Joy Stocksdale

I have been so remiss in reviewing this eye candy book by Lark Crafts. They sent it to me at least a month ago and I wanted to wait to have enough to write a review that would do the book justice. HAH! That never happens, so here I am writing the review, finally.

This is a lush and lavish book. The photos are wonderful and there are plenty of them.

I have a love-hate relationship with representational works of quiltmaking. I don't like the quilts where and image is just printed on a piece of fabric and called a quilt. Some of the quilts in this book are like that and I had to ignore them. In spite of my own fault, there were many other quilts with excellent designs to look at.

Unlike the Masters Quilts series, [b:Masters: Art Quilts: Major Works by Leading Artists and book:Masters: Art Quilts Vol. 2: Major Works by Leading Artists], both of which I adored, this book goes into a bit more about the quilt artists, their process and some of the pieces. Judith Trager writes "I had been an avid gardener until about 2004 or 2005, when I discovered that I could no longer do the physical work. So I started making garden quilts" (pg.15). This is one example of a peek into the process. The other artists explain their work in different ways, sometimes talking about inspiration or process or how they got from there to here.

All of the artists' sections are well illustrated and there is such a variety of work that I don't know how any quiltmaker could not like this book. Cassandra Williams uses pieced diamonds and equilateral triangles as backgrounds in her quilt Dance of the Deep (pg. 81). Elsbeth Nusser-Lampe's Struggle 2010 has the feel of Marie Webster's Poppy quilt. The shimmer of some of the background fabrics is one of the elements that updates this quilt.

Aside from piecing, I also see the influence of other quilts in some of the pieces.

Threadpainting, which was mentioned in the Texture podcast from last week, and quilting are both very evident in this book and I want to be able to touch many of the quilts. The reader is able to see the amazing quilting in many of the quilts. Vagabond Song by Elaine Quehl is one example.

This is an excellent book. I love the photos, the imagery and the accompanying text. Run, don't walk to get this book. I am adding it to my collection!

“Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World” by Martha Sielman contains many, many examples of what the ‘art quilt’ world has been doing recently. Sielman’s work contains biographies of quilt artists, examples of their work, and related work by other quilt artists.
Art Quilt Portfolio contains sections depicting nature: flowers, birds, water, animals, leaves, insects, trees, and textures. Each section contains bright, colorful quilts made with different methods to achieve the desired effects. Sometimes, I just sit and wonder how the artists depicted their masterpieces!
Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World gives the reader glimpses of ideas for fellow quilters, and quilter and non-quilters, beautiful art to look at over and over again! ( )