5 comments about Jewelry Two Books In One: Projects To Practice & Inspire * Techniques to Adapt to Suit Your Own Designs.

1. This book is clear, concise and well written. The pictures are really good. Not only is the information useful and well presented, but the projects are inspiring. An excellent investment.



2. I bought this book because other reviews say it is a good book for beginners. I totally disagree. By the description and the reviews on Amazon, I thought it was the most wonderful beginner book available. I think most novice jewelry makers would be totally exasperated trying to make heads or tails of this book. I have been making beaded bracelets, necklaces and earrings for a couple of years. I know how to make bracelets with and without clasps, with and without crimp beads and with elastic or other stringing materials. I am pretty much self taught by books, but I wanted to learn more. The reviews convinced me this book would be good for me and great for someone who is just deciding whether to try making jewelry or not. If you are one of these a real beginner, please don't buy this book, it will discourage you. The first five pages would scare many beginners away from even trying. The list of Tools, equipment and materials to make jewelry is enough to stop some people. Fortunately, I had made jewelry and knew many of these items would be nice to have but weren't a necessity. Almost all the book is about making metal jewelry. On the contents page such titles as annealing, mitering, moning, pickling, drilling, cutting and sawing etc., etc., etc., made me think of a middle school shop class, not a novice interested in starting to make simple jewelry. It would be a great book for anyone interested in making metal jewelry and learning a "trade" but for anyone just starting out or interested in making beaded jewelry, don't buy this book.



3. When I came across this book I was surprised and impressed with the quality of both the design and the information that it contained. I took an intro to jewelry class at our local college, and have found that this book has more information and a better presentation than the class offered.
   I would highly recommend this book to anyone getting started in the jewelry field, or who has trouble mastering certain techniques. It helped to show me things that my professor overlooked or shortcutted.
   Well worth the money!



4. I bought this book based on good reviews I read about it and I am not disappointed. The language is precise, the projects and techniques are explained well, the designs are appealing in their own right or can be altered to include your ideas, the price is right, and the idea of splitting the pages to individually show techniques and projects falls under the category of "why didn't anyone think of that before?" - all in all a great book that I will use often!



5. This book is really cool, it's great because it's really easy to understand. I'd reccomend it to any young inspiring artist interested in jewelry making! Great for beginners OR people that have had some experience in jewelry making.

2 comments about Learning How to Scrimshaw.

1. I was somewhat disappointed in this book, it seemed a little sketchy. It was a little light on surface preparation and didn't say anything about actually inking the work. The author stated that this book, or more rightly a booklet, was based on class handouts and it showed it. Still, there is good information to be had if one knows almost nothing about the subject but it is bound to leave you feeling that you need to know more.



2. i took a one week class with ron at campbell folk school. he will make you a belivear in your ability to scrimshaw. i have since actually made $ from my new hobby.highly recomend.

5 comments about Sculpture in Stone.

1. I have bought a lot of books on carving stone. And this book had a lot and more,of all the other books. I would have saved a lot of time and money if I would have bought this book first.



2. SCULPTURE IN STONE relates in words and pictures the history of the world's oldest form of sculpture and serves as a valuable resource for practitioners of the art of carving, for art historians, and for collectors of both ancient and contemporary stone sculpture.
   
   Beginning with a brief but informative survey of making art from earth's resources, author Cami walks us through the complexities of the refinement of the tools from the original stone chisels to the most modern equipment. The portion on conceptualization of how to transform a formless body of solid material into an artistic statement usurps a large portion of this volume - with copious references to the author/sculptor's own work.
   
   But the real glory of this beautiful volume is the plethora of fine photographs of famous works, contemporary works, tools, pillars, sarcophagi, monuments, figures and abstractions that fill the pages of this resource book. The tendency towards the 'how to' aspect of the volume intrudes a bit too often, but that only widens the audience for readers interested in the history of Egyptian and Greco-Roman secrets as well as the means by which contemporary artists still marry their inspiration to the stone. Grady Harp, June 05



3. This is not at all a silly book! It is a wonderful book that covers a lot for the professional sculptor who may not be familiar with working in stone. It is not for the untrained hobby buff wanting someone to hold their hand. This is valuable information coming from a highly qualified professional in their field. Yes he is a good sculptor! In his own right! This kind of work is a tremendous amount of physical labour and one would have to be crazy to not hire stone masons if the money was available. This book is very helpful and tastefully done. A treasure to find this level in a market flooded with how to do books for mickey mouse. I am not jealous of this person's accomplishments or the quality of the presentation. Congratulations Cami! and colleagues!



4. This slim volume is disappointingly brief in its treatment of the process of sculpture, and confoundingly obscurant in its discussions of capital-A-Art. "Nature, forming caverns, wanted to open up its heart to reveal moments of living intimacy," this book begins. What?!?

   Except for 10 pages on direct carving, the whole first half of this book is utterly useless. The second half delves into process in slightly greater depth, but Camí frustratingly concentrates on such professional aspects as large-scale sculpture, enlarging from models, and site selection and preparation for public monumental sculpture; all of this is beyond the journeyman, and anyone advanced enough to be creating public commissions will have no need for such a summary overview.

   The primary problem here is with Camí himself -- he identifies himself as a sculptor as distinct from a "practitioner." In other words, Camí generates the concept of his sculptures, but leaves the actual carving of the stone to subordinates. Almost none of the photos show Camí himself doing anything more than supervising the creation of "his" works, and he spends as much time explaining why the people who do work of carving the stone are less important than the one who envisions the form as he does explaining how that form is created. I wish his "practitioners" had written this book instead of the "sculptor" himself.

   While in general disappointing, this book does actually have a few insights -- and, more importantly, photographs -- that expand slightly upon the instruction offered in Liebson's book, but that alone is hradly enough to recommend it. You'd be better served spending the money on a new chisel than on this slim and spuerficial homage to Camí's own genius.




5. A VERY FINE BOOK, especially for the diversity of carving processes. I recommend it.

1 comments about Dig Your Hands in the Dirt: A Manual For Making Art Out of Earth.

1. This is a small informative book about many great projects made out of mud. I have not tried the projects yet but am planning on getting my hands in some clay soil very soon. The descriptions, instructions and pictures are clear and easy to follow.

No comments about Land Art (Basic Art).

3 comments about Basic Fishing Lure Carving.

1. This book is great for beginner carvers. Lots of instruction and lots of pictures



2. The book is actually very good because it explains step by step how to create a lure that seems to work pretty well.
   It does provide a lot of ideas on how to do things to simplify the lure making process, but in some cases, the ideas are more complicated on the book than other solutions I have seen in other places/books.
   I would definitively recommend it for people that are starting and that would like to understand the basics of luremaking. It also has Instructions for only one lure and plans for another (even when it has a couple other ideas in the photos in the back)



3. My husband loves to carve and this is the first book I've seen that addresses carving lures. His mother, years ago, actually made feathered fishing lures for a local business who sold their product far and wide - a very tedious task. Of course, with the advent of machinery to do such things the business, which was local to our area, is now long gone.

3 comments about Summers with Lincoln: Looking for the Man in the Monuments.

1. Though we may try to bury it in our thoughts and hearts and souls, we all realize that we are just passing through--that life is as short as a snap of the fingers. Most of us, no matter how important or loved we feel, will never accomplish anything extraordinary and be captured in stone. However, President Lincoln left historic footprints and his image has been cast in ink, paint, metal and stone. Author Jim Percoco in this fine book empowers readers to not only grasp Lincoln caught forever in sculptures, Percoco in his very personal and insightful writing style empowers us to feel that we are part of history and mankind. I learned details that still nudge my thoughts daily and came away from this read feeling blessed to have discovered it. Highly recommended.



2. Summers with Lincoln: Looking for the Man in the Monuments
   
   This book is a "must have" for anyone who is interested casually or seriously in Abraham Lincoln. It looks at the most studied President of the United States and yet adds new value through the dimension of his many memorials. It is both an insightful and novel approach. Percoco conceys Lincoln's character through interpretations of the monuments by getting inside the minds of Lincoln's many sculptors. It has relevance to modern experiences and the values of today's youthful scholars. It is based on a well-grounded, historical expertise and proceeds to rile up the reader's interest. It vibrantly captures the emotions and themes that were meant to be instilled by the creators of Lincoln's memorial scultures.
   
   William N. Stryker
   author and historian



3. Everywhere you look in the United States there seems to be a statue of Lincoln. From Washington, DC, to Fort Wayne, IN, from Cincinnati, OH, to Newark, NJ, our nation's parks, squares, and town halls are dotted with sculptures of the sixteenth president. Over the course of four summers, teacher and author James Percoco traveled to learn first-hand about our nation's mania to put up stone and metal remembrances of Lincoln. He discovered a Lincoln who in death has come to embody each generation's idealistic hopes for a leader; a kind of stand-in for "the better angels of our nature," to quote Lincoln himself. In some ways it is not Lincoln, the president, war leader, or emancipator whom these sculptures commemorate but the Lincoln of our imaginations. A cross between "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat-Moon, and "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck, Percoco's "Summers with Lincoln" makes for thought-provoking reading about an important part of the American landscape.

5 comments about Art Jewelry Today.

1. This is a great eye-candy book. Some problems with the proofing are evident when you start looking closely, but it isn't too bad.



2. Very inspirational. It is nice to see objects that were created from the heart and not for a commercial production line. Fine craftsmanship.



3. I justed wanted to reinforce what others have said about this book. You won't regret buying it for the photos only. The editing is poor and embarassing to the artists. I bought it for the photo's, and I'm very happy with the purchase.



4. I found the book to be exactly what I was looking for. The phtographs reveal the diversity of jewelry being created today. The book is full of inspiration for the practicing jeweller.



5. This is a beautiful book, lavishly illustrated with wonderful color images. The gamut of materials and styles is impressive. As a creative designer, I found this book to be a fountain of information and ideas. There is not a lot of text but the number of images makes up for it. There is a good bibliography if more information is needed.

3 comments about Rodin: Sculpture and Drawings.

1. As a Rodin researcher, I find Catharine Lampert's book extremely useful as a reference. It is very insightful in providing three-dimensional characterization, particularly to Camille Claudel who played such an important part in influencing Rodin's style in the 1880's, serving both as a detailer (hands and feet) of his own works, a model and his lover while continuing to become a better and better sculptor in her own right. The book is a beautiful publication worthy of coffee-table display. The lure of the coffee table, however should be balanced by the posible reactions of those who may flip it open towards the end. Here one finds many of his drawings. Wonderful though they and his style are in the drafting field, there are quite a number of sketches that are also extremely explicit . I would not want my grandchildren to be 'hit' by these. Buy the book by all means but be forewarned to display, or not display, according to the company that surround your coffee table. Neville Hale, author "The Rodin Quest" listed by Amazon.



2. "Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist-a master-and that is what Auguste Rodin was-can look at an old woman, protray her exactly as she is...and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be...and more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart...no matter what the merciless hours have done to her. Look at her, Ben. Growing old doesn't matter to you and me; we were never meant to be admired-but it does to them."
   
   -Robert A. Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land"



3. This book contains many wonderful pieces, as well as providing details of Rodin's life during the time he created these enchanting works. I love to turn each page, because his collection always remain fresh and exciting...Jasmine

5 comments about The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques.

1. First of all, this is not a "how-to" book. If you want a book on pottery making or throwing techniques, don't buy this book. However, if you want an exhaustive encyclopedia of ceramic information, you need this book. Want to know why your pottery cracked the way it did, this book will tell you why. Want to know why a glaze recipe differs from batch to batch, the info will be in this book. This is the book that never gets lent out yet always quoted. Irregardless of wording or cultural bias, if you plan on being a professional clay artist, this book is the definitive authority on ceramic science.



2. An excellent reference book for anyone interested in pottery or in the conservation/restoration of ceramics. Well written with a world of information. An expensive book but worth every penny!



3. This really is an indispensable book for anyone seriously interested in pottery as an art or profession. It contains lots of great information. It also contains some errors, most of which are little. Also, the rendition of the Chinese character for "raku" is ugly and missing a stroke. The title says this is a dictionary of materials and techniques - but it's more than that. It can serve as a jargon glossary, too. Also, some articles seem more concerned about meaning and interpretation and make practically no mention of materials or technique, and in the case of the "Teapots" entry, I thought it culturally-biased and incomplete. That said, get it anyway, this book is a must-have.



4. The Potter's Dictionary offers details and facts about everything ceramic. Clay and glaze materials are explained more in-depth in this book than any other I have read. Subjects are presented in a clear and concise manner and the alphabetical order makes things very easy to find. It's more like an encyclopedia than a dictionary. When needed, great graphics complement many of the articles. No wonder this book has been published since 1975, A+!!!



5. This book never arrived even though i paid Amazon / UPS for next day delivery. I ended up getting it from Barnes and Noble in San Diego