No comments about Elements of Woodcarving.

1 comments about The Big Book of Christmas Scroll Saw Projects: Fun & Functional Crafts to Make & Give (Christmas).

1. A lot of fine Christmas projects that I can use in my woodwork teaching. ,,Merry Christmas"

No comments about Working with Wood: 32 Essential Skills for Building Cabinets & Furniture.

2 comments about Constantin Brancusi (Modern Masters Series).

1. I found this book a useful source of information about Brancusi. It captures the essence of Brancusi himself and what made his scultpures so good. I liked the fact that Brancusi's comments about his sculptures and how he made them were included in it, it somehow, made you feel more about the sculptures themselves. His life story is interwoven with his sculptures in this book, just as his life and art are interwoven. What I don't like about the book is the way it is set out. It is confusing and does not give you a clear picture, altogether. Although, the author said that he hoped the reader could get more out of it that way, it somehow does not work. It was set out, not in a chronological order but with specific titles like 'The Human World'. Overall, though I liked this book as it analyzed the sculptures very well however, it raises the issues of abstract scupture versus represational in Brancusi's art without actually stating anything about it??? I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Brancusi or would like to find out mroe information on him.



2. Not very well known, but one of the most important artists in his style

4 comments about Wall.

1. Wall is a visual journey into the uncommon power and beauty of common things. Stones, leaves, a blade of grass. Rushes, thorns, the splash of water on a quiet rock. In the thoughtful hands of artist Andy Goldsworthy, these ordinary landscape artifacts are pressed, moved, shaped and juxtaposed, then left to melt back into earth over time. When viewing Goldsworthy's art, one thinks of the rapt attention of a child, who sees possibility in every fallen branch. Yet, the overall impression is philosophical in nature. Even the person who claims little understanding of art can find a way to enter in, especially with the help of Baker's essay. A beautiful read, a beautiful look.



2. Imagine that you're a giant playing with pebbles in your backyard. There's a big puddle nearby, and a lot of weeds. You idly pick up pebble after pebble, placing them gently one on top of the other, winding what ends up being a wall through the weeds until it gets to the edge of the puddle. That's the deliciously disconcerting feeling you'll get as you page through Andy Goldsworthy's "Wall."

   A document of the design and construction of Goldsworthy's wall at Mountainville, New York, the book details the finding of the original, now-falling-down stone wall and the decision to recreate and embellish upon this. Andy Goldsworthy was called in to design the new wall. While he begins by following what is left of the old wall, his work is looser, more elegant, almost scroll-like as it winds down the hill and plunges directly into the water of the lake. There is a calligraphic quality to this wall that's visually arresting and, quite simply, beautiful.

   Along with the wall, Goldsworthy can't resist playing with nature in other ways and these photographs are thoughtfully included as well. We see the line of chrome yellow leaves he's stitched together and placed on the wall, the holes he's filled with crimson leaves and water, and the tree whose bark he's lined with, well, other trees! It's astounding to see how Goldsworthy's brain works and what handsome design statements result from his creativity.




3. As one of the wallers involved in the building of Andy's wall at Storm King, I can honestly say that this book gives a really good insight into the ideas behind his work and some of the technicalities involved in its construction. The photography is wonderful and the text informative. This book is well worth a look, and so is the wall itself.



4. The photography in this book is stunning, as is most of Andy's work. The real heroes of the Wall at Stormking are the Dykers, mainly Max Nowell legendary stone worker from South west Scotland.

1 comments about Noguchi East and West.

1. This volume is one of the more comprehensive reviews of Noguchi's life and work. Having met with Noguchi a couple of times at the premises of the future Museum, I regret not having then the insight now made accessible by our new digital lifestyle resources. His cross-cultural, multi-media artistry reflects Midwestern adolescence with Pacific overtures. Ashton states "Noguchi's biography is rich in hints of the sources of his formative years, and while no single source can be isolated, some are more suggestive than others. Dr. Rumely, the progressive educator who founded the Interlaken School in Indiana where Noguchi began his American education, had placed Noguchi in the home of ... a Swedenborgian minister. The boy was thrust into a situation in which the thoughts that had helped shape the modern movement -- through such figures as Blake, Emerson, Poe, and Baudelaire -- were sacred. ...the notion of a universal rhyming scheme had attracted nineteenth-century artists who wished to see some kind of elemental unity in the universe; who relished the endless possibilities of analogy."

   Combining influences of the industrializing modernity of small cities and towns of the Midwest at this time, and seemingly inspired both by ancient Japanese "tumuli" and the Native American Mound Builders, his mnemonic response to the sights of such landscapes "got me going". With this amplified illumination into Noguchi's background and more familiarity with his abiding interests in "earth sculpturing", perhaps new educational paradigms should be considered in our thinking of art, architecture and American historic preservation.

5 comments about Making Bits and Pieces Mosaics: Creative Projects for Home & Garden.

1. Really great book with lots of ideas of how to make mosaics out of found objects. I highly recommend it. Full of Fun!



2. Marlene, aside from being a good friend, a wonderful painter, and a beautiful woman, is an inspiration. Buy this book-- making things from broken china is calming, and fun.



3. I wish I hadn't spent the money on this book. While it does give you the basics of doing mosaics, there's maybe 6 pages of it. If you've ever done any tile work, then its useless. The rest of the book is centered on doing specific projects. Frankly, the example pieces in the book were downright ugly. Most of them looked like they were just a smashed plate re-assembled. There's really no color or design patterns. The rest had doll heads all over them, which I found pretty creepy. If you're a beginner, this might give you the basics but there should be better books out there. If you're looking for inspiration, there HAVE to be better books out there than this one.



4. This book has a lot of finished pieces that I found to be almost ugly. The techniques as instructed are not as in depth as I have seen in other books. I recommend you purchase to accompany another mosaic book, but I would not make it my primary instructional book.



5. I love the challenge of creative household projects and bounce back and forth between several different ones, but by far, mosaic tiling is my favorite! I used this book for the ideas & know how. It has great pictures and well thought ideas I had never thought of. I tiled my porch walk way with a wonderful mosaic tile design & I receive complement after complement (even from the mailman!). Everyone wants to know who did it!

2 comments about Carving Animal Caricatures (Dover Books on Woodworking & Carving).

1. STARTING OUT ESPECIALLY SOME BOOKS ARE FINE TO MOON OVER AND THINK
   "HOW DID HE DO THAT?" THIS BOOK IS A "I CAN DO THAT." I OFTEN FIND IT MISSING AS MY GIRLS LIKE TO LOOK AT IT, AND DISCUSS THE COOL CARVINGS. THEN THEY POINT OUT THERE FAVORITES. SIT THIS BOOK ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE AND ALMOST EVERYONE WILL PICK IT UP AND SPEND AT LEAST 20 MINUTES READING AND LOOKING AT IT. SEEMS CARVING APPEALS TO A BASIC HUMAN INSTINCT. PEOPLE WHO WOULD NEVER DREAM OF CARVING STILL ENJOY IT. IT IS A SOLID WELL WRITTEN BOOK. THE BOTTOM LINE THOUGH FOR CARVING IS THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT BLADE TO WOOD. ALL THE BOOKS IN THE WORLD WILL ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR. BEBINNERS WORK SMALL AND WHEN YOU CAN A BASIC DESIGN WITH A SCROLL SAW. IT MAKES IT EASIER TO DEFINE THE SHAPE. LITTLE ANIMALS ARE GREAT PROJECTS, AND DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR EARLY STUFF LATER YOU'LL ENJOY COMPARING IT TO SEE WHERE YOU HAVE PROGRESSED.



2. This book is a great start for the beginner. Complete set-by-step instructions with 72 photos & 131 drawings to go by for the 24 projects covered. The projects are really good looking "folk-art" animal caricatures.

No comments about The Tinsmith's Helper and Pattern Book: With Useful Rules, Diagrams and Tables.

1 comments about Porcelain (Ceramics Handbooks).

1. In this informative book, Jack Doherty explores the special qualities of porcelain for the studio artist. Filled with inspiring photos and loads of good information this is a great book if you are thinking about working with porcelain.