This book concentrates on the design of suitable motifs for silk painting. It is intended to inspire you to interpret nature and use your own ideas, then apply them in whatever way you choose. The beginner will find a comprehensive introduction to the basis of technical and artistic construction.

Reconnect to Mother Earth and recharge your creativity by combining the healing energy of nature with the meditative process of drawing and painting mandalas. Explore Botanical Mandalas and watch your artistic expression flourish! Full of inspiration for reconnecting with natures beauty to inspire you to create expressive mandala artworks. Includes drawing, painting and mixed-media projects to find endless inspiration for your own botanical mandala journey.

When we create with Nature, we access a rich source of knowledge about Nature and ourselves. In Beauty Muse: Painting in Communion with Nature artist Lisa Lipsett shares a ten-year creative journey, recounting her experiences with the natural world, connecting creativity with deep ecology, education, spirituality, and ecopsychology. Through her playful exercises and paintings, she invites the reader to engage in a highly intuitive process, initiating a joy-filled, heartfelt practice which brings art-making back to its living roots.

Thread painting embroidery is one of the most beautiful embroidery techniques. Often mistaken for painted art, it shows off the true skill of an embroiderer. This book demystifies the technique and shows how easy it is to start embroidering your own stitched masterpieces. For the true beginner and the experienced stitcher alike it will be a treasured guide, explaining the techniques and providing the inspiration to master this exquisite form of embroidery. Over 600 colour photographs support twenty step-by-step projects that range from a simply shaded topiary tree to a three-dimensional hydrangea bouquet. Guide to getting started introduces equipment you may need, explains how to transfer designs to fabric and demonstrates the long stitch and short stitch. Advice on blending colours and stitching shades together to achieve depth and vitality. Provides inspiration and encourages experimentation to create your own designs. Illustrates historical examples and explains how to reproduce and learn from these pieces, while also showcasing contemporary techniques and ideas for finished embroidery. Over 600 colour photographs support twenty step-by-step projects that range from a simply shaded topiary tree to a three-dimensional hydrangea bouquet.

Based on The Contemporary International Quilt Collection which took place at New College, Oxford and at Nostell Priory, Yorkshire in 1993, the original exhibition contained 50 quilts made by designers from around the world, including the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, USA and Switzerland. and inspiration are offered from 25 designers whose quilts are illustrated in colour. Each designer discusses what inspired them and how they translated this into their quilt. For example, Out Here on the Edge of Space with Nancy was adapted from a book of Islamic designs, and Snail Trails in my Garden was inspired by the irridescent trails left by garden snails. different techniques have been combined, such as fabric painting, airbrushing, applique, dyeing, printmaking and curved piecing. This book should be of interest to those quilters who need new and stimulating ideas for their next quilt, and who wish to create something unique to hang on their wall.