The BIGGER Library

Seldom do I go to the bigger library near here as it is in a different county and I'm not able to remove books, but as a treat I went this week with a card carrier.
While there I found some very interesting books
Sheridan The Cutting Edge in Crafts
This book is a great read for any hand crafter.
Sheridan College is a School of Crafts and Design
In the  bread part of the book many questions are posed to the varying  students and faculty about the hand craft tradition.
Such as :
The criteria of what is good...
The hard lessons of working in crafts
Hands Mind and Raw Material - Who is running the show ?
Learning to learn
Elitism in Crafts

 The meat part of the book shows handcrafts ( wood, glass, fiber, clay ) has the artist reflect on the piece and then has the teacher do a write up about the student.

All very good to read. In fact as compelling as Diana Gabaldon to me !

Another book I got out was Folk Art Primitive and Naive Art in Canada
There were many rugs in this book. Surprisingly some were pictured from the backside, I don't know if this was due to fading , they wanted to show the true colours or an oversight.

Here is a picture of my favorite rug, oh man is it full of spirit !
 Bring it ON , I want to see LIFE in work, I can't stop looking at this Beneton  Raccoon !

Other thing I noted in this book.
 Copies
The naive artists frequently copied works of greater known, professional artists. Sometimes by painting on glass, laying the glass over the work and mimicking it.
Much editing ensued. It was rarely more effective than the original. Sometimes the twists were interesting. Related to rug hooking I wonder how much verve is lost in doing the same works over and over or for that matter teaching the same things over and over ?

Portraits - I've  noticed this before in all artistic executions of the human form. Cloth presented no problem to the artist, there was form, shadowing, very well done. Move to any skin, hands, face, neck and suddenly skill was forfeited, I see this with hooking too. I wonder what is it that allows the good execution of inanimate objects but doesn't allow for the animate. Could it be we believe that is difficult and therefore it is ?

I've enjoyed reading these books a great deal.
Happy Hooking !