Transforming Fabric: Color on Fabric and Life
Fabric can be transformed by innumerable procedures. Dahl's philosophy is the more one knows, the more control there is over the artistic process. Her book is aimed at instructing surface designers: quilters, wearable art artists, painters, basketmakers, and weavers. Each of the 12 chapters is a miniworkshop. Dahl begins with necessary background on cotton, silk, and rayon, and then plunges into dyeing, painting, color washes, and spray dyeing. Nature's influence is highly regarded and, consequently, instruction includes rain patterning, leaf printing, fish painting (using the actual fish!), heliotrope printing, sponge printing, and salt effects. Stamping and compression dying follow (here is the timeless tie dye technique); heat transfer and wax patterns have full instructions. No matter what new technology evolves, hand-designed fabrics will always be exciting; this is a book for any public library's arts and crafts collections.Iva Freeman