a really good book

[Note: a review copy of this book was provided to me by Lark Books. I do have a bias, though, as good friend Karen Rips is one of the authors. That said, this review is absent taint or partiality.]

I keep Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge on my nightstand. Why? Because it's the perfect book to pick up and peruse for a bit, put down, and pick up anew, each the time discovering some keen bit of illumination about how and why someone created a small art quilt.

The book recounts the work of 12 artists who made 12" x 12" works every other month, each based on a shared theme (water, shelter, illumination, for example). Though it is pleasant to ponder the art quilts, what is fascinating is each artist's exposition on how the work was created -- from thought to deed. It is this creative chronicling that is the heart of the book, and its strength.

What could have been a pedestrian we've-seen-this-before collection of images is instead an engaging narrative of starts and stops and all the permutations in between. It's a must-have for anyone interested in art quilts, or the creative process itself.

Twelve by Twelve: The International Quilt Challenge, Debra Boschert et al., Lark Crafts/Sterling Publishing, North Carolina, 2011.   ISBN # 13:978-1-60059-666-7