Forage & Stitch: Using Natural Materials in Textile Art
By Caroline Hyde-Brown
Paperback  |  128 pages
 
Techniques and projects for textiles that celebrate and use natural objects. Find a wealth of instruction and inspiration on how to incorporate naturally foraged materials into your artwork. In the process, discover a range of textile techniques suitable for all levels and abilities to complement your design. These include hand and machine stitching, solar dyeing, felting, hapa-zome and more.
 
Using natural materials in textile art is way of connecting a place directly with its artistic representation, but it also makes the artist tap into and observe the true rhythms of the natural world: the seasons, the weather and time. Incorporating consciously foraged goods in art gently forces you to slow down, to take note of each season's bounty, and kindle or rekindle an awareness that we are all part of one big eco-system. Each technique forms one of many pillars of Caroline's large body of work, and she has carefully created eight projects, each introduced after a technique, so you can put your new skills into practice. Throughout, Caroline stresses the importance of taking your time and working organically, letting your foraged goods guide your design. This is an approach that not only encourages an intuitive creative process, but develops a more mindful, positive experience for the artist too. Interwoven with practical guidance and projects are Caroline's stunning gallery of works, offering inspirational examples of how to take your work farther, and simultaneously demonstrating nature's abundance and variety.
 
This is an enriching book on textile and natural art that celebrates the maker's relationship with art and the natural world.
 
About the Author
 
Caroline originally trained in Fashion Design at Solent University, and for several years designed clothes and scarves for an international textile agent. However, in 1992 she decided to return to her first love embroidery and went to study Textile Design at Nottingham Trent University. In 1995 she started her own business designing and producing embroidered fabrics for Liberty, including pictures, cushions, lighting and wall hangings. She also produced three one-off collections for John Lewis.
 
Whilst exhibiting at the Country Living Spring Fair in 2002, the Japanese store, Takashimaya, selected Caroline and several other British makers to take part in a national craft promotion, travelling and working across the East and West Coast of Japan. Caroline stayed in Japan to research the art of Hapa-Zome, Ikebana, and the ethos Wabi Sabi. In 2018 Caroline, trained as an Arts Award Adviser and in Mental Health First Aid, to further her knowledge on mindfulness and well-being. Caroline has always maintained a strong sense of global responsibility.
 
She uses only natural fabrics, her dyes are extracted from plants grown in her garden and/or in her local countryside, and she invests a substantial amount of time and research into sourcing her materials. The art Caroline produces is inspired by the cycle of nature, and simplicity and authenticity are key.
 
Caroline lives in Norfolk, UK, with her husband, daughter and pet dog.
 
Website: www.theartofembroidery.co.uk
Instagram: @artistcaz
Facebook: @artistcaz