Studio Musings

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bookshelf

I'm in the process of working up a tutorial for my website on a simple beaded bead project.  But it won't be done tonight.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of my favorite books from my studio library.  (My studio mate and I combined libraries when we moved in - all of the books are tagged with color-coded electrical tape so that we can one day sort them back out by owner, but for now, they're all waiting for me!)

Beaded Tassels, Braids and Fringes by Valerie Campbell Harding.  My library is surprisingly slim on beading books, but this is my favorite.  It's a technique, inspiration and recipe book all rolled into one, with lots of great ideas that work in so many different situations, far beyond what the title might seem to indicate. 

Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the World's Most Remote Island Sanctuary by David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton.  I bought this book for my birthday several years ago paying full list price and it is still one of my favorite sources of inspiration.  The photography is simply amazing!  And if you like this book, you might also want to check out The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Claire Nouvian.

Complex Cloth by Jane Dunnewold. This is an amazing technique book.  She also has a new book Art Cloth, which "picks up where Complex Cloth left off, showing how to layer processes with the latest products to create stunning cloth for use in a variety of fiber art" according to her website. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but it sounds like it may replace her earlier book. Not sure - will need to check it out.

The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects: Techniques and Projects Featuring Transfers, Stamps, Stencils, Inks, Paints, Mediums, and More by Donna Kato. This one actually belongs to Leah, my studio mate.  Neither of us really works with polymer clay, though I have fun playing with it upon occasion.  But, this is a book I pull off the shelf quite often to look through over lunch.  Again, lots of ideas and techniques, and I really like her sense of design

2 comments:

  1. Fun books! It looks like your crafty library is much bigger than mine right now...

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  2. It's a shared library - that helps. And it's incredibly wide-ranging. Inspiration books and books on machine embroidery, sewing, quilting, painting, drawing, book making and writing make up the bulk of our library.

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