I have several great art books on my list. What are some of your favorites? What books are you IN?

First on the list, Exhibition 36: Mixed Media Demonstrations + Explorations by Susan Tuttle. I just discovered this book and promptly added it to my wish list. Seth at Altered Page mentioned her current giveaway for her new book. Of course her book fits into the style of all the other books already on my list and it sounds really cool. A virtual tour and interview of 36 different artists! From the great reviews on Amazon I am thinking that this book will be great for my classroom too. I always like to show my students artists that are LIVING and making current work that is attainable. The old, dead men that did big bronze sculptures and oil paintings seem too far from their world. So Susan is offering a giveaway for her book, you just need to Mention her book and giveaway in a blog post. So here we are…

Next up is Mixed-Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration & Techniques by Cate Coulacos Prato

This one looks good and has artwork from many artists that I know from Artfest and online blogs that I follow. Actually, this is mostly how I find books that I want usually. If someone mentions their book online, or one in which they have work, then I am interested and curious enough to put it on my wishlist. I think I saw this on Kelly Rae’s blog. Most of my work is in the realm of self-portrait so I am curious how other people approach the topic.

This one I saw in the fabric store and knew it needed to be in my collection… But since it is December, I am banned from buying things for myself. Embellished Mini-Quilts: Creative Little Works of Art by Jamie Fingal. I probably should only have fabric related books on my list anyways, since I am trying to limit myself to fabric work. I need to purge all my paper supplies, since I just don’t work in that medium any more. This book has many projects that fit my style and others that don’t but that is typical. But I would love to stretch myself into some new fabric techniques, this seems like the perfect book to do it with. Jamie has a great website and makes journal quilts, abstracts and portraits that are whimsical and wonderful.