5 comments about Making Miniature Villages in Polymer Clay.

1. I enjoyed this book and its unpretentious step-by-step procedures for making miniature houses out of polymer clay. I would have liked to see a bit more variety in the projects offered, but there is certainly enough technique demonstrated that an imaginative reader would have no trouble extrapolating whatever design he or she can dream up.



2. I borrowed this from the library and had to buy it. I am waiting on its arrival impatiently. The details are great, the instructions are clear and the pictures couldnt be better. The only real problem I have is the pattern placements could be better. From the fourth project on, many of the pattern pieces are located near the spine, not the outer edge of the page, so they are difficult to photo copy, and even tracing a few is challenging. But I still think this problem is small and the book is well worth the money.



3. This book has great details and instructions in how to make miniature houses. It also was extreemly inspirational to go on from the author's instructions and create better and more detailed houses. I highly recommend this book.



4. Everyone loves miniatures, especially miniature dwellings...Ms Ritchey offers text and so many step by step photos - all of which make it easy to make your very own tiny abodes. Simply charming.



5. As a beginner I was looking for a book that gave detailed instruction. I never thought that I would find such great instruction and pictures. This is a superb helper and will make my first attempts look like I have been using polymer clay for years. Author is to be commended for such fine and detailed instructions. I highly recommend this book.

1 comments about Country and Suburban Homes of the Prairie School Period.

1. For the student of the Prairie school and early modernism, this book is an invaluable reference for original floor plans and photographs. The book includes works by many architects, but it is not limited to only the Prairie school. I believe it gives a good cross section of the popular architecture of the early 20th century. There are examples of Colonial revival homes for example in addition to the bungalows and landmark Prairie monsions.

No comments about Painting Still Lifes Step by Step.

5 comments about The House to Ourselves: Reinventing Home Once the Kids Are Grown.

1. Typical of its kind with lots of great photos of fabulous makeovers, requiring extensive remodeling and an architect. But it does have some concrete ideas that push it up a notch over the competition.



2. What an outstanding resource for empty-nesters looking to redefine their lives! The house is yours again, what do you want to do with it for the second-half of your life? I can't wait until the last child leaves so I can put so many of these examples to use. Well, I'll enjoy the time left and just use it to plan. The attractive photo of Todd Lawson is an added benefit.



3. When I picked up this book, I thought it was for empty nesters and retirees who wanted to downsize or "undecorate" the kids out of their former rooms. Not so! These homes are for people who have lots of living and big plans for themselves. There are only a couple of places I would call "retirement" homes. The rest include homes with offices to make work life go along with home life,homes with studios for the fulfillment of dreams and even homes with guest wings and guest houses to welcome whole troops of extended family. Absolutely brimming with ideas.



4. I purchased this book for my parents who are planning on building. They absolutely loved it! It has lots of great ideas.



5. We purchased this book hoping to find new ideas to fit our needs. It was obvious the authors researched the material at length and offered a variety of solutions that could be adaptable to any lifestyle. Lots of illustrations which helps visualization. We are able to incorporate many of the suggestions in this book to our remodeling projects. Now the hard part - tackling the hammer and nails.

No comments about The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space.

2 comments about Eva Hesse.

1. I have this book and I love it. You are given a glimpse of the New York art scene in the 1960's and get a feeling of what it must have been like during that exciting period. In fact, it's a little scary to imagine being around during that time, kind of overwhelming. Conceptual art, pop art, Andy Warhol, the whole psychedelic hippie scene. But oddly still a man's world, for all the miniskirts and 'free love' hype. Her contemporaries were pretty much all men, and the women tended to be more like sidekicks and dilettantes. (Not to take anything away from male artists, that's just the way it was at the time.) The end of Eva's marriage, to another artist, seems almost a given once she really started to come into her own right. It must have been kind of lonely, men were probably threatened by the idea of a female artist, or maybe it was just that she didn't have time to find the right person in her short life. Also, at the time there was much less awareness of toxicity in art materials both traditional and non-traditional. I have to admit I'm fascinated by the romance of this heroic figure producing art despite the cost to her personal life and health. I don't see her as a martyr but as a brave pioneer who left us with beautiful art. Many of Eva Hess's sculptures were made using ephemeral materials but this book has pictures of them when they were new. Even if the actual sculptures don't survive, the image of them will somehow continue to survive, maybe with the help of virutal reality technology? Anyway, thank you Lucy Lippard for this informative book packed with pictures and info about Eva!



2. Featured are reproductions even of artworks which no longer exist, and Lippard's commentary is always to the point. I don't dwell on the fact that Eva Hesse died young -- in fact, I'm not interested in the cult of personality which in my view only obscures the works themselves. But in at least three directions Hesse has given me plenty to think about and purely enjoy, and this book documents everything... maybe it slights the drawings a bit, but there's another book out there with nothing but drawings, drawings galore. The implications of what Hesse accomplished remain "mindblowing." Anyone who has only heard about her or seen one or two works needs to see what they've missed.

No comments about Archigram: Architecture without Architecture.

1 comments about Splendor of Malta.

1. I bought the Splendor of Malta thinking it was going to have lots of photos of the country and buildings from the outside etc. It's absolutely packed full of pictures of insides of different buildings and has tons of history and information. It's a very good book, just not what I thought I was getting.

3 comments about Mobile: The Art of Portable Architecture.

1. A little anemic, but some solid ideas are represented here. I would have liked a little coherency in the presentation, and a lot more depth.



2. You get the comprahensive overview of the subject. The book is quite small so don't expect too much. But it is a good buy for home library.



3. A paean to inflatables, tensile canopies, demountable stages, and trailers, by an innovative LA architect and teacher who believes that "Anything you can't fold up and take with you is a blight on the environment and an insult to one's liberty." (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

No comments about Window Systems for High-Performance Buildings.