Good Reads - Print and Pattern Geometric

Cover design by &Smith www.andsmithdesign.com

I'd like to start a new feature at Badskirt called Good Reads. My bookshelf tab is a wee bit out of date and I'd like to show you the books that I've recently read and loved. These will be books that I've bought and paid for or borrowed from friends rather than the merry-go-round of blog-hop books. Genuine, good stuff. I should note that I'm an Amazon affiliate and I earn the faintest amount of money from purchases made by my links. That money all goes back into my crafting and more good stuff for this blog. Legally though, I'm obligated to tell you that. Honestly I don't care where you buy the books from, if you can get them cheaper or closer to home or borrow them from the library, by all means go for it!  My Good Reads will all be books that I think are top notch. I'm pretty sure you'll love them.

Ok with that out of the way, I want to start with Print and Pattern Geometric, a collection of one hundred and one top geometric surface and textile artists curated by Bowie Style of the Print and Pattern blog. I popped into Asia Books in Bangkok thinking I'd find some Japanese or Thai quilting books. Immediately Print and Pattern Geometric caught my eye. All of the copies were sealed in cellophane, so I couldn't open it up and flip through. My gut reaction though was the improv-style triangular letters on the cover were certainly perfect for modern quilting.

Regardless of what was behind the cellophane, I thought I probably needed the book. This isn't the usual reaction I have in bookstores. Our future plans of living in a caravan are both weight and space restricted; a book has to be exceptionally good to come home with me.

I wandered a bit more through the store looking for the quilting books, when a second display of these books caught my eye. This time, one was open. I flipped through the pages and quickly made my way to the register. I try to avoid superlatives, but this is frankly the most inspirational book that I've seen for modern geometric design in ages, and I feel it's a must read for all modern creatives. Actually it's more of a look-at-book than a reading book. Marie Perkins, aka Bowie Style, has hand selected one hundred and one artists whose work features geometric elements like squares, stripes, circles and scribbles. Each artist has a two to four page spread which showcases their geometric work either in flat print or as surface design on textiles, stationary or home goods. Eye candy out the wazoo!

Amazon's listing lets you look inside the book to see more of the work, but here are four that my book randomly opened up to when I had my camera in hand. Each spread includes a description of the artist and their work, along with notes about their design heroes. The artists' websites are included; and in the last day or two, I've been getting lost in a clickhole of beautiful work.

Bren Talavera, www.brentalavera.com

Kate Whitly, littlethingsstudio.com

Melanie Mikecz www.mm-illustration.com

Jazzberry Blue, www.jazzberryblue.com

I would class this book as outstanding. It's a not a rating that I often give to anything. I'm usually quite critical and find fault. This, however, is simply one of the best compendiums for geometric pattern design that I've ever seen.  Although this is a graphic design book, not a quilting reference, I feel it will undoubtedly lift my quilting game. It will provide endless palette inspiration, both soft and bold. It also lets me consider shapes, form and composition through the eyes of many artists. It's printed on a nice gloss paper, so when you tire of the book, you could cut it apart and have some beautiful small artwork to decorate your creative space. I suspect it will be a very long time though before I tire of this gem.

In my world, Print and Pattern Geometric is one very good read. I think you might like it too.

The details:
Published 2015, London UK
Laurence King Publishing
Marie Perkins, Bowie Style
ISBN: 978-1-78067-414-8