Imagine a Forest: Designs and Inspirations for Enchanting Folk Art

I have been making sewn items from scraps. I wanted to make a number of folk art depictions but had no idea how to portray them. This book is beautifully created, lovely artwork and colours. Narrative is inspiring yet simply put. It suited my requirement to a T.

I stumbled across the artist's work online, and immediately searched for anything of hers that I could find. I love this book! I live in Central Europe (not a native of this area of the world) and I'm interested in Eastern European and Russian folk designs, but I don't want to buy the mass-produced 'folklore' prints and designs sold to tourists. How to get that look, but without it being mass-produced and looking cheesy? (I mean, if you are a tourist, and you buy a cushion with mass-produced prints of 'traditional folk designs,' back home in the US or Bolivia or somewhere, it looks unique and is a conversation piece, but if you have that in your house where it's manufactured for tourists, it looks tacky). The solution - get inspired to draw my own designs and then embroider them on cushions myself. Each piece will be original and I can add the elements that please me. I shared the book with two friends whose eyes glowed with pleasure and inspiration. A wonderful book for creative people whether or not they are already comfortable with drawing or creating their own designs. And beautiful to look at for anyone who is interested in Russian or Eastern European or Central European folk-art designs.

I love this book, it is so beautiful with plenty of interesting explanations, illustrations and instructions of how to replicate.

Beautiful art book which is easy to read and follow. Even better it's a hardback book so will last much longer.

The first surprise is that the flowers are raised so the cover is tactile. While it may make the book heavier, this detail would not have been possible. Inside there is lots of guidance as to how to build up from scratch your own designs. Probably it would need a little bit of confidence to achieve the end results shown in the book. Regardless of anything else the illustrations are lovely to look at and should give plenty of inspiration. My purpose on purchase was to see how the designs would work as graphic designs for printing - block and etching. The shapes are strong so I think I have a source of images for many years to come! I thought I had made a great discovery, only to discover near the back is a section on the use of the decorations in a range of ways - maybe others would be encourage to purchase the book if there was a suitable sentence in the Amazon blurb or on the back cover? Summing up: Well produced book, with plenty to inspire and develop as source material, and being good value for money -fault, it is hard back, which deter a few.

At last! A book with clear and helpful ideas to inspire!Thankyou

I liked how simple and easy the art work is to draw

I looked at several fold art books and some stencil kits, and chose to buy this one. I am doing a barn conversion in Transylvania and looking for some decor inspiration. This book is perfect as it has loads of ideas.

The more I go through this book the more I see. What a delight! There is so much inspiration for design and colour. Simple shapes for animals and lots of mark making ideas.

This is one of my all time favorite books! It will make a beautiful gift for yourself or a friend. I will treasure mine! My daughter and I love to sit down and practice drawing or painting together. I have practiced flowers, and castles. They are perfectly whimsical. Thank you to the author, this is a special collaboration of her work.

Este livro é uma referência para todos os que trabalham, pesquisam ou admiram a arte folclórica. A autora traz diversas ilustrações e referências, incluindo o passo a passo para que os leitores possam fazer suas próprias criações. É um livro realmente inspirador.

It's a beautiful insight into the creative process of Dinara Mirtalipova. High quality print is really bringing all the details up.

Wunderschön gestaltetes Buch - von vorne bis hinten.