Textile Portraits: People and Places in Textile Art

A well-loved textile artist shares her approach to textile portraiture in her book, exploring different embroidery techniques to capture likenesses and personalities. It covers self-portraits, cultural expression, stylized imagery, place and time, narratives, and pet projects, with stunning examples of her own work and other textile artists.

Format: Hardback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 28 September 2023
Publisher: Batsford Ltd

Anne Kelly's Textile Portraits: Capturing Likenesses and Exploring Personalities in Stitch

Anne Kelly, a well-loved textile artist, has crafted a captivating and visually stunning book that delves into the realm of textile portraiture. Through her evocative and nostalgic artwork, she skillfully captures the likenesses and personalities of individuals, including friends, family, historical figures, and even pets. Within these pages, Kelly shares her unique approach to textile portraiture, employing a diverse range of embroidery techniques such as hand and machine embroidery, quilting, and appliqué to bring her subjects to life on cloth.

The book explores various aspects of textile portraiture, including:

Selfies at Home: Creating the Perfect Self-Portrait in Cloth
Kelly offers practical guidance on how to create captivating self-portraits in cloth, showcasing her tips and techniques for capturing the essence of one's personality. She discusses the importance of capturing intricate details, such as facial expressions and hair textures, and explores different embroidery methods to achieve the desired effect.

Representation and Culture: How Portraits Have Been Used in Textile Art for Cultural Expression Around the World
Kelly delves into the rich history of textile portraiture, exploring how it has been used as a means of cultural expression across different regions and time periods. She discusses the cultural significance of portraits and how they have been interpreted and reimagined in textile art, showcasing examples from various cultures and artistic traditions.

Stylized Imagery: Moving Beyond the Traditional Portrait into Abstraction
Kelly encourages embroiderers and textile artists to push the boundaries of traditional portraiture by exploring abstraction. She offers insights on how to create stylized imagery that captures the essence of a person or a group of people, using a combination of different embroidery techniques and color combinations.

Place and Time: Creating a Sense of Place with Portraiture
Kelly explores the concept of creating a sense of place with portraiture, sometimes incorporating photographs into her textile work. She discusses how portraiture can be used to evoke a particular time or place, and how it can be used to tell a story or convey a message.

Narratives: Using Deeply Personal Ephemera and Related Imagery to Create a Fuller Story
Kelly demonstrates how to create a fuller story using deeply personal ephemera and related imagery. She shares her techniques for incorporating personal stories and memories into textile portraiture, creating a deeply meaningful and intimate connection between the artist and the viewer.

Pet Projects: Immortalizing Your Pets in Your Textile Work
Kelly showcases her expertise in immortalizing pets in textile work, offering practical tips and techniques for creating beautiful and unique portraits of beloved companions. She discusses the challenges and rewards of working with animal subjects and shares inspiring examples of her own pet projects.

Beautifully illustrated with stunning examples of Kelly's own work and that of other intriguing textile artists who specialize in portraiture, this book serves as an invaluable resource for embroiderers and textile artists who wish to introduce this often tricky subject area into their work. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist, Anne Kelly's Textile Portraits provides you with a wealth of inspiration and practical guidance to help you create captivating and meaningful textile portraits.

Weight: 794g
Dimension: 284 x 224 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781849947534