Twelve by Twelve examines the two-year-long international collaboration between twelve art quilters, during which they created a total of 144 quilts based on twelve different themes. Not only does the book showcase the quilts themselves--a feature quilt from each theme receives an in-depth chapter, written by one of the quilters--it also examines the dynamics of developing a vibrant online community of artists. The result is a very personal and unique blend of technique-based text and discussions on challenge, collaboration, and inspiration.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
The TWELVE BY TWELVE group is composed of 12 art quilters, each with numerous awards, articles, and publications among them. Works from several members have been included in a variety of Lark Books, as well as Quilting Arts Magazine. They are: Brenda Gael Smith (Copacabana, NSW, Australia); Deborah Boschert (Lewisville, TX); Diane Perin Hock (Healdsburg, CA); Francoise Jamart (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium); Gerrie Congdon (Portland, OR); Helen L Conway (St. Helens, Merseyside, UK); Karen Rips (Thousand Oaks, CA); Kirsten Duncan (Townsville, QLD, Australia); Kristin La Flamme (Waipahu, HI); Nikki Wheeler (Poulsbo, WA); Terri Stegmiller (Mandan, ND); Terry Grant (Beaverton, OR).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow! Ok, I have to admit that I love art quilt books. It's the eye candy that calls out to me. However, I don't always have time to really delve into a book before I buy it so what happens is that I get it home and somewhere past the first chapter I wind up flipping through the rest of it until something strikes my fancy. Many of these books wind up in the bookcase collecting dust and not looked at again because there really was nothing past the first chapter that spoke to me.
Twelve by Twelve is not like that. This is a book that has lots in it for all of us. It is the coming together of twelve artists who, over time developed a special relationship with each other and their art. This group made a commitment to create 12 pieces of art each based on 12 themes over the course of 2 years. Each piece was 12" x12" and had a deadline of 2 months. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to a theme and we get to visit with the artist who chose the theme. We find out why the subject was chosen and get to see how the piece developed. We also get a real in depth interview about each artist and a "tour" of their studio's. Some are large, some are closet sized. Each other artist has a short explanation of the piece they created for that theme's challenge. There are also extra pages on some of the techniques used and other useful information. There are 144 quilts to drool over.
The Twelve artists are: Deborah Boschert, Gerrie Congdon, Helen L. Conway, Kirsten Duncan, Terry Grant, Diane Perin Grant, Francoise Jamart, Kristin La Flamme, Karen Rips, Brenda Gael Smith, Terri Stegmiller, and Nikki Wheeler. Their website/blog is [...]
Run, don't walk and pick it up. You will not regret it.
Twelve by Twelve is not like that. This is a book that has lots in it for all of us. It is the coming together of twelve artists who, over time developed a special relationship with each other and their art. This group made a commitment to create 12 pieces of art each based on 12 themes over the course of 2 years. Each piece was 12" x12" and had a deadline of 2 months. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to a theme and we get to visit with the artist who chose the theme. We find out why the subject was chosen and get to see how the piece developed. We also get a real in depth interview about each artist and a "tour" of their studio's. Some are large, some are closet sized. Each other artist has a short explanation of the piece they created for that theme's challenge. There are also extra pages on some of the techniques used and other useful information. There are 144 quilts to drool over.
The Twelve artists are: Deborah Boschert, Gerrie Congdon, Helen L. Conway, Kirsten Duncan, Terry Grant, Diane Perin Grant, Francoise Jamart, Kristin La Flamme, Karen Rips, Brenda Gael Smith, Terri Stegmiller, and Nikki Wheeler. Their website/blog is [...]
Run, don't walk and pick it up. You will not regret it.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have had the book here awhile, thanks to Lark sending a preview copy, but it has taken this long to work my way through it. That's a good thing! Twelve artists from around the world challenged each other every other month to create a 12×12" art quilt with a theme chosen by one of the members of the group.
Sure the whole group challenge thing has been done before, but what makes this group and their art stand out is the joy and camaraderie revealed in this book. Each chapter features one of the twelve artworks almost full-page sized and the artist of that artwork writes the chapter. Running along the bottom half of each page of the chapter is one of the other artworks with a short artist statement.
Either (or maybe I should say either/or) these are twelve of the best artist/writers around or they had a superlative editor in Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader. Each chapter is unique, personal, useful, engaging, and just down right interesting. I kept being distracted by the other artworks on the bottom half of the pages until I finally worked out a system.
First I went to the back of the book and read all the artists' biographies. Then I read all twelve small sidebars listed in the back. The sidebars are full of useful stuff such as Demystifying the Thermofax, On Sketchbook and Journals, and Twelve Reasons to Blog.
THEN I looked at and read about all twelve art quilts for each theme and THEN finally I read the chapter by the one featured artist straight through. That's why I gave such a hearty thumbs-up to this book; it's just full of interesting information and insight.
The chapter written by each featured artist clearly points out both the why and how of working in many different styles. Some artists looked to traditional patterns, some researched word associations, and some looked to contemporary and historical issues related to the theme for inspiration. Each chapter points out the richness and detail of the featured artwork that might have escaped our first perusal.
At first glance you might think some of the artwork is a bit traditional to be called art quilts. But it is so disarming to read the artists' own critiques of their artworks and to see how artists progressed throughout the challenges. I think Terri Stegmiller said it best, "A major benefit I have gained ... is the drive to try and push myself beyond my normal limitations."
I hear again and again that people just want how-to books. I beg to differ. I think many readers delight in insights about how fiber artists work, what their studios look like, how they came to be artists, and their joys and challenges in life and in the studio. I felt as though I came to know each of these artists through their sharing this two-year-long online collaboration.
Visit the Twelve by Twelve artists' group website at [...]and their blog at [...] for more information about the group. The twelve artists include Deborah Boschert, Gerrie Congdon, Helen L. Conway, Kirsten Duncan, Terry Grant, Diane Perin Hock (founder of the group), Francoise Jamart, Kristin La Flamme, Karen Rips, Brenda Gael Smith, Terri Stegmiller, and Nikki Wheeler.
Sure the whole group challenge thing has been done before, but what makes this group and their art stand out is the joy and camaraderie revealed in this book. Each chapter features one of the twelve artworks almost full-page sized and the artist of that artwork writes the chapter. Running along the bottom half of each page of the chapter is one of the other artworks with a short artist statement.
Either (or maybe I should say either/or) these are twelve of the best artist/writers around or they had a superlative editor in Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader. Each chapter is unique, personal, useful, engaging, and just down right interesting. I kept being distracted by the other artworks on the bottom half of the pages until I finally worked out a system.
First I went to the back of the book and read all the artists' biographies. Then I read all twelve small sidebars listed in the back. The sidebars are full of useful stuff such as Demystifying the Thermofax, On Sketchbook and Journals, and Twelve Reasons to Blog.
THEN I looked at and read about all twelve art quilts for each theme and THEN finally I read the chapter by the one featured artist straight through. That's why I gave such a hearty thumbs-up to this book; it's just full of interesting information and insight.
The chapter written by each featured artist clearly points out both the why and how of working in many different styles. Some artists looked to traditional patterns, some researched word associations, and some looked to contemporary and historical issues related to the theme for inspiration. Each chapter points out the richness and detail of the featured artwork that might have escaped our first perusal.
At first glance you might think some of the artwork is a bit traditional to be called art quilts. But it is so disarming to read the artists' own critiques of their artworks and to see how artists progressed throughout the challenges. I think Terri Stegmiller said it best, "A major benefit I have gained ... is the drive to try and push myself beyond my normal limitations."
I hear again and again that people just want how-to books. I beg to differ. I think many readers delight in insights about how fiber artists work, what their studios look like, how they came to be artists, and their joys and challenges in life and in the studio. I felt as though I came to know each of these artists through their sharing this two-year-long online collaboration.
Visit the Twelve by Twelve artists' group website at [...]and their blog at [...] for more information about the group. The twelve artists include Deborah Boschert, Gerrie Congdon, Helen L. Conway, Kirsten Duncan, Terry Grant, Diane Perin Hock (founder of the group), Francoise Jamart, Kristin La Flamme, Karen Rips, Brenda Gael Smith, Terri Stegmiller, and Nikki Wheeler.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am not a quilter, but I am an artist. This beautiful book is a great source of inspiration on many levels and I recommend it to anyone looking to get some new ideas percolating. This a great resource to pick up again and again and read or look at a new spot or a familiar one. It doesn't matter what page you dive into the book, you'll find something. The written words and stories are what make the book, not just the beautiful art works. It's just the right mix.
Developing your eye: Do you see what the quilt artist was going for? or something else?
Creative processes: The quilt artists often made many experiments with different expressions, trying to achieve the idea or emotion they were after. Sometimes they hit it right away. Sometimes they feel they never did, then they moved on to the next project. (That can be soooo hard.)
Drawing upon many skills techniques to create art: I learned about art and design methods I'd never even heard of, and those art skill and tools have application in many ways. I'm now inspired to work a quilt technique into my watercolors.
Deadlines and deliverables; making and keeping commitments: Not failing your group. Making the best contribution you can and keep going. Each artist made a commitment to others who were also committed and contributing; they never decide not to make a submission "this time." Others are counting on you. Keep going even if your life is falling apart around you.
Inspiration is all around you. Open up to it. This is a definite take away for me.
Developing your eye: Do you see what the quilt artist was going for? or something else?
Creative processes: The quilt artists often made many experiments with different expressions, trying to achieve the idea or emotion they were after. Sometimes they hit it right away. Sometimes they feel they never did, then they moved on to the next project. (That can be soooo hard.)
Drawing upon many skills techniques to create art: I learned about art and design methods I'd never even heard of, and those art skill and tools have application in many ways. I'm now inspired to work a quilt technique into my watercolors.
Deadlines and deliverables; making and keeping commitments: Not failing your group. Making the best contribution you can and keep going. Each artist made a commitment to others who were also committed and contributing; they never decide not to make a submission "this time." Others are counting on you. Keep going even if your life is falling apart around you.
Inspiration is all around you. Open up to it. This is a definite take away for me.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Crafting Inspiration
I enjoyed this book very much. The challenges were interesting, the finished quilts were awesome, and the photos beautiful. Read more
Published 9 hours ago by Dorene Gaida
Creative Inspiration Personified!
This book is a MUST for anyone passionate about sewing, quilting, art, fabric, journaling or writing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A Writer's Garden
Twelve by Twelve
This book reminds me so much of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). If you do those, this book is much like a trading group. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Grammyelle
excellent book
This is a facinating look at an artistic challenge met by quilters but the concept could be applied to other fiber arts, such as rug hooking.
Published 5 months ago by grandmapurple
Twelve by Twelve
In anticipation of a knee surgery that I knew would take some time to recover from, I ordered several quilting and sewing books scheduled to arrive when I got home from the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Gail Rodgers
fabulous. I love it.
This book is even better than I expected. Well written and a great pictures. A fabulous book. I love it. It is amazing value too at this inexpensive price. Enjoy, enjoy and enjoy.
Published 12 months ago by A. Morrison
Twelve by Twelve: A spirit of cooperation
I was given a copy of Twelve by Twelve as a gift from the authors. I have many art, quilt and textile books and use them as references or inspiration for my own work or for... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Rayela
Inspirational book
Best book that has come out in a long time! It shows how artist develop their ideas and how different artist interpret ideas. Great discovery! Great buy!
Published 13 months ago by C. Hall
A Feast For The Eyes
In my heart of hearts this is the sort of challenge I would love to be a part of! I was truly grateful when I was offered the opportunity to review this book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Marie
Wonderful! This is a MUST HAVE!
I pre-ordered this book and started reading it almost immediately. I have to admit, I have a huge library and a lot of my art quilt books I flip through or look at, read some... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Lisa B. Quintana
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