5 comments about Successful Lyric Writing: A Step-By-Step Course & Workbook.

1. If you only bought Sheila Davis' book on the Craft of Lyric Writing, do yourself a BIG favour and BUY THIS WORKBOOK! The new workbook gives you a chance to go through exercises for all the critical concepts that Davis teaches in her previous hard-cover book. If you are only thinking of buying this workbook, do yourself an even bigger favour and buy the hard-cover book as well. Both books are important to place in your library.



2. Ms. Davis's other book, "The Craft of Lyric Writing", was recommended to me. Looking in the library this one was the next book over, (oh, great fortune!) so I took both out. I have just ordered both for purchase because, as a composer of some experience who has now made the leap of trying lyric writing (and anyone that thinks it's easy is kidding himself) I cannot imagine my library without them.

   Her step-by-step suggestions, professional and well-considered insights, and many examples demonstrating things like writers' consistent viewpoint, simplicity/clarity, etc. (or lack thereof) have already resulted in a successful rewrite of a tune that was driving me bonkers.

   Finally, for what it's worth, I'm not only not a 'book person' when learning something, but have no use for 'success formulas' and can smell snake oil a mile away---and this sure aint either.

   Thank you, Dr. Sheila. You've made me a better songwriter.




3. Ms. Davis's other book, "The Craft of Lyric Writing", was recommended to me. Looking in the library this one was the next book over, (oh, great fortune!)so I took both out. I have just ordered both for purchase because, as a composer of some experience who has now made the leap of trying lyric writing (and anyone that thinks it's easy is kidding himself) I cannot imagine my library without them.

   Her step-by-step suggestions, professional and well-considered insights, and many examples demonstrating things like writers' consistent viewpoint, simplicity/clarity, etc. (or lack thereof) have already resulted in a successful rewrite of a tune that was driving me bonkers.

   Finally, for what it's worth, I'm not only not a 'book person' when learning something, but can have no use for 'success formulas' and can smell snake oil a mile away---and this sure aint either.

   Thank you, Dr. Sheila. You've made me a better songwriter.




4. So far this is a great book. Good for beginners who need to add structure to their writing. A note: this book seems like a good starting point and a good guideline as tohow to start writing. MY ONLY COMPLAINT: The example songs are old and outdated and therefore makes it somewhat hard for the younger reads. That's it. Enjoy.



5. In this book, Sheila Davis has designed a course of study that beautifully introduces the concepts of songwriting in an understandable and helpful order. Being a teacher, I value any book that offers students a chance to build skills through practical exercises.

   Davis's exercises allow the student to explore concepts in whatever song style in which they write.

   What I like best about this workbook is the section on "The Whole Brain." Once students have mastered the craft of lyric writing, Davis focuses on means of finding inspiration and beginning the writing process.

   This book was a tremendous help to me and my fellow students as we began our journey into the world of songwriting. Thank you, Sheila Davis!

5 comments about Edward Hopper.

1. Wonderfully presented book of a great artist. Personal and career information is contained in a nice format. Art is described in the context of the time and the artist - his influences, the influences of the time.



2. The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition: "Edward Hopper", organised by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and the Art Institute of Chicago, 2007-2008. It comprises a series of nine essays by different writers, and concludes with Notes, a Chronology, a Checklist and Figure Illustrations and a Selected Bibliography.
   
   This is a handsome volume large in size and almost square in format, illustrated throughout predominately in colour. The informative essays, each dealing with a specific period or genre, discuss the artist, his work and his methods, are illustrated throughout, with the relevant works appearing on or close to the page on which there are discussed. The illustrations are excellent, virtually full colour throughout, the black and white images being mainly drawings or period photographs. Many of the paintings are reproduced half or full page size, with a few full page bleed images of a detail from selected paintings. The quality of reproduction is excellent, often revealing the brush work and surface texture, and the colour rich and vibrant. In total there are 202 illustrations of which 180 are in full colour, they represent works in oils, watercolours and prints. A very desirable publication.



3. One of the highlights of my summer was attending the Hopper exhibition at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, for which this volume (published by the MFA) was the companion text. At 288 pages, mostly filled with suberb reproductions of Hopper's paintings and sketches, this volume is comprehensive enough for even the most devoted Hopper fan. Perhaps only Gail Levin's "Catalogue Raisonne" offers a more comprehensive look at the artist. No matter how many art books you may own, clear a spot on your shelf or coffee table for this one. You will not be disappointed.



4. Edward HopperThis book is a great presentation of the outstanding Hopper exhibit at the MFA/Boston. Well worth seeing.



5. Plenty of catalogs and art histories have featured the works of Edward Hopper, but what makes EDWARD HOPPER different is this emphasis on his strengths from the 1920s-1940s, when he produced many of his greatest works. A focus on European influences, critical reactions to his productions, his themes and choices, and his special challenges makes for detailed insights on the personality and ambitions of Hopper, while full-page color illustrations - some 150 in all - provide visual emphasis. Perfect for art libraries and for public lending collections seeking even one definitive Hopper coverage.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

1 comments about Miro (Taschen 25th Anniversary).

1. This book about Miro is presented in an interview format and is a wonderful representation of the artist's life, not only in the words but in the reproductions as well.

3 comments about The Potter's Book of Glaze Recipes.

1. This Book is a great book for any beginner Potter. It has over 400 recipes for glazes and it also explains how to adjust the glaze ifyou have a problem. I love my Book and I know I will use it for a very long time.



2. Easy to use and keeps open while I work on recipes.Great size . Great pictures on nice paper.



3. I am thrilled with this new book I recently purchased, I have had Emmanual Cooper's other books on glazing and recipes - and found them most informative and the glazes pretty true to explanation
   I also have found that they are quite stable - we fire in the higher 1260.C upwards catagory and the sometimes glaze recipes unless worked out correctly can be very unstable and uninteresting.
   All in all a very worthwhile book and easy to use, a definate "MUST HAVE" for your collection

5 comments about The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent.

1. I was flipping through a How to ... Watercolor book the other day. The author said to look at Sargent's watercolors every night before you go to sleep. There. Now I've justified you buying the book.



2. My copy is an oversize paperback of about 160 pages. Reproductions of paintings inside are typically page-size and out weigh the text content almost ten to one. It is very much a visual document. The reproductions are, if not excellent, at least decent / good. (Nothing can match viewing a Sargent painting in person. The real colors are still subtle yet just magnificent.)
   By chapters, if you will, the book is organized into about ten short ones. Hard to say more precisely. The first is biographical. A few are housekeeping: bibliography and the like. The rest, some nine units are by topic painted, mostly by region, e.g. "in the Mountains" or "Florida". The former unit contains "Mountain Stream", perhaps my most favorite watercolor of all.
   Why did I buy this book? (Actually, two copies?) I think I have all of the images in at least one other book. There are other essays published about Sargent and about his watercolors, some of them quite brilliant. I've seen better reproductions. It is not a "how-to-paint" book and one couldn't learn to paint out of a book anyway. (Although to new watercolorists that idea seems quite tempting. "If only I knew just what exact brushes Sargent used...")
   Two reasons for buying come to mind: because I can afford the reasonable price and because the book simply is there. The book is there and it is another perspective / angle on Sargent and his watercolors. The scholars of Greek drama tell us that there are only ten (or pick your number) plots, yet still we watch television, read new books and attend movies. A thousand times more than ten. Likewise for me, a Sargent enthusiast, one all-definitive book on Sargent would still not suffice. I have to see each viewpoint / perspective myself. Insatiably. I read them all. Carl Little's book is a good one. And I surely know good from bad; I've bought and read many quickie Sargent books with lousy reproductions trotted out just before the holiday season. This in not one of those; this is the real, quality thing. A very nice book with good if very limited text and plenty of decent reproductions. I'm glad I bought it. That is, bought them. :)



3. I was looking for a Sargent book exclusively dedicated to his watercolours. I think the Carl Little book is the best one. The book is very manageable (I prefer the paperback as I use it a lot around the house as well as for reference). The size makes it also very usable, rather than having the large, heavy, coffee table editions which I find difficult to hold. The content is spot on for me; I'm after the images with a little written background to Sargent's life; this is very well presented in Little's book. The quality of the spine lacks a bit, but then again, I make sure I get out as much juice out of this book as possible!



4. This is a book about the watercolours of John Singer Sargent so don't expect to see other than this. It's very well written and illustrated and it coverso all painters life. I also bought a big monographic book about Sargent and this one because I love his watercolours. I do think it's interesting to have if you already have a monographic book about this painters.



5. As a watercolorist, this book is a model of technique, and I am happy to have it to study his composition,his values distribution and his ability to simplify without losing meaning

1 comments about Just Us Guys.

1. This book is great if you like homoerotic artwork. It makes a perfect coffee table book! My only complaint is how short the book is.

4 comments about Women, Art, and Society (World of Art).

1. Fine classroom text, interesting read:
   
   This book with m. Slatkin's book to assist with organization, are good classroom texts and both excellant reads.



2. I was very pleased to see the GREAT condition that this book was in. It looked BRAND NEW. Thank you for the great product at such a low price!



3. The information in this book should be in every Art History 101 text book, but unfortunately it isn't! It does read like a good text book and there are lots of illustrations (although there could be lots more). Chadwick is in expert in her field. Anyone interested in Art History should know what this book covers...



4. This book does conatain some truly valuable information, unfortunately it is also full of so much useless information that you become completely overwhelmed.

2 comments about Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity in the 19th Century (October Books).

1. HUGE thumbs up. Crary historicizes technological vision and illuminates an underrepresented point: things we're taught to think of as objective, such as cameras and vision, are in fact quite subjective and historical. They're ideas first, which means social/cultural ideas, from design to usage. Gradually these cultural ideas plus economic and technological possibility fuse into 'things'. The social aspects get invisibly embedded into these 'things' through myths of objectivity and modern people's desire to be taken care of by machines. When cultural values become things we are conditioned not to see the subjective part. Why? Our primary way of thinking is still the way of the Enlightenment -- from the 18th century -- which loves measuring and equating and separates 'myth' from 'science'. [Which is which? as Roger Waters asks, Do you think you can tell?] Western high culture privileges thinking and seeing over affect and body, imagining they are separate and valuing one over the other. Really it's just an excuse for laziness and cultural arrogance.
   
   Read this book along with Eric Michaels' _Bad Aboriginal Art_ and Adorno and Horkheimer's _Dialectic of Enlightenment_ to begin to see glimpses of Western cultural values and narratives embedded in today's supposedly 'objective' media such as photography, video, TV, vision, etc. Do the work and eventually technology will be a mirror of your own social/historical context.



2. Crary presents some interesting views on the perception of art. I found that it took a while for his ideas to formulate - the writing tends to be a bit wordy. I would recommend the book with reservations - really only for the serious academic reader. Not a casual bedside book.

4 comments about The Eternal Army: The Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor (Timeless Treasures).

1. I ordered this book so I could read about the terracotta warriors prior to visiting the exhibit currently at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA. The other reviews are really what sold me on the book - especially the review by B. Evans.
   
   I ordered the book July 31 (Sunday) and paid for shipping so I could receive it prior to my museum visit August 7. I expected it to arrive the 6th but it arrived on the 4th! I was very pleased with the fast service. I was astounded when I saw the book. It surpassed the reviews by far. It's gorgeous! There's so much background information and the writing style is excellent and the photos are superb.
   
   If you have an opportunity to see an exhibit, please go! But first - buy this book! I'm so glad I'd read the background information (I skimmed a lot - there's a lot of information!) and looked at the very detailed photos prior to my visit. It made it so much more enjoyable (there's an audio guide and great written plaques at the museum but I liked knowing all that information beforehand). I also appreciate the photos even more now because the museum has low lighting and that makes a difference when you're over 50! Seeing the warriors in person is a great experience - but having this book is even better because the details are sharper and you get a vast amount of information. The exhibit had the 2 chariots with horses and so many of the warriors and animals that are featured in the book that you have your own museum tour right there in the book.
   
   I almost bought a book that featured a large fold-out of the warriors lined up in the pit. I saw that book in the museum and looked at the fold-out (and another fold-out was placed on the wall). The photography was inferior to the photography in this book. I looked at all the books the museum had and was thrilled with this book. It's really the best. So thank you to the first 3 reviewers! You sold me and I'm grateful! One thing no one mentioned was the quality of the paper in this book. That struck me immediately. It has very high quality, glossy paper which makes it easy to read and makes the photographs stand out. With tax and shipping, it came to $41.79 and is worth so much more than that.



2. I bought the book for the friend to give as a gift. I thought she had given it for Valentine's Day, but here's what she said when I asked her for a review: I didn't give it to him - I decided to wait til his b-day in Nov but yes, the book is excellent - exactly what he wants - the pictures are beyond excellent and extremely detailed - it's an excellent book!



3. I bought THE ETERNAL ARMY to learn more about its discovery, the reason for its creation, and above all, for its many incredibly stunning/revealing photographs. So closely are the soldiers shown, for example, that one can clearly see the different facial expressions of each. But I was even more amazed by how detailed and different the backs of their heads are, especially the ones with braided hair. And that each soldier's armor is made up of a myriad plates absolutely astonished me.
   
   In addition to the famous soldiers and bronze chariots (also shown in incredible detail), the camera treats the reader to close-ups of the chariot driver, archers, functuaries and the scantily clad figures now thought to perhaps be gymnasts or wrestlers "ready to engage in an exercise of martial arts." Shown too are many artifacts, such as bronze birds, that were found along with the army. But perhaps most mind-boggling of all are the photographs of finds yet to be reassembled, for they attest to how monumental the task has been to excavate and restore but a fraction of the emperor's army.
   
   Had the above, including the fascinating information about the army, been all that was in this book, I still would have gladly spent every dollar I did to purchase two copies. But much to my amazement, there was even more: approximately 90 pages of background about ancient China and the Qin empire--pages laced with stunning photographs of related artifacts and watercolors, pages so interesting that I learned much about a period that I'd had absolutely no interest in. And as an added bonus, the entire book is written in prose not the least bit pedantic. For these reasons, there are neither superlatives nor stars enough to convey how highly I recommend this book. --B. Evans, 12/11/07
   
   Incidentally, photographs from this tome were used to make the four jigsaw puzzles of the terracotta army in a slim, $6.99 remainder book with the same title that currently is available at Border's.



4. The striking feature of this book is its inclusion of unusually large photos of close-ups of some individual soldiers. Two individual chariots, in addition, receive in-depth illustration of various aspects. If you really want to have a taste of what it feels when seeing as different each of the soldiers' faces, you will never be disappointed with this book in hand.
   
   Several historical incidents that happened in this period also attract elaboration from this book. How the Emperor burnt thousands of scholars and books in order to take control of people's mind, is something that is explained through a model of the scene by the authors.
   
   At the end of the book, the authors also explain how they, with the help of the Chinese officials, took the photos, with equipment weighing over 1000 pounds.
   
   In the middle of the book the authors also attempt to delineate the long tradition of the Chinese philosophical thought as expressed in different schools, that preceded the rule of the Emperor over the unified China, which lasted only for 15 years!
   While the discussion of the philosophical thoughts might not be deep enough, I guess the readers who are interested in this book would not count this as any issue. For overall each of the faces of the soldiers that feature in the photos already tell thousands of different stories, given the reader's own imagination.
   
   I would recommend this book as a highly collectible gem!

5 comments about Monotype: Mediums and Methods for Painterly Printmaking.

1. This book gives a thorough overview of Monotype printing. It starts out with materials needed, then goes on to talk about hand transfers, press transfers and doing monotypes in acrylic, watercolor, oil and printmaking inks. It covers mixed media and stencils, masks, etc. It has much practical/useful information in each section on both techniques and materials. There are examples of each type of work covered, athough I would have liked to see a larger "gallery" of work by different artist. A very good book if you are interested in monotypes.



2. This book answered many questions that other artists and I were asking regarding monotype. It gives you permission to proceed in any direction, using any materials you choose.



3. I'm so glad I bought this book. It is one of those I take down regularly. The author thoroughly understands monotype in many mediums. A previous reviewer mentioned how well the toxicity issue was dealt with. Lots of good color illustration.



4. I agree with the previous reviews - if you're creating monoprints, and particularly if you're looking for non-toxic methods, this is a great book. It's full color with many inspiring illustrations, and full of useful, practical information written in a friendly, down-to-earth manner.
   
   Re. recommended paints: I recently had the pleasure of taking a monoprinting class with Julia Ayres and her daughter Gail Ayres (at the Art Methods & Materials Show in Pasadena, CA, Oct 2004). The Ayres now recommend using the new Akua-Kolor waterbased inks by Rostow & Jung (www.waterbasedinks.com) which I assume were not invented at the time this book was originally printed. The advantage is that these inks are non-toxic, clean up easily, and they stay moist for days. You then print to DRY printmaking paper, and the inks dry instantly once they hit the paper. Now you don't have to worry about the inks drying on the plate, or handling fragile, wet paper. (I shoved my Createx paints in a bottom drawer after the workshop!)
   
   (If you get the opportunity, take a class with the Ayres if you're just getting started, as there's nothing quite like seeing the process in action and the book will make even more sense! They also teach using the PinPress Roller for making monoprints by hand; very useful if you don't have access to an expensive printing press.)



5. There seems to be very limited information available on the technique of monotype. This book fills that void by demonstrating the incredible variety of effects possible using the monotype method. There are no projects, per se, rather it teaches techniques that help you create your own masterpieces. Many pieces of example artwork are found throughout the book.

   A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print made by transferring a painted image to paper. The book starts out with an introduction to materials including plates, mediums, solvents, panting tools and paper as well as hand and press transfer equipment. It also covers studio safety and finding workshop facilities.

   Techniques are next including working into a light or dark field and both hand and press transfer.
   These include step-by-step instructions accompanied by demonstration photos. Working in specific mediums including watercolor, acrylics, water-soluble writing instruments, monoprint paints (Createx), oil paints, water-based oils and alkyds follows. A section discussing special oil-based printing inks for lithography, etching, printing and serigraphy is also here. There is even a chapter on special techniques including using masks & stencils, embossing and creating collages.

   The final chapter gives an overview of monoprints, which combine monotype with other print making processes, and mixed-media monotypes. This includes intaglio, drypoint and engraving, as well as linocut and collagraphic monoprints.

   There is a nice list of suppliers as well as interesting biographical notes on the artists featured in the back. This is a great book that displays the great diversity in mediums and results available with monotype.