Friday, July 19, 2013

Book Review - Radiant Landscapes, Gloria Loughman

I am a long-time fan of Gloria Loughman's work.  I was fortunate to take a workshop with her a couple of years ago (sponsored by the Victoria Quilters' Guild).  The piece I started in that workshop was based on her first book, Luminous Landscapes.

In her latest release, Radiant Landscapes, Gloria takes a closer look at light in landscape quilts and shows you how she draws the viewer into her new work using an adaptation of her 'tile process'. She talks about how light sets the mood for the piece; the use of light in her work creates amazing depth.


This discussion of light held my interest immediately. I definitely understood its importance as I adapted a photograph to create my Looking West quilt in the workshop.  Here is the photograph my husband took and the quilt I made.  Finding a way to capture the light in the photograph was a challenge but Gloria had great suggestions and I'm very pleased with the final piece.



Looking West by Daphne Greig


A feature in all Gloria's books is superb photography. She uses landscape photographs to illustrate her text in the chapter about design. This is an excellent reference for both beginners and more experienced quilters. And the chapters on colour, dyeing and painting will help you find just the right fabrics to bring your piece to life..

Construction of the tiled areas and foreground imagery are covered in detail as are a variety of finishing techniques. The book also includes 4 projects so you can experiment with the method right away and then go on to creating your own design. 

If you are yearning to add light to your landscape quilts, this book would make an excellent addition to your library.  It is available as an e-book and as a printed version.

Publisher is C&T Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60705-631-7



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been a fan of Gloria Loughman for years, ever since I saw her quilt with the boab tree. I met Gloria for the first time last month in Yellowknife, NWT - she was teaching this class, and generously gave me a copy of this book. I cannot wait to do some work on it - I love the technique, and you're right: she creates the most amazing quilts. The book is full of useful information. I had a real sense of how she creates her magnificent art.

Daphne Greig said...

I saw Kimberley Mystique (the boab quilt) when it was first shown in Houston. One of the quilts that really 'moved' me. So it was great to finally take that workshop with her.

Christie said...

This is fantastic!