3 comments about Baker's Encyclopedia of Hatpins and Hatpin Holders.

1. This is a beautiful book with great photos but some of the things she writes about needs to be explained and they are not. Very hard to understand some of it if you are a beginner on hatpins like me.



2. This 200 page compendium complete with photographs, illustrations, history (including legal rulings and laws regarding the hat pin's use as a weapon), etc. is the hat pin fancier's bible.



3. This superb book will interest the collector and historians alike. It is a great tribute to Lillian Baker, the queen of hatpin collectors. She passes on her tremendous knowledge and experience with the aid of a well catalogued album. This shows colour plates of many hatpins indexed by the different types of materials used. Gold, silver, brass, glass, porcelain, ivory and many other hatpins adorned with diamonds, pearls, amethysts, etc show what a diversity of collections are possible. They are catalogued by type, manufacturer, style or period over the past 150 years or so. A historical perspective on their development shows how they were made and the many types of legitimate fixings. Examples of fake hatpins are also shown. There is also a similar catalogue of a vast range of hatpin holders and vanity sets also in colour. The book is worth the money for the pictures alone and is what you would expect of the author who managed to persuade friends with rare and expensive or unusual hatpins and holders to allow them to be catalogued. There is even an explanation of the origins of pinmoney and the need for hatpin to be one word not two. The only disappointment is the lack of any indicator of values, as this was also the authors area of expertise. This book is unlikely to be repeated so buy it now - it will be a collectors piece soon.

5 comments about Origami Sculptures (Origami).

1. I am really very new to origami, but the illustrations and instructions are very easy to follow.



2. I found the instructions difficult to follow; some steps are not clear on how to get there. I bought this book to share it with my kids. It turned out to be quite useless because we couldn't make any of them.



3. If you like John's origami books, this one is a must! I would rate it as my favorite of all of his, and that's saying a lot. In addition to the models mentioned by others, this book has the two bases in it, which I found particularly fun to play with on my own. I used the dog base to fold my own versions of about a dozen different dog breeds. I'm sure any experienced folder could come up with others!



4. This, in my opinion, is Montroll's best book out there. The small details of the models are superb, especially the panda bear and the camel. Most of the animals stand up by themselves and make great displays.



5. In this book Montroll not only makes some of the best animal models so far but also creates systems of folding 4-leg animals and 6-leg insects. The folding steps in each model are very natural, with great logic and wits. Montroll is so scintillating in these designs that he creates 2 outstanding origami bases, Montroll's Dog base and Montroll's Insect base. In application of these 2 bases many vivid animals (REALLY VIVID!) are folded and exhibited. Other animals are well-designed too, including a cock, a penguin from the front side, etc. In my opinion, this is the finest among Montroll's origami books.

1 comments about Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. "Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary" is an outstanding volume worth adding to the collection of anyone interested in African Tribal Art. The color plates alone of Fang, Embette, and Kota Reliquarys make the price (low for a book of this magnitude) worth while.
   Highly recommended.

2 comments about Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection.

1. Finally! Finally, there is a book on Micromosaics, and what a wonderful book! Prior to the publication of Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel's masterful research job, there have been no books available to the collector of Micromosaics or for anyone who wants to read about a little-mentioned, and fading art. And who better to write the book then Ms. Gabriel who has been Sir Arthur Gilbert's Private Curator since 1994. Sir Arthur Gilbert's collection which now resides at Somerset House in London can only be equaled by the collections of The Vatican Museum in Rome and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

   There are a number of books that cover the vast and impressive Gilbert Collection: "Gold Boxes", "Monumental Silver", "Portrait Miniatures in Enamel," "Gold and Silver," "Hardstones" and now "Micromosaics." As I happily have the other books in my library - I can honestly say that the micromosaic book must have been the most difficult and yet it is extremely comprehensive. Ms. Hanisee's scholarly work on "The Gilbert Collection: Hardstones", must have been a bit easier to write as there is so much information on the art of Pietra Dura and Hardstone. Micromosaics is another ball of wax as so little was written - and I'm sure if it was to be had - Ms. Gabriel uncovered the information.

   The Appendix has a fascinating section written by Professor Massimo Alfieri "New Notes on Giacomo Raffaelli and Michelangelo Barberi" two of the leading Master Mosaicists of the 18th and early 19th century ---- fascinating. It takes you to the time of the workshops, with letters, sales receipts, drawings and the like. Not only revealing, but just plain fun for devotees of the period. One can also find a section on techniques and materials used in the making of these compelling masterful and minutely executed works of art.

   Seeing the fabulous color plates on almost every page, the items in the collection, one finds themselves rubbing their eyes in bewilderment over the artistry of these rare and intricate pieces. The footnotes are so interesting and well-written that they are a book within themselves, and my only wish was for a third hand to mark the place as I turned from text to illustration to footnote and back to text. In many books one tends to skip a lot of the footnotes, unless they pertain to a particular interest -- but Ms. Gabriel has added fascinating information and I told myself it was worth the digital exercise to read each and every one.

   Lastly - Jeanette Gabriel has masterfully included very detailed Biographies of the known artists of the time and the literature connected with these artists; a Glossary - with full descriptions; a seven page Bibliography; Exhibition Histories, and an extremely well-written Index.

   "The Gilbert Collection: Micromosaics" may look like a sumptuous coffee table book of 310 pages (which it is:), but it is definitely not fluff and mirrors -- it is a serious and fascinating work which should included in any library of Decorative Arts.

   Obviously - I think it's just great, I thank Ms. Gabriel, and I give it 5 stars.

   Margot Conte




2. This is a beautiful and informative book with insights into historic and technical aspects of micromosaic provided by the leading authority on this art form. Beautiful close up photographs reveal the intricate details of these little treasures. This book is a must have for micromosaic and decorative arts enthusiasts and a beautiful addition to any library.

3 comments about Hydraulic Die Forming for Jewelers and Metalsmiths.

1. This well written book covers a subject that has only been treated lightly in other art metal books. The pictures done for the book are not the best of contrast and size. But they do show the subject matter that the number of the picture list to the description. That really is the only fault I found with it.Covering the use of equipment and materials. some people will be in the shop or studio after the first 10 pages looking for the sheet of rubber and the car bottle jack. This is and will become the first classic in this subjects field. I own it.



2. Although the title sounds like a technical tome, this this book has a strong emphasis on the creative uses of the hydraulic press for forming and blanking metal. Kingsley explains how to easily make your own dies from a variety of materials. This is an excellent book for the creative metalsmith, jewelry designer and artist. It provides the technical information you need to use hydraulic forming, and offers a variety of techniques that will expand your creative reservoir.



3. A very good book which explains in depth most hydraulic die forming. a must-have for metalsmiths.

2 comments about Modelling and Sculpture: A Guide to Traditional Methods.

1. This guy was a student of Edouard Lanteri & i reckon Lanteri's book is better. This fellow waffles on a fair bit but his techniques are good & you can learn a lot from it regarding making traditional sculpture. The info is slightly different from lanteri's book so you get a slightly different viewpoint on the same techniques & the pictures are good. Its a good basic book of how to. However i'd recommend the Lanteri book over this one if you can only buy one book.



2. This book has detailed illustrations which are easy to understand and the directions are clear. I will use it.

No comments about The Art of Dale Chihuly.

1 comments about Magnetic Sculpture: It's Never The Same Thing Twice (Running Press Mini Kits).

1. I've got to say, this thing is cool. It'd make a great stocking stuffer for almost any age, from a 7-year old to a 25-year old (like me). I expected to find a junk toy, but then was so fascinated by the way that the magnets interacted --- before I knew it I had been playing with it for 30 minutes. It's tiny, just about two inches by an inch, but surprisingly curious to play around with. I like mine so much I bought two for my brothers :-)

2 comments about The Life of Isamu Noguchi: Journey without Borders.

1. I really enjoyed reading this book .Not only was it informative but beautifully written .The book deals with Isamu Noguchi's life with insight and sensitivity .Definitely worth buying.



2. "Sam" Gilmour, heartlander, great sculptor, world traveler, free spirit, aka "Noguchi"--
   The sadly neglected tale of a shy 13 year-old boy traveling alone to LaPorte, Indiana for early schooling "as a true American" and known there as "Sam" Gilmour, was later to become widely known as one of the world's greatest sculptors -- Isamu Noguchi (a future Jeopardy question?). A new biography "The Life of Isamu Noguchi: Journey Without Borders" includes revealing details and childhood snapshots for the first time from the archives of Lilly Library at Indiana University. This biography, only recently published in English, unfolds like a panoramic tapestry of life ... colorful, insightful, personal. It includes his stressful adaptations to cultural duality, personal relationships with notable companions, and his bonding with the idea of "mound builders" of native Americans.
   
   After traveling alone across the ocean and the country, he began his new, Midwestern experience by hiking down the remote dirt road for the first time past the farms, fields, and woods to the Interlaken boarding school, feeling overwhelmed by the "vastness, the sweep, the panorama of that open Indiana countryside." Soon, when fateful WW I events abruptly closed the boarding school, he lived alone on the abandoned premises for a month "like Daniel Boone". Finally good fortune had him transferring to the public LaPorte High School and living with a locally prominent family in town, he graduated four years later in 1922. Typically, he had a newspaper route. Aspiring to be an "all-American boy", the yearbook included his illustrations and classmates elected him "Biggest Bull-Head."
   
   And so goes the first 100 pages. The next 340 pages of this epic follow his footprints through the Sands of Time, continuing 'Sam's Splendid Adventure' to the peaks of artistic expression in dance theatre, architecture, and sculpture. Along the way, this "Hoosier" sojourns with many of the greatest artistic spirits this world has ever seen.
   
   On a very personal note, I met with Noguchi a couple of times ('70s) in my New York work, and had once played a basketball game ('50s) at his Indiana high school (big deal there, then). Regrettably, I didn't realize at the time that our paths had previously crossed, albeit if only in space-time. Somewhere, sometime, "somewhat" dedicated individuals must necessarily put out a wake-up call to the Arts in Indiana patrons at colleges, museums, and libraries on this wholly unusual and neglected chapter of American cultural history at the turn of the 20th Century with its demographic changes of nation building immigration, new industrialization, and new urbanism. Fittingly, the Noguchi Foundation has an extensive curriculum guide available. His centennial birth date is November 17, 2004.

No comments about Anish Kapoor.