No comments about Victorian Fret-Work and Wood Carving: Patterns and Instructions (Dover Craft Books).

2 comments about Shorebird Carving.

1. As a happy owner of Rosalyn's previous books, Songbird Carving I and II, I can attest to the fact that Shorebird
   Carving shares the limelight in detail accuracy and outstanding instructive illustrations. Carve and paint the
   fiddler crab and present it on your palm to any friend (make sure it is a good friend); you will see first hand that Rosalyn has taught you well. Add this book to your library, you will not be disappointed.



2. An excellent book as a basis for all bird carving, well written with very good illustrations.

4 comments about Soul in the Stone: Cemetery Art from America's Heartland.

1. Ok, so not everyone is into the "darker" side of life. We prefer to focus on sunflowers, streams and good old-fashioned values here in the midwest.
   To many people, gravestones are just plain creepy. Haven't we all watched horror movies where the dead crawl out from beneath a cracked headstone and kill innocent lovers?
   Mr. Brown's book made me look at the gravestones in a brighter (although not unentirely SAD) light. I saw the loss that families suffered through in the intricacy of massive stone mausoleums. I felt the emptiness of parents in the lifelike sculptures of their children. And I shook my head at the quirkiness of folks whose death markers are every bit as weird as they themselves must have been.
   I've had this book for 5 years and I STILL pick it up now and again to read the stories behind the cemeteries. I have also given it as a gift to people in my life who I know won't get totally freaked out by it. They LOVE it.
   It is a wonderful read/lookat/whatever.... just try it!--



2. My husband John and I love tombstone art and stomp around the countryside taking photos of cemeteries. This is one of our favorite books, with lots of wonderful photos of cemeteries around St. Louis and so forth. The author also writes a wonderful commentary on the nature of cemeteries, their conditions, and how we view them today as a modern American society. The photos of the children's graves are especially haunting. A must for collectors of tombstone art.



3. John Gary Brown, does an excellent job at showing the eccentricity and beauty of grave markers. He uses different angles, and points of view in his compositions, to bring out a morbid beauty, that is rarely seen by the naked eye. A truly impressive collection of masterpieces. Just when you think the works speak for themselves, Brown also includes wonderful poetry, which co-exists perfectly with the photographs. A must for anyone's artistic anthology collection.



4. While the photography is excellent, and the author offers several interesting insights into symbolism and customs, the facts about particular monuments are incorrect. He gives the wrong locations for several monuments (placing them in cemeteries across town), and the descriptions of the cemeteries themselves contain errors

5 comments about Fish Carving: An Introduction.

1. This is the second edition of a very good primer on fish carving by one of the world's best fish carvers. All of the necessary techniques to produce a convincingly life-like fish carving are illustrated. The paint schedules are easy to follow and the addition of the colour section on step by step trout painting is excellent. The book contains a number of projects that build on each other. It is profusely illustrated and the instructions are easy to follow.
   Patterns (side view only) are provided for all of the projects in the book, plus several additional species. If the book has a major fault, it is that top view patterns are not included: a beginning carver will have difficulty in getting the top view proportions correct. Otherwise, this book is a good investment and I do, in fact, recommend it to my carving students.



2. I found Bob Berry's book informative, however, it assumes that the reader has had some experience or previous knowledge of carving and painting techniques.



3. Fish Carving: an introduction by Bob Berry is the best fish-carving book I have ever read.

   This book is a how to book on carving fish out of wood. The book is neatly organized, so even a beginner wood carver could understand it. The book covers all the areas of carving fish out of wood. Easy to follow step by step pictures and explanations also make this a very user-friendly book, because of this it makes your carving experience that much more enjoyable. Berry walks you through the process of selecting wood, general carving and even painting and finishing the carving. There are lots of patterns and color pictures of his award winning woodcarvings to inspire you and help you along your way to becoming a fish carver.

   I have found that this book is one of the best of its kind if you wish to learn to carve wooden fish. He is also very thorough when it comes to explaining difficult steps in your fish carving. This book has helped me greatly in expanding my carving knowledge and expertise. This book will not disappoint you. I would recommend this book to junior high students and older.




4. Bob Berry has produced what is arguably the best fish carving book on the market. There are several good instructive books; but this one has very easy to read instructions. The book itself is not lengthy but packs a tremendous amount of information in it. The instructions are well witten and the pictures excellent. I still find this book, after reviewing most of the others available on this subject, the one I refer to the most.



5. Bob Berry has produced what is arguably the best fish carving book on the market. There are several good instructive books; but this one has very easy to read instructions. The book itself is not lengthy but packs a tremendous amount of information in it. The instructions are well witten and the pictures excellent. I still find this book, after reviewing most of the others available on this subject, the one I refer to the most.

5 comments about The Kiln Book, Materials, Specifications and Construction.

1. I had a problem building my gas kiln. I didnt understand how it works. This book helped me understand the mechanisms of it. Excelent purchase!



2. I love this book! It makes you think about how to make a kiln that is just right for you and your tastes. I can't wait to start building my kiln.



3. I doubt there is a better resource for learning about kilns, aside from buiding one yourself. The book is very comprhensive and leaves nothing out. If you want to know everything about the construction of kilns, this book is a must read. Fredrick Olsen is one guy who knows what he is talking about.



4. Between this book and Kiln Construction by Joe Finch you can build a very succesful pottery kiln. The information within is nothing less than outstanding in understanding the various kiln options being used around the world. This is a must have book for those with an interest in kilns or in building their own pottery kiln.



5. This book was recomended by a college instructor who worked directly with author. I highly recomend this book if you want to build your own kiln.

5 comments about Collector's Encyclopedia of Nippon Porcelain w/ Price Guide : Updated, Series 3 (of 5 Series Set).

1. This book is well documented, thorough and the pictures are excellent. In addition, this book discusses the Nippon history, provides an excellent chapter on marks and backstamps with a short commentary on the different mark colors and their meanings.
   
   I particularly liked the glossary, and cross-referenced price guide index which is placed in the back of the book yet neatly references to pages and plate #'s. Because of the extensive patterns in the Nippon history, every pattern is not in the book but I was able to identify particular shapes of pieces which I could check against marks/backstamps and the price guide to get a reasonable value range.
   
   Any collector or dealer will suit their library well by having this book for education and reference to Nippon.



2. Joan Van Patten's Nippon Porcelain focuses on Japanese porcelain, from painted vases and stamps to plates and smoking pieces. Gorgeous color photos abound.



3. As part of the 5 series volume, this series contains some updates. From my previous reviews of the collection series, I've mentioned that if you are beginner, a keen buyer/seller, or an experienced collector/trader of Nippon items, then you need to have this book, along with the other series. Like the previous series, this book contains information on Nippon porcelains. It provides actual photos, and price ranges for each items featured. Nippon porcelains have their disctinctive mark, based on the year and place they were manufactured, so this book gives you what to look and watch out for, in order to identify the authencity of the item.



4. Like the series 2 book, this is part of the 5 series volume. If you are beginner, a keen buyer/seller, or an experienced collector/trader of Nippon items, then you ought to get this book, along with the other series. The book contains a lot of information on Nippon porcelain collections. It provides nice photos, and price ranges on each items featured. It also gives you the marks to look and watch out for, in order to identify the authencity of the item.



5. I bought this book as part of the 5 series volume. If you are beginner, a keen buyer/seller, or an experienced collector/trader of Nippon items, then you ought to get this book, along with the other series. The book contains a lot of information on Nippon porcelain collections. It provides nice photos, and price ranges on each items featured. It also gives you the marks to look and watch out for, in order to identify the authencity of the item.

1 comments about Paul McCarthy: Head Shop.Shop Head.

1. mccarthy heads up the knuckles on the punch that is coming and it is all hear in grotesque faithful glory. belly blooming liquid sqwelch that has become the pysche house taboo center, next up is the calm dome. but non the les, les the non, paul mccarthy gives us the cream 50's thru 00's style, in hallowed saloon, charles manson charles eastwood is good bad and ugly ya. crawl thru the space and drag your smegma about, its a trail of tears for the former represser. needless i love the title, gimme all the images so i maybe fasten them to the walls of the calm dome archive. i am over the age of 13.

1 comments about Celadon Blues: Re-create Ancient Chinese Celadon Glazes.

1. A must for any serious potter trying to duplicate ancient chinese blue celedons. This book is not only a fascinating history on the subject, but a comprhensive study on the hows and whys of achieving this elusive glaze. Although not a book of formulas, one will recieve all the information one needs to easily duplicate this glaze in all its variations.

5 comments about Ancient Mosaics.

1. This book was a disappointment and when I look at the ridiculous prices being asked for it these days ($62.00 for the cheapest copy!!), I got motivated to write a review. It all depends on your expectations. If you want information on Greek and Roman mosaics, on the history and techniques, then this book has a lot of information, even if it is a short book (140 pages). But if you want stunning pictures of ancient mosaics, this is not the book to get. The book has 47 color pictures and 49 black/white pictures. The pictures tend to be small, as the priority is given to the text, not the photographs.
   My interest is in Byzantine mosaics. Two books that have good color pictures of Byzantine mosaics are: "Byzantine Art" by Jannic Durand, and "Byzantium: from Antiquity to the Renaissance" by Thomas Mathews, which is a smaller book, but also has many color photographs. Neither of those would qualify as a coffee table book, but the one by Durand comes closest to that.
   German publisher Konemman came out with a book which is oversize that probably has lots of picture of Byzantine art (as well as Ottoman art), called "Constantinople: Istanbul's historical heritage", by Stephane Yerasimos. I have not seen it yet, but Konemann's books are usually "feast for the eyes" material.
   I don't know of book on ancient mosaics in general (not just Byzantine) that has great color photographs. If that is your interest, surely this one by Roger Ling is not the one.



2. Mr. Ling, as our tour guide, transports us back in time and from Africa to ancient England, sharing the history, development and travel/migration of this peculiar art form. His 'tour bus' stops frequently at wonderful examples as he shares bits of history, syles, techniques and other information quickly and painlessly.
   
   Aside from detailed instructions on "How To", Mr. Ling's book gives everything else one could ask for. Actually, one could make mosaics learning from this book, it just doesn't have that particular focus.
   
   I've only had the book for 13 hours so am anxious to get home and pick it up for another read.



3. Roger Ling is a true scholar. He knows his subject and writes with clarity. He describes the method of creating a mosaic. This was a tedious task which required inserting a slender piece of baked clay or glass or marble into wet cement. Thus only a very small section could be done at a time. These pieces of baked clay are called tesserae. Some are one half inch by one half inch. Others are slender little guys only one millimeter by perhaps two millimeter. These were used to make a mosaic such as that of the doves found in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. Mosaics were placed on the walls, floors and ceilings. Most which survive are from the floor. This makes sense. When a building collapses most mosaics of the walls and ceiling would perish but conceal and protect the mosaic floor below. Mosaics were monochrome, also highly colorful. There was much experimentation. Some mosaics display a three dimensional effect. Some reproduce famous paintings. Some display reproduction of a painting with modifications made by the artists or the patron of the piece. Some of the experimentation in mosaics ended up influencing architectural design. I suggest reading Pinto's and MacDonald's Hadrian's Villa and Its Legacy. Studies are under way to trace mosaicists works found in areas stretching over large parts of Italy and Europe. Mosaic patterns in various rooms can be used on occasion to determine what use that room had. Evidently mosaics in triclinia (dining rooms) were designed to generate discussion. I would highly recommend reading Linda Farrar's Ancient Romans Gardens after reading this book.



4. This title is absolutely worth every penny. Though weighing in at only 143 pages, it is deceptively meaty and educational. The 106 selected photos (47 color and 49 B/W) are crisp, beautiful, and plentiful, and the inclusion of a maps and a glossary were also helpful. The mosaics selected for illustration are sublime, and even those ravaged by time are hardly less beautiful for it. Chapters are (in order) Intro, Greek Period, Roman Italy, Roman North-West, Roman Africa, Wall and Vault Mounts, and Context and Meaning. In a book of this length each chapter is necessarily short, but the examples chosen to illustrate each section are well-chosen to guide further study in selected areas.



5. I really appreciate scholarly works like this book. I've been trying to find a good book on the history of mosaics that is - in-print - and this is it! Excellent documentation! Not too - dry - of a read either. A big thanks to Roger Ling for the enlightenment. Beautiful photographs, wish there were a-whole-lot more.

4 comments about Cameos: A Pocket Guide With Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This book is geared towards cheaper (i.e. mass produced shell and glass) cameos and not enough on hardstone or lava cameos. It glosses over technique and history, which are essential to understanding value in the market place. The price guide is useless. The prices seem random and don't take workmanship or the marketplace into account. Is the cameo being offered for sale at a flea market? An auction house? A high-end antique jewelry shop in an urban area? On Ebay? Those are all distinct venues that generate different price points because the customer base is different. I was also disappointed that most of the cameos featured were of average quality and quite common, and not the high quality type that interest serious collectors.



2. This isn't as comprehensive as some other books on cameos but it has short, helpful explantions that augment other books I have on the subject.



3. This book contains photos of cameos made from many different materials, from plastic to shell to glass. But of the 160 pages it contains, only around 30 pages give any information about cameos. The rest of the pages are photos with prices. It really is just a price guide.



4. The book is exactly what it says it is, a price guide. There isn't any history, how to tell what time the cameo is from, what the cameo is made of etc. Not exactly what I wanted but will come in handy for an idea of prices.