Book Review - Textures From Nature in Textile Art
Textures From Nature in Textile Art by Marian Jazmik
ISBN 978-1-84994-670-4. Published by Batsford
Why did I buy this book?
The reason I bought this book is that the author seemed to work in a way that really resonated with me. Her mixed media work is very experimental, taking inspiration from textures and nature; all the things I’m interested in. What struck me when I first got the book in my hands was the cover. As it has a fabric binding it's got a beautiful feel to it, it’s tactile, almost like suede, rather than just being a normal printed book. That definitely appeals to me as a textile artist.
I was particularly struck by something that she wrote in the introduction and I'm going to quote one of her paragraphs.
‘I don't always do what might traditionally be expected of a textile artist: I don't use a sketchbook; I don't always follow the rules; I don't always do things in the correct order; I don't always know where I'm going. But one thing is for sure: I always enjoy the journey, and before I've reached the end of one, I am already planning the next’.
Wow! I really love that because it sums up exactly the way that I work, and think about being creative, especially in my textile work. I don't always know where I'm going to end up; I love to play about and see what happens; I don't use sketchbooks in a traditional way; and I definitely don't always do things in the right order or follow the rules! This is why this book appeals to me so much.
Beautiful photos
The book is full of beautiful photographs, good clear close ups so you can really see the details in her work, and there are clear explanations of how she has created the various samples.
However, it's not a step-by-step instruction type of book, it's more of a reference book and you possibly do need to have a little bit of knowledge of some of the techniques before you could try out some of her ideas. She describes her techniques in the first chapter so it is well worth reading through all of this if working in this way is new to you.
I think her 'What If' sections, highlighted above, are excellent. She pushes you into thinking for yourself but gently nudges you in directions that you may not have thought of.
An inspirational book
Even if you don't have much embroidery knowledge, it's fantastic for inspiration as each chapter has got a different emphasis and a different starting point. She's working from trees in one section, foliage in another, lichen, cacti, seed heads and fungi are all explored. I like the way that she has grouped together her samples into these chapters so you can clearly see the links from her inspiration. I think for those of you who are looking for ideas on how to get inspiration from imagery, this is a really great book.
Would I recommend it?
Most definitely!
There's a lot of information in this book so if you're really interested in exploring mixed media, different types of embroidery and experimenting with lots of materials, I highly recommend it.
I bought it from Amazon.
