Quilt and Artist Catalogs - Examine the Titles and Subtitles

As you brainstorm your own quilt or artist catalog, take a moment to consider the following book titles and subtitles. Notice how the artist or quilter is positioned by the sub-title. Some of the subtitles describe the artist's studio, geographic location, or type of artwork.

• Faith Ringgold: A View From the Studio
• Dancing at the Louve: Faith Ringgold's French Collection and Other Story Quilts
• Nancy Crow: Quilts and Influences
  
• My Quilts and Me: The Diary of an American Quilter by Nora Ezell
• Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee's Bend Quilts and Beyond
• Velda Newman: A Painter's Approach to Quilt Design
• Michael James: Art and Inspirations
• Paula Nadelstern's Kaleidoscope Quilts: An Artist's Journey Continues
• Martha Skelton: Master Quilter of Mississippi
  
• Material Pleasures: A Biography of Maxine Teele, Iowa Quilter
  
• Serizawa: Master of Japanese Textile Design
• Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles
• Mayko's Story: A Hmong Textile Artist in California
• Matisse, His Art and His Textiles
• The Woman with the Artistic Brush: A Life History of Yoruba Batik Artist Nike Davies
• Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works
  
• Martha Schafer, American Quilt Maker
• Sew to Speak: The Fabric Art of Mary Milne
• Martha Mitchell of Possum Walk Road: Texas Quiltmaker
  
• Georgina Von Etzdorf: Sensuality, Art and Fabric
  

How will you position your book's title and subtitle? Enjoy!

The Art of My Life by David Cassidy

Here is California artist David Cassidy's "The Art of My Life" available on Blurb.com. Click on the link here and have a look at the preview. This is an elaborate, 90 page full-color catalog. I love his affirmative declaration to document his own art history! Enjoy!

The French Collection Part I by Faith Ringgold

I have been a fan of Faith Ringgold's quilts for more than 20 years. As a young quilter, I was excited and very impressed to see that Ms. Ringgold had her own "press" - B Mow Press - Being My Own Woman Press.

This is a 40 page, soft cover art catalog titled "The French Collection Part 1". Black and white interior. The components of this catalog are:

• Title page
• Table of contents
• Dedication - great photos of her mom, Willi Posey
• Acknowledgements page
• Essay by Michele Wallace (3.5 pages)
  
• Essay by Moria Roth (2.5 pages)
• Section on the French Collection series of quilts - including 8 full-page photos of quilts from the series - and introductory essay about the series
• Section on the Change: Faith Ringgold's Over 10o Pound Weight Loss Performance Story Quilt - including full-page photo of the quilt.
  

This art catalog was published in 1992. I suspect I've wanted to self-publish my own artwork since seeing that Ms. Ringgold demonstrated it was doable! Take time to think about the theme you'd like for your catalog. Enjoy!

The Publish Your Quilts posts will start on March 26 - do join!

So excited! I'm looking forward to sharing with you actionable steps to self-publish your own quilt or art catalog. I can't wait to read what you "speak" through your own catalog!

It's countdown time - the blog posts with each of the steps will start on Monday, March 26. You can follow the posts here by Following or adding your email to the list on the right-hand column.

I'm hoping to get at least 30 Followers! Do let others know!

Thank you! Kyra

Update: There is also a workbook that has all the steps we'll cover in the blog + a little more available on Amazon. I used the same method of publishing the workbook that we'll cover for your quilt catalog!

The Studio Quilt series - affordable art catalogs

Are you familiar with the monograph series by Sandra Sider? These full-color, 7 x 10 inches quilt catalogs are 34 pages long. Each focuses on one art quilter and includes info about the artist and more than 20 photos of their work. Each was printed using CreateSpace and retails for an affordable $11. The titles in the series include:

1. The Studio Quilt, no. 1: Ludmila Aristova
2. The Studio Quilt, no. 2: Jeannette DeNicolis Meyer
3. The Studio Quilt, no. 3: Linda Colsh
4. The Studio Quilt, no. 4: Barbara W. Watler
5. The Studio Quilt, no. 5: Marianne R. Williamson
6. The Studio Quilt: The State of the Art .... this one has 56 pages and retails for $15.
   

What I love about this series is that one gets introduced to quilters who you may not ever meet in person. The artwork is wonderful! Each catalog is quite affordable. Click on one of the books and use the "Look Inside" feature to see how simple the page layout is. You can also incorporate a simple layout in your art catalog!

I can see a guild using print-on-demand to create a catalog of an annual show - or series of guild shows. Or a quilter who also does dollmaking might have one catalog on her quilts and another on her dolls. Can you see yourself creating such a catalog? Do post a comment and share your thoughts. Enjoy!

Pioneering Quilt Artists, 1960-1980

Do you have quilt history research that you'd like to share with a wider audience? Sandra Sider used CreateSpace to publish "Pioneering Quilt Artists, 1960 - 1980: A New Direction in American Art." You can do this, too!

The Lord's Supper Pattern Book: Imagining Harriet Powers' Lost Bible Story Quilt

Technology can be wondrous! I've enjoyed self-publishing for the last few years. I've wanted to try and use print-on-demand to publish a full-color interior book.

Here is "The Lord's Supper Pattern Book" that includes a pattern for 12 blocks. You can enlarge the blocks to match the size you want to make a wall-hanging or bed quilt.

I had a great time considering different Bible verses to use and trying to consider what Mrs. Harriet Powers would have selected. If you know me, you know I can't draw! I worked with Elyse Whittaker-Paek, who took my stick drawings and research to draw the blocks. Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi created the quilt seen on the book cover.

Hope you enjoy!

The Quilt That Wouldn't Quit - CreateSpace

Createspace is the self-publishing arm for Amazon. Just today I saw this 30-page illustrated children's book titled "The Quilt That Wouldn't Quilt" by Cynthia Gibson and illustrated by Oklahoma graphic artist Kiamichi Goodbear. According to one source: "This is a story of courage, prayer, and the faith of one young girl who stopped the tribal wars of her country Kenya, Africa with her amazing quilt." This paperback book is $12.95 and published by CreateSpace. Enjoy.

Dolores A. Hinson - A Bed for Dolly published 1970

Self-publishing in quilting is not new. I recently became acquainted with the quilt history articles by Dolores A. Hinson. She was prolific! She wrote for Nimble Needle Treasures, Stitch 'n Sew Quilts, and had a column called "Quilter's Catalog" in Popular Needlework magazine.

Mrs. Hinson published "D'Ann Originals" - a series of quilt patterns, one pattern per 6 - 8 stapled pages - under Almy Publications. She also published "A Bed for Dolly", another from Almy Publications in 1970. "A Bed for Dolly" is a 46 page pattern book with her own hand-drawn illustrations which she dedicated to "Karyn." The chapters included:

• Piecing a Quilt for Dolly
• Embroidering a Quilt for Dolly
• Appliqueing a Quilt for Dolly
• A Crewelwork Spread for Dolly
• Embroidering a Sheet and Pillowcase for Dolly
• Making a Mattress and Pillowcase for Dolly
• Plans for Dolly's Bed
• A Sampler for You
  

I wish I had met her! I hope one of the quilt museum libraries does include a file on the articles and booklets Mrs. Hinson published over the years! If you know where such a collection is, do please leave a note here on the blog for others to enjoy her work. I'd like to thank the quilt historian who loaned me such a file recently - I'm off to return it now. Enjoy!

This I Accomplish - New book on Harriet Powers

Wanted to share with you my new book "This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces." What an adventure doing the research on this book. It is a print-on-demand 180-page non-fiction resource on one of American's most beloved quilters - Harriet Powers (1837-1910). Enjoy!

Portraits for Fabric Lovers by Marilyn Belford

In 2006 Marilyn Belford published "Portraits for Fabric Lovers" on Lulu.com. This 95-page, 8.5" x 11" soft cover book has full-color inside. It retails for $32.68 (yes, a crazy, odd price point). The book has thirteen chapters:

• Introduction
• Choosing Your Photograph
• Posterizing Your Photograph (great step-by-step)
• Tracing and Translation to Muslin
• Line Drawings
• Fabric Choices
• Fusible Web
• Constructing the Face
• Introduction to Threadpainting
• Threadpainting
• Finishing the Quilt
• Gallery of Quilts
• About the Author

Seems like a great instruction book.

Jan 2012 update: This book is no longer available on Lulu.com. You might find a copy on Amazon. Click here. Enjoy!