review

Lynn is one artist who I admire, and she has a couple of fabulous DVDs on Color Theory Made Easy and Print, Design, Compose: From Surface Design to Fabric Art. These are some of the best DVDs I own, so I was very excited to hear Lynn was writing a book.
Lynn’s new book, Intentional Printing: Simple Techniques for Inspired Fabric Art makes fabric surface design techniques approachable. I love the easy going nature that Lynn uses to approach her artwork. None of the examples feel overdone, and I think that helps me as a novice. The “Simple Techniques” in the title are just that, and the way Lynn breaks them down allows you to not feel intimidated to make beautiful art fabric of your own. The book is gorgeous too, it’s very high quality. Tons of eye candy!

I got a chance to chat with Lynn and ask her a few questions about her art:
Cheryl: I really like the “Self Awareness” page to help you self identify your artistic type. I’m definitely the Worrier Artist. Which artistic type are you?
Lynn: I’m definitely a blend of all three – PhD, Flower Child and Worrier. When I’m getting into something new, a technique or a project, I dig in like a terrier chasing a chipmunk, I want to know everything there is to know about it! But there is always the angst that comes along with anything new, right? I think that’s natural, completely normal. I think worry is not always a bad thing, it makes us slow down and consider what we are doing. We just can’t let it rule the roost and end up holding us back. And as far as the Flower Child artist? I *love* checking out new stuff. I might not always fold it into my regular studio practice but I’ll stick with it long enough to have a good time. 🙂

Cheryl: Are you the kind of person who enjoys the journey and all the steps while you work, or are you one who just likes to get to the end result?
Lynn: Hmmm, I’m kind of both. I love holding the finished product in my hand. But getting there is definitely incredibly fun. There are parts I wish I had minions for – like sewing sleeves onto the back of finished collages/art quilts or washing out the giant pile of print tools I left floating in the sink while I printed tons of fabric – but watching the piece grow from something that is just kind of “eh” at the beginning to a “yay!” at the end is addicting. Can’t have one without the other! 🙂

Cheryl: How do you find the time to make art?
Lynn: Ah, the age old question for artists. There never seems to be enough time to do everything, does there? I think the best thing – and the hardest – is just do what you can. Meaning if you have five minutes to work on something, embrace those five minutes. If you have a few hours, go wild and fling paint all over! There is no “right” time to make art. It’s like everything else, it gets worked into the small places in life and that’s how things get done. It can be frustrating for sure, but folding art into the way your life runs is much easier then trying to bend your life to the idea of “proper” studio time. Be an artist, that can happen any time you find the space for it.

Want to win this gorgeous book? Here’s the rules:
1. Please only enter one time. Multiple entries will be disqualified. (Comments are moderated, so you won’t see your entry online right away)
2. Sorry, only residents of the USA can enter.
3. You must leave me a way to contact you, so please leave your valid email address when leaving a comment.
4. The drawing will be open until Monday April 7th at 5:00 PM CST.
5. The winner will be chosen randomly the evening of April 7th. Check back to see if you are the winner!

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. CHECK BACK SOON FOR THE WINNER!

Draw, stamp, screen print and more to create gorgeous art cloth with the help of surface design artist Lynn Krawczyk’s new book, Intentional Printing: Simple Techniques for Inspired Fabric Art (Interweave/F+W Media; $26.99.) Take part in the blog tour with stops along the way at:

A mysterious package arrived on my doorstep the other day, and I was thrilled to see a review copy of Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World by Martha Sielman was inside! This is the first in a series of books by Lark Crafts, and it doesn’t disappoint.

This book is a gorgeous display of quilts reflecting nature and all of it’s glory. Expertly curated by Martha, the book depicts a wide range of quilts using a variety of masterful techniques. The reproduction of the quilts is of top notch quality, and I love when I can see the stitches and how the piece is quilted. I adore books like this, because they are not about techniques, not about patterns…they show you the very best of this art quilt movement. It’s wonderful for inspiration or when you’re in a slump (like I mention in my Back to Basics series).

I was intrigued by the 19 highlighted artists who were selected for a more in depth look at their works. These are some of the greats you will recognize, like Betty Busby, Elaine Quehl, and Ruth McDowell…. and maybe some you don’t. Annemieke Mein’s work struck me and I had not seen her work before, causing me to seek out more of her fabulous realistic nature quilts and her book.

I also appreciated the artist’s statements, because I struggle with that portion of describing my own work. The guided interviews of the selected artists also give you some insight to their thought processes on approaching their art.

A local (to me) group called the Fiber Art Coalition (FAC) also appears in a group section highlighting their group exhibit on “Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird”. Many of these members are also in the Professional Art Quilt Alliance with me here in the IL area, so that was a special treat to see.

I took this book to the Fiber Art Divas meeting to pass around, and by the end of the meeting it had not made it all they way around the room. Whenever I checked on it, someone had it and was pouring over the details and pointing out the stunning work to her seatmate. Several people remarked that they were going home to order it right away. We’re all looking forward to more!

This book is released on April 3rd, 2012.

Review, Interview, and GIVEAWAY – Intentional Printing by Lynn Krawczyk

Book Review: Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World