1 comments about The Old Testament: Through 100 Masterpieces of Art.

1. Lovely book with beautiful photos. 13-year old recipients don't care too much now, but their parents like it, and one day the kids will too.

5 comments about Clown Ministry.

1. This book was a very thought-provoking work. Written for the beginner, but valuable to the seasoned clown as well, this book should be required reading for anyone interested in Clown Ministry or Creative Ministry.
   
   How's and why's, character types, costuming, makeup, performance, and even some skits to get you started... I highly recommend this book.
   
   Other books I have found to be the most helpful:
   The Clown Ministry Handbook by Janet Litherland
   Fool For The Kingdom by Philip D. Noble
   Mime Ministry by Susie Kelly Toomey
   Be A Clown by Mark Stolzenberg (MUST HAVE!)
   and if you just want skits, try Clown Act Omnibus by Wes McVicar



2. This small book has a lot of "PUNCH" for it's size! The transaction was smooth and quick. I will use a lot of the information to teach a class of students about the art and craft, as well as ministry from clowning for our King. I have several books by Floyd Shaffer and I really like this one a lot.



3. I was very pleased with the speed in which I received the above mentioned book and its condition.



4. This book is great if you are thinking of implementing a clown ministry at your church! Not only do they tell you 'how-to' but also 'why'. This book has information on all aspects of a clown ministry and there is a guide in the back for your own clown ministry training weekend. I highly recommend it to ministers and youth groups.



5. Unlike traditional clowning, the focus here is to build up the audience at no one's expense. Floyd and Penne whet the reader's appetite for more. This type of clowning lends itself well to a worship setting, and done with adequate training and rehearsal, it becomes a vital way for youth to give back to the church, while involving many more of the congregation's 5 senses in the act of worship. It is very possible to become a "fool for Christ" and an ambassador for the same through the applications found in this book. I particularly appreciated the many skits that were included, and found them to be scripturally sound. This resource was a wonderful starting point for our church, and I heartily recommend it.

No comments about Saints and Sinners: Caravaggio and the Baroque Image.

2 comments about Paintings in the Vatican.

1. This is the kind of book you can offer to any delicate person (such as your mother in law). Be sure she will say nice things about you after this. The book is the archetype for coffee table book. It will inspire you to go and visit Vatican palace and churches. You will appreciate so much to "read" (mainly pictures) it if you visited the place itself. Buy this book if you plan to visit Roma; don't bring the book with you (HEAVY). Read it in bed when you come back and try to recover from jet lag.



2. The paintings in this book are incredible. The collection ranges from the years 1000 to the mid 1800s and includes words from Daddi to Michelangelo and Raphael to Crosato. Oils, Frescos and incredible color! I have enjoyed reading this as much as looking at the beautiful artwork.

2 comments about Service With a Smile: 52 Humorous Sketches for Sunday Worship.

1. Funny with a theological message. I have bought skit books from other authors and paid twice as much to use one--maybe two skits. Mr. Wray gives you 52 skits for the same price and I've used, at least, fifteen of his skits in worship services.
   A perfect resource for drama directors and pastors.



2. This book contains a variety of short and light sketches to use as a lead-in to a sermon. They vary from lightly amusing to slightly slap-stick. Sometimes one has to be careful about the theology of skit books, but this one is very good with only a few that may be questionable if your congregation is not of a fundamentalist faith.

No comments about Thomas Kinkade Plein Art: 2009 Wall Calendar.

1 comments about Hieronymus Bosch: Garden Of Earthly Delights.

1. I love it. It shows all the paintings and information. I used it for a school project. It rocks. Go buy it .
   IT ROCKS

2 comments about Words And Image in the Book of Kells.

1. Pulliam's text is an important addition to the ongoing study of the Book of Kells. Her analysis of placement, design, coloring, and symbolism for every illuminated initial in the manuscript is extensive. Pulliam breaks new ground in that this is the first study of its kind (to my knowledge), specifically focusing on initials within the manuscript, to be conducted on the Book of Kells. Although occasionally, Pulliam seems to stretch a bit in her individual analyses, overall she supports her argument well and consistently maintains her methodology. With the exception of numerous non-translated Latin passages , Pulliam's style and language are easily approachable, and any scholar, regardless of discipline, should have no problem following the text. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Book of Kells, especially regarding its function as an art object. I believe that Pulliam has added valuable information to the current study of the manuscript and has provided a thorough examination of one particular element that is traditionally overlooked in its study.



2. I'm no expert, but I think this is the best work written on the Book of Kells EVER! The author captured my interest from the very first page and I wasn't able to put the book down until I finished it. I realize that it's rather expensive for a book, but it truly is worth every penny. If you're only going to own one book on this subject, you should buy Heather Pulliam's. Even if you never get around to reading it, the cover is really pretty!

4 comments about Sacred Calligraphy of the East.

1. What I like best about the book is the way in which it traces the historical development of calligraphy. The author's Japan bias matches my own (I got into calligraphy in Japan) and so I didn't particularly mind the heavy Japan slant. What I found frustrating was the lack of a pronunciation guide, especially for the Sanskrit. Given the diacritics in use, I would have liked to have known how to pronounce the dotted consonants, etc. It would be nice to learn more about Khmer and Thai calligraphy also, but I turn to other books...



2. Sacred Calligraphy of the East takes you through the scripts used in the sacred writings of religions and nations of East Asia. If the book would have just been a wide collection of calligraphic examples, this would have been a good enough reason to get the book. But the book is more than this: It actually teaches you to draw these characters. It's a wonderful book.



3. Two years ago, at a Zen retreat, I needed something to relax my mind. The priest who headed the retreat had, at his house, an assortment of books from which to choose. I didn't want something cerebral. I fingered his library and came upon John Steven's "Sacred Calligraphy of the East." It was perfect! It offered pictures from which I was able to relax and study the historical progress of Eastern calligraphic forms. Since then, I have bought the book for myself and I continually refer to it when in need. That may seem rather odd: I don't really know why the book relaxes me and gives me solice, but I am quite grateful to John Stevens for his contribution to the art and to my life.



4. Honestly I bought the book out of pure intuition. I didn't know what to expect except for a very interesting index. It was a wonderful surprise. Leading a meditation workshop based on western calligraphy technique, I had a keen personal interest on reading this book. Extraordinary in its coverage of background, theory, examples and exercises, it sure is an excellent addition to any artist or person interested in finding a creative and trascendental outlet for his creativity. Although a little technical knowledge goes a long way here, it is also easy for beginners to start. Recommended whole-heartedly.

2 comments about Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper.

1. Leo Steinberg wrote a very intellectual, rigorous book about Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. I liked the way it gave so many fresh perspectives on how to analyze and interpret the painting. The genius of the book is that is amalgamates an enormous amount of information about the Last Supper...and somehow leaves you feeling that only part of the information has been uncovered. It's a feeling of ambiguity; so much has been learned, but we have so much more to discover. Just like da Vinci would have wanted! Steinberg is a great author for this subject.
   
   I will leave most of the surprises and delights of the book for you to discover, but consider: Steinberg writes about connections between pairs of apostles in the painting (threes are not only significant, and in fact are probably less significant); he shows how Leonardo possessed an advanced understanding of perspective and created an impossible location; and the book contains an overview of (da Vinci) Last Supper copies throughout history.
   
   I do not recall Steinberg discussing John the Baptist as actually being a woman or more speculative aspects of the Last Supper such as secret society messages. Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper attempts to give an analysis of the painting that unearths why and how Leonardo da Vinci painted it, and in my view Steinberg comes closer than anyone I have read. econ



2. You have seen the image hundreds of times. It has been copied and parodied relentlessly for over five hundred years. It shows Jesus at the center of a dining table, flanked by six disciples on either side. Everyone knows _The Last Supper_, but few know as much about it as Leo Steinberg, who has looked and written and thought about it for thirty years. The result of these decades of concentration are poured out in _Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper_ (Zone Books), as close an examination of a painting as you will ever find. The book is not about the painting's history, its decay, or its restoration; it is, in astonishing detail, about the looks of the picture itself and a demonstration of how it continues to be an "incessant" font of thought and speculation as to its meaning. Steinberg's big book is wonderfully well illustrated, with details from the original, a generous gatefold to show it in its current restored state, pictures of how it looks within the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, how Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and a host of others copied the painting (and how they left out significant parts, and what the omissions mean), and plenty of diagrams to show such things as the lines of perspective and the effects of matrices and diagonals on Leonardo's meticulously planned original.

   Steinberg has chapters on the disciples, on feet and hands, on the disciples, and more. The main figure, that of Jesus, bears, of course, the closest examination, and Steinberg details the history of thought about it, with writers weighing in on the meaning of the pose and the timing within the Gospel story of the scene depicted. Over and over, Steinberg shows that to seek a meaning and a timing is in vain. Leonardo has deliberately engineered his work so that any explanation involving a single meaning will be an oversimplification. Jesus's right hand is downturned in a gesture of apprehension. It is close to a mirror image of the left hand of Judas as they reach simultaneously towards the dish by which Jesus will designate his betrayer. It is also gesturing towards the wine, so that it marks the institution of the Eucharist; after reading Steinberg's work, the idea that Leonardo drew these two separate parts of the story together and told them as one is only one of the multiple meanings that seem natural on further reflection. Jesus's left hand is upturned, gesturing toward the bread. It also underlies the portentous hand of Thomas, hovering directly above it. Thomas's hand has an index finger pointing up, continuing the upturn theme of Jesus's left, and indicating, of course, higher things. It is Thomas's index finger that would soon be feeling around for confirmation of Jesus's wounds.

   To read this book is to appreciate a hundred telling details in the painting which one did not notice before, and consequently to admire Leonardo's genius anew. It is also to admire the fruition of the decades of Steinberg's close study. His readers may feel a sense of humility that there was so much to see that had previously escaped them, but his witty, sure, and genial expertise will welcome them into seeing _The Last Supper_ with new vision.