The title gives away the inside story - there is no cover story to confuse here. Campbell is an artist herself practicing within this field, she has become a brand and was working in tandem with her sister, until her sad early death. She is a professional, a key example of a designer who has made her artistic practice work as a sustainable career. She has written books before and with all her experience and back-knowledge in the field, a publication with matter is proffered.
Many working in Textiles or Mixed Media will have dabbled painting on fabric previously, yet may lack an understanding or idea range. As the author, she takes us through fifteen chapters, each mainly discussing a new method or tool; i.e. lets get to the basics and reveal our inner child - potato printing anyone? It can get rather pretty, not simply a Childs loving mess! I particularly enjoyed her attention to detail, for example a whole chapter revolving around Masking Tape. By the name, we may assume this is an instruction manual chapter on how to mark off the fabric in some mundane way - be surprised at how this humble tool can become a pattern maker.
Her patterns also offer a wide choice of developmental uses - not a fabric masterpiece painting to simply look at or hang on a wall, no not a table cloth or napkin….we could create our own clothing using the fabric we print.
Via Sarahs own website, we also observe how a successful pattern designer turns her hand to producing items as gifts….her designs are reproduced on a choice of surfaces; scarves, art dolls, cushions….so we get an understanding of how our own masterpieces could be used in the future - given that we begin making the raw work!
This book is filled with a gallery of her work throughout, so plenty of visual inspiration to reboot our enthusiasm. It is also a great learning guide for those studying this area, such as school and university students alike.