5 comments about Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found Art Jewelry.

1. As I flipped through the pages of this book I was inspired by its beauty from start to finish. Stephanie's projects that may look initially intimitdating are easily understood through photos and clear instructions. The layout of the book is very easy on the eyes and the photos are lovely as well. I would not say this is a beginner jewelry book as it requires soldering, etching and epoxy which take some investment in time and money but doesn't all good art? I would encourage brave mixed media artists to try something new by choosing one of the projects in Stephanie's book and see how you might use the processes in your art. Happy reading!



2. This book is among my favorites. Stephanie is generous in her instruction and includes many beautiful photos of her process and finished products. I love her style and love her spirit of not being attached to all those strict metalsmithing rules and regulations...just go with it and and have fun in the process...trust yourself, use what you love and what you have available on hand. That, in my opinion, is a true heart and I really love that about her.
   
   I had the opportunity to meet her and work with her at several of the workshops she offers. She is amazing in her spirit, very kind and generous and loads of fun. I highly recommend her classes,as well as her book, if for no other reason than to know her and be around her lovely, open, kind and generous spirit.



3. I found the ideas and projects presented in this book to be fun. While I have not done any of the projects as yet, my metal group is planning a fun day workshop with this book as our inspiration.



4. Inspiring book with great instructions~can't wait to get started on one of the many projects!



5. Anyone who loves mixed media art jewelry will thoroughly enjoy this book. Foremost, the projects are spectacular. The instructions are clear and concise with excellent photographs. The inspiration alone, is well worth the cost of the book itself! That's because Ms. Lee takes you on a virtual "expedition" with her as she moves from one project to the next. The overall experience of this book is absolutely fabulous!

No comments about Christmas with Southern Living 2008: Great Recipes - Easy Entertaining - Festive Decorations - Gift Ideas (Christmas With Southern Living).

No comments about Jane Packer's Guide to Flower Arranging.

5 comments about Making Metal Jewelry: Projects, Techniques, Inspiration.

1. I took a jewelry class taught by Joanna when I was in college and I absolutely fell in love with the art/craft. I was happy to find this book since it serves as a nice refresher for some of the techniques I'd forgotten. This book is simple enough for the beginner and has enough ideas to inspire a pro. The nice thing about this work is that many of the techniques used are cold techniques so there's no need to worry about having a torch or solder handy (although a flex-shaft and jewelry saw are frequently used). Buy it! Not only will you get a great book but you'll be supporting a wonderful person.



2. As a beginning or even as an intermediate metal-smith, this book is useful for demonstrating cold connections. The projects are easy to follow and they are easy to modify so you can put your own, individual touches to finished pieces. The gallery was inspirational and shows just how much you can do without having to resort to using a soldering torch and lots of messy chemicals.



3. As a wire artist and beginning silversmith I found this book a great addition to my collection. The photos were great and the ideas throughout were most helpful. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves making jewelry. It would be most beneficial to the experienced jewelry maker.The ideas and patterns are not for the beginner but, it would challenge you to learn more as they are very beautiful and unique.



4. I first saw this book in a metalsmithing class and liked it well enough that I bought it for my home library. Ms. Gollberg reviews a number of techniques for cold-connecting metals and illustrates them with excellent photographs. Her materials lists are complete, her instructions concise, and her projects are always interesting. I may not ever make anything from this book as shown, but the ideas and techniques provide plenty of inspiration and guidance.



5. Very informative, I have learned and used several different techniques in this book. There is an abundance of creative ideas. The techniques described are very easy to follow and apply. The money spent for the cost of the book was so well worth it. Worth every penny and more!!!

5 comments about The Craft and Art of Clay.

1. This is a great book for anyone who wants to work with clay. It is clearly written with prospective and actual studio potters in mind.
   
   The book originally came out in 1992, and is now in its fourth edition. And, after mentioning some safety issues, it has plenty of instructional material on how to shape clay, and what tools to use. There are sections on hand building: pinching, coil building, and slab building. Then there's plenty about the technique of "throwing" clay on a potter's wheel, with nice sequences of photos. This takes plenty of skill and practice! As the author says, the wheel is very sensuous, rhythmic, and hypnotic. Peterson is always warning us to treat clay properly: if you attack it in one way and then hit it from another direction in the same place, you may find cracks there in firing, induced by the strains you imposed on it. It's simply wrong to overwork clay.
   
   Still, many potters and artists like to produce many objects with the same overall shape. And that means making and using molds made from plaster, and making casting slips, so Peterson shows us quite a bit about these. After this comes a discussion of decoration. This involves artistry and visualization.
   
   There is a good discussion of types of clays, and explanations of what earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain are. We're shown different types of clay bodies, including terra sigillata and raku (a process which requires a clay body that has some dirt mixed in with it to make it porous enough to avoid thermal shock). And there is a wonderful chapter on glazes. Following that, there is plenty about kilns and firing, including using cones, inconel tubes, and pyrometers to measure temperature.
   
   A technical section explains how to do calculations on glazes, and there are charts of coefficients of expansion, data on frits, color charts of clay and glaze combinations, and much more.
   
   There is a historical overview, which includes a discussion of the studio potter movement and the contributions to it from Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. And we see some of the work of Maria Martinez and Lucy Lewis in Pueblo Indian ceramics. There is also an excellent portfolio of interesting works. I especially like some of the low-fire ones.
   
   This is a very useful resource and I highly recommend it.



2. This is a large book chock full of information, and provides an in-depth survey of ceramics. There are many photographs about techniques and many illustrations of beautiful artistic ceramics pieces. Also it contains lots of technical information, tables, etc.
   
   Since other reviews have covered the merits of this book quite well, I'll mention a few issues:
   
   First, there are lots of sample photos of different clay bodies under different firings and different glaze colors and combinations, etc., but they are all *way too small* to really see the characteristics of each sample. Also sometimes there is a series of photos, e.g. throwing a pot, building a kiln, and when they are all arranged on the page, each one is too small (and many are b&w, from previous editions?) Otherwise the book is very well illustrated with a wide variety of work.
   
   The glaze discussion does not cover the properties of glaze bases and coloring oxides much at all, which is something I would expect in a book of this comprehensiveness. It does spent some time on commercial fritted stains and Mayco glazes, which other books don't, and can be useful to some, especially for low-temp work. But if you really want to get into glazes, this is not the book.
   
   For many advanced topics, she has just a mention that leaves me hungry for more. E.g. lusters she briefly mentions using and making, but Rhodes has a much more thorough discussion of making lusters. Paperclay is mentioned briefly but not enough to really tell me how to make it or use it. For many of the topics in the book, more detailed discussions are possible and likely available elsewhere. However she has assembled lots of brief mentions of different and experimental work that you might not encounter in other ceramics survey books, so it is useful for knowing what else I want to look into.
   
   [This review pertains to the 4th edition, 2003.]



3. If you are just learning, or are stuck in a rut, this book is a great reference for potters of all skill levels.



4. I am really enjoying this book. It is full of information and covers just about every aspect of ceramics you can think of. I am teaching a youth ceramics class this summer and am looking forward to having this as a reference!



5. This book is an excellent reference for different levels of clay/ceramics work. It is a beautiful "coffee table book" as well.
   It came in perfect condition.

5 comments about Sensational Knitted Socks.

1. This book is alot better than most of the books I have on knitting socks. The patterns are interesting, the yarn choices are vared and I like the instructions MUCH better than any of the Vogue books. I haven't had time to knit any of the patterns yet, but do have 2-4 marked out to make. I'd recommend this book for someone who has a good idea of how to knit socks.



2. I was very pleased with this book, it was exactly what I wanted and I received it is a very short time, actually sooner than I had expected.



3. This book is great. There are lots of patterns for socks and good instructions and pictures.



4. Like other positive reviewers, I love that following this book, I can make a sock of any size using any weight yarn and that I can use a stitch from another source and interchange heels and toes from different sock patterns.
   
   I share none of the others' complaints. Though I'm a novice sock knitter, the directions are easy for me to follow, with one big exception. I describe my problem in the paragraphs that follow, hoping to elicit advice from other readers. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that in spite of this difficulty, I am impressed by the clarity and versatility of this highly informative book.
   
   Shurch is unclear on where a heel flap begins on a toe-up sock. On page 59, she says knit "to desired length of foot minus heel measurement. See charts on pages 13-14." On page 13, an illustration indicates that the measurement goes up the back of the foot, a heel flap for a top-down sock. Schurch does not state whether this length is the same when the heel flap covers the bottom of the heel for a toe-up sock.
   
   I tried her advice on page 11, "the heel flap is worked from the middle of the arch," and my sock was too short. Then, I referred to page 41, and knit "until sock reach[ed] anklebone." My sock was too long. Subtracting the excess length, I succeeded on my third try.
   
   Using this book, I would not knit a toe-up sock for someone else, at least not until experience tells me whether the heel flap is the same length on the bottom of the foot as it is on the back of the foot.



5. Loved the choice of options for each pattern and design. Would recommend to my knitting friends.

5 comments about The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book).

1. This is a brilliant book with great technical information and fabulous pictures. Most importantly for me though is getting good glaze recipes that have materials that are easily found or can be adapted to what I have. I have trialled many recipes in this book and have found good success. John Britt writes well and gives good firing information. Also most helpful is where he shows the same glaze used on different types of clay, this is a critical factor in the success of any glaze so a most important point that needs to be shown.
   If you are wanting to learn about glazing, then this book is a must for you. If you follow through each section and test as many of the glazes as possible, and follow the different firing methods, you will at the end have a comprehensive understanding of glazes and firing.



2. The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Purchased on 01/02/2008)
   
   The book has tons of information very useful for a beginner potter and or a professional. Simple to use and has a variety of exercises to follow. Explains very well and has lots of images that makes it easy to comprehend, a must have as a text book.



3. Very happy with this purchase. The recipes are all laid out and organized very well. Easy to find what you're looking for and lots of good pictures.



4. I found that this book it is very useful and cohomprensive in parts of firing and recipes. There are beutiful pictures; but i find it is not so fluing in the exposition it could be more astonoshing with all the new about the recipes.
   If are a novice I think you could also buy another books to introduce you better in the world of making your own glazes more satifing( it is the The Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color DevelopmentHopper book on glazes spectrumThe Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color Development).



5. I bought this book at the request of my sister-in-law who is a potter. It was recommended to her by another potter. She loves it.

No comments about Shibori Knits: The Art of Exquisite Felted Knits.

5 comments about Modern Mark Making: From Classical Calligraphy to Hip Hand-Lettering.

1. This is a fresh voice in Calligraphy books, noting what works for todays scribe and showing pictures of tools and suggestions for writing mediums. Loved the examples and I think that teens thru adults will gather inspiration from all the fantastic ideas for taking that next step away from the old letterforms!



2. If you have EVER had the pleasure of seeing Lisa's work in person or taken a workshop from this MEGA TALENTED artist you would not walk BUT RUN to purchase this book. Her vision is always fresh and her style is timeless!



3. Calligraphers buy lots of books. Most of us own a copy of Johnston's Writing and Illuminating and Lettering. We look wistfully in our bank accounts and decide we can't really justify the facsimile edition of the St. John's Bible, a unique calligraphic wonder of our time. I have over two shelves just with calligraphy books. Some of them are straightforward how-to manuals (a boon for people who live far away from good personal instruction); others are more exemplars.
   
   Then along comes Mark Making... It has been years since I've been so bowled over by this kind of audacity. Placing graffiti artists somehow on a par with medieval scribes, and exhorting us all to bust out and have more fun (check out the section on fabric!), without ever bypassing the need to get a firm foundation, Engelbrecht gives us the new "must-have" for our shelves. It's a bit like Danny Gregory's Creative License for calligraphers. Bravo to Lisa Engelbrecht, and thanks for the permission. I might just go and roll up my sleeves...



4. What a magnificent book! It isn't often I get lost in a book. Call it an occupational hazard, but when you handle hundreds of books a month, you have a tendency to become immune/jaded/whatever, but this book is so rich in color and content and visual stimulation, I actually put it down so I could digest the yumminess taken in thus far, picking it up later to continue. The overload was fabulous, but it overheated my brain, and the poor thing needed time to cool while the images swirled about before I began reading again. I still have not absorbed it all (dare I hope that will happen?) as I see it as a delightful meal or vacation to be savored for as long as possible. It is also a book I will return to again and again and again. It is like sitting in Lisa's classroom or having a conversation with her. Absolutely delightful and totally stimulating! It gives one wings, just as she hoped!



5. If you're a Letter Geek ( and you know who you are) then this book is for you! Lisa takes you from basic calligraphic lettering to this awesome, modern,funky, fresh and down right liberating lettering! You will not be able to put this book down! She offers sections on Tools:Surfaces and Materials for Lettering, The Basics:Techinques and Getting Started, Old School:Classical Italic and New Variations, Scripty:Vintage Copperplate Writing and Variations Using a Pointed Pen, Raw Brush:Pointed Brush Letters,Scrawly:Rough and Edgy Letters from Everyday Pens and Brushes, Tricky & Funk-tional:Play with Your Letters, Stitched:Lettering with Fabric and Stitchery, Street:Breaking the Rules with Urban Style and Cool Tools, Flourish:Swirls, Twirls and Sparkly Things, Gothic: Basic Blackletter, Mixed Media and Letterforms:Design Techniques Explorations. The book is filled with spectacular samples from a variety of artists and also offers a brief bio about each one and thier work. Included is a Resource section with tons of helpful web addresses and telephone numbers. Lisa also has an instructional DVD ( Hand Lettering on Fabric - A Bali Latern Workshop) from Creative Catayst Productions (www.ccpvideos.com) that is AWESOME! You will learn how to hand letter AND apply it to a wonderfully festive Bali Latern. A true must have for the calligraphy loving fiber artist! Lisa also has a cool blog (www.lisaeletters.blogspot.com)that you can visit as well. I highly recommend this wonderfully written book...you will not regret this purchase!

5 comments about Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art.

1. To say this is not a "How To" book is ridiculous. If that's what one is looking for (a step by step holding your hand venue), then one needs to go to a craft store. Michael de Mange's book is about creating ART !
   
   You can't sit down and just read it once. It's like a fine glass of wine - you need to savor and "drink in" every page over and over. Then, and only then, will you understand how to create a piece of ART and not just CRAFT an item.
   
   As for the safety of using products, that's up to each individual to read the labels. If you can't read directions, then you shouldn't be using the product !
   
   In my own opinion, I don't think he meant to write a "How To" book. Instead, he let us peek into his fabulous mind and provided the opportunity to see how he creates his art. I'm an artist, not a craftsman. I want to create something from my own mind and I found this book to be a springboard of inspiration and recommend it to all artists.



2. I bought this book along with another book on assemblage art. I found this book not just inormative about the subject but it was a good read as well because of the artists creative process. I was so interested in the artist's work that I went to his website and signed up for an art retreat he will be teaching at.



3. I LOVE this book, it is filled with so many beautiful images that it has inspired me in many, many ways. The stories behind the pieces remind us to look deeper into the art around us and listen to their stories. I was surprised so many people were disappointed it was not a step by step book, art should inspire you to create, not copy. If you don't get inspired by this book, consider seeing a doctor :)



4. For those of you creating found art for the first time and those who have been creating for years ... this is the book for you. Makes you want to visit junk yards and comb thru the muck just to find that special, odd piece that brings your art to life. Love his stories and humor. Will flip through the pages of this book for years to come.



5. I thought this was an instruction book - it's a "how I created great art" book - I was very disappointed