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Record, Map and Capture in Textile Art: Data Visualization In Cloth And Stitch
A guide to the increasingly popular trend of transforming data into beautiful textile art.
This stylish and fascinating book from up-and-coming textile art star Jordan Cunliffe shows how raw data, maps and personal experience can be distilled into textile art, producing mesmerising works with deep meaning, whether obvious or hidden, and concentrating on the smaller, quieter moments that make up our lives.
Jordan explores the use of stitched data to tell stories, pinpoint special places on maps, convey secret messages, and record personal detail, for example daily walks or nightly sleep patterns. Her finished work is beautifully precise, including a long strip of fabric containing a stitch for every day of her life, a reimagination of a favourite childhood book in unreadable code, and pleasing beaded representations of secretly important documents.
Almost any aspect of your life can be represented in graph or map form, and here are many practical ways to achieve this, whether it's recording the colours of flowers on a favourite path to create your own unique palette, or encoding your most private thoughts in beaded morse code. This visually stunning book explores a new way of working and will help you explore a fresh new angle in your embroidery and textile work.
Illustrated with a wealth of examples of the author's own work as well as pieces from other data-focused artists from around the world, Record, Map and Capture in Textile Art proves beyond all doubt that data can be beautiful, and can inspire stunning works of stitched art.
This stylish and fascinating book from up-and-coming textile art star Jordan Cunliffe shows how raw data, maps and personal experience can be distilled into textile art, producing mesmerising works with deep meaning, whether obvious or hidden, and concentrating on the smaller, quieter moments that make up our lives.
Jordan explores the use of stitched data to tell stories, pinpoint special places on maps, convey secret messages, and record personal detail, for example daily walks or nightly sleep patterns. Her finished work is beautifully precise, including a long strip of fabric containing a stitch for every day of her life, a reimagination of a favourite childhood book in unreadable code, and pleasing beaded representations of secretly important documents.
Almost any aspect of your life can be represented in graph or map form, and here are many practical ways to achieve this, whether it's recording the colours of flowers on a favourite path to create your own unique palette, or encoding your most private thoughts in beaded morse code. This visually stunning book explores a new way of working and will help you explore a fresh new angle in your embroidery and textile work.
Illustrated with a wealth of examples of the author's own work as well as pieces from other data-focused artists from around the world, Record, Map and Capture in Textile Art proves beyond all doubt that data can be beautiful, and can inspire stunning works of stitched art.
- GenresArtReferenceNonfiction
128 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2022
4 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2022
I can't remember when I first came across Jordan's work on Instagram but I do remember I was immediately drawn to it, even though it's very different from my own embroidery practice. The execution of her art, very organised and structured, speaks to my core self. It's soothing in a way.
Data visualization is quite a subject to wrap your head around but she approaches the topic in a light and understandable way with each chapter advancing in difficulty and addressing a different type of data collecting and visualization with practical examples. Reading more about her own thought process was especially interesting!
It's funny, I've never heard Jordan speak but reading this book I heard a very clear and calm voice in my head as if she was reading it to me. The same soothing effect as her textile art.
With her writing about her own work and that of others, she encourages you to trial and error with a new concept instead of teaching you a new skill. There are no projects to copy and the nudges she gives you to DIY really require your own input. It has given me multiple ideas for projects and how I can use the materials I love using, beads and goldwork wires, in a storytelling way.
Oh, and did I mention that the cover is incredibly soft?!
- - -
On @tulipandthread I document an embroidered doodle per read book this year - for this one it's a running stitch patch
Data visualization is quite a subject to wrap your head around but she approaches the topic in a light and understandable way with each chapter advancing in difficulty and addressing a different type of data collecting and visualization with practical examples. Reading more about her own thought process was especially interesting!
It's funny, I've never heard Jordan speak but reading this book I heard a very clear and calm voice in my head as if she was reading it to me. The same soothing effect as her textile art.
With her writing about her own work and that of others, she encourages you to trial and error with a new concept instead of teaching you a new skill. There are no projects to copy and the nudges she gives you to DIY really require your own input. It has given me multiple ideas for projects and how I can use the materials I love using, beads and goldwork wires, in a storytelling way.
Oh, and did I mention that the cover is incredibly soft?!
- - -
On @tulipandthread I document an embroidered doodle per read book this year - for this one it's a running stitch patch
February 6, 2023
I've been thinking about doing more projects with data and this was interesting fodder for the part of my brain dwelling on that. Makes me want to make so I think it's overall successful. I think I was expecting more content than pictures, hence the 4/5.
December 30, 2024
A thoughtful and intimate exploration of data-led craft. Cunliffe’s practice is accessible and inspiring, with creative prompts to help you bring your personal data to life. I loved this mindful and refreshing read.
October 7, 2022
I read this book as soon as it arrived, and I know I'll refer back to it often. It really speaks to my love of long term projects and of tracking data.
October 25, 2022
A beautiful book, from construction (as always with Batsford) to content. Really inspiring and thought provoking and good insight into technique, purpose and case studies. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews