Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art by Claire Wellesley-Smith. Published by Batsford
Simplistic pleasure can be found via the act of a stitch. This lesson is one Smith endorses within the pages of this title. Slow stitch as a term has become ever fashionable. I know myself as a tutor, the classes most sought after are those with a mindfulness edge. I hear of lunch hour art classes, small caplets of time snatched together in a pledge for a better work setting and frame of mind.
Thoughtful, provoking, reflective, connective…are all terms I deem suit this approachable book.
How can this art form work for us? Smith guides, without a lecture based approach. Simple methods, the reuse of materials, how to pair down the wealth of equipment used and suggestions for a variety of project ideas are proffered not pushed.
The creme de la creme of artistry are showcased along with Smith’s own work examples, they all fit thematically and aesthetically and do not seem to compete with each other visually.
For those lacking experience or confidence, this book can become a go to, as Smith truly makes stitching an accessible practice for all to implicate. Up and down in a line using a running stitch….now couldn’t we all give it a try?
I see this title as being one to reside with the human being of the now, the person who is burnt out by the life lived and even if they do not know it yet, need some mind space - or lets call it more accurately the spacing out with the added action of a thread and needle in ones’ hand.