Christi Johnson

The Art of Embroidery Design

A Workshop for Developing Your Own Original Stitching

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The bestselling author of Mystical Stitches teaches embroiderers of all levels how to create their own original designs with in-depth technique instruction combined with a rich, colorful range of inspirational examples, including historical examples from a range of cultures as well as contemporary stitch artists from around the world.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Workman Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 192
• Erscheinungstermin: 21. Januar 2025
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 257mm x 206mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 814g
• ISBN-13: 9781635867664
• ISBN-10: 1635867665
• Artikelnr.: 70706890

Autorenporträt

Christi Johnson is an embroidery and textile artist and the author of Mystical Stitches. Johnson studied Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design and honed her craft in the Los Angeles fashion industry for nearly a decade, designing limited-edition embroideries for boutique brands. Now residing in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, Johnson teaches workshops in natural dyeing and embroidery and develops kits and booklets for aspiring artists and DIY enthusiasts. Johnson's garments, booklets, kits, and embroidered artwork are sold in maker studios and boutiques nationwide. Find Christi Johnson online at mixedcolor.net, and tune in to her podcast, Stitch Wish, for more inspiration. 

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction: An Invitation
Chapter 1: Setting Your Intention
Chapter 2: Finding Your Vision
Chapter 3: Designing Your Composition
Chapter 4: Expressing with Color
Chapter 5: Amplifying with Texture
Chapter 6: Putting it All Together
Stitch Index
Resources
INTRODUCTION: AN INVITATION
Growing up with an artistic tendency that was heavily nurtured, I once
thought that my talents were a gift given to me by the divine, that I was
special, that I had something unique. Throughout my experience studying art
and design, and then through teaching various textile arts skills, I
learned that creativity was in fact not especially given to me. Sure, some
people are more naturally inclined towards the arts, but it seemed that
even those who “couldn’t even draw a straight line” were able to discover a
well of potential with enough focused practice. I found that some of the
less artistic students I went to school with, who committed time and effort
to developing the skill of creativity, proved to me that creativity is a
skill, not a God-given talent.
This book is all about developing that skill. Through these pages, I invite
you to experience these different elements of design through projects that
encourage exploration of materials and concepts. My hope is through
engaging with these projects, you’ll find your creative muscles
strengthened and ready to be expressed. The interactive nature of this book
brings you into the process of creation; through gentle guidance you’ll
work to move through any creative calcification that may have built up over
time.
CHAPTER ONE: INTENTION
The Intention section will share traditional embroidery designs from all
over the world and all through the ages, from Slavik ritual cloths to
Nigerian headdresses, from 2,000-year-old Peruvian ceremonial shawls to
19th century Iranian prayer cloths, and even outsider artists from the 20th
century like Charlie Logan. Understanding the deep history of embroidery,
outside of a purely Western lens, helps to enforce the message that
creativity and art belongs to all of us.
• EXPERIMENT and EXPLORE: Take a look into the stitches of your own family
lineage (or a chosen lineage if you don't necessarily connect with your
blood ancestry). This may look like asking family elders, grandparents or
parents, aunts and uncles, of their own memories of any embroidery within
the family, or if any embroidered heirlooms have been passed down. This
could also look like taking a deeper dive at a local library into the
textile history of your ancestral and/or chosen lineage. What imagery
stands out to you? Can you tell what kinds of stitches were used? What
areas of the cloth were embellished?
CHAPTER TWO: VISION
This is all about the WHY behind your work. I find that approaching artwork
with a desire to tell a story or manifest an intention gives us more
motivation to see the piece through and gives us a light to return to when
we get lost along the way. We’ll explore vintage embroideries and student
work to see how “non-artists” can express themselves through stitches
without complex drawing skills. This is also when we choose the imagery
we’d like to incorporate. How do we move from a description or desire in
words, to an image? Sometimes the image may come to us first--how
convenient! Other times, we may have a little trouble connecting written
words or loose thoughts to the visual realm. The exercises included in this
section are meant to help bridge that gap. While Mystical Stitches touches
on creating an intention for your work, this book serves as a guide to help
you find that vision within yourself.
• EXPERIMENT and EXPLORE: prompts for quiet contemplation, writing
suggestions like creating a personal mythology, and intuitively flipping
through books, seeing where you land (aka bibliomancy, or using books as
oracles).
CHAPTER THREE: COMPOSITION
This is where we explore choosing compositions in a way that supports your
intention; for example, a radial composition might encourage a more
holistic vision; a vertically arranged composition might encourage upward
expansion, while a more horizontal composition reads as calming and
soothing.
• EXPERIMENT and EXPLORE: Cut out solid colored / textured /shaded shapes
from pages of magazines and arrange within a circle or square. Photograph
your favorite compositions. Trace and cut up desired elements that you’d
like to include in a design, arrange and rearrange at least 12 times,
photographing each and choosing your favorite
CHAPTER FOUR: COLOR
The way color is received by the eye is deeply connected to feelings and
emotions; we are naturally drawn to or repelled by certain colors based on
how they make us feel. This section gives us a basic understanding of what
color is made of (hue, value, saturation), describes which colors are
traditionally associated with which emotions, and gives guidance for
choosing color palettes for your piece that can help reflect the deeper
meaning (while also delighting the eye in the process).
• EXPERIMENT and EXPLORE: color inside another color outline to see how the
inner color reads differently, shading with unexpected combinations using
the long and short stitch.
CHAPTER FIVE: TEXTURE
The nature of embroidery is in its highly textured surface; using just the
basic Nine stitches, we can find highly chaotic exciting textures, gentle
and soft soothing textures, and anything in between. Learn how your stitch
choice can help emphasize the various elements of your design.
• EXPERIMENT and EXPLORE: using one stitch, play with different textures:
solid spaces, stripes, spots. Describe different emotions using the same
stitch; use chain stitch (and its variations) to describe excitement, calm,
chaos, and order.
CHAPTER SIX: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now you will use these five elements (intention, vision, composition,
color, and texture) to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art made of your
deepest desires! We’ll start with a few examples from my own work and
student work, walking you through the initial sketches, why I used certain
imagery, how I planned my colors, and why I chose specific stitches. We’ll
then work with 4-7 templates of ideas to work within: a talisman for
abundance, protection, personal transformation, deepening intuition, and
channeling love. Each will include some ideas for imagery, color palettes,
and compositions to incorporate that support their vision. We’ll end with
2-3 invitations for deeper work; a jumping off point to create designs that
are entirely your own.
CHAPTER SEVEN: STITCH INDEX
Detailed instructions for all stitches used throughout, including 14 new
stitches: roumanian/bokhara, cretan stitch, herringbone stitch, padded
herringbone stitch, buillon stitch, needle weaving, couching, woven web,
wrapped stitch, overlapped blanket stitch, double chain stitch, magic chain
stitch, turkeywork, elongated knots). 
RESOURCES section