5 comments about Painting Flowers on Rocks.

1. I found some rocks near our cottage in the woods, and VOILA, beautiful flowers are now growing where they never could before. I am not an artist by any means, but after following the easy, detailed, step by step instructions, I had masterpieces! AMAZING book with AMAZING results. Thank you Lin for sharing your knowledge and bringing out the creative part of me I didn't know I had!



2. Follow the simple step by step directions for a beautiful "rock garden."



3. Whether you are simply curious about rock painting, or have a desire to paint flowers on rocks, this book is for you. It is well written by a world class rock artist and teacher and in addition to offering know-how, it is an encouraging book that shows the way to get involved in this fascinating and not too expensive art form.



4. This book was as I expected it to be.. the demonstrations were clear and instructons easy.. I ordered it because of an episode on the Carol Duvall show in which the author painted a beautiful bouquet on a simple smooth rock ..I have ordered other books of the same nature from Amazon before and have been equally satisfied.



5. It was such a pleasure to receive Lin's book about painting flowers on rocks. I have several of her other books which has brought us lots of hours of fun and fantasy. We appreciate her talents and her sharing her ideas with others like us. Her flower painted rocks are perfect for places like cemeteries that don't allow fresh flowers. It helps bring beauty to our loved ones graves without the work and worry of live plantings. The rocks require "no watering!" Thanks Lin for all your creative ideas.

5 comments about 1,000 Music Graphics: A compilation of packaging, posters, and other sound solutions (1000 Series).

1. This book is a treasure trove full of ideas and inspiration. Although the title says its a book of Music graphics, the ideas spawned from this book cross over into different genres. The color combinations, the typography, the different styles...I'll be constantly referring to this book for years to come.



2. This book is a "must-have" for any contemporary music enthusiast -or- at the very least, anyone who appreciates good cover art. The collection obviously represents zillions of hours of research by people who know what to look for and where to find it. Clif Stoltze designed this book with appropriate restraint so as to showcase the artwork but included plenty of zing to make for a ultra-hip book. The cover concept, with its inserted disc that actually spins, is striking, and I predict that this book will be a collectable before long. I'm advising everyone I know to scoop one up before they're gone.



3. this is one of the best recent comps of music-related graphic/image design.
   it's a little jammed-up in the page layout, but that way Rockport gets in
   more images for our delight. bravo!!



4. As a lifetime lover of music and music graphics, this book is an incredible archive of the current state of the art. It's jam-packed, and few descriptions are offered (there really is no room). But instead what we get are clear, clean images printed as large as they could possibly be due to the publisher's format restrictions. In a way, I consider having fewer words as an asset. The design of the book lets you get lost in the individual jewels of the collection.
   
   Stoltze Design put together a great set of work, fresh and inspiring, created by some well-known designers and artists; but just as many unknown or obscure. The gig posters were some of my favorite works.
   
   This book delivers, and it will inspire as a reference for graphic designers and music fans alike.



5. 1,000 Music Graphics is an utterly astounding collection of exceptional music packaging, posters, and paraphernalia by top notch designers and firms from all over the world. Page after page of colorful, conceptually rich and imagination-inducing music packaging left me feeling inspired and motivated to break out and do something entirely new and great. Soundly curated, the book includes packaging and such for a diverse range of musicians and music genres, with a handy index in the back, and an insightful introduction by the author, Clif Stoltze.
   
   This book is a worthy abundance of amazing work that's well beyond visually satisfying...it's enlightening design-wise and it also opened my eyes and ears to several musicians I had not yet heard (I soon found myself listening to samples on iTunes!). Don't think twice about owning this book - it's special and also makes for a wonderful gift for anyone who loves design and music.

5 comments about Finding Your Visual Voice: A Painter's Guide to Developing an Artistic Style.

1. I am truly enjoying this book. It has helped me reflect on my artwork, as well as validate my subject preferences and style. In addition, the artist interviews and works featured are inspirational. It is a great addition to any artist's library.



2. I received this beautiful book as a gift and have found it to be a wonderful companion in my studio. First of all it is packed with delicious colored photographs and painting reproductions on high quality paper. The concealed spiral binding makes it extra user friendly when lying on my drawing table but easy to retrieve from the book shelves (where it rarely stays). I found the interviews with artists to be insightful, perceptive and fun. I have enjoyed picking it up so many times and spending a couple minutes reading a gem that gives me the inspiration I need to move forward with my own work.
   Thanks Dakota for a terrificly thought provoking book that distills and honors the creative process.



3. This book is an easy-to-follow guide to sort out your own style of creative expression. I'm not a painter, but I have started dabbling in mosaic. I'm convinced that this book can help anyone interested in forming and developing their unique style in any visual art medium.
   
   The book is spiral-bound which means it can lay flat on the table while you refer to it. I love this feature. The chapters flow logically from recognizing your inspiration and suitable subject matter, to more technical topics like lines, composition, and process. The information is presented simply, with many examples to illustrate each point. Contemporary painters offer their advice through carefully guided interviews throughout the book. The most clever aspect of the book is the chance to review and reflect on each topic through end-of-the-chapter questions. Finally, exercises help you to apply what you have discovered about yourself and your art. Finding Your Visual Voice is a process of developing self awareness and you are gently guided through that process with this excellent book.



4. At first glance this book gave me the impression that it really was going to be a visual delight. The format of the pictures and interviews were a creative way to feel as if I were there with each artist Ms Mitchell interviewed. I am just beginning to experiment with the idea of artistic painting. This book has a variety of methods and formats to chose from if I want to experiment in various areas. As a teacher, I like the exercises at the end of each chapter. This book could be used for art classes as well as just for information about painting.



5. This book has been an inspiration to myself and several of my artist friends. It really helps you focus on your individual style and helps you find techniques that are best suited you personally. The layout is exceptional, and I loved the workbook style which allows you to experiment and use the various information provided by the guest artists.
   I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in painting, no matter what level they are. What artist, or person for that matter, wouldn't benefit from learning to find and listen to their "inner voice"?

5 comments about Area.

1. You can't go wrong with a Phaidon publication. The book is a very in-depth look at design world-wide. It has tons of examples of great design. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.



2. There is so much inspiration in this book. It's a graet resource for any designer. It will get your little design wheels spinning with fresh ideas every time you open it. There is so much in here and such a broad range of styles and subject matter. Some incredible artists.



3. There is something amazing in the way consumerism has birthed its own brand of art. In the 1880's, when Coca-Cola pushed their first few dollars across the table and asked for a slogan, I wonder if anyone ever dreamed what their industries would become and how much they would owe to this type of expression? I wonder if the idea that Frank L. Balm had about The Storefront Window, saying it was more than a place to keep a store's useless stuff, went beyond the United States becoming the frontrunner in glass consumption and into a field all its own? I ask because the field of Marketing Psychology intrigues me and, accordingly, the things we've birthed to sell items also intrigues me. Maybe "intrigue" isn't even the right world - maybe I should say that they captivate me, forcing me to search high and low for the best lightbulbs burning in the brightest phosphorescent starlight so to influence the migratory patterns of items that are pushed forth by a culmination of thought and a well-oiled pen.
   That is what is so beautiful about Area; it breathes what we are, what we consume, and how this meshes with the very fabric of how we conceive pitch and pitches, ticking and timeless, making up the very definition of art that is more than pictures generated "for art's sake." Looking here, it really reflects how the world has become vibrant and how pictures have shaped the world.
   Locked inside this book is more than a few pictures - its a blueprint of an overlooked history that America wears all over its geography.
   
   When I look at the field of graphic design, I am always tantalized by the creations that come from it, wanting to pour myself into page after page and see the "next big idea." It is somewhat like listening to the heartbeat of millions of people thumping in unison; if it clicks it happens to click, and you know what started the motion. Area proves that, too, showing you how far we've moved past the simple pixel lay-outs and into the realm of technological highs and really ingenious methods of salesmanship, making so many things seem desirable. In Marketing Psychology it is called tapping into the "ideal self" and making people buy a dream that the "actual self" doesn't seem to be able to supply.
   The idea seems easy enough to understand, too, and sometimes people laugh at the power wielded by the pen and call the "needing" lemmings. Here, in this book, I find a lot of laughter falling short of its mark and even the bigger birds of prey noticing things they adore and why they learned to adore it.
   
   When I first bought this book I thought it would simply feed my tastes and purse my lips with the hum of more curiosity, but lately I've noticed how much influence the book has. It has thousands of pictures, quite literally, and sometimes I catch my friends standing with their eyes glued to an item and that blank stare of "something remembering something" coming out as they slow move through the pages. Its as if Ford's comments on the heart of the new type of manufacturing, "machinery is the new messiah," have found application in ways he never intended.
   If you want to see how great that can become, how powerful advertising can become, then you should look at this book and see what I mean. Currently the one I own has been in my clutches for well over a year, and I still have around one hundred pages tabbed just so I can look back over them and marvel at the creativity that thrives in make-believe places orbiting some very real horizons.
   
   Even if you know nothing about art, you know what beauty is and this book comes highly recommended in that department.



4. This book is full of new and refreshing design from around the world. It helps to educate someone like me who, while getting a Graphic Design education, is getting a more traditional rundown of the field and less of a modern-day acknowledgment. "Area" addresses the artists' perspectives and shows a wide variety of visual styles and formats, and will have something extremely interesting for everyone. A great book for any designer's collection. Worth every penny.



5. Inspiration should come from all over the world. And this book gives you that.

5 comments about Dynamic Light and Shade (Practical Art Books).

1. This book has a lot of black and white drawings of Hogarth and others demonstrating different types of light; middle ground, background, foreground lighting as well as directional lighting. It is illustrated with sphere heads as well and gives you a good foundation to jump from in your own work. I am advanced in lighting already so I was a bit disappointed in the simplicity here but if you need to learn this at a basic level then there is none better! Again, it takes practiced participation in exercises to understand the lighting changes and work to learn it well--as in anything. If you are willing to learn, there are no better 'how to' books. This one is at a beginner level but still useful if you are learning directional and ground light. It was too elementary for an artist already familiar with lighting, though.



2. This book is killer.... it starts by talking about silhouettes.... then adding 1 highlight... then more and more form definition...
   
   Everything from directional light, to moonlight, to sculptural light.
   
   Great for anyone looking to add detail to their line work.



3. A very nice book, with a lot of important notes about the subject, but the images look like comics to much.



4. This book will not significantly improve your understanding of how light affects and creates shadows on form. However, I don't believe any book can do that. You can learn to draw a realistic face from your imagination, but the variations of how light will affect forms are infinite. Most artists who get good at "faking" it rely on a good understanding of form and perspective, backed by countless hours spent observing and drawing things under various lighting situations. They basically are always relying on observation, be it direct, photographic, or remembered. Try to think of an artist who could create truly convincing, consistent lighting for a scene from their head. I can't think of any. I guess my point is, let's not be too hard on old Burney, he was just trying to make a buck:)
   
   If this book has a practical application, it's probably as a collection of creative ways to light your subjects to achieve particular dramatic affects. Fun to flip through, but just not all that useful.



5. This book is good to illustrate the phenomena of light in a composition. It discusses the different kinds of light and their effect on the environment of the picture. Worth getting to use as reference material.

5 comments about John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits.

1. No.
   
   Granted, there are differences in the stories. (Mild differences.) And, the book is better than the movie. (Mildly better.) But, if you've seen the film you are bound to find yourself asking, 'Why am I reading this?'
   
   Ultimately, Hellblazer is a horror story: The excitement in reading the work is the subversion of normal expectations (real world setting... but, with daemons and magic), the creation of tension (cancer, a life of regrets... but, with daemons and magic), and, most particularly, with the reveal / resolution of the tension.
   
   In any Hellblazer tale the normal world goes sideways, bad things happen, and, impossibly, Constantine makes it out alive. And that makes for good reading. As long as you don't already know the reveal. Which, if you've seen the movie, you do.
   
   So this isn't so much a negative review as it is a warning that if you've seen the film you are better off buying a different issue of Hellblazer.



2. Garth Ennis decides to take the decidedly low-rent, if dangerous John Constantine even lower. Smoking a lot really is bad for you, even if you are a magician of sorts.
   
   Constantine here finds out he has lung cancer, and it is going to get him. For him, being dead is most definitely not something he is looking forward to, as it is likely to hurt for a long, long time.



3. Garth Ennis is one of the most consistently entertaining writers in comics today, and one of the most challenging. DANGEROUS HABITS is the beginning of that. Obviously his great work has continued through his run on HELLBLAZER to his unbelivably innovative and instantly addictive series PREACHER, to his challenging work on WAR STORIES and his hilariously over-the-top reboot of THE PUNISHER. In regard to DANGEROUS HABITS, although he is missing his best artistic sidekick, Steve Dillon, that does not prevent this run of HELLBLAZER from being the best I've ever read, with one of the greatest plot twists in comic history. It's simply brilliant.



4. Garth Ennis, John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits (Vertigo, 1994)
   
   It is entirely likely that anyone reading this review doesn't need me to say a thing about it. You already know who John Constantine is (even those of you who don't follow comics, thanks to the recent Keanu Reeves vehicle). You probably even know what issue numbers are contained in this book, which was the beginning of Garth Ennis' stint as the primary writer, and what happens in them. On the off chance, however, that someone who's not into comics stumbles across this review, I'll go ahead and say "get this."
   
   Chain-smoking, hard-drinking John Constantine, rake, magician, and all-around bad guy, has just found out he has terminal lung cancer. He's going to die. He has few to turn to for help; most of his friends are dead, and both friends and adversaries still alive are loath to help him for various reasons of their own. Thus, Constantine has to come up with a typically brilliant, diabolical plan in order to get himself out of an inextricable mess.
   
   Granted, this is a regular day in the life of the Hellblazer, but Ennis, the man behind the great Preacher, brings a style and energy to Constantine's character that's undeniable and attractive. He's a bit less comfortable with some of the minor characters from older issues, as if he's still getting used to being thrust into their skins, but as this story arc is highly centered around Constantine and a new character, that doesn't play as important a part as one might at first think. (The Snob, especially, is... well, downright boring here.) Ennis' writing is as witty and wiseacre as ever, and, well, it's simply a load of fun. If you're not familiar with Constantine, you may want to hunt down Original Sins before this, but this is one you'll definitely want to go on to. *** ½



5. i have been a fan of the dc vertigo series for a while. i finally came around to reading this book after watching the movie. while being similar in many ways, the differences make this comic and the movie entertaining in similar and different ways. the comic is a little more indepth while the movie is faster paced. the other main difference is the movie takes place in america and the book takes place in england, so be prepared for brittish cussing instead of american.
   
   off the subject of the movie vs comic, this is extremely well written. l haven't read the first hellblazer graphic novel original sins yet, so i can't say about the continuing storyline. he is the antihero that intentionally pisses off everyone including his friends. also i liked the way he kept his soul, but i don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't already read this book. awesome read for anyone who had a taste of the dc vertigo collection and likes it.

5 comments about How To Draw Manga: Sketching Manga-Style Volume 1: Sketching As Composition Planning (How to Draw Manga).

1. It's no exageration. I own dozens of books on sketching, Manga, artistic anatomy, etc. But this one book is almost all inclusive. You can't go wrong with buying this product.
   
   I must point out, however, that it's not for beginners. It expects you to have some basic knowledge of anatomy and proportions, so that you can be thought to stylize them, or even deform them.
   
   A part I really enjoyed is the step by step drawings shown by the hand of the experts. Also, at the end, they provide guidelines on how to properly color your finished pieces.
   
   Overall, this is a must-have for any artist, or sketching enthusiast, regardless of his/her taste for Manga.



2. [this is NOT helena! it is her daughter jackie! haii!!!]
   when i first bought this book i luved it as soon as i first flipped through the pages!!!
   this book helped me improve A LOT and also taught me things i never noticed before!!!
   this book is great for beginners who are just starting out on the manga drawing experience!!! it gives some basic anatomy [not the boring useless stuff just the essentials :)] and also explans [with both pics and words] how the body moves!!! <---- nessecery for drawing [no matter wat style!!!]
   it is also great for intermediate artist who already no the basics and have some experience with manga style art [like myself i guess]!!! it provides lots of references and also explains anatomy and muscle structure and the way it affects the bodys movement...
   it helped me to greatly improve and u have no idea how important it is to be familiar with the muscle and bone structures and how they move [no im not saying that u need to be able to draw a skeleton and then all the layers of muscles on top! just now how the spin bends and wat happens when u raise ur arms...etc...]
   i would recomend this book for any artist no matter wat level u r at!!! its a wonderful book and is great especially if ur poses look strange, unnatural or stiff [haha just like mine DID]
   along with drawing the body, poses, balance, and face and all that wonderful stuff there is also a section on clothing [which i needed very badly] and one on colouring
   overal this was just a fantastic book!!! it was extremely helpful to me and still is!!! i highly recomend getting this book as soon as u get the chance!!! u wont regret it!!! :]
   [on one of the other reviews someone listed all the chapters included in the book, i suggest look through the list because i didnt list everthing that is covered!!! thank you (srry i dont remember who posted that review):)
   sections i found extremely helpful:
   haha well pretty much the whole book but especially the section on;
   ~balancing pose
   ~how the bones and muscles move and effect the body [shoulders, elbows, legs/hips...etc...]
   ~backbone [how it effects...well pretty much EVERYTHING]
   ~clothing [folds, thick/thin fabric, ...etc]
   ~shoulders [movement and blah]
   ~hands [movements and blah]
   ~feet [movemetns and blah]
   ~legs [movements and blah]
   haha im like naming the whole book XD
   well there is much more but thats all im saying for now :]
   plz buys this book i promise it will be much help to u [well i hope it will be as much help to u as it was to me(if not more)!!!] :]



3. Over the years I've slowly put together a sizable library of these How to Draw Manga books without even realizing it.
   
   That being said, I'll be the first to admit that the usefulness of some of these books is kind of hit or miss. But the Manga Sketching books are fantastic drawing resources regardless of whether you want to draw in a Manga style or not.
   
   This book is really more grounded in basic figure drawing techniques than other How to Draw Manga books that are largely caged in by the conventions of Japanese comic art. It's also a heftier book at being almost 60 pages longer than some of the other books in the series.
   
   A major section of the book is dedicated to a broad survey of human anatomy, and I would say it does a better job on the subject than many books that focus strictly on anatomy for artists. There's 9 pages dedicated to the head & neck alone. And all of the examples feature the body in motion, which is far more helpful in seeing how the body fits together than a bunch of stiff poses.
   
   Much of the rest of the text is about design tips to solidify the body type you're shooting for or "enhancing a sense of presence" as the manga books often put it, which boils down to creating more interesting, dynamic poses.
   
   Good figure drawing has many basic principles, no matter what style is laid on top of it. "Sketching Manga Style" is a fantastic resource to have around.



4. This book covers a modern technique used by professional artists. If you have no drawing experience whatsoever, this might not be a good place to start. Those who have spent some time learning basic techniques and can produce basic figures could will definitely profit from this book.
   
   The brilliant part is complete sets of images showing pros creating a new drawing from scratch, with detailed notes on each step. Given sufficient talent, you could eliminate some steps and duplicate what the artists are doing to finish drawings faster.
   
   However, by skipping directly to what the pros apparently do now, the beginning artist misses the building blocks of learning that those same pros went through to get where they are today. Generally a beginning book starts with simple shapes, basic anatomy, perspective, etc. Mastery of fundamentals gives an artist the freedom and capability to create any character and pose.
   
   The analogy to this is the first impressionist master painters. Every one of them was first trained as a classical painter. Picasso could paint in photographic realism if he wanted. His mastery of the fundamentals made his cubist work great.
   
   If you have the basics already, this is a wonderful reference, and I would recommend it to beginners as well so long as they also get references that teach fundamentals.



5. I was really surprised when I was actually able to get this book in my hands!!! I waited so many months before I could order this book! Any way, this book is comprised from three different artists', Hikaru Hayashi, (my fav by the way) Takehiko Matsumoto, and Kazuaki Morita. These three artists' teamed up to compile a book with there own renditions of stetching manga. Basically this book is a giant rough sketch book showing you the basic shapes they used to get their art work to look the way it does. This is actually helpful in alot of ways. It is preparing you on how to do this so that you can have a idea on how to draw your own manga masterpieces. Toward the end of the book, they give examples of some of the artist's work and how to improve the color on the artwork.
   The contents of this book includes:
   
   Chapter one: Sketching while planning
   Differences between standard
   Sketching and Manga sketch frontline Part 1
   Drawing a female character standing
   Drawing a close-up of a female charcters face
   A look at the Manga charcter standing
   Drawing the figure in reverse
   Manga sketching forms the foundation of planning
   
   Chapter Two: The fundamental in sketching a face Manga style
   The basics of sketching a face layout
   (using circles and X's)
   Reduction of the head rendered
   Using a Circle and X layout
   The steps in drawing a face
   Drawing the same face
   Darwing an assortment of faces
   Ths basics in drawing the head
   Conceiving of the head as a solid
   The basics in drawing the head
   The face's musculature, and expressions
   Drawing facial expressions based on muscle movement
   
   Chapter three: The fundamentals in drawing a figure manga style
   The backbone forms the base of composition
   The backbone travels the length of the torso
   The backbone is the source of movement
   Adding arms and legs after completing the torso
   The steps in drawing a figure
   Guideline defining the backbone from the front
   Drawing a standing pose using
   the bone and the axial line
   Using the axial line to draw
   A front view standing pose with presence
   Standing poses and the center of gravity
   Noting the spacing between the feet when drawing
   The body's structure
   Major body parts and their names
   Muscles affecting the exterior contours
   Distinguishing the genders
   Figure drawing
   Proportional differences
   Makeup of the primary joints and movement
   1. Basic neck structure and movement
   2. Basic spine structure and torso movement
   3. Basic shoulder and arm
   connections and movement
   4. Basic leg structure and movement
   5. Basic hand and finger structure and maovement
   6. Basic leg structure and movement
   
   Chapter four: From sketching to design
   The fundamentals of stylization
   Character design techniques using stylization
   Stylized face design
   Stylized figure design
   Techniques for designing distinctive characters
   Thin and trim build
   Powerful and muscular builds
   Grotesquely muscular build
   Slender female characters
   Freindly super deformed (ultra stylized) characters
   The reality behind key poses
   Composition technique: Imagining a box
   What constitutes a three deminsional figure
   Placing A figure in a box
   The steps in drawing a figure from a box
   Techniques in dressing characters
   The ABCs of drawing clothes
   The reality behind dressing characters
   Drawing dynamic poses
   Cover character designing frontline
   Coloring characters
   Coloration improvement Techniques
   The improved Palette
   Improved finished artwork
   Artists' discuss the true nature of manga sketching
   
   All-in all this book rocks! It is the complete how to draw book I know. It is jam packed with hepful drafts to get you on the right track. This book is not for beginners though. I think this book would be suited for those more along the lines of intermediate to advance. This book is a must buy! Add it to your how to draw arsenal now!

5 comments about Collecting Contemporary.

1. I loved this book! Nicely written, easy to refer to, good mixture of examples. If you're going to buy a work of art because you like it, or because you hope it'll grow in value have a read. No book will change the colour of your wall-paper, or give you prophetic foresight into the future value of the art market, but this book will give you valuable insights to deal with the main players (artists, dealers,etc), & understand the mechanisms that move the market.



2. Great book, well worth the read. I liked all the interviews with the dealers and collectors and every art lover who is thinking about starting a collection should ready this book first.



3. Excellent book. Gives inside information on how the whole contemporary art market system works. Very helpful for emerging contemporary artists. Good buy.



4. Adam Lindemann, is an art collector who has written a book, Collecting Contemporary. It is a good reference material and serves as a basic road map for the burgeoning art collector - and possibly an even better one for emerging artists.
   
   Since I am founding a new theory of art (UnGraven Image), which includes a written manifesto booklet on the theory, I am exceptionally interested in reaching other artists with what will help them. This book will.
   
   I appreciated the information I found within so much I devoted a whole weekly blog to it (and longer review) at my web site. Other reviews here and in the press have dealt with the information for collectors -- and it is useful for them. However, emerging artists get a good overview of the gatekeepers and movers and shakers in the art world. What motivates a collector -- a curator -- or a gallerist to select the work of an artist?
   Read this book to learn more!
   -- Judy Rey Wasserman, Founder & Artist, UnGraven Image
   
   



5. Starting with the positives: you can read the entire book in about 15 minutes.
   Here's the bottom line: buy what you like and can afford.
   Dealers and critics try to make artists famous because that is how they make their money.
   If you buy something from a dealer and later decide that you don't like it, it is considered hoyle (by dealers) to give the dealer first dibs on the re-sale.
   Instead of buying this book, save your money and buy a work from a local artist you like - all will be better served.

5 comments about The Impatient Beader.

1. This book has great ideas for necklace and bracelet designs. The only thing you need to be aware of is this: her list of what you need for each project is not accurate. For example, the grey scale necklace on page 48 calls for 74 pearls. You actually need about 74 for each of the four strings.



2. Almost everything I know about making jewelry I learned from Margot Potter's Impatient Beader book. Seriously. I bought this book because after a winter of being snowed in with nothing to do, I found myself obsessively shopping online auctions and buying piles of pretty beads. I had no idea what to do with them, so I needed to learn--quickly. Margot's book was exactly what I needed. It has excellent visuals (good for the person who is too lazy to read) and truly FUN projects. Most important if you're just learning: The book is set up so that the projects build sequentially in skills and complexity.
   
   Reading the text gives you the impression that Margot is looking over your shoulder (not in a creepy way) giving you good advice and cheering you on in your learning and creative expression. This is also the first craft book I've ever owned that is actually funny.
   
   When I started teaching non-English-speaking, nonliterate refugee women how to make jewelry, this was the first book they wanted to borrow and it's still making the rounds--I haven't seen my copy in months. Margot's work transcends cultures--and language.
   
   I only wish I, too, could get a little cartoon character representation of myself, then my Margot Potter-inspired beading joy would be complete. Buy the book--it will be money well spent!



3. From the cover to the very end, this is definitely a great starter book for the neophyte beader. Margot Potter takes you carefully, step-by-step, in how to use findings and how to attach them to your projects. Not usually shown in other bead primers is the use of a bead board and how to make your own jump rings. The projects are not quite as funky as in Margot's later Impatient Beader books but, after all, she's just preparing you for the uninhibited possibilities in her follow-on books. Her chapters lead you on increasingly more difficult, but still fairly simple, projects that won't serve to discourage a beginner. Get this book first and learn the basics then learn how to go crazy with these basics using Margot's later books.



4. This books is full of really fun projects which I cannot wait to do. However, it's also riddled with typos--especially on the quantity and colors of beads you need so pay attention!!!! I'm working on Mermaid's Bounty and if you follow the instructions, you'll have 120 beads left over.



5. This book is all that it is supposed to be...fun, fast, and funky! Margot Potter has a sparkling personality that shines through in her off the wall designs. She doesn't take herself nor jewelry making too seriously and that is why it is so much fun to read this book. Even if you don't make all the designs in the book you can't help but be inspired by her infectious style. It also helps you to see outside of the jewelry box and think about things that aren't meant for jewelry in a whole new light. Both this book and the follow up books are worth having in your personal library no matter what type of jewelry you like to design. Ms Potter brings a lot of fun to an age-old art and challenges us all to be inspired by the mundane ordinary things around us.

5 comments about Drawing as a Sacred Activity: Simple Steps to Explore Your Feelings and Heal Your Consciousness.

1. It certainly cannot hurt to try this book. I find that if actually gave me peace of mine doing exercises,I managed to put a curb on my worries and look at things differently.



2. This book takes a simple idea, (drawing with the left and right hand)and does amazing things. By bypassing the left brain filter, drawing with each hand (and primarily the left if you are a rightie), will reveal what is REALLY going on in you and with you. Her words and work encourage you to draw, without concerns about skill or talent. All artwork is sacred with this tool. I have used it with my own clients and had amazing and powerful results. The truth really hits home with people, and they are able to SEE what is within, and where healing is calling them. I love this technique for myself too. It is an encouraging, spiritually juicy book. I couldn't put it down!



3. Creativity is the wellspring of our own innate beauty and connection to Creator. Williams gives us simple but powerful tools to nurture, support, and express the Creative Force within each one of us. The nondominant hand work draws out amazing insights into how we can birth our own most powerful Self. Most of all, she gently guides us to create lovely expressions of our Spirit which can utterly transform self-image. Simply the best guide for spiritual self expression available today!



4. Heather Williams has written an excellent book that guides the artist and nonartist alike into the deeper realms of emotional experience. She offers unique insights into seeing, feeling, and intuiting both our inner and outer worlds. The nondominant hand exercises bring out deep wisdom in a powerful way. I highly recommend this book.



5. Heather Williams has written a book for the private person who wants to increase self knowledge in the privacy of their own home, and at their own speed. The sequence of information allows for the reader to browse and do exercises as they are moved. It gives theory blended in with practical suggestions on how to do your own self discovery, one self determined picture at a time. She is sensitive, thorough in her explanations, and offers her own examples so that the reader is reassured that this is a book for everyone,rather than for acclaimed artists. Ms. Williams stresses that everyone has artistic ability and she shows us inroads to discovery of our unique expression of the art within each of us. This book is more than a self-help manual-- it is a self discovery map for the seeker of self knowledge.