Inspired to Design: Seven Steps to Successful Art Quilts

May 13

Awaken your inner artist by using Elizabeth’s 7-step guide to designing successful art quilts. She discusses finding sources for inspiration, working with color and value, creating designs, and constructing your quilts. Hands-on exercises will guide you through the process. Quilters at any level will spark their creativity and become better quilt designers by using this new book.

― Quilter’s Digest

June 13

Elizabeth grew up in York, England, which is described in the information about the author as a dark Northern city, a statement most of us Northerners would take exception to! However, the interaction of light and time on buildings influenced her first quilts and the contrast between dark and light continues to influence and inspire her. The book is divided into seven instructional steps with hands-on exercises to guide you step-by-step through the process of designing an art quilt. It includes in-depth sections on composing a deisgn, working with colour and value, and is suitable for art quilters of all levels.

― Fabrications

June 13

There are a lot of design books for art quilters out there, but this one really stands out. Master art quilter Elizabeth Barton takes you in seven steps from finding inspiration and making simple sketches to constructing the actual quilt. Along the way there is a lot of information about elements such as structure, perspective, focal points, value and color. Drawings, diagrams and lots of photos of her own award-winning quilts are used to illustrate the design elements. The book is easy to read and has many references to the way famous artists have used the elements described. Over 20 design exercises are added, each easy to do with basic supplies. Highly recommended.

― Down Under Quilts

July 13

Elizabeth’s evocative and captivating art quilts are always instantly recognizable as hers. She shares her design process and the steps that she goes through to create her abstract translations of sketches or photographs, and also the techniques she uses to construct the actual quilts. The exercises provided here are valuable tools for seeing your quilts in a different way and understanding more completely how to apply the principles of art to your work as you are developing your designs. Images of Elizabeth’s art works inspire throughout, and make the reader wish for more.

― Machine Quilting Unlimited

June 13

Are you afraid to get started designing your own art quilt? Then this is the book you need. Not everyone is going to love Elizabeth Barton’s methods, especially those people who like to work “intuitively”, but if you are a planner and don’t know how to plan one of these masterpieces, you are going to LOVE this book! ??Even if you think planning isn’t for you, I challenge you to give this a try. The full title of the book is Inspired to Design: Seven steps to successful art quilts. Elizabeth Barton takes you through these steps, from gathering up your ideas and inspirations, to making the basic decisions about composition by chosing the structure, focal point(s), colors and values, evaluating those choices, and putting them all together. Exercises feature prominently throughout the book. More time spent on thinking through design choices will make the time spent on construction more worthwhile! ??I have become convinced by Elizabeth about the importance of a design wall and an inspiration notebook.

― mixed-media-artist.com

Elizabeth Barton is a well-known fiber artist who travels, teaches, and makes art quilts. Reflected light, translucency and the effects of time are recurring themes in her work, which is often influenced by her childhood in York, England. Elizabeth lives in Athens, GA. www.elizabethbarton.blogspot.com