Contemporary Applique
Julia Triston and Rachel Lombard
Batsford
If you had told my sixteen year old self that I would be sitting down, reading a book specifically on a method I had just learned - I would have let our a rebellious laugh. I was no stitcher, yet on this virgin stitching experience, Triston had unknowingly to me at the time, worked her stitchery magic. Until I accidentally came across this pink haired lady, I had always turned my nose down to the avid attempts of both my mother and grandmother to get a needle into my hand. Having Julia as a stand in for my own Fine Arts tutor, she introduced me to Textiles, without it seeming like….well….Textiles. Proud as punch, I walked into my home with my first embroidery - Appliqué.
Really though, can you make an entire book from just this tiny area of Textile art? The answer is yes. It only takes a glance at the contents, spanning from the history (this early part of the book shows off some beautiful examples of work found at the Victoria and Albert in London and also the famed artists Constance Howard.
Moving on, I find that the book isn’t just a showcase of both artists work, they generously feature many an example of work other than their own. It is all about the subject, not the artists themselves.
Even though it has been written by two artists, it is seamless in its directive.
Its not just about the types of Appliqué, but the designs to get there, the methods, the materials required to create our own.
Lombard and Triston provide evidence of how this one area of Textiles can be used in so so many different ways; its a true art form, decorative to the extreme.