Creativity

Expressive Sketchbooks shares a host of creative ideas and prompts, tools and techniques, methods for working around obstacles and barriers, and tons of visual inspiration to help you grow in your sketchbooking practice. An expressive sketchbook is a place for you to explore, express, and enjoy your own innate creativity on your own terms. It is a safe playground for the imagination—a place to mess about, play, and experiment—and to gain confidence in your abilities as you develop your skills.Expressive Sketchbooks offers techniques and creative exercises that incorporate mark making, watercolor, mixed media, collage, words and text, and more. It unpacks some of the obstacles and barriers that you may face along the way and offers wisdom and encouragement to help you decide why and how to start your sketchbook and how to develop and expand your artistic practice. This book is packed with ideas and exercises, including:Exploratory drawing exercisesHow to utilize color in your sketchbookHow to create dynamic and varied sketchbook pagesHow to find inspiration in nature and in your everyday lifeWays to mix media and art suppliesWays to kickstart your creativityHow to find and develop a process that feels personal to youThrough this book, you'll find out what lights you up, what makes you curious and fascinated, and what makes you expansive. Discover how to magnify your creativity and enliven your art skills by using an expressive sketchbook as your daily companion.

Featuring more than 600 sketches depicting a diverse assortment of animals drawn in classic cartoon styles, Draw Like an Artist: 100 Cartoon Animals is a must-have drawing and visual reference book. For student and aspiring artists, illustrators, character designers, and more, this modern step-by-step drawing guidebook demonstrates fundamental art concepts like proportion and anatomy as you learn to draw a wide array of cartoon-style animals and their poses and expressions, all shown from a variety of perspectives. Each set of illustrations takes you from beginning sketch lines to a finished drawing. Artist and author Keilidh Bradley's expert drawing technique will make this a go-to sourcebook for cartoonists, artists, and designers for years to come.Draw Like an Artist: 100 Cartoon Animals is a library essential for any artist interested in learning the fundamental techniques for drawing animals in classic cartoon styles. The books in the Draw Like an Artist series are richly illustrated visual references for learning how to draw classic subjects through hundreds of step-by-step images created by expert artists and illustrators.

Fresh, artistic and cheeky designs for a new generation of creative florists.Bold, modern and more than a little bit cheeky, Flower Porn ditches the traditional floral bouquets for designer arrangements that you can recreate at home. Kai Kaimins, founder of East London florist My Lady Garden, shows you how to fill your home or office with eye-catching, Instagram-worthy arrangements.By following her flower recipes, you'll unlock the secrets of colour theory and get up close and personal with a huge array of blooms, season by season. Complete with an essential chapter on floristry techniques, this book will show you how to choose the best flowers for each arrangement, and prepare each stem to make sure that your bold creations will last.Float into the pages of this flirty flower book to explore: - Four chapters of flower arrangements are arranged by season, with each project presented as a recipe, complete with a food-related heading.- A preliminary chapter will cover the key techniques and processes readers will need to create each flower recipe.- Featuring vivid photography and modern layouts that capture Kai's style and the My Lady Garden aesthetic.There's nothing quite like a bouquet of flowers, and there is absolutely nothing at all like the bouquets, arrangements and stunning displays in Flower Porn to bring beauty to a room.A must-have addition to the library of every flower-arranger - whether you're discovering the art form for the first time, or already a professional florist looking for new ideas for the business, Flower Porn has something for everyone to love.

Tunisian Crochet Stitch Dictionary is an exceptional work by Anna Nikipirowicz. Published in 2023, this book is a must-have for crochet enthusiasts and hobbyists. It offers a comprehensive guide to Tunisian crochet stitches, providing readers with the knowledge and skills to create beautiful and intricate crochet designs. Nikipirowicz, a renowned author in the genre, showcases her expertise and passion for crochet in this book. The book is published by Search Press Ltd, a respected publisher known for its high-quality craft books. Written in clear and accessible English, Tunisian Crochet Stitch Dictionary is an invaluable resource for both beginners and experienced crocheters.

By writing just one sentence a day in this illustrated journal, you can collect your thoughts year after year and create a beautiful keepsake to treasure forever.Featuring gorgeous textile patterns, this journal offers a simple way to capture daily thoughts and turn them into a precious time capsule of the next five years. Turn to the day’s date and respond to the writing prompt. Then see how your answers change year after year. Questions include:• Write the first sentence of your autobiography• What’s the next book you want to read?• What is the most honest thing you’ve said today?• What’s your favorite brunch food?This unique and beautiful new version of our phenomenally successful Q&A a Day pairs the original prompts with stunning patterns from a beloved textile designer.

"Quilt experts and best-selling authors, Pam and Nicky Lintott have chosen their favourite designs from their back catalogue of jelly roll books to create this exciting, bumper collection of 25 quick and easy jelly roll quilt patterns. The Lintotts have been designing jelly roll quilt patterns since these popular pre-cut fabric bundles were launched back in 2007 and the quilts in this collection are their very favourites chosen from their previous 13 quilt books."--Provided by publisher.

Immerse yourself in an underworld adventure with 26 vibrant and fun tiny sea creatures to crochet.

This accessible book is a practical introduction to the technique, with projects to try and ideas for your own designs. Master brioche knitting and create textured, reversible knitted fabrics. Whether youΓÇÖre a new knitter expanding your skillset or an experienced knitter honing your technical ability, brioche knitting is an essential technique to add to your repertoire. Each single row involves two passes of the needles, knitting half of the stitches and slipping half of the stitches each time, which is very different to most other knitting techniques. Projects can be created in a single colour or by using two contrasting colours, with increase and decrease stitches creating texture and movement on the surface of the fabric. Includes 255 colour images of which 36 are knitting charts plus three two-colour brioche patterns to practise the technique.

Stitch your way to a better day!The 30 cross-stitch designs in Gail Bussi's signature chalk art, hand-lettering style, will encourage mindful, relaxing stitching and are easy enough for beginners. The patterns are divided into sections to Inspire, Create, or Connect, and will give you positive thoughts for many occasions. Finished pieces are perfect for sharing your hopes and wishes for others, or to keep to remind yourself of your personal aspirations. As you stitch the meaningful sayings, let the words as well as the simple movements inspire you. Ready to stitch your own favorite mantra? Use alphabets provided to design your own pieces. Finish your pieces as small pillows, hangings, framed wall art, book covers, or however you envision. Each project includes chart, finished photo, materials list, and full instructions.

"Strands of Joy features 20 versatile colorwork patterns for challenging and relaxing knitting, from Finnish knitwear designer Anna Johanna and Nordic knitting experts Laine. No hobby is more mindful than knitting. In strange times, one can be endlessly grateful for the gentle rustle of needles, soft wool sliding between fingers, the calming effect of following a pattern - and the reward of a handmade creation. For this beautiful book, Anna Johanna's background in math has informed her in creating 20 complex and unique colorwork patterns, with designs that evoke Scandinavian scenes and whimsical motifs. The projects include sweaters and cardigans in up to 12 sizes, as well as an elegant dress, a warming hat and a kid's pullover. Each comprehensive pattern is seamlessly worked top down using circular needles, with extra resources and support available on the Laine website. With stunning photography and styling evokes the cozy Nordic lifestyle and slow living, Strands of Joy is a knitting book to bring calm and color to your life. Cast on a mindless two-color project or let your mind find peace in more complicated knits that require you to stay focused. Knitting is more than just knit, knit, purl. It is a feeling"--

Create 30 simple sewing projects for youngsters, using recycled garments.

Textile artist Alice Fox shows how to work with found, foraged, gathered and grown materials to create fabulous textile pieces that are inspired by, and made from, nature. She encourages crafters to be open minded and experimental, using local (and sometimes) unconventional materials, working with the seasons and learning what materials are available at different times of year to ground artists in natural cycles and integrate creative activity with a strong sense of place and character.

The world's best creature designers and concept artists provide a groundbreaking and unique insight into their creative processes and practices.

New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting by Robert Zeller offers a sweeping exposition of both historical Surrealism and its legacy in the world of contemporary art. It demonstrates the many ways in which the most significant art movement of the last century continues to be relevant today, featuring an international selection of contemporary artists whose compositions and studio practice reveal its influence. There are many modalities of historical Surrealism that still maintain contemporary currency: presenting the familiar as unfamiliar and uncanny, the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated imagery, the use of absurdity to critique political or social issues, and the use of erotic imagery in an irrational, non-linear context. Not all the artists brought together in this book self-identify as Surrealist, per se, but each uses some variation of Surrealism in a personal manner. The book begins with a study of the origins, leadership, participating artists, and major milestones of historical Surrealism. Zeller chronicles the movement starting at the end of World War I and the birth of Dada. The most important players and events emerge throughout the timeline of events-including World War II, and such notable artists as Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, and many others-up until the death of its leader Andre Breton in 1966. Zeller then explores how elements of New Surrealism are being put into practice in the contemporary art world. Section Two offers a survey of 29 contemporary artists who engage in New Surrealism's seemingly unlimited variations of the movement's original themes, including Rosa Loy, Glenn Brown, and Arghavan Khosravi. Section Three features 14 artists, including important contemporary artists such as Inka Essenhigh, Ginny Casey and Anna Weyant, who speak to Surrealism's influence on their studio practice, detailing in their own words how they create a composition from start to finish.

When you want a few minutes of amusing creativity, Sweet & Creepy Coloring offers illustrator Kitty Willow's unique black-and-white drawings of spooky scenes and characters, including bats, ghosts, cats, and mushrooms, for you to color.

Create 15 stunning tote bag designs using two reusable templates.The 15 tote bag designs are created using the templates contained within the book. Using two templates, you can create 15 very different bags; each made using different techniques, pockets, straps and fastenings, to create 15 very different results. The templates can also be used for your own further design variations, as you mix and match the techniques covered within the book; Debbie gives advice on how to adapt and create your own unique designs. Each project in the book is explained using Debbie’s trademark style and step-by-step photography, and there is also a comprehensive techniques section and a guide to using the templates.