My copy of Barbara Willis' Cloth Doll Artistry finally arrived in the post last week and I've been drooling over it ever since.
I admit that I am biased; I adore Barbara's work, she was one of the people to get me hooked on the whole cloth doll malarkey in the first place and I do consider her a friend and mentor. Having said that, I think that Barbara has really outdone herself with this book.
The chapter on colour is inspiring and I love the beautiful way it is presented. Having done a fine art degree, it is lovely to see someone approach colour from a slightly different angle and to do it so elegantly, as only Barbara can.
The chapter on flat dolls is so inspiring, the textures of the dolls belie their flatness and make them so appealing.
I adore the format that Barbara, Li Hertzi and Patti Culea's books have taken with the galleries of dolls made by other artists. It is because of the inspiring diversity of these galleries that I come back to books like this again and again.
I suppose I am also quite biased in my utter adoration of this book because one of my dolls is featured, Erin. I love the challenge of making dolls for books and this doll was an absolute pleasure to make. The pattern came together so well and Erin seemed (or maybe it should be seamed?) to fall together.
If you don't already own this book, you need to. Really you do.
If you live in the UK, remember that Barbara is teaching in the UK in the fall. Click here for more details. It's your opportunity to get a signed copy of Barbara's book!
