Book Review – Sewing Pottery by Machine by Barbara Warholic

This book, like “It’s a Wrap II”, took me to an even higher level of skill and potential.  I have always loved pottery, and even aspired to becoming a potter in my younger years.  But I found that making clay pots took a skill set I didn’t possess, and I had pretty much given up on that dream until I bought this book.  The author gives detailed instructions on how to create several pottery shapes, and it is now possible for me to make “pottery” with cord and fabric that look much better than any of the feeble attempts I made at creating pottery with clay back in my youth!  Here are some of the pieces I have made using Warholic’s instructions:

Jar with Lip

Round Bowl with Leaves and Medallions

Seed Pot

Indian Pot with Leather and Bead Embellishments

Oval Bowl with Leather and Fabric Medallion

Each of these vessels are made of multiple components, and sewn together by hand to create pots or vases. I highly recommend this book for those of you who, like me, love the “pottery” look and want to transform fabric and cord into eye-catching home décor accessories!

Book Review – It’s a Wrap II by Susan Breier

Before I found this book back in 2013, my only instruction on how to make coiled fabric bowls came from a lovely tutorial I found by Sherrie Spangler on her blog http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/ ( search on coiled bowls and you will see several posts on her bowl making process). With photographs and easy-to-follow directions, I began to make bowls, primarily to use up my ever-growing fabric stash.

By chance, visiting a quilt shop a couple of hours from home, I spotted “It’s a Wrap II”, and had to have it.  By now, I was ready to take my bowl-making to a new level, and Susan Breier’s book gave me some valuable tools to do just that.  From how to make different shapes, to ways to finish your project with loops, medallions and other embellishments, this book will take you beyond basic bowl making to learning how to design your own original creations. Beautiful examples will inspire you to go beyond your comfort zone, and each finished project will leave you anxious to start on the next one!

Published in 2010 by Martingale & Company.

Here are a few of the projects I made using Susan’s book as my guide:

Oval Bowl

Covered bowl with knob handle

Basket with knotted handles

Bowl with beaded embellishment

So if you are ready to take the plunge, or maybe have tried bowl-making but want to learn some great techniques to expand your skill set, give “It’s a Wrap II” a gander… happy sewing!

Book Review: Sewing Pottery by Machine by Barbara Warholic

 Many years ago, I aspired to become a potter.  Alas, after trying out the process in Junior College, I decided I was not cut out for it – the clay was very hard on my thin skin, and it was an exceptionally messy medium!  But I have always loved the graceful shapes of pots, bowls and vases that are typical of clay and ceramic creations.  Fast forward 46 years to 2012 – I had become an avid reader of blogs, particularly those written by my fellow fiber artists.  Sometime in the fall of 2012, I found a wonderful tutorial written by Sherrie Spangler on her blog, which helped me get started making coiled fabric bowls.  At first it was just a ‘stash buster’ project – a way to use up my ever growing collection of fabrics, and offer a new product at the craft fairs where I sell.  But over time, it has become a real avocation for me!  I love the process as well as the finished product, and that is always a plus for me.

Last summer, I found a book at a fabric store I was visiting, called “It’s a Wrap II” by Susan Breier, and that set me on a path to learn more about how to create various shapes along with embellishing and finishing techniques. 

Recently, I came across “Sewing Pottery by Machine” by Barbara Warholic, and it really got my interest, because she teaches techniques for creating shapes that combine two bowls to create a pot or vase, even pitchers!  I immediately ordered the book, and read it through as soon as it came in the mail. 

I decided to try her methods making a vase-shaped pot, and set about to see if I could follow her directions.  I will not go into detail here, as I do not want to divulge her secrets, but I will tell you that her directions are easy to follow… however, I did find a couple of steps to be a little more difficult than I anticipated.  The process involves constructing the bottom of the structure, then the top, and making both components the same diameter so as to join them.  I followed her directions for the top, making the number of rows she indicated at the angles she listed in the directions, and ended up with a top portion that was about an inch wider than the bottom.  I ended up ripping out several rows in order to make both diameters match, so the vase came out shorter than I had planned.  The last step, stitching the two components together, is a little cumbersome, but I can’t envision an alternate method, so I used some trusty tools to help me stitch it together.  Here is my finished pot:

Lessons learned:   Make the match of the top and bottom diameters your priority over  following the directions to the letter.  Once I ripped out the rows back to the diameter on the top that matched the bottom, the project progressed without a hitch.

Conclusion:  I can highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to make fabric pots.  There are other books on the shelf that teach bowl and basket making techniques, and I can recommend trying one of those for basic shapes, but “Sewing Pottery by Machine” is an excellent guide for advanced  shapes.  I found my copy used on-line, but have also seen it in fabric shops. Published 2011 by Martingale & Company.

Book Review (and Giveaway) of Art + Quilt--Quilter Beth

Lyric Kinard's "Art + Quilt" is a valuable resource for both the experienced AND novice quilt artist. It combines pictures and narrative to guide the reader through explanations and exercises of many different art concepts including things such as perspective, motion, isolation, focal point, and more. I really like that the book is a hardback, spiral bound version. It lays nice and flat when working through the exercises in the book.

I used the book as a guide when I was transitioning from making traditional quilts to art quilts. I worked through the exercises in the book creating a small quilt each week focusing on the subject I had studied that particular week. I documented my progress on my blog by discussing the week's art concept, my troubles and triumphs of working through the concept, and showing a photograph of my quilt utilizing the concept. I found the process to be VERY helpful.

Here are some examples of the small quilts I made each week as I worked through the design concepts in the book.

 Actual Texture Exercise

 Color as Emotion Exercise--Excitement

Color as Emotion Exercise--Sadness

 Closed Form Exercise

Open Form Exercise

Line Weight Exercise

 Scale Exercise

Unity Through Repetition Exercise

 Lyric was kind enough to send me a quote I could include with my review...
 "Too many times I've been approached by women who have seen my art am told, "I wish I were creative, I can't draw a straight line." I wonder who it is that taught them they couldn't be an artist? If a child is having difficulty reading do we send them away and discourage them from trying? Absolutely not! We expect them to do the work and we patiently help them to master what can be a complex and difficult skill. I wrote this book because I believe that art CAN be taught! It takes work and effort and practice but any one who has the desire truly CAN learn to see and think like an artist. This book helps the reader begin the process of learning to see and understand the basic elements and principle of good design. Where your own artistic journey leads you is up to you but I will tell you this - it is a path full of joy and wonder!" -Lyric, Artist, Author, Educator, www.LyricKinard.com

If you'd like more information about Lyric, you can check out her blog here. She also teaches. You might want to check out her two upcoming retreats - A Week of Surface Design at Quilting Adventures in New Braunfels, TX March 10-15, 2013 (http://www.quilting-adventures.com/spring-quilting-seminars/session2/) and Becoming an Artist in Italy at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art, Italy June 26 - July 2, 2013 (http://www.abruzzoschoolofcreativeart2013.com/lyric-kinard.php)

I have a copy of Lyric's book for my giveaway. Leave a comment on this post before December 13, 2012; I'll pick a lucky winner through a random draw. Be sure your email address is available to me so I can notify you if you are the winner.

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Day 4 Book Review and Giveaway

Review of “Create your own hand-printed cloth” by Rayna Gillman

I love to dye fabric and clothing!  I began my tie-dye business in 1998, and spent several years focused on just dyeing clothing.  But in 2007, I took a class in Surface Design techniques, and my direction shifted to include fabric, primarily for art and landscape quilts.  I was intrigued by the various aspects of Surface Design, and when Rayna Gillman’s book “Create your own hand-printed cloth” came out in 2008, I ordered a copy from her and it has become one of my primary reference books.  Rayna was not the first author to write a book of this type, and she won’t be the last, I’m sure.  But she has created a thorough, interesting and inspiring book that I never tire of browsing for ideas and information.  Rayna covers such topics as stamping and stenciling with found objects, soy wax batik and screen printing with thickened dyes, among others.  Thanks to her recipes, I have finally learned how to mix sodium alginate so that it is not full of lumps, and my thickened dyes come out with much better color intensity than I was getting before. 

Rayna has produced a collection of instructions that covers the basics of each technique in an easy to follow, step-by-step description, combined with photos that work with the text to help the reader to see the process clearly.  I highly recommend “Create your own hand-printed cloth” for anyone who is new to Surface Design, but also for those for more experienced in the techniques to use as a  frequent resource.   Rayna’s book can be found at amazon.com and C&T Publishers.

http://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Own-Hand-Printed-Cloth/dp/1571204393/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349445750&sr=1-3&keywords=Rayna+Gillman

 http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1211.

Leave a comment here and you will be eligible to win a copy of Rayna’s book compliments of C & T Publishing!  I will put all participating names in a basket and draw the winner on December 11th.  Then I will post the winner’s name  here so you can contact me with your mailing info.  
Be sure to come back tomorrow for Judith's Book Review and Giveaway!

Day 2 Book Review and Giveaway

 Having kept a writing journal on and off since grammar school, I am well-versed in the advantages of keeping those little snippets of inspiration together in some kind of book form.  I have been art-journaling for a couple of years and I was really excited when two of my favorite artists, Sue Bleiweiss and Melanie Testa, both released art journaling books.  Even though the subject is ostensibly the same, the books are very different.

Sue's book, The Sketchbook Challenge, springs from the Sketchbook Challenge blog, an idea that came from a "resolution to keep a better, more consistent sketchbook."  It uses monthly themes as challenges to inspire ideas "to move visual concepts and brainstorms off the pages of your sketchbook and into finished pieces of art."

One of the real strengths of this book is the many contributing artists who illustrate over and over that there is no wrong way to keep a sketchbook.  From the many how-to techniques and tips interspersed throughout and the wonderful photos and informative writing by the artists, this is an inspiring work.  It is sized a bit smaller than many art books and with its rounded corners, it is perfect for tucking in a bag and taking along.  However, with the small size, comes my only real negative criticism: some of the print is tiny -- especially the captions.  I would have liked larger photos of some of the techniques also.

Melanie's book, Dreaming from the Journal Page, is a big, bold work of art.  The photos are large and colorful.  It's more of a how-to-use all of the tools available to the art journalist.  Melanie offers extensive information on paper, pens, pencils, paints and more.  She provides exercises for getting warmed up and exercises in drawing.  My favorite part is the "Triple Technique Challenges" where several techniques are combined as "a means to layer and deepen your journal practice."  I've been playing around seriously with watercolors since reading the chapters on paint and color.  However, this book also suffers from tiny print -- again, my only negative criticism.

I am finding that these books actually work together in my personal little art journaling/sketchbook world.  Both are informative and inspiring and I am delighted to have them together.

Melanie and Sue have agreed to give away a copy of each of their books to readers of this blog and Sue will also throw in a Strathmore 5x8 mixed media sketchbook.  The winners will be chosen from the comments on this post.

I am giving away a hard-bound plain paper sketchbook (in my favorite size of 5 1/2 by 8 inches) with a cover hand-made by me.  I have a blog post on my personal blog (here) outlining in exhaustive detail the making of this cover.  I was inspired by both of the books above.

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite art book or medium is and I will send this journal to one lucky person.  Make sure to leave an email if you're a no-reply commenter.

Tune in tomorrow to see Beth Berman's review and giveaway!