1 comments about Mudra.

1. I saw this book at the local Drikung Kagyu monastery, and found it to be full of fascinating and well detailed information on Mudras within Japanese practice.
   Very very thorough and academic.
   excellent illustrations, considering.

No comments about Chip Carving Patterns and Designs.

No comments about Folk Art Weather Vanes: Authentic American Patterns for Wood and Metal.

2 comments about Fired by Ideals: Arequipa Pottery and the Arts and Crafts Movement.

1. Collaboratively presented by Suzanne Raizerman (Imogene Gieling Curator of Crafts and Decorative Arts, Oakland Museum, California), Lynn Downey (History, Levi Strauss and Company); and John Taki (California College of Arts and Crafts and President, Leslie Ceramic Supply Company, Berkeley, California) Fired By Ideals: Arequipa Pottery And The Arts & Crafts Movement is a truly impressive, 136 page artbook showcasing a unique selection of historical ceramic pottery sculpture. In 1911, after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco triggered a tuberculosis epidemic, a special treatment center called the Arequipa Sanatorium was founded for working women afflicted by the disease. Pottery became daily practice, both as an outlet for creativity/healing and to create marketable wares. The most amazing samples of this fine pottery are displayed in full color in Fired By Ideals, along with descriptive captions and a narrated history of the Sanatorium that created them. A fascinating catalogue filled with thoughtful and meaningful wares, Fired By Ideals is a unique and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library arts and crafts reference collections.



2. Fired By Design surveys Arequipa pottery and the Arts and Crafts movement, using vintage photos and color reproductions to display the works generated by a tuberculosis sanatarium in rural Marin County in 1906. Dr. Brown was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement sought to provide his female patients not just with rest, but with creative art pursuits: pottery was his choice and Fired By Design displays the wealth produced by his patients.

1 comments about Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (Richard Hampton Jenrette Series in Architecture and the Decorative Arts).

1. This volume is a must-have for anyone interested in Southern gravestone traditions. It is the culmination of Little's research in North Carolina, presented in a scholarly but easily-readable style and accompanied by the beautiful photography of Tim Buchman.
   
   The book includes examples of "folk" markers, locally made markers, and imported markers along with a brief mention of the context of each type and variations one sees across the state. North Carolina is seen as one of the core areas of the various Upland South traditions in the United States, thus the information on Upland burials applies across the southeast. Similar patterns are seen from North Carolina to Arkansas. In addition, this book includes quite a bit of information on rural white and African American traditions, something rarely covered in books of this sort.
   
   If you are interested in gravestone art, cemeteries, or any other facet of mortuary studies this book is very highly recommended.

2 comments about Prospect: The Journal of an Artist.

1. I bought this book from Amazon on a whim, knowing nothing about the author/artist. I have since bought her first book and will buy her second book too. My only quibble is that there are no images of her work.
   I loved her reflective intelligent commentary on her inner and outer life. She incorporates quotes from books she is reading and her thoughts on the subject as well as descriptions and opinions of people that she interacts with; and thoughts and feelings about her art, past and present and the exhibitions that she has participated in.
   Highly recommended to the older female artist, as well as to aspiring journal writers and diarists. Although the journal is highly edited for publication it is an inspiring example of the genre.



2. This, the last journal of artist Anne Pruitt, shares her experience with aging, the dilemma of making money in the art world, how to manage your collection, family, and dying. She is an ispiration and explores these tough issues in a tender and determined fashion. As an artist, she reminds me that I am not alone in my process.

5 comments about Collectible Silver Jewelry: Identification and Value Guide.

1. "Collectible Silver Jewelry" provides a brief, yet reasonably comprehensive, guide to silver jewellery and jewellery makers from around the world. This book covers most of the major silver jewellery producing countries of the world, including the U.S., Mexico, Peru, Scandinavia, the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan and Siam, and for each country, it provides a guide to all of the main silversmiths and manufacturers of that country. For each manufacturer, a brief history is given, along with a photograph or illustration of the maker's marks used. A valuation guide (with pictures) is also provided at the end of each section to give the reader some idea of the style of jewellery produced in each country and its value (although this book was first published in 2001, all values were updated in 2005).
   
   This book is very well presented. It is a large size hardback with glossy pages and full-colour photographs throughout. A glossary of jewellery terms is provided at the back, as is a detailed index, making this book very easy to use.



2. This was a general book on Silver and I felt it did not go into depth. I do not like it as much as others but it covers many country silver jewelry.



3. I haven't found another book that covers what this one covers. It is well organized and has lots of good photos. There are written commentaries about the various manufacturers of silver jewelry, discussions about mid century artisans, and great information about silver jewelry from Scandinavia, Mexico and other places in the world. There are additional resources in the back of the book and lots of information about hallmarks as well. I can go on and on but take it from me, this is the best book out there on silver jewelry.



4. This book has been fabulous because it includes a broad span of silver jewelry, not just one specific type. It has helped me identify many pieces. Great pictures, great explanations. Includes many different marks. I love it and use it all the time.



5. Whether you are an expert collector or a neophyte, you will find this book a valuable reference source. It is illustrated in full-color and covers the range of silver jewelry makers exhaustively, maker by maker, including illustrations of makers' marks.

3 comments about How Writing Came About.

1. This book will take you through the ruins of an ancient city in Mesopotamia and then will explain the meaning of certain tablets and clay coins found there. The author is very clear in her explanations, there are plenty of pictures and graphics which make your understanding of the text easier. This book is for those who like reading scholarly material because it is very concise and precise on the subject but it could seem dry reading to those who prefer the material to be presented in a more entertaining way.
   I found it very interesting, and it helped me understand the transition from letters to numbers. I loved it!



2. Holy Moley! By Internet standards, the first (and only, until mine) review of this book is of a seemingly archaeological date, seven years ago, that is. Well, I suppose this review won't make much difference when (if) it's read seven years from now! This book is, obviously, a work by a scholar, which is an entirely different category of "being smart." We don't call upon scholars to fix our plugged-up toilets or change the flat tire on our car or restore the electricity, but, if you know just enough history to be grateful to live in our consumer-friendly epoch, you'll be grateful that some out there have dedicated their lives to recording and analyzing the long process of human growth, and the growth of civilization. You can have your Back To Nature fantasies--I'll take the hot shower and electric coffee maker, thank you very much. This particular work, apparently, is a condensation of a two-volume scholarly work, one which, I am sure, that I will never read. But the current volume (the second half of which I read last night, while eating fancy crackers and drinking humble red wine--giving me a connection, I felt, to the agrarian Past of Sumer and Uruk, etc.) is about as good as it gets for laymen (me). For me, it's almost like a religious text, transcending race, language, skin color, nationalism; it's like a Time Machine that takes you back within the range of a subtle sniff of our "egalitarian" prehistoric ancestors; "egalitarian" meaning a small-population culture where you pretty much fed yourself and participated in the group without the framework of authority other than myth and ritutal. A fun read for those who have exhausted the cultural potentialities of SIMPSONS reruns. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's thesis that counting preceded writing. In fact, it was my hunch--from my own reading and thinking--that this was so that prompted me to search for a book with this theory. It just makes sense. I highly doubt that any early resident of a city started the road to high civilization talking about "ennui" or "existentialism." They talked about, "Hey! I paid you this much last month. And you owe me this much tomorrow." Makes sense to me. Just the evidence-supported argument alone that breaking the counting-beyond-three barrier took thousands of years was worth the cover price to me. The single concept (and revelation) that in no way is the faculty of counting beyond three inate to brain function and hence, inate to our modern minds, is simply stunning to me, and adds a dose of gratitude to my daily life, a realization that makes it easier to laugh off the troubles of modern life. We owe so much to the hundreds of generations of men and women who have gone before us, most just living day to day. A good read, especially when enjoyed with fancy crackers and red wine...and about forty years' worth of reading, living and reflecting. So far as what the next review will address: I ain't holding my breath--and that is a very archaelogical attitude.



3. Schmandt-Besserat is not only an acknowledged leader in epigraphy, she is one of the only linguists to study the slowly evolving history of the assyro-babylonian literary culture. This book, and any other by this author, is strongly reccommended for any library or archeological department.

No comments about Anish Kapoor: To Darkness: Svayambh.

4 comments about Teach Yourself Origami.

1. Sometimes, I didn't understand the diagrams in other books.
   So, It was frustrating, and I said "this is not for me".
   I start with this book "Teach Yourself Origami".
   And... Every project is a success. It's an excellent book. Very nice diagrams. Because Montroll teachs step by step. If you have this book you will learn origami.
   You will learn something funny, and you will relax.
   Start to fold!



2. I learned a lot from this book. Montroll follows a very logical sequence, with a very gradual increase in difficulty. Along the way, he not only explains how the folds are done, but why. My progress using this book was faster than I would have believed possible (I have succeeded in folding the elephant, and am about to attempt the bee with reasonable confidence.)
   Highly recommended



3. I couldn't pass up a book on origami with "teach yourself" in the title. I was expecting an organized presentation of the basics, and that's just what I got. The author introduces the basic folds one at a tim, using simple models for practice, and then expects you to be able to use them by just referring to their names. That can make for some paging back and forth, but I have no problem with that. But I did wish that he included more verbal instructions for some of the steps. Studying the diagram alone just fdid do it for me, though I eventually figured out what I was supposed to do. I think this criticism could be applied to very origami book I've seen.
   
   I'm am still at what the author calls the beginner level. The book contains 27 models at the beginner's level, 12 intermediate, and 5 advance,. Most of these are animals, with lots of birds.



4. Not only a carefully sorted collection of origami models, this is a book explicitly written for the aspiring paperfolder. Nice features include:

   - very clear diagrams and instructions using standard notation

   - can be used either as a self-study guide or as a teacher's aid

   - nearly 27 simple models, 12 intermediate, 5 complex (the latter include 2 models by classic creater Fred Rohm, the "impossible" vase and waterwheel)

   - each model introduces more advanced techniques and new folding maneuvers explained in detail, so just by following the book the reader learns not only _how_ each fold is done but also _why_ it is employed

   Excepting a few models like the Elephant, this is not a book for fans of Montroll's "complex" work (like "Origami for the Enthusiast", "Origami Sea Life" and "Origami Sculptures"); on the other hand, it is longer and more didactic than "Easy Origami" and also has more original models. Beware: there's a classic book by R. Harbin reprinted with the same title.