5 comments about Art as Experience.

1. Dewey discusses making art and viewing art are not unique activities -- that discipline, engagement and commitment are basic to art in the same way they are basic to other work.
   
   The book undermines the notion that Art is somehow arcane and academic. It's not, the book suggests. It takes work to make art, it takes work to appreciate it, but it is a democratic sort of work, and good art stands up, even when it is not cosseted in museums or galleries.



2. It's a little thick, but you have to consider it's based off of his lectures. From the point of view from a philosopher, he gives insight into things that we as artists might already know, but have never realized, and even other stuff that's impossible to see that only someone from the outside could see.



3. As a reviewer below stated, this is a very interesting book that treats art as a means of recapturing the experience of life and trasmitting that experience to the audience. He captures a number of concepts established earlier by Leo Tolstoy in his "What is Art?" and delves deeper into them, expounding on their more practical and less esoteric uses.

   Dewey, however, certainly earns his title as a pragmatist. His wording is complicated and, at times, careful. It is difficult to pin specific sayings or doctrines to him. However, once the task is completed, he has a great deal of important things to say about art and artistic experience.




4. if you are an artist this book will blow your mind.

   it is pretty theoretical, but if you can get through the first 20 pages.. and get into his vibe.. it's BEAUTIFUL.. (yum).

   This is probably the most important book i've ever read. You trust katie, you! you buy! you buy!!




5. Although somewhat dated in that what Dewey novelly stated long ago, we now accept as obvious, this is a great book to gain an understanding of art both as a producer and as a spectator.

   The central theme is that life is an experience, and that the goal of art is to recapture that experience. Hence, a painting of a flower is only valuable in the way that it captures the essence of a flower, or the experience of viewing a flower. The viewing of a painting must also provide some of the experience of making that painting ( its process ).

   If you can manage to finish the book ( the style is a bit archaic ), the experience is worth the effort.

3 comments about Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America (The Documents of 20th-century art).

1. BEYOND TOLERANCE: SEARCHING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING IN AMERICA tells of religious tolerance issues in the U.S., renowned for its religiously diverse population. This history of religious freedoms in America will find its place not only in spirituality collections, but in any high school to college-level library strong in American civil liberties and history. Chapters consider religious impact and social connections, offering depth and insights suitable for student debate and study.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. It's almost painful to criticize this slim volume because the sentiments behind it are ppraiseworthy. Niebuhr argues in favor of interfaith dialogue. He says that in the post 9/11 world, mutual understanding and respect between different religions is more crucial than ever. I heartily agree.
   A former New York Times religion reporter turned academic, Niebuhr travels around the country finding various small-scale but nonetheless inspiring examples of such dialogue. It's all quite heart-warming.
   Where the book falls short is in its lack of context. How can you balance these earnest efforts at mutual understanding against other developments which suggest that intolerance and racism only seem to be increasing? Take for example, the wave of anti-immigrant feeling that has swept the United States -- to say nothing of the racism that Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid has awakened, fueled not only by his color but by the false rumors that he is a Muslim?
   Nieburh goes into quite a it of detail about post-Holocaust efforts by Christians to come to terms with their legacy of 2,000 years of hating, persecuting and humiliating Jews. "The overall record of Christians toward Jews and Judaism is discouraging," he says (page 145) -- one of the more spectacular understatements I've ever read on the subject.
   He completely fails to address the unprecedented, disproportionate and unwarranted targeting of Israel by the Methodist, Presbyterian and other churches. Their attitude seems to be, "OK, we've said sorry for the Holocaust and we won't preach hatred about the Jews any more -- but the Jewish state is fair game." When these churches advocate disinvestment from Israel, they are once again falling back into the historical pattern of declaring Jews beyond the pale. It's anti-Semitism by another name.
   This book is well-intentioned but falls short of confronting the subject with the true intellectual rigor and painful honesty it advocates.



3. Every once in awhile a book transcends paper, ink, and binding to paint a picture. Niebuhr's book does just that -- casting a vision for interfaith understanding and issuing a challenge to engage in a transformative dialogue -- to move beyond the boundaries that limit and constrain us. Our future health, vitality, and sustainability as a global culture lies in collaboration and connection that is greater than any one religious faith or belief system. Too often modern religion is framed in divisive, destructive, and dysfunctional terms, with little regard to the essence of the good, the beautiful, and the true that undergird every major faith. When differences can be set aside in deference to the common good and the shared values of diverse faiths, amazing things can happen. Niebuhr offers an invitation into a new way of being 'religious' in a complex, chaotic, and often contentious world. This is a recommended read for every person of faith who desires to see our world become a place of peace, justice, mercy, and love.

5 comments about The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book).

1. I bought this book at the request of my sister-in-law who is a potter. It was recommended to her by another potter. She loves it.



2. I found that this book it is very useful and cohomprensive in parts of firing and recipes. There are beutiful pictures; but i find it is not so fluing in the exposition it could be more astonoshing with all the new about the recipes.
   If are a novice I think you could also buy another books to introduce you better in the world of making your own glazes more satifing( it is the The Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color DevelopmentHopper book on glazes spectrumThe Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color Development).



3. Very happy with this purchase. The recipes are all laid out and organized very well. Easy to find what you're looking for and lots of good pictures.



4. The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Purchased on 01/02/2008)
   
   The book has tons of information very useful for a beginner potter and or a professional. Simple to use and has a variety of exercises to follow. Explains very well and has lots of images that makes it easy to comprehend, a must have as a text book.



5. This is a brilliant book with great technical information and fabulous pictures. Most importantly for me though is getting good glaze recipes that have materials that are easily found or can be adapted to what I have. I have trialled many recipes in this book and have found good success. John Britt writes well and gives good firing information. Also most helpful is where he shows the same glaze used on different types of clay, this is a critical factor in the success of any glaze so a most important point that needs to be shown.
   If you are wanting to learn about glazing, then this book is a must for you. If you follow through each section and test as many of the glazes as possible, and follow the different firing methods, you will at the end have a comprehensive understanding of glazes and firing.

5 comments about The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947 - 1957.

1. also saw this book in a gallery but couldn't afford it...found it on amzon for a bargainous price and snapped it up right away! totally worth the hassle it'll be to take it home...!



2. This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in couture. The pictures and anecdotes are fantastic. My sister saw the exhibition at the V and A and said it was brilliant and I think the book captures it. Inspirational.



3. I purchased two of these books, one for my daughter who will be entering Fashion Design school in the fall and one as a gift for her beloved teacher who retired this year.
   
   The book is a beautiful coffee table book for anyone interesed in fashion particularly Paris and London during the years 1947-1957. The classic designs of this era and their designers are featured along with gorgeous photos. There is even a photo of a Dior gown as it was originally on a model. This same gown in later years was shortened and altered to suit the time and is on display in the Dior exhibit. Seeing it as it was intended by Dior is priceless!
   
   A must for all interested in classic fashion!



4. La belle epoque. Very glamorous book. Lovely story of the golden years of high couture. Finesse. Elegance. Absolument tout.



5. I attended the Golden Age of Couture display at the Victoria & Albert Museum last October. It was sensational, but as I was travelling back to Australia was unable to purchase the book at the time. The book is exquisitely presented and provides images and words to almost transport one there. I highly recommend it to any fashionistas.

5 comments about Creating Textured Landscapes With Pen, Ink & Watercolor.

1. I haven't had time to really get into it but going through the book she gives you some interesting techniques. I have not done much in watercolor and ink.



2. As with ALL of Claudia's books, this one is no exception - it is EXCELLENT!! She wonderfully illustrates in such a way that you are motivated to pick up your brush, watercolors, pen and ink and start painting!!
   
   It is a wonderful book to have to inspire you to paind.



3. I normally like her books on pen and ink, but this one has more to do with watercolor than pen and ink. I was disappointed and returned the book. It's a good book for to look at and you might be more interested if you want to know more about how to use watercolors. I have enough of those books!



4. Yes, the title says for landscapes, ink, pen and watercolor, but really you could apply the techniques in this book to just about anything. It has a huge sampling of textures and how to achieve them. Since I am a beginner, I thought the techniques would be difficult to learn, but the directions are incredibly easy to understand and non of the techniques are time consuming (aside from masking). Put this book together with Gordon MacKenzie's The Watercolorists Essential Notebook, and you have a complete watercolor art class through at least intermediate to lower advanced skill level. The images and text are easy to understand and give great reference. I do find the "handwriting" font a bit difficult on the eyes after a while, but otherwise a very well rounded book with easy to follow quick techniques that will really knock your socks off. Way to go Claudia Nice!



5. Just received this book today. It is very colourful and well layed out.
   
   There are tonnes of tips and techniques on watercolour painting as well as specfic examples and step by steps on different effects and how to acheive more contrast etc with texturing.
   
   Well worth it.

3 comments about Chihuly: 365 Days (365).

1. Other than seeing Chihuly's work in person (breathtaking!), this is the best book detailing his work, theory and progress I have purchased. The photos are clear and give a full view of the range of his talent and creativity. The explanations of how he created each type of form over the years are revealing and interesting.
   This is the definitive work for those wishing to meet Chihuly and his work for the first time, and for those who wish to dig deeper into the man and the artist within.



2. Ever since we were fortunate enough to have a Chihuly exhibit at our museum of art, I have been an avid fan of his work. He is absolutely a master of his craft. The book far surpasses what I had expected. The photos are wonderful and the information, though not extensive, is very informative. I highly recommend this book.



3. This is a beautiful book with marvelous photos. A "must have" for Chihuly fans. A great bargain at the price.

5 comments about Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics (Icons).

1. I was expecting this book to not only show vintage graphics but also a description of each graphic, but to my dissappoitment it does not include any text. Also, the binding cuts off a lot of the pictures and makes it difficult to open completely flat.
   That being said, this is a wonderful book with interesting photos. I would definetly recommend this to someone looking for a picture book, but definetly not to someone who is looking for descriptions and origins of these fascinating graphics.
   This book includes pictures of children on halloween, postcards, and old advertisements from the 1900's-1960's.



2. This book is packed with great vintage illustrations from Halloweens past. As an artist who is heavily inspired buy Halloween imagery this book has been invaluable. I actually ended up wearing mine to pieces. But for the price it's really hard to complain. A little book glue and it's as good as new. This book is one of my favorite in my collection. Definitely worth the cheap price tag for anyone who is into this kind of thing.



3. I really enjoyed this book of vintage Halloween goodies and images - some I still have from the time I was a small child (I won't tell how long ago that was!!). A true enjoyment for the favorite party-time ever! Makes me want to say "Merry Halloween" to everyone - a commonly used title on the really old cards/images.



4. A couple of the graphics stood out, most weren't very interesting. A lot of vintage ads with no real artistic value.



5. I love looking through this book, Halloween is my favorite holiday and these old graphics make me feel all nostalgic. I even got one of the pictures tattooed on my back shoulder. Cool book.

5 comments about Drawing Dynamic Hands (Practical Art Books).

1. Hogarth has some of these sketches in other books but w/o the details about HOW to really draw hands. They have always been hard for me, especially in difficult positions. If you have the discipline to truly incorporate his techniques you CAN master hands. I think this is worth the $ ONLY if you are willing to put in the time to learn by doing the work in the stages he recommends. A good book, worth ordering if you draw a lot of hands, and are willing to retrain HOW you see hands and draw them. I enjoyed it and am still working in progression thru it!



2. I've used both Bridgeman's and Hogarth's books on drawing hands and I've got to say that both artists are top notch and one couldn't miss by studying both. Bridgeman in my mind is very strong in his construction of a drawing and his studies on form alone are very valuable to me. And Hogarth's beautiful linear approach is also very helpful. Hogarth's work is so easy to see and study that I found him very accessible when I was just starting out on my artistic journey. And yet, now after many many years, I still go back to him and find more in depth information and solid teaching that I can glean from him. It's neat to be able to grow alongside an artist and find him still teaching you when you are older.
   
   I'm not sure how other artists do it, but by combining this book with Bridgeman's and other anatomy books, I've really grown in my understanding... and having several artistic teachers has helped me develop my own style and interests instead of only copying theirs. I definitely recommend this book therefore. After studying art in college, I'm finding that my best teachers and best learning experiences have been through books and this book on hands is no exception.



3. This is a great reference for drawing hands. Most beginning artists, like myself, find that the hardest part of a person to draw is the hands. This breaks down the hand into its basic anatomy and details every single thing about the hand you might want to know. Very useful for in-depth detail work with deep shading, and can be easily adapted to other styles such as cartooning and painting.



4. Like other Hogarth works, the hand is represented as stylized, over muscled, and predominantly masculine. If you expect that from the beginning, then you will find no disappointment in this book. I loved this book, as the stylization helps with understanding the shape and movements, the anatomical structure of the hand. It gives you an idea of how to draw proportions, angles, forshortening, etc. without the use of a model. As I prefer to draw from memory, this book was just my style.



5. Dynamic Hands is the ideal book to learn how to draw hands and understand the structure of the hand and how it works in all positions. Well drawn hands and feet are extremely important for finished paintings and illustrations. I am a commercial artist and designer, but have worked for many years on non-figurative projects. I am focusing on figurative work again, primarily in the game, fantasy and science fiction field. My goal is to draw entirely from imagination without having to use reference material, and this book by Burne Hogarth and his Dynamic Anatomy is helping me to reach this goal. The illustrations are very well done with several important hand positions and range of motion diagrams. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die.

1. What an amazing compilation of some of the world's most beautiful works of art through the ages! As a museum geek, I've seen many beautiful paintings in my life and have been very fortunate to have traveled in Europe and was exposed to major art museums in countries than my own. This book has "filled in the blanks" if you will, and has opened my eyes to more modern art, as well as the old masters. I am now studying art history and plan on broadening my horizons by visiting many more museums and galleries throughout the world. I bought a copy for my mom and my girlfriend, and they love it too.



2. I am enjoying this book. I wish the paintings were of a larger scale, stil you can see the pictures well enough for recognition. There are many best parts but I enjoy the alpahbetical index that I am using to highlight my more appreciated works. I enjoy the explanation of the artist and style beneath the paintings. Each painting is pictured in this book in color. Great buy!



3. I bought this book based on the reviews here, I thought the book was pretty good.
   
   My main problem was with the size of the images. Someone here said most images are one to a page, or two to a page... and that the smallest images are an inch by an inch.
   
   I'd expected all the images to be a lot bigger. Many of the images, maybe even 25% - 50% weren't much bigger than an inch by an inch. This is a real problem if you are looking at the book as an artist and want to see how the brushstrokes were made a little bit etc. at least on some of them. But the images were too small for this, and no detail views were shown (except a very smalll number at the start of each section).
   
   I found it really hard to look at all the small images and take in the painting properly too. Many were just too small for me.
   
   I'd rather have had less white space and 30% bigger images, this could easily have been done without sacrificing much text or design quality. (The cover art was awful too!)
   
   I also bought '1000 Masterpieces of European Painting: From 1300 to 1850' at the same time and this book was so much better at having larger images and showing details than this book (despite the book being far SMALLER and having far less pages than this one too!). It had a nicer feel too, the arrangement of the images and text was far less uniform than in this book and therefore much more interesting. It did have less white space but was actually far more elegant despite this.
   
   The selection of images seemed very good though (despite the bad graphic design of the book) and it was well-made. It weights an absolute TON but then it would!



4. An enormous, beautifully compiled collection of artwork whose title I couldn't agree with more. Filled with easily digested insights into some of the greatest artwork in history, this almost 1000-page book is great for people only mildly interested in art or for serious art-core types.
   The pictures are lovely and there's just enough text to get you interested in someone new (or old) at every turn.



5. Did I get a bum copy of the book? Or is it a joke that the book contains 1,000 paintings to see instead of 1,001? The Kiss by Francesco Hayez is listed and pictured twice in my copy - but with different dates. The Kiss on pg. 429 is dated 1859. The Kiss on pg. 475 is dated 1881. Also, I've seen quite a few typos and wordos so far, and I'm half-way through. The book is cute, informative, but needs an editor ASAP before the next edition. Or let us in on the "joke" if that's what this is.

5 comments about Draw Manga: How to Draw Manga In Your Own Unique Style.

1. This book was well worth the money paid,the book covers many things from beginning to end,topics such as how to increase your drawing capabilities,steps to move from to get better,then slowly moves towards things such as learning figures and anatomy,then to drawing the figures and inking them,the 2 forms of inking,and what materials are best for making a manga*WITH PICTURES!*
   I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to improve, get tips, or just starting out



2. This is a useful guide for all ages and skill levels of drawing. Especially those that are not familiar with or from the culture of manga animation artistry. It gives the history and origins of manga to give the reader and artist a better of understanding of manga. It then helps the artist see how traditional manga artistry is performed and the processes to make "good" and "proper" manga characters and art. Moreover, it shows the reader and artist how to develop their own style of manga artistry based upon the principles of the tradition. Then it helps the reader and artist to create and develope manga stories, and characters to be in them with "good" plots and flow to create your own manga novel of equal greatness to all those that many/you know and love.



3. I got this book out of the library out of curiosity
   and was very suprised by its content.
   
   Most Manga books show you how to
   copy the CONTENT/STYLE of Manga; this
   this addresses Manga's FORM as well
   as its historical background and relation
   to Western comics.
   
   The section on how to use computers and
   various software to layout, ink, letter and color
   your OWN comics and/or manga
   is worth the price of the book alone.
   
   Highly Recommended!!!!



4. After you finish practicing Bruce Lewis' tips and techniques, you cannot help but emerge with your own particular style. Instructions are clear, informative and inspiring.



5. Its actualy the most helpfull book I have purchased so far when it comes to drawing in that style. It stresses the importance of practicing your own style and mastering it before moving on to anime esk figures. infact heres some advice, master basic anatomy before you decide to try manga, you have to be experienced regadless. The "How to Draw Manga" series is flawed in that it expects the customer to already know how to draw...