The title explains the purpose of this book. Doreen Curran is an Australian fiber artist who creates unique works using a combination of fabric painting and free machine embroidery, as unlike what we see in the monthly embroidery mags as apples and elephants. Though now retired, Ms. Curran was an instrumental teacher of free machine embroidery in addition to being a college lecturer. The first edition of this beautiful book was issued in 1992; I do not have that edition, but the later edition issued in 2001.
For those who have read my reviews on Alison Holt's work, Ms. Curran's method is rather different than Holt's. For example, while Ms. Holt tends to use silk and silk paints, Curran uses a lot of butter muslin for her background structure. As she explains it, the muslin is heavier and provides a secure base for both thread and applique work. She does use silk and its paints for some of her work as she sees fit, but also provides instruction for painting on cotton. Just a different artist using a different method. It can be interesting to see the difference. One of the ways that those of us are blessed in the fiber arts as opposed to traditional painting is the openness of so many fiber artists to demonstrating and instructing in their methods, whether it be the free machine embroidery illustrated here, quilting, applique, and other techniques.
The contents of the books are broken into the following chapters: 1) Beginnings; 2) Understanding the basics; 3) The stitches and chart; 4) Textures and directions; 5) Openwork; 6) Fabric thread techniques; 7) Overlays and underlays; 8) Painting backgrounds; 9) Stumpwork; 10) Fabric sculpting; 11) Inspirations.
Of course, what separates Ms. Curran from the rest of us is her artistic eye and the ability to translate that vision onto fabric. However, so many of us also have our own vision, and the value of a book such as this is in helping us to use the excellent instruction and information here to create our own unique works of which we can be proud.
This large trade softback is printed on high-quality paper, and is profusely illustrated with color photographs not only demonstrated completed works, but also closeups of methods used. One idea I gleaned from the book is the use of thread in creating stalactites and other cavern effects, though I have not been able to replicate hers!
This book is a pleasant read, and one that I have returned to many times over the years-not only for instruction but also for the pleasure of the artwork presented.
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