1 comments about The Art of Jack Henslee.

1. Most artist painting women places monsters, swords and a lot of death around them, but this artist keeps the woment in a way we all can relate too. He has a great way of presenting his style with great care of achieving realism. This guy is going to be really big one day.

3 comments about Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam (Revealing Antiquity).

1. The two negative reviews of this extremely learned study are so far off the mark I must honestly doubt that either reviewer actually read the book. And if they did, it was over their heads as witness their inability to actually write a review. I agree entirely with the review by the New York Review of Books (see above). By looking at newly discovered and older mosaics from late antiquity as more than just expressions of art Bowersock shows how the mosaics illustrate the society of an age. From the images we can understand the uses of Hellenism among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as well as pagans with a startling clarity. The mosaics show the entertainments of mime and pantomime and show great urban centers as places in a greater community of shared traditions. The coherence and tolerance in this eastern Mediterranean world explains the deep peace that most of Palestine, Syria, and Transjordan enjoyed over many centuries. Bowersock shows that the late antique Near East was a kind of miracle in terms of deeply rooted cultures interacting in peaceful ways. This is a must book for anyone interested in art history or Middle Eastern history.



2. This with a bit of work this could have been a good book--
   
   The text just doesn't flow--the information is hard to retrieve and there is no coherence--
   
   The photos are good, but the book demands a larger format--



3. The product was shipped timely and was received in good order. The book, in itself, was a great disappointment.

1 comments about New Media Art (Taschen Basic Art Series).

1. The product came in fine condition. However I ordered expedited shipping and it took over a week to get here.

5 comments about Burning Man: Art in the Desert.

1. So much of the photogprahy of Burning Man is all glitz and surreal glamour, with a big measure of breast often thrown in. Yeah it's a big party with all sorts of wacky and interesting costumes and bright sights, but the real soul of the thing is the making of the art.
   
   Public art is always a gift to its community. The type of art that has grown out there, especially in its scale and ambition, often demands substantial gifts from the community to exist. It is a sublime and outrageous feedback loop, the process and product of which have never been as clearly and deeply represented as in this luminous book.
   
   The inner cover photo of a box of matches full of dust and containing not only matches but burnt stubs, cotter pins and a spring, is one of the most complete and lovely images of the spirit of these brave artists I have ever seen. If you can understand that photo you can probably understand the process of making art out there.
   
   Leo Nash certainly does understand the process. By far the most revealing collection of Burning Man photos ever compiled, as close to a portait of the thing as you are likely to see.



2. I bought the book because I like black and white photos and because my son has attended Burning Man and worked for the corporation that creates the event in 2003. My intention is to give him the book; but, I decided to read the text before sending it off. The intro is long winded drivel (and at the time of this writing, the writer of the introduction has wasted valuable real estate on this product page with some self serving crap from his blog; who wants to wade down the page to get to the real reviews?) and the text by the photog is self indulgent in the style of the "burners." The notion that this event is somehow "spontaneous" is what really makes me laugh. A more apt description would be something on the order of "this is my personal journal and musings on this ongoing "spontaneous" event, plus some photos" The pictures are well made, and the presentation with a slipcover is nicely done, which is what rescues the book.



3. I just received this book as a gift. I immediatley sat down and slowly turned each page in amazement of what he has captured. I cried.



4. This is seriously one of the coolest books I've ever seen in my life. I've never been to Burning Man (wouldn't want to), but these pictures are AMAZING. It might have been worth enduring desert discomfort dust storms and camping just to see the 2996 "Uchronia" structure-- wow.



5. Nash is a great photographer, with a clear, timeless vision that you can literally feel. His photographs hold you and keep you looking into them, farther. This is another volume in the work of our best contemporary photographers, and an extraordinary record of art and a place we might never have otherwise seen.
   
   Burning Man is often described as being indescribable, and for good reason. So much of the art created there is ephemeral, lasting just a few days before burning to the ground. An entire city of 30,000 rises, falls, and disappears. To some, it feels like a heartbeat, and to others, a lifetime. To describe it in words is nearly impossible, when so much quickly becomes the elusive memory of memories.
   
   Through Nash's remarkable photographs, we see a decade of visionary work and creativity that physically existed for only a moment. Whether you've been to Burning Man or not, this book will fill you with awe, and longing for the place.

2 comments about Ceramics: A Potter's Handbook.

1. One of my all-time favorite references. I really love this book. It was a "suggested reading" in my pottery class, and I am very glad I purchased it. I'm an artist that is just as much about researching and understanding as I am about the actual doing and studio side of my work. This book is a treat and I highly recommend it.



2. A wealth of knowledge can be found in this timeless book that covers all the major aspects of ceramics.

   For the novice, it covers the the world's history of ceramics. Discusses clay and glaze compositions and gives step
   by step explanations of the various techniques from wheel throwing to hand building to making plaster molds for
   slip casting.

   For the advanced ceramist, there is good information of various kilns and their construction. It offers analysis of
   several major clays, frits, and feldspars as well as other useful reference tables including some recipes for
   glazes from low fire to high fire.

   I first bought the book in '82 as a college freshman and it has proven a valuable aid ever since. It is on the top of
   my "required reading" list for anyone interested in getting involved with studio ceramics.

1 comments about Maurice Vellekoop's Pin-ups.

1. Priapic cretinism is the most apt definition of most of the the male depiction in this biook by this author, whose graphic style is good enough, but the silly grin and the invariably ...extended flagpole, so to speak, makes for a very annoying sight.
   See David Cantero's Club Life and Manly by S. Lazarov and Amy Colburn, instead.

5 comments about Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking.

1. I was so pleased with this book. It has been 2 weeks and I'm still going through it. You know, one of those books that just keep on inspiring you to make your own journal. It has lots of great ideas. It doesn't have instructions for everything but does give you some tips on the different techniques. I highly recommend it.



2. Interesting book that has spreads from altered books by a number of different artists. Each example shows a different technique and tells you in a paragraph or so how the artist created that particular page and what they were trying to say through it. Its not a step by step book so its better to already be familiar with altered book techniques first but once you have the basics this will give some good examples and other ideas. (e.g. "to create a dreamy, wash-ed out effect, the artist primed the pages with gesso and then worked layer by layer with watercolor crayons.") There are other books that I'd buy first before this one (like Altered Book Workshop by Bev Brazelton) but this is a nice addition to the library too. I don't have an art background - I'm self-taught - and I kind-of feel like I have to read between the lines and experiment to get the effect that is desired. I think someone with a few art classes under their belt would get even more out of the descriptions that I do. Great book though, glad I have it.



3. i've browsed through the selection offered at bookstores and i must say this one blows me away totally so i had to buy it off the shelf and bring it home! this book doesn't necessary go through the steps of creating one, but by the detailed pictures and variety, plus a bit of your crafty imagination, we can achieve a lot more via our own creativity, using ideas from this fascinating book to create our own altered books. not to mention an AB idiot like me, the information it offers all the way from AB communities to materials is priceless. i can't wait for more from Holly. ^_^ keep 'em comin'!



4. Only 4 stars because if you buy this book for what it's supposed to offer you'd be disappointed. This is not a book about the HOW to alter books.. but more of a journey at looking at other people who have.

   * This book is a showcase of books.

   * This book will not help someone who has never got into book-making before

   * This will provide you with inspirations to do something, it doesn't treat you as a pre-schooler saying 'cut here.. paste this' etc. It is all about setting your own creative spirit free.

   * Combine this book with a more basic 'how to' if you really need it, but for someone who is willing to experiment this book will get you going.




5. This book goes far beyond "eye candy". It's a visual delight with page after page of juicy and intriguing examples of book ideas and altered books. If you're a beginner, you may be frustrated by "how'd they DO that?" questions that could never be answered in just one book. Instead, the author has filled this book with vivid, rich and dazzlingly innovative examples of what you can do with an altered book. Intermediate and especially experienced paper artists will leap from one inspiring page to the next, saying, "Ooooh, what if I mixed this idea with that one and...," in lightning-fast brainstorming that this book can spark. I highly, highly recommend it if you want raw inspiration by artists with originality that soars. (Holly, we want MORE of this!)

3 comments about Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery.

1. For anyone interested in Native American pottery, this volume is a must-have.
   
   We are lucky enough to have met Florence Chavarria Browning of the Santa Clara pueblo, and to have purchased one of her spectacular black pots.
   
   These particular pots are not glazed, but fired specially to create the pure, colt black of black onyx, darker than coal, and softly glowing. Very few artists have skill enough to burn these amazing pots, and this book, introduces readers to the best of them.



2. almost every piece of pottery I have is represented in the book!



3. This is a wonderful detailed book of the the finest potters to be found in the southwest. This new expanded edition provides great family trees of the finest of Pueblo potters. If you're planning a visit to the Southwest and hope to meet some of these potters, it is the perfect companion book to The Native American Indian Artist Directory that will actually provide phone numbers and mailing addresses for many of the potters found in this outstanding edition.

4 comments about A Glaze of Color: Creating Color and Design on Ceramics.

1. This is so far the best and most looked at book in my contemporary ceramics studio. It has been used many times by my customers who are looking for inspiration, patterns and techniques. There is an area that shows how the pottery is dipped in glaze and placed in the kiln....so it's really helpful to show cutomers what happens to their piece once they've left it in the studio.
   It's easy to read and great for all ages.



2. I am fairly new to ceramics and this book was a wonderful read. It explained had a lot of information regarding glazes and different techniques to using glazes. There were a lot of great pictures in the book to that gave me some good ideas for some of things that would be fun to make.



3. As an art teacher, I'm often looking for books that will benefit (inspire) my students. I highly recommend "A Glaze of Color" for artists, students and hobbyists who want a clear, step by step guide to the techniques used in hand-painted ceramics. This book is well written and has wonderful illustrations. I think that it is equally useful to those studing painting as well.



4. Over the past couple of decades I have edited art instruction books too numerous to count, including this one. I've been indifferent about many I've worked on that've found success anyway and enthusiastic about others that haven't necessarily found favor in the marketplace. So my personal preferences certainly haven't made me an authority about public reception or perception (or sales figures).
   
   I don't give praise lightly. But when I edit something that offers me truly useful and valuable information, that really makes me want to revisit my old practicing-artist self, I can't help but express my enthusiasm. And A Glaze of Color made me enthusiastic. It really inspired me to take up the craft of painting again, to just indulge myself in working with color again, no matter what the medium.
   
   So, discount my positive prejudice here if you must, but next time you're in a book store searching for some kind of artistic inspiration, for yourself or for your kids or for anyone, please look for Jane Davies's book A Glaze of Color, even just to thumb through it.
   
   (Hey, I'm a freelancer, so have no stake in encouraging profits for the publisher, author, or, least of all, myself.)

2 comments about Paper Clay (Ceramics Handbooks).

1. This is a short but comprehensive book that explains how to make paper clay, covers the construction techniques of using paper clay, and discusses the various additives, finishes, and firing methods associated with paper clay. The author provides a good explanation of the advantages of paper clay over traditional types of clay. The guidance is concise but more than sufficient to implement the methods and techniques covered in the book. I found the book to be well produced with clear illustrations and a serif typeface that enhanced the readability. I mostly liked the works used to illustrate what can be done in paper clay. Much of the book tends to emphasize the making of sculptural works but the information applies just as effectively to functional wares. I found the use of p'slip as a contraction for "paper clay slip" to be a bit annoying but overall was very much pleased with the well-organized presentation of useful information.



2. This is a useful great book about "paper clay". However, the editorial description of this book doesn't quite tell you what "paper clay" is, so here is a nuts and bolts description: Paper clay is ceramic clay (slip or dry powder+water) that has had some percentage of fiber mixed into it, which produces a product with very interesting properties. The fibers can be paper, or refractory such as ceramic fiber.
   
   Because of the intermixed fibers, the unfired clay is stronger and can be manipulated when very thin, so it facilitates new kinds of clay sculpting. Additionally, because the fiber provides a sort of scaffolding that prevents shrinkage, "paper clay" can be used in new ways that traditional clay cannot, such as adding on to or repairing already bisqued pots. There is lots more, and it is all well discussed in this book, with some mention in the editorial description.
   
   The style of the book is NOT that of a craft recipe book, it is a thorough discussion of paper clay usage and variations, firing issues, fiber sources, steps in making and using, etc. There are specific charts and tables in the appendix.
   
   The topic is definitely worth five stars to anyone who works in clay. The only reason I am giving it four stars instead of five is that I can imagine even more comprehensive coverage, especially of use of castable refractory fiber -- other than that, it is worth five stars. But it is definitely an informative and useful book, which benefits from being the successor of several previous books on the topic by the same author.
   
   NOTE: There is a commercial product called "Paper Clay" which seems to be some sort of air-dry paper mache. The paper clay in this book is entirely different, a ceramic material which requires kiln firing.