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.

No comments about Water Library.

2 comments about Origami Paper Airplanes.

1. I'm not sure why you'd buy this book if you didn't want to fold airplanes!
   
   It's a great book, suitable for beginners, containing excellent airplanes to throw at your siblings and colleagues. The diagrams are easy to follow and everybody should be able to them



2. We borrowed this book from the library, and my 9-year-old son and I have had a blast folding and flying the airplanes. Most of them have taken off with no problems and have proven to be awesome flyers. One or two models have been a bit of a challenge to fold, but we simply started over and tried again!
   
   The instructions in the book are clear and simple -- simple enough for my 9-year-old to fold on his own, as a matter of fact. I recommend practicing the introductory folds in the front of the book in order to prepare yourself for take-off. For paper, we've been recycling old catalogs and magazines and have some very colorful models flying around our house!
   
   We ended up taking this book to a family reunion with us, and all of the kids had a blast folding and flying their airplanes. It was a great way for long lost cousins to spend some time together and get to know each other again!

2 comments about Runaway Girl: The Artist Louise Bourgeois (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)).

1. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages who want to know more about Louise Bourgeois and her work. It's beautifully designed, straight-forward, full of information, and inspring.



2. As you read RUNAWAY GIRL, a beautifully-crafted book that illuminates Louise Bourgeois's story, it is impossible not to keep your eyes on the art. The book is absolutely saturated with vivid photographs of the ninety-two year-old artist's work, as well as a progression of photos of Louise throughout a life that spanned nearly the entire twentieth century and has continued on into the new millennium. Louise's story--from a childhood in France to an apartment in Manhattan--encompasses family, creativity, and personal evolution, as well as her historic role in breaking down sexual barriers in the art world.

   But what makes RUNAWAY GIRL such an important piece of nonfiction for young adults is that unique peek at the psychological roots of an artist's creativity. Greenberg & Jordan provide the perfect measure of Louise's early years in order for us to understand those roots without ever getting bogged down in extraneous detail. The extensive access to her inner life that this controversial artist has granted the authors and their readers makes the book inspiring and unique. I didn't expect to enjoy a book about some female artist I'd never heard of before, but to find out why some two-story-high spiders represent her mother and herself totally captivated me.

   "From one of Louise Bourgeois's journals:

   The Runaway Girl who never grew up.
   I need no support nor comfort.
   I need no safety net, no breakfast.
   No lunch or tea, no visitors, no telephone calls nor little messages.
   No little concerts, no hype, or encouragement for big projects.
   No ambitions, no spying on my neighbors.
   I need nothing...I can wait, I am not afraid, I am an adult.
   Nothing is lacking."

   It is also fascinating to see little snippets of the artist at work. For instance, the authors describe her creation of one of my favorite pieces of her art:

   "She would go back to [the marble quarries in] Pietranta many times in the sixties and again in the eighties. Jerry Gorovoy, who accompanied her on one such trip, says there wasn't much time for sightseeing. They arrived at their hotel in the evening and instead of going to a restaurant or walking around town, she insisted on getting right to work. Jerry says that Louise had a hard time relaxing. 'If you take her to the beach, she can sit still for about five minutes. Then she gets restless.' Unfortunately, Louise hadn't packed any art supplies--no clay, wax or Plasticine. So she asked Jerry for the shirt off his back. She folded and shaped it, stitching the cotton into position until she was satisfied with the form. The next day at the quarry she changed the design somewhat, then applied gesso, a liquid plaster, to harden the fabric. A larger, marble version was measured and roughed out by the craftsmen at the quarry according to her specifications. Then it was shipped to the studio [in Brooklyn], where, upon her return, she carefully reworked it with a chisel. Eventually Jerry's shirt evolved into Femme Maison, 1983, a fresh interpretation of her familiar subject."

   RUNAWAY GIRL concludes with a variety of useful resources, including "How to Look at a Sculpture," and "Where to View Artwork by Louise Bourgeois," as well as an expansive glossary, a bibliography, and a chronological listing of her work.

   " What happens next? That is her main focus. And so she stays at home on Twentieth Street, spinning her memories, fantasies, and ideas into art. Free with her thoughts and feelings, up to a point, she lets us know that there are other secrets, other ideas and thoughts to consider about her, about her work. 'I'm a long distance runner. I'm a lonely runner and that's the way I like it.' "

   It was a delight to "meet" Louise. Long may she run.

5 comments about Origami: The Complete Practical Guide to the Ancient Art of Paperfolding.

1. I bought this book because I had read that it contained instructions for the Fireworks modular origami piece. Rather naively, I thought that the book was comprised of projects of similar difficulty. The modular origami section -was- very good, but comprised so little of the overall content of the book that I felt I had been somewhat cheated.
   
   Now don't get me wrong - if you are just starting out with origami or want a resource to teach beginners, this book is very hard to beat. The other reviews of this product state it better than I do: it contains a wide range of projects suitable to younger children and beginners, and I would be hard pressed to name a book with a better selection of those kinds of projects. The photographs are beautiful and detailed, and I found the section about commonly used bases (blintz base, bird base, frog base, etc.) very helpful for teaching others.
   
   However, if you are an intermediate or above folder, you will probably find this book disappointing, especially because of the price. I would categorize 90% of the models as beginner-level. There are definitely a few gems in there that will keep more advanced paper folders busy, but not enough for me to completely justify buying the book. Be warned!



2. Origami: The Complete Practical Guide to the Ancient Art of Paperfolding was a very worthwhile purchase. It was helpful getting youngsters started doing interesting paperfolding as well as engaging others with greater knowledge of the craft. Diverse and compelling, the color photographs served a much better format for teaching the folding techniques than the dotted-line instructions of other books.
   
   I used the book working with children to give them coping skills dealing with stress. Successful completion of any of the projects can produce pride and a strong level of satisfaction. The range and progressive complexity of the many projects allows for varying levels of interest and skill, and provides challenges for all participants.
   
   David R. Emmons, Ph.D., M.S. M.H.C.



3. This super book will please any paperfolder from the beginner who has done his or her basic models through to expert level. Models range from the Tomoko Fuse six piece lizard, the modular brocade ball and modular super complex star shown on the cover through to Tsudo's delightful little simple frog and Adolfo Cerceda's wonderful Peacock with the clever lock to the tail devised by Paul Jackson.
   
   The model instructions are shown in step folding rather than in the Yoshizawa/Randlett diagrammatic style most paperfolders will be used to but there is a superb gallery of models to look at in the beginning pages, a wide range of models to fold and the book itself is beautifully photographed and produced.
   
   This version is the rather large and heavy hardback but there is a paperback available which you should look for if you plan to carry the book around a lot.



4. Every piece I have folded from this book has impressed me. I focused on objects to share with my 5 year old and 2 year old. Each model delighted me with the elegance and simpilicity of its design. The expositions are little masterpieces of economy and clarity. I am used to seeing drawn origami diagrams and was skeptical about the use of photographs. However, the author does a superb job of supplementing the photos with just the right amount, and kind, of verbal explanation. Moreover, the designs have a contemporary and hip look to them. Ever folded a paper hat out of newspaper? Well, here Rick Beech shows you how to fold 5 different paper hats in a series, with the same piece of paper! If I had to use one word to describe the qualities in this book, it would be "clever". Note, the edition I have is called "The Origami Handbook".

   Cliff




5. This is my first origami book bought sometime in November 2002, which got me interested in Origami. I remember being very impressed with the beautiful color photos. Since I was a new folder then, I could easily understand the photo instructions when I first got it, but now I prefer diagrams. Interesting background information on origami and introduction to some origami celebrities makes this book an enjoyable read. There is a photograph of the author with a large elephant model, which got me interested in folding from large paper (60 cm x 60 cm or more). Models ranges from very simple �party trick� to impressive �modular�. The beautiful photographs make me want to fold all. I folded my first elephant from this book, a simple one, but very effective in representing the animal. I often drool over the colorful modular models, especially the Flexagon Firworksï...

No comments about Trova.

No comments about Christian Marclay (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon)).

2 comments about The Mad Potter of Biloxi: The Art and Life of George E. Ohr.

1. this man was a a head of his time. i have never seen anythig that has come out of the 1800's that looked any thing like this.The photography is great and the biography is good , but the pottery is the best i have ever seen he had great form and great glaze you could not ask any more from a potter



2. This book has marvelous images of just some of the fine works that George Ohr created. The summaries of his life are correct to some extent but it failed to provide any deatails of his offspring or how they may have carried on the innate artist abilities, this is why I only give it four stars.

4 comments about Unique & Unusual Pens: From the Wood Lathe (Schiffer Book for Woodturners).

1. I was most impressed by the different ideas for materials and layouts incorperated into the designs of Dick Sing's pens. He inspired a fresh look into my own designs with some rethinking of some materials to use for more projects.



2. He explains things that make your pens unique and different. It's nice to have pens everyone wants in your pocket!



3. The book does contain a lot of pens that are unusual; however, I wanted more information about turning small coves or other decorations. I also wanted some unusual design ideas - not just using different wood or putting in blocks of different wood, but designing the pen itself. Making it easier to hold or write with or changing the balance or length etc for the purpose of improving the product, not just the look.
   
   Anyway, the book does have a lot of pens displayed and gives the pen turner a lot of ideas about changing the look by changing the wood and how the wood is cut and glued together. The key is using different materials for the pen itself.



4. I have just started a small pen company and this book has helped my considerable. Various well illustrated and easy to follow. It is an asset to my work.

No comments about Liam Gillick: Proxemics Selected Essays, 1988-2006.