3 comments about Contemporary Studio Porcelain.

1. This book gives a thorough and knowledgable insight into working with porcelain. The many fabulous photos are inspiring and the artists have been generous in sharing their methods and recipes. I have found this book to be an excellent addition to my resources and know I will keep referring to it throughout many years.



2. A treasure trove of information, techniques and examples of the best in porcelain today. Excellent for the collector as well as those working in this demanding medium. The photos are breathtaking and Lane knows what he is talking about. This is the latest edition of what is clearly a labor of love.



3. I feel that this book helped immensly with my work in porcelain, it helped me to understand its qualities and form better. The book is well written and very helpful, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

No comments about Miller's Pocket Fact File: Pottery & Porcelain Marks: Including a Comprehensive Guide to Artists, Makers, Factories and Forms (Miller's Pocket Fact File).

No comments about Urs Fischer: Good Smell Make-Up Tree.

No comments about Chris Doyle: 50,000 Beds.

1 comments about Glass & Ceramic Baskets Identification and Value Guide: Identification and Value Guide.

1. Lots of individual color pictures , but no illustration for marks, no history of manufacturer, no index, poor organization.

4 comments about Blue and White Japan.

1. I really loved this book. It has wonderful photography and is an interesting read. I particularly like the fact that the author grew up in a western country, and now lives in Japan, because she shares her outlook from a Western eye, which is helpful to a Western reader who loves antiques and collectables, along with blue and white. I love the way the photos blend the simplicity of Japanese style along with a little Western taste in collecting things. It has a nice balance of not over doing the display of cherished things, while still enjoying them in the home. To me it had a very "Zen" feel of harmony and beauty, and had a feeling of "coming home" to things I love when I looked at this book. I felt inspired to rearrange my collections and cut clutter while still displaying favourite items in a complimentary way.



2. This book was enjoyable, but as I already had some knowledge of Japanese interior design and related subjects, I found this book to be largely a quick skim over the various crafts, with the exception of the moderately useful guide to Imari porcelains. The concepts and photos are largely the author's own collection of pieces, which are lovely, but I would have liked to see more variety. No sources for purchase were listed for those of us living outside Japan, which is regrettable but understandable. The book is also concentrated on southern and Okinawan styles of decor, which are lovely, but not always suitable for colder climates.
   
   My largest quibble was with the book's blithe assurances that blue and white items can be thrown together in any fashion and still look great. While it's true that a solid color scheme can harmonize an otherwise non-matched set of items, this really isn't sufficient advice for a decorating scheme. I would have liked to see more well-thought-out ideas for incorporating Japanese motifs into Western or modern decor, using blue and white along with any other colors or materials (little is mentioned of the constant presence of wood in Japanese decor), and so on.
   
   The photography is lovely, and I did come away with a few new ideas, but I would recommend other books either to someone surveying Japanese decor for the first time or to someone looking for an in-depth examination of Japan's blue and white crafts.



3. I live in Japan and purchased this book to see how people inter mix all the different blue and white dishes, materials and clothing. Great book to have for decorating your home. Can not wait to get to a few more Shrine Sales to pick up some more Blue and Whites.



4. This book is wonderfully photographed and written, focusing on the history of blue-and-white textiles and pottery of Japan. Just turning the pages gives a Zenlike feeling of rightness. Table settings, linens and furnishings don't have to match to give you a feeling of eating and living in calm and harmony

1 comments about Pebble Mosaics: Step-By-Step Projects for Inside and Out.

1. I looked at many pebble mosaic books before deciding on this one.
   Has many hints and ideas for the beginner, with marvelous step-by-step instructions. Her mosaic patterns and use of material are some of the most creative I have seen.

2 comments about The Art of Brian Rood.

1. In a relative short time Brian Rood has accelerated himself near the top of the pack when it comes to fantasy/erotic illustrators. Just approaching his 30th birthday, Rood has already built up an impressive list of credits including work in comics, feature films, collectible card games, magazines, and more. This is his first collection of art from the great people at SQP, simply the best publishers of fantasy and erotic/pin-up art in the business. This 48 page book presents an eclectic collection of Rood's pin-up and fantasy art featuring everyone from Bettie page to Lady Death.
   
   What I love about Rood's pinup art is the soft, warm tones of his art. The result is a very photo-realistic look. A perfect example is the piece entitled simply "The Bombshell" depicting a hot blonde in a leather corset and lace stockings. The other quality I love about Rood's work, almost in contrast to the first, is the shine and glare effects he achieves while still working in softer colors. An example of this can be found in "Pink Caddy" as model Stacy Walker is decked out in leather boots and a metallic bikini while a freshly waxed and shining pink Cadillac is in the back ground.
   
   Rood also takes a turn at the women of Chaos Comics with several Lady Death and Purgatori pieces in the book. "Purgatori Trick or Treat" features the sexy demon dressed in a Catholic school girl outfit, holding a pumpkin candy collecting basket. Lady Death is pictured with another one of Brian's favorite subjects, James O'Barr's The Crow.
   
   You'll find more than just beautiful women in the book though. Rood also includes some samples of his superhero work as well as a magnificent rendering of the late guitar God Jimi Henrdrix in a painting called "Voodoo Child". It's quite a outstanding first collection by Rood and produced with the same outstanding care that SQP does on all of their books.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



2. Brian Rood is a very good pin-up artist, and this is a nice selection of his work. However, this is a magazine and not a paperback. SQP has cut corners with thin paper pages and covers. Search the web for the hardback though it is quite expensive.

3 comments about Sylvain's Tahiti.

1. This might be the most exciting publication of the entire year! It's certainly one of the most thrilling books published in recent times. It recounts the life's work of Adolphe Sylvain who visited Tahiti in 1946 and, enchanted by the landscape, the people, and a girl named Tehani, decided to stay. He settled in, married his lover, and dedicated himself to photographing the island's many delights while working as a correspondent for magazines such as Paris Match, Life, and National Geographic. His black & white photos are spectacular visions of the earthly paradise that is Tahiti and showcases the splendid beauty of the landscape and its people, especially its girls (...).



2. Contrary to what Mr. Mitchell mistakenly states, most of the models in this book are not Madame Sylvain. They are women of Tahiti plain, simple and beautiful. I actually bought this book while in Tahiti and each time I leaf through it I remember the wonderful moments I had in Tahiti. Tahitian people are quite possibly the most beautiful people in the world and Sylvain captures this perfectly.



3. Summary: Adolphe Sylvain had an eye for the images that people in developed countries imagine about a fairy tale South Pacific. Many of our ideas about what a tropical paradise is come from his photographs. For a few minutes, you can imagine yourself to be part of a local village of people who fish for a living back in the 1940s and 1950s. This book is dominated by scenes of native Polynesians enjoying the natural beauty of Tahiti. The model is most frequently M. Sylvain's Tahitian wife, nee Ms. Jeanine Tehani Vidal, whom he married in 1946.

   Content Caution: Before proceeding further, please realize (as the cover image indicates) that this book is filled with photographs of topless and nude female models, usually the photographer's wife. These images would earn this book's material an R rating if it were a motion picture.

   Review: M. Sylvain's photography makes unusually good use of black-and-white contrasts for capturing lush tropical landscapes, lagoons and beaches, nudes, and everyday scenes in Tahiti. His work benefits from the frequent use of his wife, Tehani, as a model. She is remarkably relaxed and happy in these images, and helps to set a mood of natural enjoyment of nature that will have the viewer yearning for Tahiti. Lest you think these scenes are very overposed, I saw scenes very much like these during a vacation in Tahiti in the mid-1980s.

   Some of the images are ragged around the edges, which reflects the terrible loss of much of M. Sylvain's work during a fire in his studio. Some of these images were rescued from the debris that remained. As a result, these images almost all date from 1946-1957.

   Ms. Sylvain will remind you of a sea otter in some of the images, as she glides effortlessly through the crystal lagoon water. Her connection with nature is direct and joyous. Her apparent pleasure in what she is doing is infectious.

   The images themselves are well composed, technically very fine, and the reproduction quality is excellent.

   Towards the end of the book, you will also see some photographs of famous visitors to the island like Brigitte Bardot and Charles de Gaulle.

   My original interest in visiting Tahiti was tied to having watched a television series, called Adventures in Paradise. The stories related to a schooner captin operating out of Papeete. When I read the book, I was interested to see that M. Sylvain had been an adviser to that series as well as other major filming in Tahiti over the years.

   Many people also know Paul Gauguin's paintings of Tahiti, which have also helped form expectations about the islands and their people. In particular, James Michener with his Tales of the South Pacific helped created an image of beautiful, winning Polynesian maidens that is echoed here. Ms. Sylvain observes that her husband played a key role in creating the myth of the vahini, as a result.

   After you look at these dreamscapes of Tahiti, you should sit back and think about what your ideal image of life is. What would you be doing? Where would you be? Who would be with you? What does that picture tell you about yourself?

   Dream boldly . . . and recognize the opportunity to life your dreams as Adolphe Sylvain did!

4 comments about Ceramics for Gardens & Landscapes.

1. I was disappointed with this book. There is some lovely work illustrated and the biographies of the artists doing the work are comprehensive, but as a newcomer to doing work for outdoor installations I would have preferred more "how-to" information. For instance, there is no chapter on how to deal with the freeze-thaw cycle; you can glean some information from many of the artists about the techniques they use, but it is not organized as a comprehensive topic. The information about the mechanics for making a fountain is sketchy at best--basically, it's determined to be hard to do and must be figured out on a trial-and-error basis.



2. A bit heavy on biographical sketches for my taste, but the bios will be of interest to students of art history. Most bios are followed by a section on "Techniques" containing very useful details, but since the book is organized by ceramists, there is no quick way to find the technical info you are looking for. Well-written and good for casually browsing.



3. Offers an excellent visual guide to outdoor and garden ceramics and a nice insight into the minds behind these strange and beautiful things. If you're looking for an inspirational book, this works. If you're like me and are always looking for more tips and demos, you'll find it's a little on the thin side.



4. Karin Hessenberg has done a wonderful job of pulling together enough photos, ideas and techniques to get the ceramic artist started in this technically difficult medium. Accompanying photos,schematic drawings and lists of materials needed are a welcome resource without overdooing the amount of steps in each project. I have found that resource books like this must fill 2 needs for me. One; to inspire me with wonderful examples of each art form by a variety of artists and, two; information enough to help me with technical problems I might not know about but, without giving me a step by step that fills up the book. I really do like to look at the pretty pictures!