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About the book
Speaking in Cloth: 6 Quilters, 6 Voices is published by Ann Johnston and edited by Ann Johnston and Jeannette DeNicolis Meyer. It offers you the opportunity to visually and intellectually enter the worlds of six Northwest quilt artists, inviting you to respond to their use of cloth and thread as they tell their stories and record their explorations. Each chapter addresses, through the artists' work and their words, a question that they are often asked, and that they often ask each other.
- Why do you choose the language of fiber and thread to make your art?
- Do you find yourself working with recurring themes over time?
- Is there a visual voice that identifies you work?
- What is your working process?
- What are the challenges and joys of making your art?
- Does it matter if the quilt communicates a specific message to your viewers?
This project is supported in part by an award from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Advance comments about Speaking In Cloth: 6 Quilters, 6 Voices
"This exciting compilation of works by six recognized quilt artists of the American Northwest deeply explores the magical alchemy between dye, cloth, and transformation. Finding inspiration in myriad sources, each artist finds her own voice in manipulations of color, fiber, and form that express unique perspectives on life, place, and art."
- Stacy C. Hollander, Senior Curator, American Folk Art Museum, New York
"Art goes beyond the material and gives space to emotions and ideas. Six quilters have succeeded creating art, as this superb book proves."
- Caroline Boot, Curator Art and Design, Textielmuseum, Tilburg, Netherlands
"Speaking in Cloth: 6 Quilters, 6 Voices offers a clear window into the work and creative processes of six very different artists in the quilt medium. It's a real pleasure to see such a focused exhibition. Viewers have the opportunity to really get to know the individuals and hear their distinct voices. We need more exhibitions like this."
- Robert Shaw, Curator and Author, Shelburne, Vermont
"A fascinating insight into the inspirations, thought processes, and challenges of six contemporary quiltmakers as articulated in these works."
- Anne Scott, Editor, New Zealand Quilter
"The internal conversations exploring the concerns of language, ideas, process, and challenge are kin to those of their peers in painting and sculpture, and further cement the footing of fiber artists in the universe of fine art."
- Rick Gottas, Fine Art Gallery Owner and Collector, Tacoma, Washington
"...A body of work that will set the tone for the early 21st Century art quilt medium in our region. These are fully realized works of art that draw you near, beckoning you to look closely and then asking you to step back and think—and join the conversation."
- M. J. Koreiva, Director, Coos Art Museum, Oregon
Paperback, 48 pages
ISBN-13 978-0-9656776-2-2
ISBN-11 -0-9656776-2-1
Price: $21.95
OTHER BOOKS BY ANN JOHNSTON
- Color By Design: Paint and Print with Dye ( 2001)
- Quilter's Book of Design (2000)
- Color by Accident: Low-Water Immersion Dyeing (1997)
- Dye Painting! (1992, out of print)
COLOR BY DESIGN: PAINT & PRINT WITH DYE
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Fast, Simple, and Exciting...
Color by Design shows you how to dye cottons and silks in an incredible range of colors and patterns-without changing the feel of your fabric. Using every tool imaginable-from brushes, sponges, stamps, and blocks to rollers, sprays, silk screens, and more-you will discover an endless array of techniques. Right away, you will be able to create your own distinctive marks and colors, and with practice, you will create intricate designs with confidence and spontaneity. The fun never stops!
Color by Design offers:
• 48 exercises with crystal-clear directions, step by step
• Recipes that can be prepared ahead and information to store them
• More than 120 color photos of sensational fabrics, with how-to captions
• Information and options for more experienced dyers
• Special chapters on water-soluble resists and on dyeing blacks
"I love this book. Ann's writing is friendly and inspiring. A beginner will be able to follow the processes easily, and dyers with some experience will be able to build on Ann's directions as they create more advanced dyed surfaces. I wanted to rush out to the studio and get started."
– Jane Dunnewold, Author of Complex Cloth, San Antonio, TX
"Anyone who is interested in dyeing processes should use this direct, no-nonsense, user-friendly book as a text.
– Ed Lambert, Art Professor, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
"How lucky can we dyers be! Ann has clarified the mysteries of dye painting as well as taken the angst away! The photo examples are seductive, luring you immediately into trying each exercise."
– Patty Hawkins, Quilt Artist, Lyons, CO
"Ann leads you through a well-thought-out series of exercises that will help you gain a lot of experience in a short time. It is a wonderful book for dyers and surface designers no matter what level of skill and experience."
– Heide Stoll-Weber, Textile Artist, Frankfurt, Germany
THE QUILTER'S BOOK OF DESIGN
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The Quilter’s Book of Design will provide a source of inspiration and design confidence for quilters of any skill level.
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Describes the tools designers can use to create different visual effects—line, shape, value, color, pattern, and texture.
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End of chapter practice strategies help the reader put principles into practice.
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Presents different approaches or starting points to begin the creative process, including working with geometric shapes, cutting fabric freehand, drawing from photographs and many more.
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More than 300 color photographs of finished quilts, quilts in progress, and fabrics will inspire quilters to create their own masterpieces.
Clear, easy to read explanations of design concepts, with examples to which quilters can easily relate.
"The Quilter's Book of Design is a unique visual experience. Page after page of stunning color photographs reveal how quilt designs take shape, moving from inspiration into fabric. Showcasing quilts that range from the very simple to the extraordinary, this book takes the mystery out of the design process and shows that unique, creative quilts are within the reach of every quilter.
Ann Johnston, an award-winning quilter, designer, and instructor, begins by introducing the three key principles that govern good design-balance, unity, and variety. In crystal-clear text and visuals that illustrate each principle, she helps you understand why some designs work and others don't. Next, you will learn about the design tools you will use to move a design concept toward a finished piece-line and shape, value and color, and pattern and texture. At the end of each chapter, short workshops help you practice techniques and apply everything you have learned to your own quilts.
To provide real insight into the design process, Ann takes you through the decisions she made while developing some of her own quilts. Her early sketches and photographs show how the quilts progressed and how she used each design tool to achieve the final result. The closing chapter provides techniques you can use to jump-start your own quilts. Ann shares five ways to begin that will get your creative juices flowing and help you create the quilt of your dreams."
– National Textbook Company, Chicago, Illinois
"This is one of the best books on design intended for quilt makers. Using fabrics she has hand-dyed and her own quilts in the illustrations, she treats us to a review of her work as well as good design theory.
This book has some of the best demonstrations of value, and the effect of value change offered in a quilt book. The same value studies are laid out in both black and white and then in color. By now you know I am a nut of the value of value, and this is very clear in both pictures and words.
I think the last chapter is worth the price of the book. This is the kind of book I like to take with me on a trip when I have some free time to just play around with the ideas and possibilities already in my sketch book."
– Carol Moe, Bits and Pieces
“The Quilter’s Book of Design by Ann Johnston provides a compelling blend of instruction and inspiration that will energize the quilts you create. From this remarkable visual experience that takes the mystery out of quilt design, you will learn how to make quilts that not only please the eye, but that surprise and delight and ultimately move those who view them. Richly illustrated with quilts that range from simple pieced designs to extraordinary art-in-fabric. A wonderful addition to any sewers library.”
– Lois Ericson, Good News Rag
COLOR BY ACCIDENT
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Color by Accident is designed to be used as a workbook and as a reference manual for the adventuresome. Beginning and experienced dyers will find Color By Accident to be an inspiring guide for creating one-of-a-kind fabrics not available commercially. It includes five variations on a versatile method and 54 tested recipes. Not required are expensive equipment, dangerous chemicals or specialized studio space. Other books teach how to repeat a method and reproduce colors. This book points the way to exploring new color combinations and to achieving fabric that will be unique and visually complex.
How is Color By Accident different from other dye books?
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The approach is spontaneous
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The small amount of water used makes dyeing easy
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The recipes can be adapted to fit any schedule
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No salt is required
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The results are one-of-a-kind
"A wonderful textbook reflecting years of practice and experimentation! Clear. Concise. Well thought out...and easy to understand. The recipes have been tried over and over again until they have proven to give great results. Readers will begin to see the enormous flexibility in all of these approaches to dyeing while at the same time gaining a much deeper understanding of the nature of dyeing.
This book will become a classic for anyone wanting to create their own vocabulary of fabrics."
– Nancy Crow, Baltimore, OH
“Ann has changed the face of quiltmaking with her innovative combinations of painting and piecing. In her new book, Color By Accident, she explores an exciting and unpredictable approach to immersion dyeing in which colors move and blend and are always a revelation to the artist.”
– Jean Ray Laury, Clovis, CA
“Ann Johnston’s Color By Accident is worth every penny! It offers a rare opportunity to discover the hard-earned color dye bath secrets of an artist who is a leading force in the newly emerging surface design movement in contemporary quilts. Each of her color recipes is presented in detailed, easy-to-follow steps. For the price of the book you get Ann teaching you your own personal workshop. If you’ve ever wondered how to add a rich new dimension to your quiltmaking, you should read this book.”
– Penny McMorris, Bowling Green, OH
DYE PAINTING!
Dye Painting! is no longer in print.
To order books, please contact:
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Ann Johnston, Publisher
P. O. Box 388
Ashland, OH 44805 -
Telephone: 1-800-247-6553
Fax: 419-281-6883
E-mail: order@bookmasters.com
Click here for secure online ordering
