No comments about Michelangelo: Pietà.

5 comments about Origami Hearts.

1. This book looked like a collection of cutesy, simple folds, but the ones I tried (heart w/pair of doves, heart w/flying dove) were anything but simple. I have quite a bit of folding experience (I've made many of Montroll's dinosaurs: whew!), but Francis Ow's folds were quite innovative and unique to me. As the review by ZoomCity states: "a stubborn determination to be successful" would be a useful ingredient. The diagrams were sometimes over-simplified, and it would take me a while to figure them out, but the results were very rewarding. This is not a beginner's book, for many of the more intriguing folds, but I certainly would want to have it in my Origami collection!



2. This book was my introduction to my current origami fascination. I wanted to make hearts for a work project, and I discovered a smorgasbord in this book.

   There are several models a beginner can easily complete. Many other models are more challenging and suitable for the intermediate to advanced folder. The instructions are sometimes difficult to follow. I found looking ahead at the next steps and a stubborn determination to be successful very helpful. I also made a few "practice" models, to help me understand the diagrams and marked my book with personal notations for future reference.

   This year, with some experience under my belt, I found making valentines to be easy and fun. This is a treasured and well-used book in my home.




3. I'm a low intermediate fan of origami.I've brought this book ,it has the best way in my opinion to show your love to those you care most about in a very unique way.Beware some diagrams are very time consuming and need concentration. A precious Investment for your personal origami library.



4. This is a really cute book that focuses exclusively on origami folds that create models with hearts. It's quite narrowly focused, but I found it quite enjoyable. The main flaw I found was that not all the models use standard square origami paper as their base. Of the models I attempted using square paper, I managed to make them all fairly sucessfully. If someone has done some folding before (perhaps has one of the Biddle's intro books under their belt) they should have no problem with this book. I reccomend it



5. In the interest of including numerous projects the author seems to have chosen to take shortcuts in the direction department. The photos are beautiful but the diagrams are terribly confusing to a novice. It would make a great coffetable book as long as no one asks if you have completed any of the projects unless you are already an expert folder. Better detailed diagrams with written instructions would make this a much better book.

2 comments about Wood Burning With Sue Waters: Rural Scenes.

1. This book by Sue Waters, must be an early work, the artistry in her woodburning of things like a stone fence are very amature looking. I guess I expected this book to be as well done as Pyrography Workbook also by Sue Walters. I would not recommend Woodburning Rural Scenes, save your money and purchase the Pyrography workbook instead.



2. This is an excellent book for the beginning Pyrographic Artist.
   Examples include step by step projects with many fine photographs of the process required to finish a barn, wood wall with flower pots, Wall with stones, Squirrel on a fence post, two others as well as patterns for five woodburnings and a Gallery of some of the completed art work. I Highly recommend this book anyone who wants to get started in this Art form.

2 comments about Chihuly over Venice.

1. This book is required for anyone who loves art. Beautifully photographed and bound, this work will bring pleasure to all who see it for many years to come. Chihuly is a genius!

   The only thing approaching a dark cloud over Chihuly and this book is the unfortunate presence of William Warmus, who fancies himself a writer. This is my first encounter with Warmus and it was a thoroughly unpleasant one. The 16 pages of useless, if not nonsensical, notebook entries from Warmus are in the beginning. They add nothing and the reader is advised not to waste time with them. Dana Self follows Warmus with a relatively short, but equally worthless, piece in which the nature of beauty is explored. (Has there EVER been any human on this planet who has not had a pretty good idea what is beautiful?) Anyway, though Self describes Chihuly's art as "wildly excessive," Self underlines what we already know - that "in experiencing beauty and pleasure, what we feel motivates our response." Was anything ever more obvious? Do yourself a favor and skip the Warmus and Self sections and go directly to the wonderful photographs, which show both the close-up detail and the distant view of each of the glass sculptures. For those new to Chihuly, there is a complete chronology of his life and work in the back of the book.




2. After seeing the PBS show and owning the video, the book was a must. It is printed on gorgeous paper and provides not only full color photos, but detailed text. The author takes the reader through each installation with sufficient detail, story and technical information. As a coffee-table art book, it sits on the top of my pile now, and has successfully recruited new art glass fans at my house!

No comments about Fountains of Rome.

5 comments about Amazing Origami.

1. This thin book has few new models, but I'm keeping it for it's interesting approach to the subject matter; the curious relationships between origami and math. It's almost more theoretical that hands-on. That said, I filled my Christmas tree with the simple "Roulette" model on the front cover (done up in Cayola's stardust inkjet paper) because it looked so amazing as an ornament. Think Frobel's cool? Want to fold a pentagram or make a pentagon? Know much about the Pythagorean theorem or the golden rectangle? Do you want one book with a selection of simple units to make platonic solids and other 3D shapes? Maybe this book is for you.



2. I find this an interesting book with some incredible origami pieces, but be careful when buying it, because it is not as easy at it seems. If you are a novice in origami, you'll need patience and orientation from someone who knows more than you. Anyway, there is indeed beautiful origami.



3. You know, Kasahara has always been one of the pioneers, and one of the best origamists of the world, a book very interesting, you should buy it.



4. I bought this book on the strength that it is by Kunihiko Kasahara. I am an admirer of his works and have attempted to collect all books by him.

   There is a lot of mathematics involve so for those who like to combine mathematics and origami, this is a good book to add to your collection. If you are just interested in origami and not mathematics, perhaps, you might consider browsing it at your local book stores before deciding.

   The models within are not really that amazing, in fact rather simple. These simple models are being used to illustrate the mathematics involved in the folding of the models.

   The 5 platonic solids (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron) are introduced here, the mathematics involved and how to fold it. They are very attractive to fold if the right colours are chosen. Boxes, stars, tangrams and other geometric solids are included. Most of these can be used for decorations other than studying the mathematics involve.

   Whether you think this book is worth getting will depend a lot on your interest.




5. This book is an excellent source for math teacher, but not as good for someone that just like origami for the joy of it, because it goes in to much math and no into the beautiful models that Kunihiko Kasahara usually presents.

No comments about Carving Patterns by Frank C. Russell: From the Stonegate Woodcarving School (Schiffer Book for Carvers).

No comments about The Figurative Sculpture of Magdalena Abakanowicz: Bodies, Environments, and Myths.

2 comments about Oceanic Art.

1. This massive, oversize, extremely weighty and well-made (Made In Italy) book is a very broad survey of so-called Oceanic Art. This genre may be defined geographically as that area surrounding and surrounded by the Southern Pacific Ocean stretching from Irian Jaya (Indonesian Half of New Guinea), the Northern and Eastern coast of Australia stretching down to New Zealand, as far East as the Easter Islands and up North and West to the Sandwich Islands, and all of the vast number of islands that dot the surface of the ocean in between.
   This is then, obviously, a huge undertaking and explains the sheer mass of this publication (along with the fact that the book's text is printed in the French, German and English languages). It also makes it inevitable that some very worthy objects will be left out or overlooked. I'll get to that but first would like to praise the author for having the foresight to place objects in the context of their cultural use, discuss the native flora and fauna (there is even a section dedicated to the ubiquitous betel nut) that go into the artwork (literally and figuratively), describe and explain the religious or secular significance of certain objects and speculate upon probable ancient migration patterns which peopled the region. There is much information here that I am certain you will be exposed to for the first time, and there is a surfeit of excellent photographic reproductions of objects and the people who created them. Because of the large scope of this survey it is likely that you will need to come back to it time and again as you make your way through the various island 'nations'. You may also wonder if, for the same reason, this book has missed anything. I think it has. For instance, I was a little disappointed to see no so-called 'Story Board' carvings from the Palau Islands. These are, as the name implies, carved pictorial representations of local legends, typically done in a single frame on a hand-carved board as long as four feet, and one foot high. There is probably a good reason for this omission, but it causes me to wonder if there are not more categories, knife sheaths, for instance, that were also left out. Still, one must trust the editorial judgment of the author if for no other reason than the overall quality of the book's content is so high that concern over possible ommissions somewhat recede into the background. At present, this book is available right here on Amazon for a ridiculously low price below the issue price. I strongly encourage anyone who collects art books to purchase this, as well as anyone who studies or is interested in the islands, people and cultures of the South Pacific, and anyone who collects books with an eye toward re-selling them for a profit as I predict that this book is one that goes into the 'rare' book category within a year or two.



2. Want to refresh your eyes amongst the visual boredom of thecity landscape? Feel like having a non-occidental approach tofigurative arts and religion? Then read this book and find the amazing collection of photographs along with a concise and effective study on representative arts in Oceania by Anthony J.P. Meyer. This edition could well be recommended as an obligatory visual encyclopedia for anyone who has read studies on art, magic and religion like that of Mircea Eliade on shamanism or J.G. Frazer's Golden Bough. As a visual artist I consider that this carefully selected collection of images is a golden mine until the present day for all creative person, like it was for cubist and surrealists long decades ago. Find a brilliant example of art and tradition that has given European painting and sculpture a new vitality and a wider perspective on Man. Sit back and enjoy a lavish design and a trustworthy source of info on Oceanic art for the demanding reader.

1 comments about Make It in Clay: A Beginner's Guide to Ceramics.

1. When your professor comes over the first day of class and leafs through your brand new book and says, "Where did you get this...it's a great introduction to this class!" then proceeds to tell you he knows some of the potters and works pictured...you know it's a GREAT book. From learning where clay comes from and the techniques from pinching and coiling to the wheel and sculpture, I found great tips and photos to help me along and inspire my "creations." Then came texturing, coloring and glazing and firing techniques. I've actually bought the book as a gift for Mr. Pace (from amazon.com, naturally) and his future students because I found it SO helpful.