October Book-of-the-Month: Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin

A while ago, I referred a good?friend, Debbie Parsons, to a designer that needed a furniture refinisher when we no longer offered those services.? Debbie recently contacted me since the designer wanted a repeat of a chinoiserie design done a long time ago and…would I still have the records???When I (amazingly) found the stencils, it made me a bit sad.? This was from a time when I worked alone and I remember how much time they took me: from dreaming up the design, drawing it, resizing it at Kinko’s and then painstakingly cutting it out of mylar and cleaning it up with an exacto knife.? Technology has given us faster alternatives, but seeing those precious stencils (now packaged for Debbie) made me think that we’ve lost just a bit of that historic magic that brought our beloved industry about.

That’s why?I’m going to zig instead of zag in our book choice.? This month we are recommending Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin.? I found this book on Amazon while looking?for screenprinting techniques (yum) and took a chance on it.? It teaches how to create handprinted fabrics, papers and artworks.? It’s one of the few handprinting books you will find on the market — and since?recently released,?the most?contemporary one.? She includes?the patterns and the spiral inset makes it easy to bend the book when you are following the recipes.? While I have yet to try them, they are laid out in a clean, elegant,?easy to understand manner.??I am looking forward to playing around with them!

Here are some pics:

In her?introduction, Ms. Corwin writes: “While working as a textile designer?at Jill Stuart…I would design patterns for fabrics that would then be sent to Asia to be produced.? And when those fabrics came back — thousands of yards at a time — they were nearly flawless.? And while they were beautiful, I couldn’t help but feel that something was lost in those perfectly printed textiles.? They were missing the imperfections that I am so drawn to in vintage fabric, wallpaper and stationery, those produced when printing techniques were wonkier…I have always found these imperfections charming and enjoyed how clearly they herald the touch of the human hand.”? These words resonate for me in the describing?of the?beauty?of?decorative painting:?the sheer bliss of having someone come in and — by hand — create?works of art specifically for them, their walls, their lifestyle.? I hope you enjoy?the recommendation…and anything you choose to create by hand today.