No comments about The Penland Book of Ceramics: Master Classes in Ceramic Techniques (A Lark Ceramics Book).

5 comments about Collage Sourcebook: Exploring the Art and Technique of Collage.

1. I haven't purchased this book although I thought about it. I wondered after reading some less than stellar reviews here whether I should in fact, spend my hard-earned dollars. So I figured I'd google the authors and have a look at their work in order to judge how much they could impart about collage. Well, there wasn't any art available for viewing from any of the three women involved in this work to be found on the web!!! This, combined with the nebulous reviews here, means maybe I should just hang on to my sheckels until a book by collage artists who have some fresh ideas to publish.



2. I was disappointed with this book as I didn't realize I already had part of it from another book I had purchased by the same author.While it does give good instruction and shows collage techniques I haven't yet learned, I don't think it was really worth it for me to have the same information in two separate books.



3. As a collage artist I am always looking for new techniques and ideas, the Collage Sourcebook:Exploring the Art and Technique of Collage certainly fulfilled this wish. The book covers many techniques with clear inspirational examples. I really liked the way that various artists were featured with details of how they created their diverse and amazing works of art. If you are a beginning or more advanced collage artist this book will provide plenty of information and inspiration.



4. This book gives plenty of "project how-tos" but is not as much a "craft" book as is indicated by the tags heretofore attached to it. Contemporary artists doing collage in methods you might not have imagined are included. The work of these artists is amazing and inspiring and leaves plenty of room for growth and experimentation for the collage artist. I highly recommend this high-quality text.



5. What a rip-off! As others have said, this book is nothing but a compilation of 2 other books. Do the "Look Inside" trick and on the inside first page it credits the two books. This information SHOULD be fully disclosed in the Amazon description, as not everyone to reads all the reviews. Only by chance did I see this book at my local B&N, checked it out and discovered the hoax. Otherwise I might have ordered it and been really mad because I have the other 2 books. The book "Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand" is the same type of rip-off and again, I think Amazon should include this data up-front, in the description.

No comments about The Terra Cotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation.

5 comments about Electric Kiln Ceramics: A Guide to Clays and Glazes.

1. The paperback is not just a paper version of the hardback, which Amazon makes it sound like it is, but a whole different, and much better, book. The hardback (edition 2) has poor black and white photos and treats many subjects in very cursory way. The paperback has wonderfully original art in color, and is very thorough on ways of marking and glazing. I was not careful and now have a crummy 2nd edition hardback which I don't know quite what to do with.
   My 5 stars are for the paperback. I would only give 2 stars to the 2nd edition hardback.



2. For someone new to firing and glazes, this book is an excellent place to start. It explains things in simple terms, provides pictures and demystifies the process. While it doesn't provide an in-depth discussion of chemical changes and formulas or more than some basic recipes, it provided the basics I was looking for.



3. I'm still not sure we're going to invest in a ceramics kiln, but this was a very interesting book about the craft. Too much biography of famous contemporary ceramic artists (totally uninteresting - these are not names that mean anything to me, so, bleah), but otherwise interesting explanations of different types and techniques. A very worthwhile book - it will probably either galvanize you into investing in the kiln and materials, or turn you away from it, saving your money!



4. The images in this book are amazing! Every significant ceramic artists is represented. This is a must have for anyone who wants a complete guide to ceramic artists who use electric kilns. One of the best ceramic books available.



5. Contains a wealth of detailed info about electric kiln construction and usage, and about how to mix and use clays and glazes. The editor should have done a better job, because the wording is sometimes awkward and tedious, but it's still a good reference book containing very valuable information. Also has many excellent photos of finished work, as well as side essays about individual ceramists.

3 comments about Digital Art (World of Art).

1. I purchased this book for an introductory digital art class and ended up not using it. The writting is not the best and I feel there wasn't enough visual information in this book. Some of the artists the author mentions are wonderful, but overall it was rather dissapointing.



2. you MUST have this book if you're interested in Digital Art. This is an indispensable guide for New Media creators. It covers Art projects that are less than two years old.



3. I used this book as a textbook in the classroom. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a quick overview and to use this as a lanching point to understanding what new media is and exploring its rich and growing history. It's also very affordable.

5 comments about Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni.

1. a beautiful coffee-table book on old and modern Southwestern Pottery. I would have liked a little more on the old stuff and a little less by modern potters, but it is a minor quibble.



2. this is a beautiful book the the pictures in the book are so vivid and colorful, it would make a wonderful addition to any library or it would make a great coffee table book!



3. I was impressed with the display groupings presented and the journey of the authors beginnings of his collections and the knowledge he aquired along the way. He gave good advice to new collectors. I open it daily and alway see something I missed. It's a great book to add to your collection.



4. I'd been looking for a book like this for ages. It goes through every pueblo's pottery, describing the special characteristics of each, and talks about the important potters in each pueblo.
   
   This is very well written in an easy going, non-snobish style, instantly increasing your depth of knowledge in southwestern pottery. The photographs are excellent and plentiful, giving many diverse examples from each pueblo/region/era.
   
   Highly recommended for those new to collecting. I gave a copy to my parents in New Mexico, and even though they had been doing a bit of collecting for years, they have a much better understanding of the history of some of the pottery sitting on their shelves. They love this book.



5. This is an excellent book for both the beginner or serious student of Southwestern Pottery. It gives examples of all styles, types, and designs, making it easy for anyone to understand what makes each Pueblo's pottery unique. Perhaps not as "in depth" as some others, this book is easily the best book out there today as far as explaining and illustrating the basics. It really is an indispensable guide and reference book. The authors are regular guys rather than scholars, so it is easy and enjoyable to read, and filled with great photos of their quite amazing collections. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a place to begin learning about Southwestern Pottery.

5 comments about Kovels' Dictionary of Marks -- Pottery And Porcelain: 1650 to 1850 (Kovel's Dictionary of Marks).

1. Exactly what I was expecting. A bit difficult to understand at first, but once you understand the layout it really makes it easy to use for reference.



2. Overall it is helpful. I am really just getting into this, so it is great to have something I can refer to to get an idea of where the item I have comes from.



3. As with the Kovels other books, this reference is very exhaustive and complete. There are, perhaps, some mistakes, but given the volume of information here that is to be expected. I find I reach for this book first when I'm trying to identify a piece of this age group, and usually find what I'm looking for here. Easy to travel with, from antique shop to auction. A good buy.



4. Rather coplete book but-alas-full of mistakes in entries concerning German and Austrian porcelain.Take for example the Meissen porcelain:the authors put together in one large pile Meissen proper,Thieme factory,Fr.Hirsch,Helena Wolfsohn and other factories,though these are absolutely different things.The authors should make a bit of research before starting the project:What amazes me is that this is the 46th edition of the book and nobody ever corrected those mistakes.



5. Good research, accurate information, and voluminous (if not exhaustive) representation of marks. Brief yet succinct information identifying maker, circa date and geographical location are offered with marks. Don't expect a good read or scholarly discourse. Small and light; easy to take on the road.

5 comments about A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel, Fourth Edition.

1. Truly an elegant, messy piece of work.
   Tom Phillips' Humument is one of the most affecting marriages of image and text that I have viewed/read. Visaully, it is stunning, with its layers of subsumed text and inventive imagery. Moments of profundity bordering on Zen surface intermittently, whilst bawdy puns [...] up beside.
   If you're looking for sustained, easily interpreted narrative, then this book simply is not for you. If, on the other hand, you long for a story that is as much in your head/heart, as on the page, I can heartily recommend A Humument.



2. I own multiple copies and give them away to worthy friends. Visually, artistically, and intellectually stunning, this masterpiece is unique in the world of art/literature. The author/artist Tom Phillips began this work in the 1960s, and first published it in book form in the 1980s. He called the result of his decades of effort The Humument and it is a completely illustrated version of W. H. Mallock's 19th Century novel A Human Document. Each page is a well conceived and compelling work of art. On each page the author leaves only a few of the original words revealed. These surviving phrases tell, in prose and poetry, the pathetic love story of Bill Toge. Symbiotically linked to the art itself, the preserved text, and its tale of Toge, reveal a story Phillips found submerged within the original text, a story which Mallock neither wrote nor intended. Phillips calls his work `mining for meaning'. Everyone who has received this book from me has had great difficulty putting it down until they had read/absorbed/experienced/lived/studied it from cover to cover. If there is such a thing as a priceless book, The Humument would be a good candidate for the category.



3. I received this book as a gift about 10 years ago and have yet to tire of it. It is beautiful and funny, surreal, creepy and profound.



4. I love this book. I first learnt of Tom Phillips when he recently did the cover of an album by a band called Dark Star, and then was introduced to his work whilst on work experience last summer. I hunted down a copy of this book, and then devoured it completely. at times moving, at times funny, and all the time completely incredible to just look and marvel at. the art work is great. ingenuitive, original and inspired. this book seems to be getting harder and harder to find... buy one while you can.



5. As a poet and artist, I am interested in the automatic art practiced here, and it's ability to reveal the unconscious issues of importance in our lives. The work hails Burroughs' and his method of drawing poetry from the chaotic texts around him. Unlike Boroughs, Phillips has used an entire novel, and some of its original author's shortcomings, and indeed the shortcomings of the genre from which it is drawn, to make individual points about the artist's current world, some one hundred years later. The book can be "read" sequentially or individual pages shown as moments of art, from an amber necklace that displays an entire life. (To borrow a phrase from Vonnegut.) I'm also interested in his method. According to the author's notes, he drew this book at random, using the first book that he could afford with his current pocket change. (Amounting I believe to about two dollars,) and then he treated the pages within. This incorporation of the everyday, and the use of simple inks has enabled a spare time, relatively inexpensive project to become a work of art relating the human condition in a manner simular to life itself, incorporating the one page at a time method of daily life, that amounts to a beautiful work. Truly the art of the proletariat, not some etherial "l'art por l'art" that can only be experienced or appreciated by the upper class. Phillips states in his intro that he has yet to find a work of such depth and vocabulary to apply other new treatments, but for those aspiring artists wishing to emulate him, I have an excellent choice, an underappreciated, yet highly available novel of the Harlem Rennaisance, Della Larsen's "Quicksand," which covers several worlds of angst and incorporates a panopoly of words.

2 comments about Paper Clay (Ceramics Handbooks).

1. This is a short but comprehensive book that explains how to make paper clay, covers the construction techniques of using paper clay, and discusses the various additives, finishes, and firing methods associated with paper clay. The author provides a good explanation of the advantages of paper clay over traditional types of clay. The guidance is concise but more than sufficient to implement the methods and techniques covered in the book. I found the book to be well produced with clear illustrations and a serif typeface that enhanced the readability. I mostly liked the works used to illustrate what can be done in paper clay. Much of the book tends to emphasize the making of sculptural works but the information applies just as effectively to functional wares. I found the use of p'slip as a contraction for "paper clay slip" to be a bit annoying but overall was very much pleased with the well-organized presentation of useful information.



2. This is a useful great book about "paper clay". However, the editorial description of this book doesn't quite tell you what "paper clay" is, so here is a nuts and bolts description: Paper clay is ceramic clay (slip or dry powder+water) that has had some percentage of fiber mixed into it, which produces a product with very interesting properties. The fibers can be paper, or refractory such as ceramic fiber.
   
   Because of the intermixed fibers, the unfired clay is stronger and can be manipulated when very thin, so it facilitates new kinds of clay sculpting. Additionally, because the fiber provides a sort of scaffolding that prevents shrinkage, "paper clay" can be used in new ways that traditional clay cannot, such as adding on to or repairing already bisqued pots. There is lots more, and it is all well discussed in this book, with some mention in the editorial description.
   
   The style of the book is NOT that of a craft recipe book, it is a thorough discussion of paper clay usage and variations, firing issues, fiber sources, steps in making and using, etc. There are specific charts and tables in the appendix.
   
   The topic is definitely worth five stars to anyone who works in clay. The only reason I am giving it four stars instead of five is that I can imagine even more comprehensive coverage, especially of use of castable refractory fiber -- other than that, it is worth five stars. But it is definitely an informative and useful book, which benefits from being the successor of several previous books on the topic by the same author.
   
   NOTE: There is a commercial product called "Paper Clay" which seems to be some sort of air-dry paper mache. The paper clay in this book is entirely different, a ceramic material which requires kiln firing.

No comments about New Media Art (Taschen Basic Art Series).