Celtic Viking And Anglo Saxon Embroidery

This book combines everything held dear to the author's heart in a single volume - embroidery, writing, artwork, history and books. Her beautifully executed creations combine myriad materials, including hand-stitched threads, glued papers, fabrics, fibres, paints and beads, and are presented here as a series of 'altered books', each representing a chapter that follows on from the last, and each exploring one of the major themes of the book, including textiles, stitches, clothing and accessories. Historical facts are ingeniously interwoven with contemporary renditions of ancient artworks, bringing to life the ancient skills of Celtic, Viking and Anglo-Saxon women, and celebrating the centuries-old tradition of embroidery in England that has served as a foundation for present-day excellence.

This latest title in the highly successful Ancient Textiles series is the first substantial monograph-length historiography of early medieval embroideries and their context within the British Isles. The book brings together and analyses for the first time all 43 embroideries believed to have been made in the British Isles and Ireland in the early medieval period. New research carried out on those embroideries that are accessible today, involving the collection of technical data, stitch analysis, observations of condition and wear-marks and microscopic photography supplements a survey of existing published and archival sources. The research has been used to write, for the first time, the ‘story’ of embroidery, including what we can learn of its producers, their techniques, and the material functions and metaphorical meanings of embroidery within early medieval Anglo-Saxon society. The author presents embroideries as evidence for the evolution of embroidery production in Anglo-Saxon society, from a community-based activity based on the extended family, to organized workshops in urban settings employing standardized skill levels and as evidence of changing material use: from small amounts of fibers produced locally for specific projects to large batches brought in from a distance and stored until needed. She demonstrate that embroideries were not simply used decoratively but to incorporate and enact different meanings within different parts of society: for example, the newly arrived Germanic settlers of the fifth century used embroidery to maintain links with their homelands and to create tribal ties and obligations. As such, the results inform discussion of embroidery contexts, use and deposition, and the significance of this form of material culture within society as well as an evaluation of the status of embroiderers within early medieval society. The results contribute significantly to our understanding of production systems in Anglo-Saxon England and Ireland.

"Blending historical facts and an absorbing account concentrating on the practical aspects of creating such a mammoth piece of art, this survey examines the mysteries behind a centuries-old artifact, the Bayeux Tapestry. Through vividly detailed illustrations impeccably true to the piece's intricately worked characters and elements, this volume offers a thoughtful envisioning of the stories of the women involved in embroidering the piece--their identities, materials, methods, organization, working conditions, and venues. Incorporating a sketchbook feel that evokes a sense of a work in process, the chronicle pieces together an extensively researched and colorful narrative that helps place the famous embroidery in a plausible context. The author's reconstruction of the final eight feet that are missing from the tapestry will be of particular interest to embroiderers."--Publisher's description.

"With a different and delightfully practical approach to a traditional and time-honored subject, Jan Messent shows you how to create portraits in stitch. There are simple instructions for shaping and padding different-angled heads, creating faces, adding features and stitching the hair and garments, as well as explorations of the most suitable fabrics, stitches, threads and embellishments to use. Within this book you will discover a host of personalities, including a mysterious white Edwardian lady, the formidable Bess of Hardwicke and a 'book-box' that opens to reveal exquisite renditions of Cinderella and Prince Charming. All of Jan's portraits are filled with character and charm, and have a timeless appeal that will enthral and excite textile artists and embroiderers alike"--Dust jacket cover.

Much of early medieval Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art is based on the display of motifs – key, interlacing, spiral and zoomorphic – in well-defined panels in simple and complex arrays. A study of the arrangement of the panels and the fine detail of the motifs indicates that the artists relied on geometric methods and principles first used by Egyptians and Greeks. This book reflects Derek Hull’s life-long interest in interpreting the exciting and exotic patterns revealed by scientific studies using light and electron microscopes. His interest in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon art started with a casual observation of an interlacing pattern on an early medieval stone cross set in a churchyard. There followed many years of exploration of art in metal, stone and vellum from all parts of the British Isles and Ireland, resulting in some fascinating discoveries. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Art reveals new and intriguing facets of these works that add to our appreciation of the beauty of the art and the skills of the artists. "This is a book for lovers of Celtic art, design and calligraphy, and will both delight and captivate... A must-have for both the cognoscenti and enthusiasts of Celtic religious art."—Cambria

A Heritage of Colour explores the techniques that can be used to create a wealth of colours from 50 plants, including many that have been in constant use as dyes for over 2000 years. Inspired by the colours on textile fragments from the Iron Age and by the achievements of early dyers, the author describes some of the dyes and methods of the past and considers how they can be adapted for use by today's dyers. The book covers all the basics of natural dyeing and explains in detail how to experiment with local plants, wherever you may live, to produce a wide range of beautiful, rich colours on textile fibres. A Heritage of Colour also includes sections on dyeing with fungi, contact printing on cloth and dyeing multi-coloured fibres and fabrics. The emphasis throughout is on environmentally-friendly methods and on the thrill of personal discovery through practical experience. Follow Jenny's blog on http://www.jennydean.co.uk/

This source book explores simple design techniques and methods of stitching Celtic imagery, taking as its inspiration illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, and stone sculpture with spirals, knots and interlacings. It includes computer-aided design and new materials such as thermoplastics.