Embroidered Collage

This book is in itself a work of art, with brilliant full-page photographs of both embroidery and source material.  In form it is thick and almost square and the paper feels nice on the hands.  Reading it seems to be more of an immersive experience.  Sometimes it's almost too much, trying to interpret the pictures.  I'm going to have to read it again.

The strength of the book is in the way it shows a photograph of an inspiring piece of nature and a finished embroidery side by side.  Sometimes the steps inbetween are shown.  Sometimes there are more explicit directions.  Sometimes only comments thinking about the design are shared.  She appears to be trying to touch on a range of comfort levels and I think she succeeds.  Many of the embroideries are remarkable more for the textured surfaces they present and not the pattern, but that is to be expected from the rest of the accurate title: inspirational stitches, textures and surfaces.  Another interesting aspect was how freely she mixed the concepts of machine and hand embroidery.

This book isn't the first of the fifth book that someone looking to use their embroidery in their art should own, but it's a wonderful addition to a library that already has the basics covered elsewhere.  I'm certainly glad I purchased it.