Book review - Making a Life by Melanie Falick
Finding great crafting books is always a pleasure although I do tend to buy more “how to “ books than pure reading books about our creativity. However I recently fell upon this beautiful book which falls into the later category, published for the first time in October 2019, and it has been a pleasure to dip in and out of and I keep finding something new on every visit.
This book is not a quilt book, but covers so many varied crafts and with Melanie’s roots in the knitting world, you would expect there to be quite a focus on yarns and weaving, but oh my goodness there is so much more. Melanie takes time out to help us think why we craft, why is it important to us and how we should not take the stance that crafts should be what we can do when everything else had been completed in our lives. I found this reassurance so refreshing as I’m pretty sure most of us host pangs of guilt on a regular basis when we sit down to sew something that is practical like attaching a school label in a shirt, or a button for a loved one. In fact the sub title of Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You are Meant to Live is a mantra I think we would be best to adopt more often.
Melanie takes us on a journey round the world, interviewing a vast array of crafters and we find thier perspectives and the origins of their crafts as we go. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to India and back through France, where we find a great tale of fabric dying in a Chateau, each section can take you on a little journey in your head with the makers. One section I really enjoyed in particular was an interview with husband and wife Nikki McClure and Jay Scott. Nikki, as well as being a writer and illustrator, is a paper cutter, based in Washington. I had not heard of this as a craft before to be honest, but you will see the pictures she produces are exquisite. Their life sounds quite idyllic to me and I’m sure it’s not without the normal toils we all put up with, but just reading this made me want to be whisked away to their studios for a few weeks, to play and paddle about in their canoe.
I am sure there will be a story in this book that will appeal to everyone and as such I cannot recommend it enough. The presentation is so beautiful, with a quality gloss which enhances all the varied and gorgeous photographs throughout. In fact, I think it would be wonderful gift for anyone who is interested in the arts in any way, so do give it a try. I’m off to dip in again right now…
If you are interested in finding out more about Melanie and her book there is a great podcast on the Craft Alliance which you can find here, and Melanie’s website link is here. or you can purchase her great book here.
