Art & Inspirations: Ruth B. McDowell (Art and Inspirations Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

More and more quilters are exercising their design skills and are in need of sources of inspiration for their own quilted creations. This and the following work will appeal to quilters who want to move beyond project books. McDowell is a multifaceted quilt artist whose work is noted for its diversity of style, sureness of design, and dramatic use of color. Paging through this personal memoir of her career is like visiting a gallery. Traditional patchwork, applique, strip piecing, symmetrical patchwork, tessellations, penrose tiles, fractals?she has left her unique mark on virtually every form of quilting. This first book in C&T's "Art & Inspirations" series is a personal retrospective of the career of a woman who knows what she means when she writes, "It's a lot easier to buy nice fabrics than it is to make good quilts." Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

This book leads reader through Ruth B. McDowell's progression into becoming one of today's most prominent quilt artists. Full-color reproductions of her finest works, drawn from collections all over the world, illustrate this volume and offer an immensely sensitive and personal look at her work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571200150
• ISBN-13: 978-1571200150
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,377 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows the growth a True Quilt Artist, June 1, 1998

By	Kathryn Daugherty "tropo9" (Nevada and Maui) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What is surprising about this book is that it is not just a text-book showing simple patterns that you can copy, nor is it a picture book of dozens of incredible quilts that you will probably never equal. Instead this is a clear-eyed tour of the history of a wonderful Quilt Artist. Ruth shows some of her first simple, but well chosen and unique quilt patterns. These simple patterns from nature, lead directly to her more complex quilts, where she shows her increased talents in dazzling quilts of landscapes and semi-abstract trees and plants. But if nothing else, this book is well worth the cost for the single quilt using her daughter's outline in translucent black cloth in an amazing picture quilt. This is a book of inspirations for quilters at all levels.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars clear inspiration, even for a novice like myself!, August 18, 1999

By A Customer

What a joyous collection of inspiring images! This amazing teacher creates paintings with fabric. Her wording is clear and uncomplicated for the novice and, I am sure, challenging enough for the seasoned quilter. Buy this book to look at as well as to learn from! I purchased it to use as inspiration for my paintings but Ms. McDowell makes the whole process sound exciting enough to get me peicing too!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quilting unbound!, July 12, 2001

By	"freunde" (Winchester, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Ruth McDowell's well-documented journey to develop an extremely personal and artistic quilting 'statement' almost leaves you breathless. She has been able to adapt complex photos and themes into vibrant fabric art, using mostly traditional quilting techniques. However, her innovative use of fabrics (plaids never had it so good), shapes, and design concepts truly rate the title of "Art & Inspirations". A good friend with whom I shared the book got halfway through and said "I'm afraid to turn the pages - they're all so wonderful I can hardly stand it." My sentiments exactly.