The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver by Tommye McClure Scanlin In his artist statement in the 1988 World Tapestry Today exhibition catalog, Archie Brennan wrote that tapestry is a frequently boring 20th century activity (1). Author and tapestry artist Tommye McClure Scanlin concedes the point. She notes it can be boring when …
Read More »Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey by James Rebanks Early on a summer Sunday morning, as I prepared to write this piece, an urgent call came from my neighbor. The sheep we’d put in her hay field to grass, had escaped. Suddenly, I’d not only read James Rebanks’ paean to English sheep farming, but I was …
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Resilient Stitch: Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Arts by Claire Wellesley-Smith What great fortune to encounter a book aimed at resilience in my field (hand crafting) at this very moment! I resisted reading this book quickly. I also chose not to read it over multiple days, preferring to find one good stretch of time and …
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Collaboration Through Craft edited by Amanda Ravetz, Alice Kettle, and Helen Felcey One thing that signals success in a work (or collection of works, as this is) is the degree to which it sends me to its footnotes and source materials. In other words, does it excite me to look further? This collection of sixteen essays, …
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Enchanted Worlds: The Visionary Collages and Art Couture of Amy Zerner by Monte Farber I’m a little freaked out. I’m staring at page 103, at a King of Wings/The Professional Tarot card that makes me think of Shakespeare. It’s from The Enchanted Love Tarot, one of the many collaborative projects created by Amy Zerner and …
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This month’s addition to the SDA Book Club comes to us from SDA’s Advertising and Outreach Manager, Katie Taylor. The Draught Book by Jeremiah Fielding, 1775 (edited by Pat Foster, Janey Dunbar and Lynne Harper) The Draught Book by Jeremiah Fielding takes the reader on a trip back in time to explore a variety of …
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Our first entry for 2022 into SDA’s Book Club is Fashionopolis, reviewed by Faith Hagenhofer! Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas If a person is adept at seeing the Big Picture we say they are cosmopolitan. When someone has a ubiquitous knowledge of their city we may …
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This year, we were so lucky to have a wide range of books reviewed for SDA’s Book Club by contributing authors, Faith Hagenhofer, Vivien Zepf, and D Wood. Here’s a combined list of all the reviews, as well as where to purchase each book. A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color …
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This month’s SDA Book Club is by our contributing author Vivien Zepf, who reviews Dress Codes. Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford Colorful dresses with pockets. Patterned shirts and dark pants, with and without stretchy waistbands. That’s my wardrobe. My choice is based on comfort and cost, and …
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This month’s SDA Book Club welcomes back contributing author Vivien Zepf, who reviews the beautiful book, Modern Fabric. Modern Fabric: Twenty-Five Designers on Their Inspiration and Craft by Abby Gilchrist and Amelia Poole Modern Fabric: Twenty-Five Designers on Their Inspiration and Craft is a double-dose of eye candy. With 400 luscious illustrations, this book is …
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