Fragmentation and Repair: for Mixed-Media and Textile Artists by Shelley Rhodes (2021)

, 28 Nov 2022

This is a great book for both amateur and professional textile and mixed-media artists. The book reads well, has great quality full-color photos and there are plenty of techniques and ideas that I'll be trying out in my artwork.

THE BOOK'S CORE
The book explores how to fragment and deconstruct mostly salvaged, recycled and reused cloth, paper and objects before repairing and reassembling them into a new artistic whole or series. This is achieved by using different techniques: manipulation, weathering, washing, soaking, burying, abrasion, staining, burning, scorching, making holes, fragmenting, reassembling, folding, deconstructing, reconstructing, repairing, and collage, among others.  Working small allows extensive experimentation and exploration before taking on large pieces of projects.The message is:
"Do not discard things that are fragmented or seemingly mundane, as they can provide inspiration for drawing and mark-making and may be included in finished work. Looking closely and embracing imperfection can lead to stimulating and visually exciting work. Allow traditional methods of repair to inspire and stimulate innovative, contemporary ways to join and reassemble. Finally, remember that everything can be altered and adjusted – if something is not working, it can be reworked, and often the results will be far more dynamic and exciting than the original." (p. 283)

Shelley Rhodes' work is strongly influenced by Japanese,  Bangladeshi and Korean textile and paper techniques, concepts and aesthetics as well as by Western quilting, patchwork and mixed media art.  

-- Japanese Boro (heavily patched and repaired clothing and bedding made through necessity in the far north of Japan and worn by poor fishermen and peasant families in the late 19th century. They're made from rags, repaired and patched with many layers stitched together using fabric scraps to patch holes and thin areas). Sakabukuro sake bags, Wabi-sabi (the aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence), the concept of Mottainai  (or using every last scrap of fabric), Momigami (the art of paper kneading, which involves the repeated scrunching, crumpling and unfolding of paper) and Washi paper printing techniques. 
-- Bangladeshi Kantha  double-sided embroideries created from worn-out saris and dhotis. 
-- Korean Jogakbo, a style of patchwork traditionally used to make wrapping cloths by sewing together geometric scraps in an irregular, improvised way, using a special seaming technique to create a flat seam, which gives the cloth the appearance of a stained-glass window.
 
Beyond her own work, Shelley Rhodes comments on other artists' artwork at length:  Beverly Ayling-Smith, Sharon Brown, Jenny Bullen, Elizabeth Couzins-Scott, Alice Fox, Matthew Harris, Debbie Lyddon, Sian Martin, Jan Miller, Sally Payne, Wen Redmond, Dorothy Tucker, and Donna Watson. Their websites or Instagram are mentioned at the end of the book.
  
 
I LOVED
I really got inspired by some of the techniques and ideas that Rhodes mentions throughout the book, as well as by seeing examples from her own and other artists' work showing these put into practice. All the 'Things to try' suggestions in the book are really inspirational, as well as other well-explained techniques and experiments that Rhodes mentions. Her creativity and dedication to her trade are amazing. The book is also great explaining how art pieces are conceived, tried out and made. Besides, Rhodes provide invaluable guidance on how to present, display and exhibit artwork.


IMPROVABLE
Some of the techniques mentioned in the book are difficult to replicate due to the need of specific tools, materials/mediums and working space that aren't ready available without expending a bit. Just an example, the Devoré paste recipe. I'd rather have this mentioned and then an alternative product mentioned as substitute.

Some of the explanations that Rhodes gives or her own or other artists' work are full of jargon and unnecessarily complicated.  
 
Although the quality of the photos is excellent, I would have loved having full page photos because the current sizing, in both my android and PC, aren't the best to enjoy the  artwork at its best.
 
KINDLE EDITION
>> On the bright side:
-- No typos on view and the edition of the book is excellent overall.- There are plenty of good quality photos, which display well by double tapping.
-- The book comes with a subject index, which is properly hyperlinked to the pages the different entries relate to.  
>> On the downside:
-- The footnotes and the hyperlinked references in the text aren't well linked and take us to an area or page that are the correct one, at least on my Kindle for Android. I guess that this changes from device to device, phone screen size to another, and whether you read the book on a smartphone, tablet or computer, but ain't sure.
--  The chapter Making Changes has two sets of 11 samples photos experimented with, which are shown before and after the experimentation. However, they aren't displayed side by side, and, even worse, the samples aren't numbered on the photo.
 
IN SHORT
A great inspirational well-edited art book that has given me plenty of tools and ideas to put into practice in my own artwork, which is more than what I get for most mixed-media art books. 

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