The tapestry world has been enjoying an output of tapestry related books lately - with more on the way I hear. I want to share a couple that you may not have encountered by Carol Ward, possibly known to you as blue violet prayers.

Carol and I have known each other a long time. (In case you haven’t heard me mention it before, we were college roommates in the 70’s). She’s always been prolific; and most recently her time has gone into making art books. Not just small hand-made journals as I wrote about earlier, but she’s done two beautifully put together self-published books now, too.

One is a small collection of her work, weaving threads and prayers, in which she shares eighteen artworks with her inspiration for each one. As indicated in the title, Carol draws her inspiration primarily from the scriptures, and psalms in particular, but also nature in the form of the “thin place”, a term I was unfamiliar with. Carol writes “A ‘thin place’ is how some describe places where the space between heaven and earth seem to diminish, and we sense God’s presence more intensely.” Beautiful, isn’t it?

This description is adjacent to Water and Sky Rhythms - one of my favorite images in the book.

A page from *weaving threads and prayers*

Many of her works are full of gentle undulating waves. The sky, the ocean, and the light are all important in her work as a reflection on God’s creation.

If you’re moved by the rhythmic nature of Carol’s work, you’ll find even more inspiration in her monograph: Prayers Threads and Heart, nurturing your creative soul through intuitive art. Carol told me as she was putting this book together that it was for her students. Whenever she taught, they would want to know all about her processes, longing for more information.

photo taken from book of stitching example

In Prayers Threads and Heart she takes us through her entire process in the headings of explore, discover, and create. Throughout the pages, always gently urging us to find our own unique voice in our own creative process. And intertwined throughout each of these sections, there are even more glimpses into her processes. I especially love the section where she includes her watercolor practice and working on top of woven linen “blanks” which she then stitches and weaves back into.

In another section, Carol then goes on to share some of her most used on-the-loom techniques which involve Soumak and eccentric weaving - with close-up details of stitch formation.

Carol weaves primarily with linen and silk threads that she dyes herself with flowers and plants. The last section in the book describes her process.

It’s a beautiful book created from a beautiful soul, one whom I’m very fortunate to know personally.

I’m sure her students are feeling grateful!

You can find Carol’s books on etsy, amazon, and blurb.

She has also begun putting some of the weavings you might see in the book on etsy, too.

AND if you’re interested in learning from Carol, she’s opened up her one-on-one mentoring again. You can sign up for that here.

New Tapestry Books by Carol Ward