Customer Reviews

The Surface Designer's Handbook

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have learned so much from this book. Holly Brackmann explains not only the how-to aspect of surface design in incredible detail & easy-to-follow steps, but also the how-it-works aspect of the processes. She begins her book with an all-important chapter on safety and then goes on to explain dyes, fibers & fabrics, followed by a chapter on color. Then she gets into explaining not only dyes (e.g., fiber-reactive, acid, vat, and disperse), but also discharging, screen printing, monoprinting, stamping, stenciling, resists, devore, textile painting, & embellishments. I love the clear instructions of the processes and the amazing photos, but what I love the most is that she empowers the user to explore and become profient in the processes. That empowering of the student is the mark of a great teacher.

Holly Brackmann's beautifully produced new book, The Surface Designer's Handbook: Dyeing, Printing, and Creating Resists on Fabric, is both a "how to" and a "why." Drawing on her many years' experience as a fiber artist and a college-level textile arts instructor, Brackmann covers the topics promised in the title of her book--and then some--in an encyclopedic manner. Chapters on the different topics begin with readable summaries of the historical and technological development of the process. Clear and detailed recipes and instructions for each process enable beginners to proceed step by step to successful and rewarding results as well as remind the more experienced of pitfalls to watch out for and enhancements to experiment with. The attractive arrangement of a hidden spiral binding is a practical element that enables the user to keep the book open to a particular page while working. Safety considerations, helpful hints, and other useful lists are set apart in different type and colored boxes for easy reference. The "why" comes in with the hundreds of excellently reproduced photographs of the work of Brackmann and many other fiber artists. These illustrations make the book an inspiration to artists as well as a delight for all others interested in the scope and range of textile arts today.

Holly Brackmann's new book The Surface Designer's Handbook is long over-due and I have ordered it as the textbook for all my fibers classes. As soon as it arrived my students all wanted their own personal copy so several of them purchased it outright just on sight alone. The spiral binding is excellent and the extent of the techniques covered is wonderful. I teach both beginners and advanced fibers students and this book has everything we need as a textbook.

I use it myself for my own work and find it very helpful, well organized and thorough. The information about making color cards with diluted MX dye on watercolor paper is worth the selling price all by itself. It is a technique I knew nothing about and I am thrilled to learn about it. It has saved hours and hours of dye testing time.

In my classes we had been using Kate Wells' book Fabric Dyeing and Printing and prior to that, Proctor and Lew's Surface Design for Fabric. Now, 16 years later, Holly's excellent book has arrived and is the handbook of the hour. It is up to date, comprehensive and thorough, and should be in everyone's library that works with dyes, textile paints and cloth. It improves on and surpasses every handbook published to date and encompasses a massive amount of information.

I look forward to using it in my classes for many years to come and I salute Holly for the enormous amount of work that went into creating this book. She has provided a gift for the entire surface design community both here and abroad.

Morgan Clifford, Professor
Art Dept / Textiles
University of WI-River Falls

Whatever your interest in textiles--weaving, quilting, or surface design--and whatever your level of expertise--beginner to professional--this well-written reference will be your most valuable tool. Many years of teaching experience and lots of research are reflected here. It is easy to read, easy to use and VERY easy on the eyes. Thank you Holly!

This beautiful book will be a valuable resource to both beginner and advanced surface designer. If Julia Child had written a recipe book for surface designers, this would be it. With detailed instructions, dye recipes, techniques, helpful hints and gorgeous illustrations, one cannot help but be inspired by this book.

Further the spiral binding makes it user friendly, although I may need a second copy; one to treasure and one to use.

This book is such a gift. No more fumbling around looking for that special dye recipe or surface design technique and trying to remember which book or file folder it's in. Aside from it's practical tips & EZ to ready instructions with delightful color bars, photos, & illustrations; this book appropriately addresses dye chemistry and history. I think I can now safely box most of my collection of surface design techniques and recipes.

This book is just what the fiber artist or textile hobbyist need as a reference for surface design on fabric. Techniques are covered in detailed chapters. The instructions are clear and precise. The book is also quite beautiful, inspiration on every page. Holly Brackmann's well thought out book is a must for textile schools, institutions and artists. I know I will be using mnine for years to come.

Others have already related the key points about this book. I just want to further confirm for everyone looking to buy it that this author really did an EXCELLENT job. She obviously is a art and TECHNICAL expert in this field. She could've taken less time and put out a book that would've gotten her a solid 4.5-star rating. Instead she obviously put in twice the time and ended up with a 10-star book. She gives you all the details that people serious about trying complicated crafts look for but rarely find without studying in the studio of a professional. I just picked this up from the NEW BOOKS rack at the library because I am generally interested in the subjected. Like the one person so far who has given her a lower rating, it did make me think that this is probably too difficult for me. But on the other hand, she has many photos showing the possibilities of what I might be able to accomplish if I did try and it's very seductive. Nothing very special worth accomplishing comes easily and that seems to also apply to fabric art. I also appreciate the thoughtfulness of her making the binding a spiral so the pages lay perfectly flat for easy reference while you follow the directions. If I decide to seriously try this craft, it will be this book that I buy and I doubt I'd even need to buy another one ever.

This book is so complete that you nearly do not need any other books for working with surface design, dyeing and all processes related to fibre arts.

Congratualtions to the author, Holly Brackman for putting together the most comprehensive manual ever.

This book has enabled me to recycle ALL of my class and workshop notes and just use this book - it's all there and in great detail. (now I have space for MORE books)