Christi Johnson – författare

This gorgeous embroidery book features more than 100 original designs inspired by a colorful folk art aesthetic and infused with metaphysical meaning. How-to instructions allow readers to combine and stitch each symbol to create unique embroidered objects of personal significance. Hand embroidery can be a joyous respite from busy daily life. It is an exploration of material, an invitation to slow down, and it allows time for contemplation. Mystical Stitches combines this beloved and accessible craft with a spiritual element, introducing more than 100 different symbols readers can use to create personal icons to wear or embellish items in the home. Christi Johnson offers patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, and mythological icons for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson's folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form. In addition to basic techniques, an overview of material options, and an illustrated encyclopedia of stitches, the extensive treasury of symbols is lavishly photographed in hand-stitched, full-colour spreads that will inspire readers to create personalised designs to stitch on clothes, hang on the wall, place on an altar, carry with them, or display in a place of prominence. AUTHOR: Christi Johnson creates mystical garments that blend elements of botanical dyes with handcrafted stitches. The resulting textile talismans honor the body, its boundaries, its extensions, and its relations to the world and cosmos around us. She works from the belief that through self-expression, we discover our power to transform our worlds. Raised in tropical Florida, Johnson studied Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design. She worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, most notably designing "cosmically crafted" limited-edition embroideries for boutique brand Coast-Wide's denim workwear, and now lives in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. As a teacher, Johnson also offers workshops in natural dyeing and embroidery and has created kits and booklets for students and DIYers. Her garments, booklets, kits, and embroidered artwork have sold at maker studios and boutiques across the nation.

Christi Johnson, author of Mystical Stitches, offers embroidery enthusiasts an in-depth workshop to create their own unique mystical and spiritually themed designs. Combining instruction with a series of hands-on experiments and exploration challenges, Johnson shares her expertise in conceiving and realizing original motifs and designs that have special mystical significance to the creator.An acclaimed embroidery designer and the best-selling author of Mystical Stitches, Christi Johnson teaches how to create original stitch designs and expand creativity, with sketchbook and sampler exercises and inspiring examples from a wide range of embroidery artists, both historical and contemporary.This colorful sourcebook, packed with practical technique instructions accompanied by inspiring examples from a wide range of embroidery artists, is sure to jump-start every stitching enthusiast's creativity, and build the skills for making original designs. Written for all levels of stitchers, The Art of Embroidery Design teaches the value of establishing a creative practice, with hands-on sketching and stitching exercises to help anyone build confidence in their design skills, whether or not they can draw. Author Christi Johnson breaks the design process down into approachable steps including: developing a vision; choosing a color palette; using variations in line weight to create dimensionality; and achieving a range of textural effects. Dozens of photos of the author's own work are accompanied by historical examples from artisans in Mexico, India, Peru, China, Nigeria, and more. Profiles of some of the most inventive contemporary embroidery artists illuminate the sources of their inspiration, and round out the rich, full offerings of this complete workshop in a book.