The Timeless Art of Embroidery by Helen M. Stevens
Helen offers a fascinating window on the past with embroidered fables, fashions and pastimes, rural life, animals, birds and insects. The subjects of her work are brought vividly to life in the superb color photos, and all the techniques and stitches she employs are explained in detail. This amazing and truly beautiful book presents extraordinary images in an approachable manner - a must for any art or nature lover, and for all enthusiastic embroiderers.
144 pages. ISBN: 0715312162
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Embroidery has always captured the
spirit of an age -- from the drama of the Norman Conquest to the elegance of the
1900s.
In The Timeless Art of Embroidery, Helen M. Stevens draws inspiration
from the past, blending it with contemporary ideas and her own unique style to
create an amazing collection of new embroideries.
Vivid images are explored in
stunning detail. The tranquility of an idyllic country scene at dawn with
magnificent cockerels about to crow; garden favorites interpreted through the
Victorian language of flowers; the magic of ancient woodlands where dewdrops
hang motionless on spiders' webs -- all are recreated as Helen explains how to
use ancient and modern embroidery techniques in new and exciting ways.
Experienced embroiderers will find
a wealth of innovative material and suggestions -- such as how to emphasize
perspective and achieve three-dimensional effects. Novices will revel in the
clear line drawings and tips on easily achieved realistic touches -- two
lazy-daisy and a few straight stitches create an amazingly lifelike gnat!
Glorious full-color plates of all the completed embroideries, plus sketches and
diagrams, span 1200 years of inspirational designs, from heraldic medieval
dragons to modern folk embroidery, accompanied by fascinating historical detail.
The Timeless Art of Embroidery is
full of beautiful and extraordinary images presented in a very approachable
manner -- it is the perfect present for any art or nature lover; and a must for
the bookshelves of all enthusiastic embroiderers. acclaimed embroidery artist
and designer since opening her studio, True Embroideries, in 1981. She lives and
works in the Suffolk countryside, which is the main inspiration behind her
remarkable depictions of wild flowers, animals and birds. Her unique pictures,
worked by hand in pure silk, are in collections around the world and her
commissions have included work for the Mary Rose Trust, Harrods, the Edith
Cavell Hospital, and the Palace of Westminster. Helen's writing and broadcasting
have ensured a dedicated following both at home and abroad. She is regularly
invited to lecture on her work. In 1989, Helen was elected a member of the
Society of Women Artists, only the third textile artist to be so honored since
the Society's foundation in 1855, while her research and embroidery was featured
in the British Museum's Anglo-Saxon Art exhibition 1991-2.
This is the third embroidery book by
British textile artist Stevens (after The Embroiderer's Countryside, David and Charles, 1992, and The Embroiderer's Country Album, David and Charles, 1994). She
excels in the naturalistic type of embroidery known as needle painting. Worked
in silk using several classic straight stitches, her flowers and animals are
delicate and exquisite. This is not a book of projects but a clearly delineated
album of Stevens' works with notes on technique in the accompanying text. As
such, it is an inspiration to experienced needle workers, proving a level of
expertise and artistry rarely seen in modern embroidery books.
The Timeless Art of Embroidery by
Helen M. Stevens
