i've been perusing jan messent's designing for embroidery from ancient and primitive sources, which i just picked up from the library. it's so fascinating i even let my coffee get cold! it was published in 1976 and tho' some of the embroideries and crochet look very 70s, i'm mesmerized anyway. we're a bit enamored of the 70s around here anyway, so it kind of fits.
for a person who thinks almost constantly about inspiration, it's an absolute goldmine - full of ideas on sources of inspiration and how to use them. i scanned a few pages, just of the parts in which messent uses the white horse of uffington, an ancient ground mark in berkshire, england, still visible from the air.
she shows various ways of using the basic graphic outline of the horse to create very different things....a circle, a repeat, reverses, blocks, color, texture. it has opened my eyes to a whole host of new possibilities.
i'll be on the lookout for this book as i comb the flea markets, but for now, i'm grateful for well-stocked libraries and a service that delivers whatever i want to my local library for pickup, just within a couple of days.
where will your inspiration take you today?
