No comments about Mexican market pottery.

No comments about The animaliers;: A collector's guide to the animal sculptors of the 19th & 20th centuries.

No comments about Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand.

No comments about Roman Holidays: American Writers and Artists in Nineteenth-Century Italy.

3 comments about Ceramics for Kids: Creative Clay Projects to Pinch, Roll, Coil, Slam & Twist.

1. I take this book with me (along with some self-hardening clay) when I babysit. It never fails to capture the imagination and spark creativity. An older child I was babysitting used the "Mystical Wizard" instructions to make chess pieces. It's a wonderful book!



2. I purchased this book when I added clay to my Paint Your Own Pottery Studio. It has really helped me get my clay program up & running. Great projects, clear instructions, great photos! This book is a "must have" for kids (and adults!) clay programs.



3. I used this book for a ceramics class I taught this summer with children between the ages of 6-14. This book contains clear instructions with plenty of great photos of finished pieces. I would highly recommend this book as an addition to any art teacher's collection!

1 comments about Anita Huffington, Sculpture.

1. I have always loved Anita Huffington's sculpture and I was so glad to find a book that captured the true essence of her work. Her bronze and stone sculptures possess a wonderful combination of raw energy and flawless beauty, and David Finn's gorgeous photographs aptly capture the sensualness of her human torsos and the primal forces of her nature pieces. I highly recommend this book to art lovers everywhere.
   
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1 comments about Shop-Tested Scrollsaw Techniques and Projects You Can Make (Wood Book).

1. There are quite a few patterns in this book that will be great for building your skills and creating something unique for the holidays.
   They are not complex patterns but they do create good results.
   I recommend it.

No comments about Freud's Sculpture.

1 comments about Richard Serra: Weight and Measure 1992 : 30 September 1992-15 January 1993.

1. Richard Serra's Weight and Measure drawings are absolutely fascinating minimalist statements (although, like most examples of minimalism, they certainly aren't for every taste). As their name implies, they are not emotional expressions (like the work of Rothko) or heavily-distilled versions of real images (like many of Ellsworth Kelly's pictures). Instead, they seem to follow Donald Judd's dictum that a size, volume, or shape is something of itself; what to make of that something is largely up to the viewer. I, personally, love the way that the huge (often 10 feet tall) drawings are smooth and calming from a distance, but turn out to have a harsh and earthy texture when the viewer moves to a closer location. Unfortunately, this is not visible in a book of small reproductions such as this one. (I wish that the authors had included a detail of one of the works.) Sometimes, you just have to see the real artwork for yourself.

3 comments about The Life of Cellini (Arts & Letters).

1. I've just finished Book I of Cellini's two book autobiography. I have Symonds' translation in a single volume published by the Book League of America in 1937. Having been to Florence, Rome and Milan recently, Cellini's stories about himself and his adventures become truly vivid. At first, I could not imagine anyone being so self-agrandizing and so unabashedly boastful about his intentions, his artistic abilities and his view of his world. The man becomes so endearing through his writing, however, that I was not put off; rather, I found myself chuckling at his gall and style. His relationships and adventures with Popes Clement VII and Paul III, the Medici families, other artists, cardinals, dukes and jailors make for hilarious reading. His genius comes through and lingers as the reader ponders the historic figures and politics of Renaissance Italy. I'm beginning Book 2 today with great anticipation. What an ego! Symonds translation in 1937 is fine. He offers footnotes that aid the reader's following of the chronology. Further, Symonds often gives the phrase as Cellini wrote it, should there be different nuances in translation.



2. One of the first and yet one of the greatest autobiographies of all time. Any celebrity or would be celebrity thinking of dashing off a quick "life" or apologia pro vita sua could do worse than start by reading or re-reading this fantastically intense and life-enhancing book



3. This piece is an excellent portrayal of life during the Italian Renaissance, but more importantly, the book is purely entertaining. Benvenuto Cellini tells the story of his life in a vivid tale of kings and prostitutes, artists and dukes, soldiers and necromancers, all the while proclaiming himself the absolute protagonist of his world. Cellini's autobiography is filled to capacity with egotism, but this only makes the story more interesting. In a good piece of literature of this type, a person wants to see a main character with absolute confidence in himself; a superhero if you will. Benvenuto may not be a superhero, but he tells his life story as if he was the greatest of all such legendary folk heroes. If children read this book or were read this book during their childhood, perhaps on the playground at recess, kindergartners would say: "Hey let's play superheroes, I get to be Superman, I get to be Benvenuto Cellini." With the master goldsmith's stories about fending off six armed men with a single dagger, without a thought of fear in his mind, who wouldn't be solidly entertained?