No comments about More Mobile: Portable Architecture for Today.

5 comments about Decorative Murals with Donna Dewberry.

1. Had I not obtained a copy of this book for free, I never would have come to own a copy. I was going to toss it in the trash when we moved, but my children begged me to keep it for comic relief. I am a trained working artist and in my opinion, Ms. Dewberry needs some serious lessons in perspective, depth of field, tonal values, and drawing before she undertakes a book about mural painting. Even my kids could pick out numerous blunders. The cover shows a mural on an exquisite floating staircase in a bazillion dollar home....with edges slopped with paint because they were not even taped off. If I was the new owner of that house, even if I knew nothing about art, my first investment would be some wall paint and a roller.



2. Although this book was visually nice to look at I found it lacked in teaching me how to paint murals. I have stumbled across a great site that has free tutorials on it. I hope you find this helpful. The site is [...]



3. As a decorative artist I found this book somewhat revolting.Then again, I didn't know Donna Dewberry's work before.Well,she is great at the one stroke painting tecnique if that's what You like, You'll find some of that, but She can't draw at all.Wherever any basic drawing skills are required ,she just doesn't cut it.Her colors are in place though,and the book fills You in on the basics,here and there, but it's not detailed enough for a complete beginner, or would mislead him/her, and just useless for a pro.I keep it as a reference for clients, who like this folksy style,but I find it rather primitive.



4. Donna Dewberry consistently produces fine detailed instructional books.........this book on murals is not much more than a "see what Donna did" book, the photographer did a brilliant job......... No patterns, no detail, I could care less what part of a house has these painted walls ,(content is divided by rooms). I bought the book to learn HOW she did it. Lot of pictures, beginners beware, you admire her, you wish to paint her technique, this book will tell you next to ZIP!



5. Being a huge Donna Dewberry fan, I was not at all surprised when I opened this book. The pictures are fabulous and Donna's murals provide the reader with a plethora of ideas for many aspects of home decorating. Donna's books seem to have a magical quality about them making even the novice painter feel as though he/she could paint anything!

   However, after I was mesmorized by the artwork, I felt disappointed with the lack of directions for each project. All of the other Dewberry books give explicit instructions, worksheets and patterns, this one does not. After studying this book intensely, I was left with the feeling one gets while looking at an Art book, like " gosh, what a talented artist, I wish I could create like that." In otherwords, instead of inspiring me and building my confidence as her other books have done so consistently, I felt overwhelmed and unsure of my budding talent. I think I'll stick to her other books and just use this not for reference, but as an addition to my coffee table.

2 comments about Building Details [with CD-ROM] (Classical America Series in Art and Architecture).

1. This is a reducted size reprint of Frank Synder's 12 part serial BUIDLING DETAILS from 1906 to 1914 which consisted of plates of architectural details redrawn from the leading architects of the day. Each plate, often including at least partial elevations and/or sections, is masterly composed with an occasional thumbnail photo giving additional clarification. The range of projects is great, from schools, churches, banks, and government buildings, to fine homes.
   
   Other than identification and limited notes on the plates there is no descriptive text as such, however. The introduction by Pennoyer and Walker only discusses the significance of Synder's original work and others of the same ilk. While these technical drawings would undoubtedly be a valuable reference to architects practicing in the classical mode, they might be too limiting to interest the non-professional.



2. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKYYJ80JZ1SB1 Building Details [with CD-ROM]

1 comments about Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities.

1. This is an excellent resource for physical planning in relationship to environmental sustainability. If you buy this book , buy also Skinny streets and green neighborhoods.

5 comments about Bauhaus 1919-1933 (Taschen 25).

1. If you want a comprehensive historical information as well as tons of full color photos of all sorts of Bauhaus inspired works -from architecture to practical objects - this is the book you should have. Open it and read a single article, think about it and close the book. Or browse through the photos and marvel at the teapots, the furniture, the architectural style.
   
   You can savor this one slowly (and I think you should) rather than trying to read it through all at once. If you do that, you'll start to get a sense of the Bauhaus style and how it fits into the particular period when it came into being - and how it grew and evolved from there.



2. While this book offers an excellent collection of images related to the Bauhaus, it traces the history and the development of the Bauhaus comprehensively as well.
   This book, alongwith Eva Forgacs' Bauhaus Idea and Bauhaus Politics can give you a general idea about what the institution was all about.
   
   Its an amazing read.



3. You can know lots of new details. It helps you to study not only design but art itself.



4. This book has great studies. Lots of new details for me are in it. It helps you to study design and art histry.



5. Bauhaus was one of the most important movements in design-history.
   Magdalena Drosta describes the ideas, the people, the work and the spirit of the Bauhaus. The best thing: It is never boring. The book does not only concentrate on the art taught at the Bauahaus but also describes its political problems.
   A lot of excellent pictures in a good priniting quality (especially in relation to the price) make this a book, you always like to look at.

1 comments about Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism.

1. Already recognized since 1949 as "a masterpiece in scholarship" in its field by several eminent architects, the 173 page tome: ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES IN THE AGE OF HUMANISM, 4th ed. (1971) by Rudolf Wittkower; had, incidentally, also provided an in-depth explanation on proportion and ratio as they differed in usage between architectural procedure and Boethian mathematics.
   Of special importance is part four 'The Problem of Harmonic Proportion in Architecture' (p. 101) where the author made the salient point that "Although the Pythagoreo-Platonic concept of the numerical ratios of the musical scale never disappeared from mediaeval [sic], theological, philosophical, and aesthetic thought, there was no over-riding need to apply them to art and architecture" (p. 159).

   Rudolf Wittkower unknowingly provided in part four the distinction between an elite Quadrivium education containing Boethian "mathematical arts" while "the 'liberal arts' of painting, sculpture, and architecture were regarded as manual occupations" (p. 117). The author explained "That the high Renaissance architects shunned theory" and "that they were practitioners rather than thinkers" (p. 30). And further "Italian architects strove for an easily perceptible ratio between length, height, and depth" (p. 74). So then according to this author, all of the Renaissance architects conception of architecture was based on a "commensurability of ratios" (p. 108).

   Rudolf Wittkower indicated "that the [Renaissance] architect is by no means free to apply to a building a system of ratios of his own choosing, that the ratios have to comply with conceptions of a higher order and that a building should mirror the proportions of the human body" (p. 101). In developing the centrally planned church, Renaissance architects faced the dilemma of the pragmatics of church construction combined with the belief in divinity and the acceptance of Roman Catholic dogma.

   The Church was to provide the "easily perceptible ratio" with the simple logic that "As man is the image of God and the proportions of his body are produced by divine will, so the proportions in architecture have to embrace and express the cosmic order" (p. 101). That cosmic order and harmony are contained in certain numbers Plato explained in his TIMAEUS.

   Assigned to the architects, a Quadrivium trained Roman Catholic friar and musical theorist, Franchino Gaffurio (1451-1522) "in a truly Platonic spirit he regarded this principle of harmony as the basis of macrocosm and microcosm, body and soul, painting, architecture, and medicine" (p. 124). It was under this famous Renaissance musical theorist in 1525 that "the old belief in the mysterious efficacy of certain numbers and ratios was given new impetus" (p. 102). "It was Pythagoras who discovered that tones can be measured in space. What he found was that musical consonances were determined by the ratios of small whole numbers. If two strings are made to vibrate under the same conditions, one being half the length of the other, the pitch of the shorter string will be one octave (diapason) above that of the larger one" (p. 102). "Thus the consonances, on which the Greek musical system was based - octave, fifth, and fourth - can be expressed by the progression 1:2:3:4. One can understand that this staggering discovery made people believe that they had seized upon the mysterious harmony which pervades the universe" (p. 103).

   "The musical consonances are determined by the mean proportionals; for that the three means constitute all the intervals of the musical scale had been shown in the TIMAEUS. Classical writers on musical theory discussed this point at great length. An exhaustive exposition is to be found in Boethius' DE MUSICA, first printed in Venice in 1491-92, and of very great importance for the doctrine of numbers throughout the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance" (p. 111).

   Yet Boethius's DE MUSICA was de-emphasized by Renaissance architects in recognition that the "harmony of the universe which Plato had described in the TIMAEUS on the basis of Pythagora's discovery of the ratios of musical consonances" prompted the "application of Pythagoreo-Platonic system of harmonic ratios directly to architecture" (p. 125). As it turned out (not surprisingly) "Gafurio [sic] was regarded by his contemporaries as a critic in architectural matters" (p. 125).

   The author of ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES IN THE AGE OF HUMANISM provided the evidence that although the Quadrivium of the mathematical arts of music, astronomy, geometry, and Boethian proportion and ratio, was known to the Renaissance high architects, they preferred the 'harmonic proportion'; 'proportion of excess'; and the 'proportio proportionum'; derived directly from Plato's TIMAEUS and Pythagoras's three means (arithmetic, geometric, and the harmonic) over Boethius's DE MUSICA, though it was a substantial part of friar Gaffurio's ecclesiastical education. This resulted in "proportionally integrated 'spatial mathematics', which we have recognized as a distinguishing feature of humanist Renaissance architecture" (p. 26).

   In comparison, for the practical application of Boethian proportion and ratios, please read: THE PHILOSOPHER'S GAME (2001) by Dr. Ann E. Moyer, where the rules of Boethian proportion found in rithmomachia, had been clearly defined, though inadvertently, by Rudolf Wittkower.

2 comments about Tropical Interiors.

1. Wonderful book on contemporary tropical design. Just looking at the pictures transports me to another place! I've even incorporated some of the simple design ideas into my own home. From the simple & serene to the eclectic, you won't be disappointed.



2. In short, this book has exceptional photos and displays wonderful furniture and design of natural materials. It's amazing to see how these materials can be formed into such beautiful and practical pieces of furniture. It's functional art!

5 comments about The Hawaiian House Now.

1. This book is beautifully produced, with a nice variety of types of homes presented.



2. I got this book so I could get some decorating ideas for my own house here in California. I found the book to be helpful in what I needed it for. It shows good interior design ideas for houses in Hawaii that could easily by used in other parts of the world. I love the Hawaiian styles and I am working on recreating them in my home.



3. This book transported me back to those years when I grew up in Hawaii and was exposed through friends and parties to so many of these kind of houses. I see Hawaii house decor being such an accumulation of all that is good about Hawaii - reflection of its spirit and early settlers and Hawaiian aspect. I live in New Zealand and decorate ALL my houses with a strong Hawaii/South Pacific/New Zealand flavor - this book has given me such inspiration for my next house. If you grew up in Hawaii or love the spirit of Hawaii this book is a must. I was thrilled when I received the book and as I am about to start a new adventure with a house I am going to incorporate so much of what I see and read in "The Hawaiian House Now" - It is not just a book with nice photos it is a book with some great information on all that is Hawaii.



4. I enjoyed this book very much. It was well written, well researched and contained a wealth of beautiful photographs. The author captured the beauty of simplicity. The Hawaiian House is a wonderful coffee table book.



5. Whether your style is contemporary, traditional, or eclectic this book has something for everyone. I've gone through it again and again, and each time I've seen something new or gotten an idea for something I can do in my own home.

3 comments about Painting Landscapes Filled With Light.

1. I have many how to paint books and Dorothy Dent's are my favorite. This book includes 5 lessons in acrylic and 5 lessons in oils and her step-by-step instructions are very clear and easy to follow. She also includes exact colors to use which would be helpful to the beginner artist. I have recreated all of her pictures with surprising success. She also includes templates you can enlarge to transfer the image to your canvas. I would highly recommend this book and her other acrylic "Realistic Landscapes" step-by-step book.



2. Dorothy Dent's Painting Landscapes Filled With Light provides ten step-by-step projects for both beginners and advanced painters who want to paint light-filled landscapes depicting different seasons and times. Color values are surveyed in landscape projects which show how to capture sunsets and sunrises, autumn foliage, moonshine on water, and more. More than just an exercise book, each project includes diagrams showing light direction and color tonal values and a commentary on how experts fine-tune paintings such professional finishing touches.



3. Another excellent book from Dorothy Dent. From the beginner to the seasoned painter there is something for everyone to learn in this book. Her explanations of light are easy to understand and follow. Recommend highly.

5 comments about Creative Paper Techniques for Scrapbooks (Memory Makers).

1. I have to say out of all my books I refer to this one the most. It has most of the paper techniques that you can use in scrapbooking, in step-by step instructions. I would recommend this book to any scrapper!



2. I purchased this after seeing it in a Michael's store - had been impressed with the creative use of making louvers and frames using strips of paper. Was not disappointed...gave me some great new techniques to use in my layout arsenal when scrapbooking. Be advised that these techniques are not for the impatient or those who want it "superquick". Some are a little tedious and require some precision to look their best, but if you like scissors, paper and glue these are some fun things to try.



3. This book really helped me employ some striking paper techniques to spice up my scrapbooking. I honestly had no idea how to create a scrapbook. I found this book in Michael's and was struck by the vivid and intricate cover. The folding, ripping, quilling, etc., techniques have turned my scrapbooks from blah and boring to colorful and exciting. The louvres are a great touch. I also decorated a page using quilled flowers. The results are just fantastic.
   
   I highly recommend this book if you are a scrapbooking novice, like myself. I've only used a fraction of the techniques in this book, and look forward to creating more fascinating pages in the future.



4. Too often I am disappointed with crafting books. Not with this one! It's full of ideas and techniques. I got this book last week and have already used three new techniques from it. It's really adding a new approach to my scrapbooking. One word of caution. I think there is an error in it. The directions for making the louvered slats that are slanted say to start from the inside and work out. If you do that, the slats don't lay correctly. Instead start from two opposite corners and work inward. To make sure the middle slats matched well, I drew a template with lines and put it under my work area to make sure my slats were straight and evenly spaced. Even with that error, I still give it 5 stars!



5. At first, looking at the beautiful scrapbook layouts I was intimidated but after reading the instructions for several techniques soon I was having a blast with my scissors and papers and filling up my scrapbook pages with very cool ways to incorporate paper. Never have worked with Vellum before the paper tearing technique was such fun also, the instructions for quilling and paper weaving were not only easy but the results looked like I spent much more time as they had an elegant, whimsical appearance. I would definitely recommend this book to others.