Reviews (4)

It's all here!
There is not much about collage that is not contained in this book. The authors begin with a short history of collage and how to make or find materials to make your own. Later in the book, they even explain how to make your own paper for collage and making collage "supports" or backgrounds using mediums, papers, and natural or found materials.

In an early part of the book, the authors delve into the collage process and give the reader eight projects (of varying difficulty)to try on their own. The directions and illustrations are VERY complete.

The next section deals with collage design, both planning and creating, along with nine projects that are, once again, carefully explained.

The section on mixed-media collage was very good but more for a person who has both artistic AND design ability. NOT ME!!!

Even though many of these projects were beyond my limited capability, I still enjoyed reading about them and looking at the beautiful illustrations. I got lots of ideas from this lovely book.

All you need!
Absolutely the only book you'll ever need to start creating collages. Filled with a wide variety of techniques from the very simple to the very sophisticated it teaches you everything from how to get started to how to frame your finished piece. An invaluable reference book in any art library.

excellent art resources
I orginally found this book at the library and had to have it. I am not a beginner artist but it would be excellent for any beginner. It dicusses design, materials, and concepts. It would be great for teachers as the projects can be easy or advanced depending on the instructor. For the more experianced artist it offers inspiration and nuggets of information. Full color pictures too!

Good projects, clearly written, new techniques
Thoroughly enjoyed this easy-to-understand book. I liked the projects, and especially the making your own specialty paper out of tissue. Good examples of collages, and idea-starters. Used many of the techniques successfully the first time. ... Read more

Book Description

ARTPIX, a not-for-profit CD-ROM journal of contemporary art published twice annually, announces the publication of ARTPIX 2, featuring two group exhibitions: Ultralounge: The Return of Social Space (with Cocktails), curated by Dave Hickey, and Colorfields: Now and Then, curated by David Pagel.

The exhibition, Ultralounge: The Return of Social Space (with Cocktails) curated by Las Vegas-based art and culture critic Dave Hickey, was first presented at DiverseWorks in Houston, Texas, in 1998 and at the Contemporary Art Museum of the University of South Florida, Tampa, in early 2000. The exhibition consists of new works by eleven artists from Los Angeles and Las Vegas who work in various mediums. The ARTPIX CD-ROM includes a video tour of the exhibition, documentation of the individual artists and their work, an essay by Dave Hickey, commentary on the artists by David Pagel and video footage of invocation by the Rev. Ethan Acres, blessing all of the artists. The artists included in the exhibition are: Phil Argent, Aaron Baker, Tim Bavington, Jane Callister, Cynthia Chan, Jack Hallberg, Wayne Littlejohn, Christine Siemens, Jennifer Steinkamp, Mary Warner and Yek.

Colorfields: Now and Then, curated by David Pagel, is a virtual exhibition contrasting the works of a new generation of artists with the works of an earlier group of "color-field" painters. The seven young artists included in the exhibition are all women, mostly painters, who, with one exception, live and work in Los Angeles. They are Polly Apfelbaum, Linda Besemer, Ingrid Calame, Penelope Krebs, Laura Owens, Monique Prieto and Pae White. In addition to a virtual gallery, the ARTPIX CD-ROMincludes an essay by David Pagel, bibliographies and additional works of the young artists and information about the earlier group of "color-field" painters, including Gene Davis, Friedel Dzubas, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland and Jule Olitski. ... Read more

Book Description

Digital technology has had a major impact on the production and experience of art during the past decade and a half. Not only have traditional forms of art such as printing, painting, photography, and sculpture been transformed by digital techniques and media, but entirely new forms such as net art, software art, digital installation, and virtual reality have emerged as recognized practices, collected by major museums, institutions, and private collectors the world over.

Christiane Paul surveys digital art from its appearance in the early 1990s up to the present day. Drawing a distinction between work that uses digital technology as a tool to produce traditional forms and work that uses it as a medium to create new types of art, she discusses all the key artists and works. The book explores themes addressed by and raised by the art, such as viewer interaction, artificial life and intelligence, political and social activism, networks, and telepresence, as well as issues such as the collection, presentation, and preservation of digital art, the virtual museum, and ownership and copyright. 180 illustrations, 100 in color. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Consice overview of who is who
I used this book as a textbook in the classroom. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a quick overview and to use this as a lanching point to understanding what new media is and exploring its rich and growing history. It's also very affordable. ... Read more

Book Description

The Mosaic Artist’s Bible is an invaluable sourcebook for both novice and experienced mosaicists, featuring more than 200 themed, traceable motifs and a wealth of information and instruction. Spiral–bound to lie flat for easy use. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Captivating Imagery from the Spirit World
I have tried time and again to pick up this book and read the text in sequence, but the full-page color plates of Pablo Amaringo's paintings always pull me away from the text and into the world of shamans, angels, devils, serpents, jungle cats, mermaids, and aliens. I've read a lot of the text, but usually I have done so in search of an explanation for the images in specific paintings.

My first ayahuasca experiences were under the guidance of Luis Eduardo Luna. His knowledge of plant lore, chemistry, shamanism, and human nature is awe-inspiring, and I do want to read his words, but the pull of Pablo Amaringo's images has been too strong for me to resist thus far. I'm glad to have this book on my shelf because whenever someone asks me about ayahuasca, I know that I can place this book in their hands and the images will capture their imagination and make them hungry to learn more.

Outstanding
If you wish a clear, objective overview of shamanic worldview, this book is outstanding. The introduction alone (which is all I have read so far) is worth a great deal. Without being dressed up in obscurities, there is much to learn here.

Excellent!
Along with Schultes' and Raffauf's Vine of the Soul, this is one of the best books on ayahuasca ever written. Luis Eduardo Luna is one of the world's leading authorities on this intriguing subject and Pablo Amaringo is equally knowledgeable. A treasure trove of info and art for anyone interested in art, the Amazon, and shamanism- ... Read more

Book Description

6 1/4 x 9 1/4 50 black-and-white illustrations North American Distribution art criticism An enthralling anthology of introspective thoughts from today'smost highly esteemed artists, poets, and critics regarding the elusive subject of the contemporary Sublime. Combining classic theory with the current dialogue surrounding the forever-shifting concept of art history's famous "s-word," Sticky Sublime is the only anthology ever published that offers insightful reflections on beauty by the legendary artists, critics, and literati who help redefine it. A companion anthology to the critically acclaimed Uncontrollable Beauty, Sticky Sublime pushes the polemic on beauty even further, speculating where the beautiful and the Sublime will be situated in our post-postmodern, new technology era. Readers will discover intriguing essays by such respected creators and critics as Harold Bloom, David Hickey, Barbara Maria Stafford, and Anthony Haden-Guest, many of which were composed exclusively for this extraordinary guide. Art history lovers, academics, and anyone else interested in art appreciation will be surprised and entertained by what these internationally acclaimed authors have to say on an idea that has captivated and tangled the minds of great thinkers for centuries. features essays by: Harold Bloom David Hickey Barbara Maria Stafford Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe Carter Ratcliff Wendy Steiner Thomas McEvilley Anthony Haden-Guest ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great anthology on the Sublime.
Excellent, fun to read, informative, up-to-date. ... Read more

Book Description

With a verisimilitude Hieronymus Bosch would have admired, Wayne Barlowe renders his latest visual nightmare in a startling yet classic style. Fifteen new paintings, along with numerous drawings, portray a world of warriors, hellish beasts, and infernal landscapes. With its heavy stock, embossed cover, and button-tie closure, this book resembles an authentic portfolio. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Beautiful and haunting
First off, Barlowe is an amazingly talented artist, and anything he does is worth owning.
Second, this book is an excellent continuation of "Inferno". If you do not own "Inferno", this can be read alone. However, the two are part of the same vision of Hell.
Third, while this book has slightly less content than "Inferno", it's still excellent. The artwork is inspired and haunting. The demons have an organic feel that makes them look real. They also have the remnants of their angelic heritage. Whereas "Inferno" is Barlowe's travels through Hell, focusing on people, places, and "beings", this book focuses on beings in the hierarchy of Hell, from officers to demons to fallen souls.

In Regards to Brushfire....
As my first thought, the point of view of Brushfire was much different from that of Inferno. This time it is written as if Barlowe were actually in Hell while painting his various subjects. Although this can be interesting, the perspective sometimes leaves out alot of information about the demons major and minor, focusing more on what he was thinking and what was happening around him at the time he was painting.
Brushfire mananages to have very visually rewarding illustrations. Pictures of "posing subjects" tend to be more photographic, while pictures outdoors are usually more like the ones from Inferno. However, I feel it could have incorporated more of the titanic scale so ubiquitous in Inferno. This effect gives Barlowe's Hell a very supernatural feel, one that separates his vision from that of other's.
As a humorous ending note, there is a little "insider joke" in the book. One of the pictures is of Morphaiis, a demon that Barlowe befriends on his visit to Hell. What makes it funny is that the painting is of James Cowan, Barlowe's friend and book publisher (who just happens to work for Morpheus International.

From the man who gave us Inferno, More Inferno!
And that's not a bad thing, in the least. Some of the images simply took my breath away, more so than those in Inferno. Hannibal and his army of souls still has be picking up the book just to see it again. The text that accompanies the artwork is nice as well. It answers some questions that Inferno left us with and gives more of the lush inferno of hell while expanding it with the sketchily outlined events of a rebellion and war. While I believe this book could stand on it's own, it truly seems to shine as a companion to inferno. Indeed, inferno itself seems much more coherent after having read/viewed Brushfire. ... Read more

Book Description

What is the nature of the aesthetic experience?Is it the same for everyone?It is possible to facilitate its occurrence?This book focuses on the psychology of the aesthetic experience and on the perception and understanding of art, suggesting ways to raise levels of visual literacy and enhance artistic enjoyment.The findings will be of importance not only to museum professionals and art educators, but also to psychologists and those interested in the nature of the aesthetic experience. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Insightful study of visual art and the aesthetic experience
"The Art of Seeing" is a study of the aesthetic experience through the lens of Csikszentmihalyi's "flow" theory of experiences which, somewhat ironically, have been given the technical description of autotelic experiences. The text begins with a discussion of some philosophy and psychology of art that leads into the development of a conceptual model of the aesthetic experience built around the four dimensions of perception, emotion, intellectual engagement, and communication. The bulk of the work consists of the quantitative analysis and interpretation of interviews with museum professionals. The authors further discuss the model in the context of the data, and make recommendations on how museums can better serve their mission.

Although the book seems aimed at museums (the study was done at the behest of the Getty and published by the Getty Press), I found the "flow" model of the aesthetic experience to be quite enlightening, and useful in increasing the quality of my own aesthetic encounters.

THE FLOW NETWORK
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com ... Read more

Amazon.com

Every biology student knows Ernst Haeckel as the originator of the "Biogenetic Law": ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Haeckel was a passionate student of the evolutionary shaping of biological forms, and Art Forms in Nature captures both his artistic sensibility and the scientific rigor he applied to all his studies. First published in 1904, Art Forms in Nature is a glorification of function and form, a demonstration of organic symmetry that has nothing--and everything--to do with nature as it actually exists. Each plate exhibits organisms carefully arranged and exquisitely detailed, "a symbiosis between decorative sketches and descriptive observations of nature," as Olaf Breidbach states in his fascinating introductory text. The radiolarians, medusae, rotifers, bryozoans, and even frogs and turtles lovingly recreated here are gorgeous and self-explanatory, rendered in delicate, filigreed lines, and colored gently with muted green, delicate pink, and sepia. Art students will appreciate the designs found in nature--scientists will love the evolutionary statement of form inherent in the beauty. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent Haeckel Starter
This a a lovely book, though a bit on the lean side. It's a good sampler of Haeckel's work, the printing is well done with thick pages and a non gloss finish. Great for the coffee table or reference.

stunning
I'm not kidding when I say this book has changed my life. Visually stunning, unimaginably beautiful.

A most excellent book
The illustrations are awesome, there's a universe of beautiful complex lifeforms that are too small for us to see. The illustrations are all in color, unlike other versions of Ernst Haeckel's prints, and it also has lots of text in the front about Ernst Haeckel's work, an autobiographic timeline in the back etc... Unbelievable art ... Read more

Book Description

A lively account of the interaction between European and indigenous artists that took place during more than 300 years of Spanish and Portuguese colonial influence in Latin America (c.1492–1820). The book offers a fascinating insight into viceregal, missionary and civic architecture, as well as painting, sculpture and such ‘minor arts’ as furniture, textiles and ceramics. This is a long-awaited book on an increasingly popular subject and includes many previously unillustrated works. ... Read more

Book Description

Artists can sometimes feel as though they're in a creative rut.With Painting From the Inside Out, readers will use fun and inspiring exercises to break out of that rut and create exciting, innovative new paintings every time they pick up a brush!

Each chapter highlights demonstrations and inspirations that will enable readers to push past boundaries and explore new ideas, including exercises for loosening up, improvisational painting, combining mediums and more. These lessons will help readers think about art in new and imaginative ways, then render such imaginings with a variety of useful techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Best Art Book I've Ever Read and Really Used
If you want an exciting and adventurous read, get this book. It turns you on aesthetically as well as giving you a strong dose of artistic guidance, incorporating wisdom in a special spiritual way.
It has tremendous humor with well written and direct instructions in the "how-tos," and yet, at the same time, it encourages you to be an adventurer and to create your own way of expressing yourself in paint. Although there are basic rules, it transcends mere technique and allows you the freedom to follow your own path. I love this book!

Free your creative spirit to fly
While this book is an excellent manual on fresh ideas, innovative techniques, and unusual and creative uses for painting materials, it is much more. With each turn of the page, Stroud beckens your artistic spirit to soar with the possibilities that lay before all of us who crave to create with freshness and vitality. The art is a visual feast and the text is evidence that the author is both an accomplished painter as well as a an author with wit, clarity and something worth saying. This is a must for everyone who is serious about their journey as an artist.

Engagingly personal
A wonderful book, written with the freshness and exuberance that characterize the author's paintings, many of which appear here in all their splendor. The illustrations are themselves worth the price of the book, but they are perfectly complemented by an eminently readable text that is concise and to the point, yet engagingly personal in tone. The author's remarks are keyed to the paintings and provide practical directions and inspiring observations on everything from materials to techniques to subtleties of composition, form and color. Very highly recommended.

Grab Your Brushes!
Painting From The Inside Out: 19 Projects and Exercises to Free Your Creative Spirit. by Betsy Dillard Stroud.

Run! Grab your paint brushes and get ready for an adventure in creating. Stroud takes you up and down, in and out on an eye-boggling excursion into a realm of discovery. From zen and ignota to swashbuckling freestyle with Picasso she guides the willing participant through various channels to your inner being. While there she nutures and instructs you through her knowledge of art history and years of practice in art to find a painterly mode of expression for your thoughts and feelings. This book teaches, illustrates and inspires you to let go and enjoy the wonder and esthetics of the painting experience. It employs techniques in layering, stamping, pouring, resists, lifting etc. to free you for your creative endeavors. Stroud has found herself in her love of dramatic color, energetic design and daring freedom of imagination.
: Mary Todd Beam AWS. DF.

Looking From the Outside Into Painting From the Inside Out
You don't have to be an artist to enjoy this book on painting. Betsy Dillard Stroud's writing is as colorful as her painting. Her book is full of beautiful paintings, elegant prose, and creative ideas. Through her skill as a writer, she takes the reader on a humorous and interesting journey that combines technical skill with a masterful use of color. Even for those of use who are not artists, Painting From the Inside Out is entertaining and deserves a place on the coffee table. ... Read more

Book Description

Crafters, artists, gardeners, home decorators and parents looking for easy and attractive projects are sure to love this collection of 20 stylish and sophisticated mosaic designs that are surprisingly easy to make.From stepping stones and planters to wall plaques and sundials, readers will find all the guidance they need to jump right in and begin creating. There's no glass to cut, and no messy grouting. Readers simply mix, pour and embed. From unusual garden critters to classic architectural themes and geometrical designs, this guide features a range of attractive patterns that will complement all types of styles and home decor. Templates are included for each design. The projects require only inexpensive and accessible materials, such as pebbles, stones, shells, tiles and pre-cut glass chips, and readers can complete most designs in two hours or less. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Loads of easy ideas for all who love to mosaic!
There are lots and lots of great easy ideas. I feel really inspired after just looking through the book! The technique the author uses is different from the one I've always used, but it looks fun and probably a great way for kids and other beginners to start. I'm anxious to try it, and I plan to incoropate a lot of the ideas from the books into my future mosaic projects!!

An "easy" mosaic book that really IS easy....
"Easy Mosaics for Your Home and Garden" is inspiring. In a fun and easy to follow style, the book explains in words and pictures how to create a number of beautiful mosaic projects both for indoors and the garden. The instructions are clear and photos very helpful. The author makes mosaic art non-intimidating, by using a non-fussy easy clean-up approach. I have had a lot of fun using the book as a step-by-step guide in making projects with family members-some of whom had never touched an art or craft project before. Each project results in a beautiful or whimsical piece of mosaic art. Definitely a fun guide and great book! ... Read more

Book Description

Islamic ceramic tilework is surely one of the most magnificent forms of decorative art in the world. Through the centuries Islamic potters and craftsmen have displayed a skill and ingenuity that verge on the miraculous. From Morocco in the west to India in the east, their work adorns mosques and minarets, palaces and mausoleums, revealing an extraordinary mastery of form, function, and design. The architecture of the Islamic world represents an incontestable high point in the art of ceramic decoration, and employs an inexhaustible source of decorative motifs: from floral to figurative, from geometric to allegoric, all in sumptuous, vibrant color. The art form continues to amaze and inspire today.

This volume presents a broad panorama of Islamic architectural decoration in all it diversity, drawn from a vast area including Spain, North Africa, Turkey, Iran, and the Indian subcontinent. Sumptuous illustrations-- accompanied by a text that places each monument in its historical, architectural, and technological context-- conjure up a dazzling, magical world of fabulously decorated buildings, revealing the secrets of the techniques that made them possible.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good photos but poor texts
I understand that it is almost impossible to write about many different centres of Islamic tiles but at least the authors should try but not just put a lot of color pictures of the tiles and write short text about it. This books is just good title and size. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Painted Clay
Painted Clay is a refreshing look at ceramics. It overviews many historical periods in ceramics and how the painted image is portrayed. This looks at ceramic painting, not as decoration as is the normal tradition, but the painted image as art on a ceramic piece. There are many beautiful and interesting illustrations that cover the spectrum of ceramic history specific to images on clay. Highly recommended for visuals as well as a resource book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The first full-length analysis of the development of artists' books as a 20th-century art form, thisbook explores more than 200 titles: their structure, form, and conceptualization. In this detailedexamination of the works of many well-known book artists and publishers, such as William Blake, MarcelDuchamp, and Max Ernst, Johanna Drucker discusses the poetics of the book, the book as a metaphor, andbooks as narrative and non-narrative sequences, as in Ernst's surreal collage books. Covering the historical,theoretical, sociological, and technical aspects of the artist's book, Drucker, a printer, writer, and scholarwho has been making artist's books since 1972, presents a comprehensive study of the medium withinevery significant modern art movement, from early 20th-century avant-garde, dadaism, and surrealism tothe present. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

unfortunately out of print
This book is an incredible resource to artists creating bookworks or any form of artist's books. Numerous professors in Columbia College's Book & Paper Arts MFA program use excerpts for readings and they always add insight and information to the recipients. Additionally, the readings (chapters) are not so complex as to not be able to absorb the information.

It is outrageous that the [$$$] book is being sold for [$$$] here, just because it's out of print. Book artists are not bankers!

Oh, yes.
A landmark book. Does double duty as a showcase of some of the most incredible books of the century and puts forth some much needed critical groundwork. Johanna Drucker has done the world of book arts a huge service by initiating discussions about the definitions and categories that are necessary to formulate a critical language for this art.

The theory parts are not heavy-handed, but spring naturally from the way she has decided to structure the material for presentation. Not many books are a reference, an inspiration, a sweeping survey, a seed for further criticism, and a flower of criticism in their own right. This one is all that and more.

Your expectations of this book might be quite high if you've been wishing in vain for something like it. Even so, you will not be disappointed, because there is nothing else like it.

When I finished it, I flipped back through the pages once, pressed the covers gently together and whispered to the book, "Well done, Johanna, well done, indeed."

great book
This excellent book goes over the different styles of artist books. Each chapter is an in-depth look at each style, with plenty of examples. The material is well-organized and easy to read without sacrificing academic rigor. This book has introduced me to the various approaches in making artist books. This book would be good either for the artist book aficionado, the art history student interested in artist books, or the serious book maker. ... Read more

Book Description

From 1994-1999, the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe presented pioneering works of interactive media art in a book-and-CD-ROM package called "artintact". This virtual museum is collected here, in its entirety, to ensure the continued viewability of these works of digital art whose mediums may or may not survive the rapid advancements of our technological world.
Essays by Dieter Daniels, Timothy Druckrey, Anne-Marie Duguet,Jean Gagnon, Erkki Huhtamo, Gerhard J. Lischka, Peter Lunenfeld, Timothy Murray, Peggy Phelan, Peter Weibel, et al.Artists include: Jean-Louis Boissier, Luc Courchesne, Ken Feingold, Masaki Fujihata, Marina Grzinic, Agnes Hegedus, Perry Hoberman, Dieter Kiessling, eric Lanz, George Legrady, Miroslaw Rogala, Bill Seaman, Aina, Smid, Tamas Waliczky, Anja Wiese.

6.75 x 9.5 in.
illustrated throughout
DVD-ROM for Mac and PC Windows with Booklet, English/German ... Read more

Book Description

The brightest talents in fantasy, horror, and science fiction art present their favorite creations in show-and-tell interviews that reveal the inspirations and techniques that guide their spectacular work. From the lyrical Tolkien landscapes of John Howe and Alan Lee to the computer-generated art of Steve Stone and Fred Gambino and the extraordinary sci-fi images of Jim Burns, the book demonstrates the diversity of this popular genre of illustrative art. Whether they work in watercolor, acrylics, airbrush, or manipulation of photographs or computer graphics, the artists take readers behind the scenes for a studio view of the creative processes that drive their fascinating art form. Included are interesting notes about their most demanding commissions and why they chose the particular mediums used for them. Artists include: Rick Berry, Jim Burns, Brom, Fred Gambino, John Howe, Alan Lee, Don Maitz, Dave McKean, Chris Moore, Steve Stone. 100 color illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The title may be misleading but it's still a good book
Despite the negativitiy of some of our reviewers, this is an excellent collection of fantasy art. Many of the artists that people have mentioned that they think should be in this book already have had volumes published anyway. I especially loved seeing intial sketches and thumbnails and reading about how each artist worked. AND despite the naysaying of "traditionalists," computer art is here to stay... and this is coming from a person with a traditional fine arts background.

Disappointing
I was pretty excited when I saw this book, but it was quite a let down when I received it. Over half of the book deals with science-fiction instead of fantasy and it also includes lots of computer made art. The best artists of the fantasy art world were left out. There are some interesting pieces in this book, but it was not really what I was hoping for.

Excellent Primer of Fantasy Artwork
This book is an excellent introduction to fantasy art.

great book
I got this book for christmas present and I was suprised, great illustrations from alan lee, john howe, brom, dave mckeane and chris moore. highly recommended!!

A GOOD BOOK FOR FANS AND ILLUSTRATORS OF FANTASY ART.
This 4.5 star book covers a wide variety of illustrators of traditional and computer media. Although this book is lacking in showing how the illustrators work it shows a good amount of artwork in progress by each of the illustrators shown. In my opinion Don Maitz and Brom are the only ones in this book that deserve the title on the books cover. ... Read more