No comments about Casting Techniques for Sculpture.

No comments about Margaret Wharton: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, September 12-November 1, 1981.

No comments about Bill Reid: Beyond the Essential Form (Museum Note, No 19).

1 comments about Carving and Painting a Green-Winged Teal With Jim Sparnkle (Carving & Painting).

1. Jim Sprankle, a carver of exceptional caliber, leads the reader through a step-by-step process in transforming a lifeless block of wood into a life-like work of art. No detail is left unmentioned, and the photographs provide a close-up view of the intricate carving and painting that make Sprankle's work highly prized. Every waterfowl carver should have this book in his/her personal library.

No comments about 1006 Salt & Pepper Shakers: Advertising (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

4 comments about American Characters: Selections from the National Portrait Gallery, Accompanied by Literary Portraits.

1. Each portrait - photo, oil painting, pencil sketch, bronze bust - in this massive tome is worth a thousand or more words of history. Fortunately, the editors' comments are limited to one page of pithy quotes and a brief biographical sketch for each character portrayed. The portrayals, in order of appearance, range from Pocahontas to Walt Disney, with 158 remarkable personages between - authors, radical activists, Indian chiefs, sscientists, blues singers, Civil War generals, and blessedly few presidents. This is a book to sit and get lost in, once in a while.
   
   The National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, has recently been renovated. Its interior courtyard is now one of the pleasantest places to sit and have coffee in all DC, especially on a heat-stroke summer day. The exhibits are, like all DC museums, rather too ample for comfort. Take on just one wing if you visit, and look at each character more thoughtfully; you'll get more from it. It used to be a mausoleum of American chauvinism, but times have changed and simple values have been challenged. There's a good deal of skepticism, impertinence, and controversy on exhibit in DC now. Hallelujah!
   
   Note that amazon has used copies of this publication monument for absurdly low prices.



2. 
   
   An irreverent and eclectic collection of rogues, criminals, patriots, founding fathers, and a gallery of national heroes, all with life-sized high quality photos and a one-page tightly written biographic synopsis of the characters, explaining why they are important to American culture.
   
   One of the rewards of the book is that except for the period of the revolution, only a handful of politicians are included. The pictures are taken from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
   
   The portraits are of good enough quality that I have scanned them into by own iphoto library. The book is a bit pricey but still is a good value considering all it includes. Four stars.



3. This delightful book brings together 160 famous American figures from Pocahontas to Louis Armstrong, providing visual and verbal portraits that illuminate their place in American life. The portraiture - painting, sculpture, photograph, or drawing - is paired with literary images taken from eyewitness accounts, memoirs, poems, letters, and biographies, and with lively and informative commentary by the editors,
   RWB and Nancy Lewis. The whole is a rich addition to American cultural history.
   
   The gallery of portraits includes statesmen and outlaws, artists and athletes, and writers and performers, all described by commentators who are equally colorful and illustrious. The book features, for example, John Guare on Eugene O'Neill, Al Capone on himself, Adlai Stevenson on Eleanor Roosevelt, Pete Seeger on Woody Guthrie, Stieglitz and O'Keeffe on each other, e.e. cummings on Buffalo Bill Cody, Arthur Ashe on Joe Louis and Gertrude Stein on Ulysses S. Grant. Some of the verbal portraits were composed especially for this book, among them Harold Bloom on Joseph Smith, Russell Baker on HL Mencken, John Hollander on Wallace Stevens, John Updike on Ernest Hemingway, and Robert B Parker on Dashiell Hammett. All of the images are from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, where RWB Lewis has been a member of the Board of Commissioners since 1986.



4. The National Portrait Gallery is now closed for renovation, but this book provides a peek at this museum of personalities. The expected hero's are here like Jefferson, Lincoln, and Robert Frost, but so are the uniquely American villains like Al Capone and Jesse James. Each of the 160 full page portraits is preceded by a paragraph giving a brief biography, and, more interestingly, a quote by the person portrayed or a revealing paragraph from another American figure. For example for Al Capone he states "I've been spending the best years of my life as a public benefactor. I've given people the light pleasures, shown them a good time". These characters are often interrelated, as Thomas Jefferson talks of John Adams, and Emerson writes in his journals about Daniel Webster. The arts are well represented also, and America's contributions to music include portraits of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, W.C Handy, and George Gershwin (in a unique self portrait). This book also gives a glimpse of the history of portraiture including paintings, daguerreotypes, and photographs. In the case of Matthew Brady, there are both photographs by him, and of him. Very enjoyable book to browse!

5 comments about Goldsmithing & Silver Work: Jewelry, Vessels & Ornaments.

1. This, like the other Jewelry books by Codina have great visual content and show interesting techniques. Unlike the others, some of the information is nearly useless to the average studio jeweler. Some chapters are more like Mr. Rogers where you go see how something is made, but you would never make it yourself because of the equipment required.
   Small chapters on Image and Photography were happy little additions.
   Over all the book was more "look how" than "how to" but it's still a nicely put together book at a great price.



2. The book is very interesting and the pictures are descriptive and fun to look at. The book covers many different things like Casting, Silversmithing,Jewelry making and more. Nice and stylish items shown in the book with direction. Very different than many Jewelry books. I am glad that I added this book to my collection.



3. In the herd of recent books, this one distinguishes itself in it's quality of images, concise accurate descriptions and scope.
   This work seems to be the product of much labor, research and maybe even love. I have to hand it Codina, he's the kind of person that should be writing books.
   Among the outstanding pieces represented is a North African bracelet made step by step by two Algerian women. Definitely not the kind of entry you find in many American publications flooded with "art school" drivel from self promoting arrogant twits so prominent in publications today.
   The alternative casting techniques section is a seminar in itself, and just when I thought I new everything!
   Don't get me wrong, there are a few downright ugly pieces, though I can easily overlook them if favor of the splendid work that predominates throughout.
   Telling, is a closing statement where he thanks the contributors and gives a bit of insight into the writing of this fine book.
   If you don't have this publication, then buy it. Trust me on this.



4. I have bought many many books and some I will never open again! Then some I can't keep the pages in they are used so much. This will sure to be one of those this book by Charles Codina is awesome. This book is a RARE find. It is imformative and visually stunning. I suggest not missing out on this one!
   
   Happy jewelry making!
   
   THIS BOOK WAS EDITED BEAUTIFULLY!



5. This book is a favorite of mine. There are many types of smithing to learn in this book. Although the pictures and descriptions are limited somewhat, the book does give enough information to get anyone who works with metal started on any of the work in this book. The pictures are excellent in layout and design. This book not only makes a good instruction book for the metal worker, but it is also an excellent coffee table book as well.

No comments about Technique of Sculpture (Batsford Craft Paperback).

1 comments about Marbling on Fabric.

1. This book, one of several that Anne Chambers has written on marbling, contains basic info for a beginner. Being somewhat experienced as a marbler, I found it to be a disappointment and not worth the money. There are other books on marbling that I think are much better for beginners, such as "Marbling on Paper and Fabric" by Carol Taylor, "Marbling Techniques: How to Create Traditional and Contemporary Designs on Paper and Fabric" by Wendy Addison Medeiros, and "Marbling on Fabric" by Daniel & Paula Cohen.

No comments about How to mend your treasures: porcelain-(china), glass-pottery.