Connected Cloth

The idea of group projects in textile art is nothing new – people have been coming together to sew for centuries, and quilters often work together on projects such as ‘story quilts’. But recently the trend has increased in popularity – textile artists regularly share ideas and work sociably, from simple one-to-one collaborations with friends to ambitious community projects and ongoing textile-art groups.

Well-known textile artists Cas Holmes and Anne Kelly have been involved in a very productive collaboration for several years, and also devise and run community textile-art events and gallery exhibitions, both together and separately. In this fascinating book, they present an invaluable guide to working collaboratively, in both small and large groups. They provide useful information on setting up groups, finding venues, establishing ground rules and working methods, and staging group exhibitions, plus a wealth of practical information for ways to work together – working on one project at the same time, swapping pieces between different people, creating different variations on a theme, developing work by means of joint sketchbooks, and even working postally or online. They also demonstrate how working with other artists can have a positive influence on your own personal work.

Illustrated with many examples of work produced collaboratively, this thought-provoking book will help you connect with other textile artists and take your own work beyond the personal.