Paper as Textile by Anzara Clark The Australian artist, educator and author Anzara Clark, through her two-volume series Paper as Textile, presents quotidian, universal and culturally pervasive paper as a sculptural and expressive medium for its innate flexibility, adaptability, and endless versatility. In Clark’s books, artists and craftspeople are given a sort of classroom-in-a-book through …
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Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles by Youngmin Lee I had the pleasure of getting to co-jury this year’s Exhibition in Print alongside Youngmin Lee, and I am equally excited to get to review her new book, Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles. As someone who is quite familiar with bojagi, but nowhere near an …
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The Intersection of Fashion and Disability: A Historical Analysis by Kate Annett-Hitchcock That human bodies come in all shapes and sizes, belonging to individuals expressing different abilities, has been recognized for centuries. The London Tradesman in 1747, for example, noted that a tailor must “…not only to cut for the Handsome and Well-shaped, but to …
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Modern Papermaking, Techniques in Handmade Paper by Kelsey Pike. Artist and papermaker Kelsey Pike has made a significant contribution to the papermaking community and future papermakers with her book, Modern Papermaking. I know I’ll come back to this book time and again given its detailed information about the many aspects of fine papermaking—from paper’s history …
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The Dress Diary: Secrets from a Woman’s Wardrobe by Kate Strasdin Fashion historian Kate Strasdin was given a book, which appeared to be someone’s scrapbook (literally). It’s an old album of fabric swatches from the very middle of the 19th century—from 1838-1890—which the giver found at a flea market in 1960. Historians are drawn to collections. …
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Intelligent Hands: why making is a skill for life by Charlotte Abrahams & Katy Bevan This examination into numerous places where craft and hand work is alive, well and serving people of all kinds is strictly British—beginning with a discussion of tacit knowledge as well as the purpose of practice and repetition of tasks in …
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Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science edited by Rebecca McNamara Imagine you’re holding a knitted mass of colorful yarns. As you turn it over in your hands, the genius of this anatomical model called Knitted Brain #2 begins to reveal itself. Tightly coiled fibers represent sections of the brain with greater cellular density, while …
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Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia edited by Carrie Hertz The full cover of Dressing With Purpose is a photo of what appears to be a celebratory procession, prominently featuring flags of Norway and Sápmi, the Sámi people’s land. All the participants appear to be wearing culturally significant clothing. This image begs questions: …
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The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the right Thing to Black Panther by Ruth E. Carter It seems to me that the debate of form versus function might be an eternal struggle for a costume designer. One might love the look of a costume, but will it …
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Wild Textiles: Grown, Foraged, Found by Alice Fox You would be forgiven in assuming Wild Textiles to be a “how to/field guide,” were you simply perusing. It is both more and less than that. Minimal instruction or directions are given, with the exception of a lengthy discussion on nettles. Wild Textiles is, however, a powerful …
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