Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois; Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault23/4/2023 I didn’t know much about Louise Bourgeois, the renowned and revered sculptor and artist, most famously known for her ginormous spiders. After reading Cloth Lullaby I am completely enthralled by her story, her creativity and the connections between thread and spiders. The Bourgeois family had a history of tapestry restoration; carefully fixing broken things. When Louise turned twelve, she too began to learn the trade in the family’s tapestry shop. Her ‘maman' passed on the knowledge that she had in turn been gifted from her own mother about form and colour and the various style of textiles. Weaving alongside her loving and nurturing mother would provide the inspiration for Louise’s most memorable works both in cloth and sculpted out of metal… This fabulous picture book biography is a stunning, child-friendly introduction to the life and work of 20th century French-American artist, Louise Bourgeois. Offering a wonderful glimpse into an artistic life that was defined by early childhood memories that would later be sewn into fabric pieces and cloth books, it is a beautiful woven tale of a life spent stitching and sculpting in order to find meaning and to make sense of the world around us. The artistic journey is often a complicated one and Louise experienced highs and lows; the magical bond between a mother and daughter, the world coming crashing down when mother died whilst Louise was away at university. It would be the traumatic event that would be the spark for an artist who used her creative talents as an outlet for her fears, emotions and grief. I was captivated from the first words, ‘Louise was raised by a river.’ And the lyrical text will stitch a piece of itself into many a heart. Exploring many of the themes evident in her fabric works, author Amy Novesky effortlessly weaves Bourgeois’ own words into lilting descriptions that creatively convey what her life and work were about. From the importance of memories, restitching to make things whole again and the significance of webs, spiders and wool. On first glance the giant metal sculptures of spiders are terrifying, understand the reason behind their creation and how they represent Louise’s mother and they immediately transform into a thing of beauty.
Filled with metaphor and rich language, many of the word choices and phrasing may be lost on young readers. However, everyone will enjoy immersing themselves in Isabelle Arsenault’s magical lines and swirls that weave their way through the pages. Detailed and interesting back matter provides further information and offers the answers to many questions that readers may have. A stunning visual and poetic experience. This is a great entry point to learn about a lesser-known artist that is particularly suited to older readers, especially those in upper key stage two. Recommended for 7+.
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