Selected Writings - Margaret Preston

Book excerpt: Never shy of voicing an opinion, artist Margaret Preston launched into print on a variety of subjects, from flower arranging and furnishing a bedroom, to Aboriginal art and design, Pokerwork and Wood-blocking. Selected from the pages of Australia's journals by Elizabeth Butel, this collection addresses Preston's recurring preoccupations - "modern" art, an Australian national art and the craft of art-making. "The natural enemy of the dull" - Preston's style is infused with paradox, retaining its freshness through her very direct, uncompromising attack and illustrated with examples of her woodcuts.