs for fibre construction, stylizing, adding depth and interest.) There is also a section where she explores machine embroidery with the quilting process. I love machine embroidery and I'm always looking for artistic ways to blend it with my quilting.
If you are a serious artist, collect this book so you can see what Jane is doing. If you're currently working in the zone--you are going to see some of these visions there.
If you are a beginning or intermediate quilter and are willing to
read and look at this book from cover to cover--it may influence your work when you get to the point you need to use design and color in innovative ways. Definitely a quilter's quilter book, but worth every minute you spend between its covers.

I loved Jane's work the first time I saw it. Her quilts are filled with an exuberance and energy that fairly leaps out at you. How terrific that she is willing to share, not just her technical know-how, but the secrets of the design process, her ways of finding inspiration and the way she works toward a finished piece. The book is a visual feast, filled with pictures of Jane's work and pictures from nature that inspired her. She explains the details and shows us how. For me, this book was a treasure.

This book is more of a quilter's history, detailing how Jane Sassaman gradually evolved her style of quilting. Her work is amazing and I love looking at the detailed pictures of her quilts. The book contains "workshops" on a couple of her techniques, but no patterns for specific projects. Also, her quilts are "art quilts" as opposed to quilts for bed use, and so some of her techniques are a bit unconventional (i.e. fabrics used). This was a fun read, but requires you to create your own quilt designs, rather than making a replica of Jane's quilts.

This book is full of beautiful photographs of extraordinary quilts. Ms. Sassman's quilts are unique in design, bold in color, and inspirational to all fiber artists. She shares with the reader her sources of inspiration and even provides lesson on how to develop creativity. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in unique expressions through fiber art.

The new copy I received in April 2010 is not an original edition. It appears to be a "photocopied" version (inside back cover shows the date 25 March 2010), and the colour of the pictures is very poor compared to the original. The quality of the paper is also poorer than the original (matt instead of gloss). The cover is the same except without Jane A Sassaman across the top. (The book shown has the author's name across the top so it is probably an original edition.) As my main reason for purchasing the book is to look at the pictures of many quilts, I was not happy.

This is a great book. Love the graphics and Jane's work. A must for quilters who lean towards art quilting and even for the traditional quilter. Well written and illustrated. A real treat for the senses.

This book takes you through the process Jane Sassaman used in designing her stunning quilts. It is well written, very organised and presented in a way that makes the whole process feel achievable. The book has been reprinted in lower quality paper which means the photography appears flat and the colours are a bit faded. Highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about getting in to art quilting.

I love Jane Sassaman's work, technique and book, however, when the book arrived it differs from the original. Her name isn't listed at the top of the cover like the original book from 2000. Also, the pages appear to be copied, not the glossy quality pages and photos of the original book.